Wes Payton has a B.A. in Rhetoric/Philosophy and an M.A. in English, having written a play for his master’s thesis. His play "Way Station" was selected for a Next Draft reading in 2015, and "What Does a Question Weigh?" was selected for a staged reading as part of the 2017 Chicago New Work Festival. He has also been a short story presenter at the Illinois Philological Association. Lead Tears is his first novel.