SCOTT W. BERG – PUBLISHER

Scott W. Berg is an author, journalist, and professor of publishing and nonfiction writing. He has published three books of narrative history with Pantheon Books (hardcover) and Vintage Books (paperback)--Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French Visionary Who Designed Washington, D.C., and 38 Nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier's End, and, most recently, The Burning of the World, about the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire. 

JACOB SHARP – POST-GRADUATE FELLOW

Jacob is a recent graduate of George Mason University's MFA in Creative Writing program and currently serves as the press's Editorial Director, a role he will hold until Spring 2027. He previously served as the press's managing editor and as lead publicist for titles including Necronauts (March 2026) and Women in Marigold (September 2026).

Jacob writes absurdist fiction that examines the intricacies of the human psyche through a queer lens. He is currently at work on two novels: an eccentric campus novel and a queer historical retelling centered on a prominent figure from Hollywood's Golden Age. His flash fiction has appeared in Screen Door Review.

He currently resides in northern Virginia with his partner and two children: a Russian blue cat named Basil and a tuxedo cat named Beelzebub.

EZRA RODRIGUEZ – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Ezra Rodriguez (they/he) is a second year MFA candidate in fiction at George Mason University. Ezra received their B.A. in Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University in 2018. Previously to coming to Stillhouse Press, Ezra spent two years working at the Jennifer Lyons Agency and seven years at Johns Hopkins University Press, assisting the history and life science lists in addition to acquiring books in K-12 Education Policy.  They currently live in Baltimore with their husband and three cats.

Ezra writes weird, transgressive, and multifaceted queer narratives within a speculative framework. They aspire to follow the model of writers such as Channa Porter, Harlan Ellison, Ryka Aoki, and Italo Calvino, who excel at combining lyricism and tight narrative control to capture the humanity within the fantastic.

After graduation, Ezra plans to continue working in publishing and (hopefully) publish their first novel. 

PAUL LOGAN – INTERIOR DESIGN

Paul Logan IV (they/he) is a George Mason alum who received their MA in English Literature in 2024. Paul received their BA in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies with a minor in Spanish from American University in 2022. They do all the interior designs for the books we publish at Stillhouse Press.   

Paul loves to read anything with a queer lens. Mainly fantasy, romance, horror, and graphic novels. They also run all the social media accounts for Safe Space NoVa, a queer youth non-profit in northern Virginia. After graduation, they hope to continue working in the publishing field doing interior design work for a queer publishing house.  

CAROL MITCHELL – CONSULTING EDITOR

Carol Mitchell (she/her) is a book editor at Stillhouse Press and an alum of the George Mason University MFA program (2020). Her first novel for adults: What Start Bad a Mornin' was published by Central Avenue Publishing in September 2023. In the past she has written realistic fiction, however, her love of fantasy has been nudging its way into her writing and appearing as magical realism in the most unexpected places. In addition to being an author, Carol is a trained and experienced editor who enjoys working with Stillhouse authors to bring out the best in their work.

CATARINA BROCCOLINO - SUBMISSIONS

Catarina Broccolino is a first-year MFA student studying poetry at George Mason University and an Editorial Assistant at Stillhouse Press. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Physics and Writing with a concentration in Mathematics from Loyola University Maryland. Her favorite poets are Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell, and she loves to spend time outside people-watching.

OLIVIA BISSELL – DESIGNER AND EDITOR AT LARGE

Olivia Bissell (she/her) is a 2024 graduate of George Mason University’s Master of Arts in English Literature. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology from the College of William & Mary in 2022. At Stillhouse, Olivia is an Assistant Editor on Sad Grownups (2024), Leafskin (2025), Tell Me Yours, I’ll Tell You Mine, I'll Tell You Yours (2025) and some upcoming projects. She also has been a part of the Media and Marketing team through her creation of social media graphics promoting Stillhouse and its books. She designed the temporary book cover for Leafskin and the preliminary design for the cover for I'll Tell You Mine, I'll Tell You Yours. For her day job, Olivia is in an editorial position at the American Association for the Advancements of Science (AAAS). She hopes to eventually become a lead editor at a major publishing company and possibly publish a novel too. Olivia also enjoys reading and writing fantasy, science fiction, and short stories in her free time. Outside the publishing world, she likes to paint, knit and play video games.

TAYLOR SCHAEFER – EDITOR AT LARGE

Taylor Schaefer (MFA ‘25) is the recipient of Stillhouse Press’s inaugural post-graduate fellowship, and will serve as the press’s Editorial Director until Spring 2026.

In her three years as a student at Stillhouse, Taylor previously worked as Director of Marketing, and was the publicist for The Rolodex Happenings, Liddle Deaths, The Atlas of Remedies, Sad Grownups, Leafskin, and Tell Me Yours, I’ll Tell You Mine.

Taylor writes lyric and journalistic essays focused on myth, nostalgia, recent sociocultural history, and human exploration. She loves to read essay collections with a magnified voice that blur the boundaries of genre and narrative. Essays that read like fiction, essays that read like poetry– she is especially interested in narrative nonfiction that blends the personal with research and niche topics.  She is currently at work on her first full-length project, an essay collection about gun culture and myths in American Identity.

REBECCA BURKE – EDITOR AT LARGE

Rebecca Burke (she/her) is a 2021 graduate of George Mason University’s MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in Fiction, and a 2017 graduate from Mason with a BA in Government and International Relations. At Stillhouse, Rebecca has previously worked as the Submissions Editor and Manager, an assistant editor for You Will Never be Normal and Shapeshifting, and the lead editor for Stillhouse’s first anthology, In Between Spaces: An Anthology of Disabled Writers, and for Sad Grownups, winner of the 2025 PEN/Bingham Award for Debut Short Story Collection. For her day job, she manages the production of over 2,000 articles a year for Science Advances, an interdisciplinary open-access online journal, and she hopes to eventually teach an undergraduate class on publishing.  

Rebecca predominantly writes contemporary fiction and short-form nonfiction, and is currently working on a novel about queerness, trauma, and recovery. She loves voice-driven narratives that take bold risks and ask pressing questions in new or previously unexplored ways. Some of her favorites include Little Fires Everywhere, Make Your Home Among Strangers, Station Eleven, and Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl.