A native of Portland, Oregon, Mitchell Jackson earned a Bachelors of Science in Speech Communications and an MFA in Writing from Portland State University, as well as an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU. He has taught on the faculty at Medgar Evers College, John Jay College, the College of New Rochelle, and NYU and works as a magazine editor. His journalism has appeared in The Source, Vibe, King, and other magazines, as well as the Portland Tribune. His fiction and poetry have appeared in Gumbo: A Celebration of African American Writing, Intimacy: Erotic Stories of Love, Lust, and Marriage, the Tusculum Review, and Southwester Literary Journal. He lives in Brooklyn.