Jay Varner grew up in Central Pennsylvania. He earned a B.A. in creative writing from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA. He helped found The Susquehanna Review, one of the few national literary journals dedicated solely to undergraduate writing. He received his M.F.A. in creative nonfiction from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. While in graduate school he taught creative writing and literature courses. He also served as nonfiction editor and eventually managing editor of Ecotone: Reimagining Place. "