W. A. Polf (William) is a native Californian who has spent most of his adult life in San Francisco and New York City. He holds a BA from San Francisco State University and a PhD in American history from Syracuse University. He worked for the New York State American Revolution Bicentennial Commission and the Speaker of the New York State legislature. He was an executive at Columbia University and spent thirty-five years in the Columbia University – Presbyterian Hospital system in New York City. He retired as a Senior Vice President at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan.

He lives in Pittsboro, North Carolina, with his wife Robin Eisner, an artist and retired journalist. His stories have appeared in various publications. He has been a finalist or semi-finalist in several short story competitions. In 2018, he won second place in North Carolina’s Doris Betts Short Fiction competition, awarded by the North Carolina Writer’s Network. His story was published by the North Carolina Literary Review Online and was nominated for a Pushcart and for The Best Short Stories Online. The editors of the New Yorker wrote that “there is much to admire” in one of his stories. He published his first book of short stories, Magical Ballyglass and Other Stories, in 2012.