Michael Jennings is a North Carolina native and a former newspaper reporter and editor. His service in the Air Force included tours of duty in Vietnam (1969-70) and Germany (1971-73). He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina and a master's degree from the University of Virginia. In 1993, he won a first prize in non-deadline writing from the American Society of Newspaper Editors. He is the author of the novel "Ave Antonina," published by Wings ePress in February 2020.