James J. Baran is a designer, fine-art photographer, and writer. During a 25-year magazine publishing career, he spoke at publishing conferences and seminars including Folio:Show (2007), and served on the board of a publishing industry group, Association Media & Publishing (AM&P, 2007-2011). James holds a bachelor’s degree in Music and a master’s degree in English, and he studied photography during his undergraduate years. He has exhibited his photography in Illinois and California, and his art is in private collections in the United States and Canada. He has written about his journey out of fundamentalism for Adventist Today magazine, and also wrote a piece critical of the Adventist denomination’s support of Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ legislation for Spectrum magazine. He has completed a memoir about growing up gay and the crucible of being blackmailed by members of a religious sect from which he extricated himself. He lives in Chicago and Palm Springs. He is currently seeking representation by a literary agent.