John Short grew up near Ormskirk and went to Leeds University, where he obtained a degree in comparative religion then spent years in Europe doing a variety of jobs before settling for eight years in Greece. His poems and stories have appeared in many magazines in France, Spain, Ireland, the UK, Austria, Nigeria and the USA. His poem ‘The Dogs of Athens’ was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2018 by StepAway magazine. He also has a collection of self-published stories: The Private Unmentionable Gargoyle under the pen name Hubert Tsarko. He’s a member of Liver Bards, Inklings and the Wirral-based Pop-Up Writers, and used to read on Vintage Radio in Birkenhead. His pamphlet Unknown Territory, Poems about Greece was published by Black Light Engine Room Press in 2020.