Chris Markham

The River Hiker is author Chris Markham, who was once "The Writer Who Couldn't Read."

"Writing is a jealous mistress and I work as a photographer and bookseller to buy my time with her.

"And at an early age I got to like traveling the American road, meeting people and seeing the country at eye level. There is something special for me, a certain kind of magic, sipping a sunrise cup of coffee in a roadside café outside a town where my boots have not yet toured Main Street. . . ."

Chris's work has appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines, including Modern Short Stories, 2AM, Right Here, Fiction Writers Monthly, Northwoods Journal, Info: A World of $ense, Grit, The Iconoclast (issues #93 and issue #104). . . . Since his teens, his hitchhiking thumb has carried him into adventures across America, and his first book, "Mississippi Odyssey" is a journal of his experiences hitchhiking boat rides down the Mississippi River. It received good reviews--Library Journal, Waterways Journal, Catholic Weekly, Alan Caruba's Bookviews--and a testimonial (unsolicited) from Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

"Mississippi Odyssey," a timeless book, was offered as a Featured Alternate by the Family Bookshelf Book Club, and a new edition was recently released as part of the Backinprint.com program sponsored by The Authors Guild.

(Read Chris's essay, "The Writer Who Couldn't Read," in the inspirational book for writers, A Cup of Comfort For Writers.)