Renee Simms is an assistant professor of African American Studies and contributing faculty to English Studies at University of Puget Sound. Originally from Detroit, she received her B.A. in literature from University of Michigan, a J.D. from Wayne State University Law School, and an MFA in creative writing from Arizona State University.  Her published work appears in Callaloo, Southwest Review, North American Review, The Rumpus, Salon, The Feminist Wire, and in All About Skin: Short Fiction by Women of Color (University of Wisconsin Press). She has received fellowships and support from Ragdale, Vermont Studio Center, Kimbilio Fiction, Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Breadloaf Writers’ Conference, the Arizona Humanities Council, Cave Canem, and VONA. She is currently working on a novel and has a forthcoming short story collection, Meet Behind Mars (Wayne State University Press).