Nate Haken was born and raised in Nigeria. He earned an MA in international communication at American University’s School of International Service and has been an interpreter for refugees and asylum seekers in the United States. His fiction and haiku have appeared in several journals in the United States, France, and Japan. Haken works at a think tank called the Fund for Peace, analyzing and forecasting violent conflict. In addition, his story “Leach Pad” won Third Place in Narrative’s Fall 2009 Story Contest. Haken lives in Maryland.