Valya Dudycz Lupescu is the co-author (with Stephen H. Segal) of Geek Parenting: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family from Quirk Books. She is also the author of the Amazon bestselling novel, The Silence of Trees, and founding editor of Conclave: A Journal of Character. Valya co-produced the independent feature film, The Secret (MDR Films) and is the creator and writer of the comic book, Sticks & Bones. She earned her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and currently teaches at DePaul University in Chicago. Valya’s poetry and prose have been published in literary and genre magazines that include The Kenyon Review, Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium, Gone Lawn, Jersey Devil Press, Scheherezade's Bequest, Abyss & Apex, and Fickle Muses.