Brian Leekley grew up in Winthrop Harbor, IL, majored in creative writing at Knox College in Galesburg, IL, where some of his short stories were published in The Siwasher literary magazine, was active in progressive social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, studied library science, and had a 27 year career as an antiquarian book dealer. He returned to creative writing while he was caring at home for his late mother, left hemiplegic and aphasic by a stroke, and he has devoted more time to writing since he retired from book dealing at the end of 2005. In progress by Brian is a short stories and novellas series about a character named Gus.