About

Ada Milenkovic Brown writes folklore-based fantasy, but occasionally breaks out into science fiction. A graduate of Clarion West and Taos Toolbox, her short stories have appeared in Intergalactic Medicine Show, PodCastle, and Crossed Genres as well as in several anthologies. Samuel Montgomery-Blinn, publisher of Bull Spec Magazine, listed her alternate history piece, “Nadirah Sends Her Love”, as one of the best stories of 2011, and one of her science fiction stories won her a grant from the Speculative Literature Foundation.

Raised in ratpack era Chicago by Yugoslavian refugees, she has early memories of playing Little Red Riding Hood with her mother acting the other parts. Ada doesn’t remember getting eaten by a wolf, but her mother was part Transylvanian, so anything’s possible. While Mom provided the fantasy side, Dad covered science fiction: he designed the Versatran robot, which besides helping build a lot of cars, was cast as the billiard-playing robot in the movie Silent Running.  Her dad also sparked her love for science, which led to Ada training as a microbiologist then teaching medical students years ago at what is now the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. 

Her other interests are music and acting – she’s a lyric soprano appearing as soloist and cast member in community choirs and theater groups including the Durham Savoyards, and a swing band vocalist. She also plays the oboe. She has utilized her microbiology training as a homebrewer of mead and, favorite of the ancient Romans, pear wine. Her disparate interests have led her to write stories that combine science and folklore as well as explore culture clash.