Born in Philadelphia, Mark Connelly graduated from Carroll College after studying at the University of London and touring Eastern Europe. He received an M.A. in creative writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he completed his Ph.D. in English. His fiction has appeared in The Ledge, Milwaukee Magazine, IndianaReview, and Cream City Review. His previous books include The Diminished Self: Orwell and the Loss of Freedom, Orwell and Gissing, Deadly Closets: The Fiction of Charles Jackson, and numerous college textbooks. Currently an instructor at Milwaukee Area Technical College, he serves as the vice president of the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center of Wisconsin.