RHP Editorial Staff
Rock and a Hard Place is the product of a team of dedicated volunteer editors who are committed to elevating and promoting stories of marginalized, desperate people put in unwinnable situations. Learn more about the team on the page below, and read about the editorial board structure and position descriptions for the editors here. In order to contact the Rock and a Hard Place editors, click here.
Roger Nokes
Editor in Chief, Founder
THREADS / IG: @stantonmccaffery
ROGER NOKES writes fiction under the pseudonym Stanton McCaffrey. His short stories have been featured in Tough, Reckon Review, Dark Yonder, Mystery Tribune, Vautrin, Shotgun Honey, Guilty Crime Story Magazine, and more. He has published two novels: Into the Ocean; and Neighborhood of Dead Ends. His short story, “Will I See The Birds When I Am Gone,” was featured in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024.
Jay Butkowski
Managing Editor, Founding Member
THREADS / IG: @jtbutkowski
JAY BUTKOWSKI is a writer of fiction, an eater of tacos and an amateur pizzaiolo who lives in New Jersey. His stories have appeared in online and print publications, including Shotgun Honey, Dark Yonder, Tough, Yellow Mama, All Due Respect, and Vautrin, among others. He is a founding editor at Rock and a Hard Place Press, an independent publisher chronicling “bad decisions and desperate people.” He’s also a father of teenage twins, a doting husband, and a middling pancake chef.
Albert Tucher
Contributing Editor
Facebook: @albert.tucher
ALBERT TUCHER is the creator of sex worker Diana Andrews, who has appeared in more than 100 hardboiled stories in venues including The Best American Mystery Stories 2010. Her first longer case, the novella The Same Mistake Twice, was published in 2013. In 2017, Albert Tucher launched a second series set on the Big Island of Hawaii, in which Pele’s Prerogative is the latest entry. He is a past president of the Mystery Writers of America NY Chapter, lives in New Jersey, and loves NJ Turnpike jokes.
Paul J Garth
Editor
Threads / IG: @PAULJGARTH
PAUL J. GARTH has been published in Thuglit, Tough, Needle: A Magazine of Noir, Plots with Guns, Crime Factory, Rock and a Hard Place Magazine, and several other anthologies and web magazines. His novella, The Low White Plain, part of the “A Grifter’s Song” series, was released in June 2022. He writes in Nebraska, where he lives with his family.
Morgan Sullivan
Editor
Bluesky: @thebigleblueski.bsky.social
R.D. SULLIVAN is a writer of fiction, comedy, and letters to the editor. A recent East Coast transplant, she is enjoying the trees that aren’t on fire. Her writing has been featured at Fireside Fiction Magazine, Shotgun Honey, and Tough, as well as in the Killing Malmon and Murder-A-Go-Go’s anthologies. She has also published an erotic story about a ham sandwich. True story. You can track her down over at govneh.com.
Rob D. Smith
Editor
THREADS / IG: @robertdominicsmith
ROB D. SMITH is a common man attempting to write uncommon fiction from Louisville, KY. Regarded for darkly humanizing fiction, his story “A Box Full of Soul” was selected for The Best American Mystery & Suspense 2025. Rob’s Anthony Award-nominated debut thriller Good-Looking Ugly is available from Shotgun Honey. His fiction has appeared in Apex Magazine, Reckon Review, Thriller Magazine, Vautrin, Dark Yonder, Tough, and several other crime, horror, and speculative magazines, anthologies, and online publications. Find his work at https://robdsmith.carrd.co/.
Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier
ACQUISITION Editor
THREADS / IG: @armbernier
ASHLEY-RUTH M. BERNIER’s work has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, Stone’s Throw, Smoking Pen Press, Malice Domestic's Mystery Most Devious and Mystery Most Humorous, The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023, and other esteemed anthologies. Originally from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Ashley-Ruth writes mysteries highlighting the vibrant culture of her home. Her first novel length work is forthcoming from Crooked Lane Books in 2026. She currently lives with her family and teaches first grade in North Carolina.
Victor De Anda
ACQUISITION Editor
Bluesky: @victordeanda.bsky.social
THREADS / IG: @DVDeAnda
VICTOR DE ANDA is a movie geek and music freak who enjoys writing stories. His fiction has been published in Dark Waters Vols. 1 & 2, Mystery Tribune, Shotgun Honey, Yellow Mama, and Punk Noir Magazine, with more forthcoming. His story “Bad Man Down” has been included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2025, edited by Don Winslow and Steph Cha. He can be found living in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Find him online at www.victordeanda.com.
SUSAN JESSEN
ACQUISITION Editor
THREADS / IG: @suzjay11
SUSAN JESSEN enjoys reading, reviewing, and writing fiction of various genres. She received an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. A former Priority Editor at Flash Fiction Magazine, she continues to provide editorial feedback during their quarterly contests. Her flash fiction has been published under a pseudonym in anthologies and magazines such as The Arcanist, Lost Balloon, and Shotgun Honey.
IN LOVING MEMORY
Jonathan Elliott
Producing Manager, Founding Member
January 10, 1982 - June 5, 2020
On June 5, 2020, JONATHAN ELLIOTT, our Producing Editor, founding member, friend, and editorial brother, died after a lengthy and courageous battle with persistent health issues. He was 37 years old.
It’s not hyperbole to say that Rock and a Hard Place would not have been possible without Jon’s charm, wit, talents, drive, and a dogged dedication to, and immense compassion for, the underdog. Jon believed that stories had power, and that our publication had a responsibility to help people tell their stories of struggle.
Jon’s struggles may have ended, but others’ continue. In his memory and with infinite gratitude, we carry on, and dedicate the unending work of Rock and a Hard Place to our brother and friend.
More Life.