Tom Navratil

Tom Navratil grew up in a family of five kids in Des Plaines, Illinois, and Racine, Wisconsin. He traces his authorial ambitions to his father’s sharp wit and his mother’s love of reading and her encouragement of all his creative endeavors. With a why-not-both mindset, he majored in philosophy and economics at Haverford College in Pennsylvania.

In his early twenties, he joined the U.S. Department of State as a foreign service officer. He completed tours of duty in Santo Domingo, Tokyo (twice), Moscow, and Skopje, as well as a short stint in Havana. Along the way he learned Spanish, Japanese, Russian, and Macedonian. He took great pride in representing the United States as a diplomat. Tom’s humor writing has appeared in Points in Case, Weekly Humorist, Slackjaw, Jane Austen’s Wastebasket, and many other publications. His debut novel, an embassy satire entitled Dog’s Breakfast, was published by Willow River Press/Between the Lines Publishing in January, 2025.