About

Shaun M. Wilkinson was born June 11, 1983 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and raised in Saint Amant. His father is a retired lumber salesman and warehouse supervisor, and his mother is a retired mail carrier. He has two siblings.

Shaun attended St. Amant Primary, Lake Primary, St. Amant Middle and St. Amant High School. He developed a passion for reading after working with a tutor in the summer prior to starting 1st grade, and he started writing poetry in 5th grade. He became a horror, dark fantasy, and mystery fan early in his life, which has extended into his later years.

In August 2001 Shaun joined the United States Army and began writing poems for Soldiers who missed their loved ones in Basic Training. He served 21 years in the Field Artillery and contributed in many capacities as a Multiple Launch Rocket System crewmember, Fire Support Specialist, Senior Artillery Sergeant, and First Sergeant. He independently published four small books of poetry during his fifth and final tour to Iraq in 2015. Shaun retired from military service in the summer of 2022.

As a service member, Shaun has seen the worst parts of armed conflict and has spent the preponderance of his writing highlighting the destructive nature of war on the innocent, as well as the warriors tasked with conducting it. He advocates for soldiers of all stripes to seek mental health counseling for postraumatic stress, especially that caused by complex combat trauma.

In 2017 Shaun received an Associate of Arts in General Studies from Central Texas College. He later received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University in 2020, graduating with honors.

Shaun’s current home is in New York State’s North Country.