Barbara Friend Ish is Publisher, Editor-in-Chief, and Wild-Eyed Visionary for Mercury Retrograde Press. After acquiring a Bachelor's in English from Rice University, Barbara divided her time between working with small groups of entrepreneurs who didn't know any better than to start their own companies and swimming against the current of the publishing industry, eventually co-founding Be Mused, an author services company devoted to helping authors and small publishers develop books. She founded Mercury Retrograde Press in 2007 because her dream of the Perfect Publishing House didn't yet exist. Barbara believes in Story the way some people believe their religions; she believes that, in writing, every tool of plot, rule of characterization, and convention of grammar cannot add up to the mystical whole that a story becomes when it is honored on its own terms. She believes that Art beats Craft every time; but that art cannot truly soar unless it is supported by excellent craft. Current projects include a garden entirely bereft of nutritional value and a search for the perfect bottle of champagne.
Editor Brett Shanley was born and raised in Southern California and has lived in many parts of the United States. He has served in the U.S. Army Infantry, been a bartender and a healthcare worker, has played guitar in many of Seattle's nightclubs, and has taught English. He received a Master of Arts degree in English from Central Michigan University in 2008. His love affair with fantasy and science fiction began at age nine, when he first read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit followed soon after by George Orwell's 1984. Although he calls the Pacific Northwest home, he is a temporary transplant to Illinois, a mere 700 miles from his wife, Jenelle. Brett spends his time working as a technical editor, playing guitar, and writing.
Editor Zachary Steele has been sleeping with Strunk & White under his pillow lately. You would not believe the dreams he's been having. As a novelist and a sometime bookseller, he brings an amazing wealth of expertise to the development and marketing of books. But don't just take our word for it. Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness and NPR have been known to ask his opinion, too.
CFO Mark Ish has had a long career as a computer scientist, but publishing is in his bloodline. A series of positions in upper management with start-up high-tech companies have fortified him for the daunting task of transforming creative vision into financial sanity. Our accountant praises his name on a daily basis. We do, too.
Paralegal by day, Angela Still is in the process of earning a MFA from the prestigious Stone Coast Writers program--and still, somehow, finds the time to help make Mercury Retrograde the best it can be. As Goddess of Slush, she is the first to see the submissions we receive.
