Valerie Nieman's In the Lonely Backwater is being called “not only a page-turning thriller but also a complex psychological portrait of a young woman dealing with guilt, betrayal, and secrecy.” To the Bones, her folk horror/mystery about coal country, was a finalist for the 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award, joining three earlier novels, a short fiction collection, and three poetry books. She has published widely in journals, and has held state and NEA fellowships. She graduated from West Virginia University and Queens University of Charlotte and was a journalist before becoming a creative writing professor at NC A&T State University.