Jessica Hollander grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan and stayed there through her graduation from the University of Michigan in 2004. After graduation she ventured south to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This is where she learned the long-studied art of bank-telling and continued her writing. In 2006 she received a United Artist grant for her writing, as well as the Soaring Eagle Award for her bank-telling. It was obvious she had a choice to make, so she looked deep within herself. After much soul-searching she decided to go back to school. Another plunge further south, to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The bank-telling had lost out to the writing, but have no fear, she continues to use those skills every Wednesday from noon to four, just in case she has a change of heart! She's currently pursing her MFA in fiction at the University of Alabama. Her writing has appeared or forthcoming in publications such as Quarterly West, Hobart, Hayden's Ferry Review, Sou'wester, Opium, The Emerson Review, and Barrelhouse.