Who We Were
Editor-in-chief:
Ramon Stoppelenburg studied journalism in The Netherlands. As a former world traveler he left his mark on the internet with one of the first ever social networks, Letmestayforaday.com, which allowed him to travel the world for free for two years without spending any money. The British Sunday Times named him Internet Personality of the Year in 2002 and the website became UNESCO Digital Heritage in 2018. After living in Cambodia for over ten years, while writing short stories and travel writing for various publications while running three community movie theaters in Phnom Penh, Ramon moved to Tbilisi (Georgia), then to Casablanca (Morocco), and onto Lisbon (Portugal). But those are entirely different stories for his autobiography. You can find him on Instagram and on www.hereigoagainonmyown.com.
Senior Editors:
Jim Clarke is a senior lecturer in English Literature and Journalism at Coventry University. He is the author of two books of literary criticism, as well as dozens of peer-reviewed articles on subjects as varied as science fiction, dialectal translation, the modernist novel, and US politics. Prior to entering academia, he worked as a national newspaper reporter and editor in Ireland for two decades. He has published one novel, the thriller Of Human Interest, and his short fiction has been published by Heinemann and Minerva. He is a former editor of Ireland’s oldest literary journal, Icarus, and has published poetry widely. www.jimclarke.net
Skip (Frank) Yetter is a journalist and former media executive, now traveler, evolving cook, and author. In 2010, he and his wife, Gabi, sold their home and possessions and moved to Cambodia, where they volunteered for local non-governmental organizations, wrote for local media, and traveled throughout Asia. From 2014 to 2019 they visited dozens of countries on five continents as part of an international house sitting network, looking after vacationing homeowners’ homes and pets and learning about local cultures and people. They co-wrote a book about their experiences (Just Go! Leave the Treadmill for a World of Adventure), published in 2015. Skip’s second novel, A Reasonably Viable Marriage, was released in May 2020. His first, Rilertown, was published in 2016, as was KISS Kooking, an anthology of family favorites and recipes he learned throughout years of travels and cooking classes. He is the proud father of two daughters and exultant grandfather to three grandsons, all of whom live in the US. He is currently working on his third novel. He and Gabi now live in East Sussex, England. www.themeanderthals.com
Gabi (Gabrielle) Yetter is a former journalist for The Star in Johannesburg, a freelance writer for Touring Bird, Latitudes, and various online sites, and an author of Whisper of the Lotus, The Definitive Guide to Moving to Southeast Asia: Cambodia, The Sweet Tastes of Cambodia, Ogden the Fish Who Couldn’t Swim Straight, Martha the Blue Sheep and co-author of Just Go! Leave the Treadmill for a World of Adventure. She and her husband, Skip, lived and worked in Cambodia for three years, housesat around the world for almost five years and now live on the south coast of England, where she recently published her first poetry book, And The Clouds Parted.
www.gabrielleyetter.com
Staff Readers:
Emmie Christie is a fiction writer from Nebraska, USA. She has been published in Zooscape Magazine and in Three-Lobed Burning Eye and she graduated from the Odyssey Writing Workshop in 2013. She also enjoys narrating audiobooks for Audible. You can find her at www.emmiechristie.com. Her story Folding Expectations was published in the 4th edition of The Quiet Reader.
Sharif Gemie is a happily retired History professor. He has written eight books and countless academic articles. His first novel, set among UN aid-workers in Germany, 1945—46, The Displaced, will be published in 2022. He is the author of five books, and of over thirty articles in academic journals. His story The Wrong Time To Die was published in the 4th edition of The Quiet Reader, followed by The Saved in our 6th edition and Dead on Time in our 7th.
Bronwyn Hughes is a certified public accountant who recently completed her Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing. She lives in Tidewater, Virginia, USA, with her partner where they enjoy boating on the many creeks and rivers feeding the Chesapeake Bay. She’s currently completing a collection of short stories set in her town. Her story Sail Forth was published in the 7th edition of The Quiet Reader. Her writing works have also appeared in Atherton Review, Clackamas Literary Review, Evening Street Review, Isele Magazine, Hawaii Pacific Review, and Sinister Wisdom.
YJ Jun is a fiction writer. Her work has previously been published in Sci-Fi Lampoon and Typehouse. She lives on the US East Coast with her wife and their cat. Her short story She Had Willed It was published in the 5th edition of The Quiet Reader.
Dan Lawrence is a fiction writer. His stories have been published in Stories Through the Ages, littledeathlit, and by the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Writers’ Guild. An excerpt from his novel Perfect Criminals was a finalist in the Summer 2021 Novel Slices Contest, and his novel The Quarry was shortlisted for the 2020 James River Writers Best Unpublished Novel Contest. He lives in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife and three sons. His story The Bridge was published in the 5th edition of The Quiet Reader.
Tim Lundergan lives near Boston (Massachusetts, USA) and promotes social distancing by learning piano, which scares away anyone who comes within earshot. He volunteers on the board of Sarus Beyond Borders, an organization committed to building a world beyond borders in Asia. His writing and editing experience have included the titles of editor, copy editor, director, for dozens of historical newspapers. Tim has always been interested in good writing.
Jon Fuentes is a graduate of Penn State University, USA, has extensive experience in the literary field, having served as managing editor, project manager, and contributing writer for a variety of publications based both in the United States as internationally. He is currently exploring new career options, having recently moved. Jonathan resided in Hungary and Morocco, after living in Cambodia for a while. Originally hailing from the United States, he also previously spent three years living in the United Arab Emirates as well. Jonathan wants to help find well-written, engaging stories that readers will enjoy, including himself. A fan of historical fiction and thrillers, Jonathan enjoys the works of writers like Harry Turtledove and Stephen King.
Katie McIvor grew up in a small village in Scotland and went to university in Cambridge, where she studied Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic and edited the department magazine. She now lives in England and works at the Language Centre Library in Oxford, where she is surrounded by a heaven of books and films in over 200 languages. When not struggling to alphabetise Japanese textbooks, she works part-time as a harpist and likes to go on long walks with her husband and two dogs.
Scott Pedersen is a writer based in Wisconsin. His work has appeared in Fiction International, The I-70 Review, Louisiana Literature, The MacGuffin and many other journals and anthologies. When not writing fiction, he enjoys performing in a traditional Celtic band. His story Audrey was published in the 6th edition of The Quiet Reader.
Brent Peters grew up in a small farming town in southern Ontario, Canada. Writing and literature have been his passion since he was a kid, and he’s managed to work his way from the field to the classroom. His ultimate goal is to become a traditionally published author and join the world of the publication business. We currently lives and works in Japan. His story The Final Found was published in the 4th edition of The Quiet Reader.
Yen Radecki was raised across three continents and is now based in Japan, where they teach English and write poetry and fiction in their spare time. Their writing has previously appeared in STORGY Magazine, Ibis House, and Baby Teeth Journal. Their story There’s No Right Way To Say It was published in the first edition of The Quiet Reader. www.twitter.com/yenradecki
Michele Van Rensburg originates from South Africa. She now resides in Cambodia and passes her time teaching English to second language students. In her spare free time you will find her making art, or sitting at a coffee shop reading a good book. She joined The Quiet Reader because she loves the written word, and loves to experience and discovers the world around her through other people’s eyes.
Previous staff readers were Betina Fuentes, Steven W. Palmer and Aarushi Shetty.