Jess Jelsma Masterton was born in Louisiana and grew up in Alabama and Pennsylvania. She received a BA in anthropology and psychology from Cornell University, an MFA in prose from the University of Alabama, and a PhD in creative writing and literature from the University of Cincinnati.

As a writer, Jess has received support from organizations such as the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Oregon State University's Spring Creek Project, and the Truman Capote Literary Trust. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize anthologies and awarded the Don Hendrie Jr. Memorial Fiction Prize. Her recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in the Gettysburg Review, The Normal School, The Southern Review, and Quarterly West.  

As an educator, Jess has taught for universities and programs such as the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth and the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference. As an editor, she has worked for both university-affiliated and independent publications including Ruminate Magazine and the Cincinnati Review.

She currently lives in Pennsylvania, where she is an assistant professor of publishing and media entrepreneurship at Susquehanna University. She teaches between the English & Creative Writing Department and the Sigmund Weis School of Business. She also serves as the director of Susquehanna University Press and as the national director of FUSE: Society for Student Editors.

In her free time, she enjoys gardening, spending time with husband and two cats, and writing.