RICHARD LEIS is a writer of literary, speculative, and horror short stories and poems. His stories have appeared in The Molotov Cocktail and anthologies published by Crone Girls Press and House of Zolo. His poems have been published in various journals, including The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Impossible Archetype, The Laurel Review, Manzano Mountain Review, Star*Line, Eye to the Telescope, and the Adult Children anthology from Wising Up Press. He has been recognized for his work with multiple nominations for the Pushcart Prize and as a finalist in the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards in 2018 and 2021.With the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) team at the University of Arizona, Richard makes stunning images of the Martian surface taken by the HiRISE camera freely available to the public and scientific community. He shares the same spirit of exploration through his writing, offering his readers glimpses of wonders both known and hidden in the dark.Richard is a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association SFPA, the Horror Writers Association (HWA), including the HWA’s Oregon Chapter, and Willamette Writers. He holds degrees in Creative Writing and English from the University of Arizona and honed his craft in writing workshops and craft classes offered by the University of Arizona Poetry Center, The Writers Studio, the Tucson Festival of Books Masters Workshop, and Moanaria’s Fright Club. Drawing on his experience and expertise, Richard served as a writing instructor at The Writers Studio and as a board member for the Tucson Poetry Festival from 2019 to 2022.