Jad Josey lives on the central coast of California with his three children (and one very large cat). He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees in English Literature from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry has appeared in Glimmer Train, Passages North, CutBank, Reed Magazine, Ninth Letter, Little Fiction, Pithead Chapel, and elsewhere. His work has been nominated for “Best of the Net" and “Best Small Fiction” awards. His story, “That Water Lives So Far,” (Atticus Review) made the Wigleaf Top 50 Longlist. Most recently, his story, “It Finally Happened,” was selected for the Best Microfiction 2021 anthology.
Jad wrote his first screenplay at the age of twelve, and he was devastated when a 1987 Kevin Costner film shared the same title (No Way Out—he was so sure no one would ever come up with such a clever title!). Waterworld seemed an apt punishment for the trespass. After years penning prose-like poetry, a kind professor nudged him toward short fiction. In 2012, Crack the Spine gave a home to his short story, "Beneath That Equal Sky," a moment that marked his first online fiction publication and a long-awaited occasion to burn the impressive stack of rejection letters collected over the years.
Jad is currently at work on a collection of short stories, a novella, and myriad poems.