About our contributors - 2019

Shannon Savvas is a New Zealand writer who divides her heart and life between Cyprus, England and New Zealand. Longlisted and shortlisted in various competitions but – Winner of: Reflex Fiction (Winter 2017), Cuirt New Writing Prize (Galway, Ireland) (March 2019), Flash500 flash fiction (Summer 2019). Runner Up: Flash500 Short Story (March 2019), TSS Cambridge Flash Fiction (May 2019).
Published in: Gulf Coast Online and print/online Issue 12 Into the Void, March/April 2019. Published online (Storgy Magazine, Inktears, Reflex Fiction, Fictive Dream, Cabinet of Heed, Headland Journal NZ http://headland.org.nz (Issue 1-2015 & Issue 13-2018 and contributor to Horizons 3, Bath Flash Fiction, Bath Short Story Award, Fish, Reflex Fiction anthologies (2017, 2018).

Nancy Reddy is the author of the book Double Jinx (2015) which was selected by Alex Lemon as a winner of the National Poetry Series, and the chapbook Acadiana, which was the winner of the Fall 2016 Black River Chapbook Competition. She has poetry appearing and forthcoming in Blackbird, Tupelo Quarterly, 32 Poems, and elsewhere. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Writing at University in Southern New Jersey, teaching Writing and First Year Studies.

About the interviewer: Dominic Turnea is a senior creative writing and marketing student at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. He is the co-editor in chief of Polaris Literary Magazine and the Vice President of Ohio Northern’s Sigma Tau Delta chapter. He has been published in Polaris, and has published several online articles for The Odyssey Online. He currently lives in Garfield Heights, Ohio.

Julianne Carew is a fiction editor for The East Jasmine Review as well as a Pushcart Prize nominated author who focuses on new adult and literary fiction. She is currently trying to find a home for her first novel, Why Paintings Fall. She lives in the Los Angeles area, but travels all over the world collecting stories. Her work is featured or forthcoming in, Literally Stories, 805 Literary Magazine, Thing, Bewildering Stories, Mental Papercuts and in numerous anthologies.

Constance Johnson is an award-wining writer based in New York City. Her work has appeared in Essence, People, The Wall Street, The Washington Post, and on ABC News among other media outlets. She is currently seeking essays for an anthology, Wise Men: Black Women on Lessons from their Fathers.

Jenna Gomes's home is in the undergrad classroom, where she attempts to inspire social change all while teaching freshmen and sophomore composition. Her work has been published in Eunoia Review, Rose Quartz Magazine, and 50-Word Stories. It's her greatest belief that the best stories come from the parts of ourselves that we keep hidden, so keep digging. You can find her on Twitter at @OhOhThunderRoad as well as @MWFStories for a taste of her microfiction.

Benjamin Thomas writes from New England where he unequally balances time between hiking, gaming, and quoting seemingly random movies. His short fiction has appeared in publications such as: The Lascaux Review, and Flash Fiction Online, while his debut medical thriller, Jack Be Quick, is available now from Owl Hollow Press. Get in touch at bthomas7.weebly.com

Laure Van Rensburg is a French writer living in the UK. Her short stories can be found in online magazines including Across the Margin, Spelk Fiction, Barren Magazine, Storgy and Reflex Fiction. She has been longlisted for the Bath Short Story Award, the 2018 Ink Tears Competition and twice shortlisted for TSS Publishing Quarterly Flash Competitions.

Katie Nickas writes literary fiction with atypical and gender-fluid themes from her hometown of San Antonio, Texas. Her work has or will appear in journals including Asymmetry, the Furious Gazelle, formercactus, FRiGG, Literally Stories, the Oddville Press, Red Queen Literary Magazine, Reflex Fiction, Sidereal Magazine, Soft Cartel, and STORGY. Follow her on Twitter @katienickas.

Kristin Ryan is a poet working towards healing, and full sleeves of tattoos. She is a recipient of the Nancy D. Hargrove Editor's Prize in Poetry, was listed as a Write Bloody Finalist, and has been nominated for Best New Poets. Her poems have been featured in Glass, Jabberwock Review, Milk and Beans, and SWWIM Everyday among others. She holds an MFA from Ashland University and works in the mental health field. She tweets @kristinwrites

April Hanna is a recent graduate from Ramapo College of New Jersey majoring in communication arts with a writing concentration. Born in May (not April), her work focuses on the inevitable humor that exists within the human experience. April is also an avid supporter of the Oxford comma.

Ella Parsons is an anthropology major graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in Anthropology. She will start her Masters in Public Health at University of California Berkeley in the Fall. Ella aspires pursue research within the field of environmental epidemiology while continuing to document her adventures in global health and remaining a poet on the side.

Timothy Resau is currently in coastal North Carolina. He is busy writing poems, stories, as well as working on a novel. He has a piece forthcoming in Eskimo Pie.

Sophie Fetokaki is an interdisciplinary artist, vocalist and writer living between Cyprus and the U.K. She likes, as much as possible, to make art in the margins of experience. She is also a language fetishist and inhabits a variety of language-bodies. Her first poetry book epigraphē is forthcoming in 2019 with 1913 press.

Gregory Ross is No One in its most collective sense, a merry mondsucher from the banks of the Ramapo River who's had the good fortune to see a few poems in print but the better fortune to never stop writing once he began. In fact, the bulk of his work has been published anonymously, on cardboard boxes, to be read, or not, by a few random souls on their way to the recycling plant. Currently working on a novel that's begun to grow indistinguishable from reality.

Matthew Little has been writing poetry since being introduced to the works of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton in 2012. He currently resides in his birth city of New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he spends his time working his day job, writing whenever he can muster the strength, and relaxing with his boyfriend and their two cats, Wicca and Wylie.

Will Stenberg grew up in a small logging town in the wilds of Northern California and currently resides in Portland, Oregon, where he works as a bartender. His poems have been published in a number of print and online journals and his music is available under his own name on most streaming services.

Leland Seese and his wife live in Seattle with a revolving cast of foster, adopted, and bio children. His poems appear in Juked, The MacGuffin, The Christian Century, and many other journals.

Kailah Figueroa is a young poet and visual artist. Her poetry has been published in The Loud Journal and is forthcoming in Royal Rose Magazine. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @KailahFigueroa.

Charlie Baylis is from Nottingham, England. He is the Poetry Editor of Review 31 and Assistant Editor of Broken Sleep Books. His poetry has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize and once for the Forward Prize. He spends his spare time completely adrift of reality.

Carla is an ex-pirate, long time secret poet and fledgling writer. Previously a community nurse in Brighton UK, she now lectures on health in further education. Her hunger for curious human stories has driven her into all sorts of situations that she's daring herself to write about.

Nkateko Masinga is a South African poet and 2019 Fellow of the Ebedi International Writers Residency. She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2018 and her work has received support from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg and the Swiss Arts Council. Her written work has appeared in Brittle Paper, Kalahari Review, U.S journal Illuminations, UK pamphlet pressPyramid Editions, the University of Edinburgh’s Dangerous Women Project, and elsewhere. She is the Contributing Interviewer for Poetry at Africa In Dialogue, an online interview magazine that archives creative and critical insights with Africa’s leading storytellers.

Jen Schneider is an educator, attorney, and writer. Her work appears in The Coil, The Write Launch, The Popular Culture Studies Journal, One Sentence Stories, and other literary and scholarly journals.

Sherry Bollero is a doctoral student in English at the University of North Dakota (UND) where she currently teaches English composition and a course on adaptation studies. Her work has appeared in Watershed Review and The Poetry Annals' anthology The Anatomy of Desire.

Kathy Parker is a writer, poet and spoken word performer from South Australia. Kathy’s poems are raw, emotional and unapologetic; encompassing themes such as trauma, abuse, domestic violence, body image, self-worth, love, loss and healing. She writes from the heart of a survivor and warrior; confronting the brokenness of her life while leaving others empowered to overcome the brokenness of theirs. When not writing poetry, Kathy is a contributor for Network Ten’s news website, 10 Daily, with work also published at SA Life Magazine, Elephant Journal, The Mighty, The Minds Journal, and Thought Catalog.

Bronte Billings lives in Northeast Ohio with her not so balding black cat beauty. She earned her MFA in poetry through the NEOMFA. Bronte is the recipient of the 2015 & 2016 Academy of American Poets Prize and the 2017 Leonard Trawick Award. Her work can be found or is forthcoming in Jenny Magazine, Bone Bouquet, Pussy Magic, Pinwheel, Salt Water Soul and Barnhouse.

Emily Clarke is a Cahuilla Native American writer, activist, photographer, Zine artist, and Traditional Bird Dancer. Emily graduated from Idyllwild Arts Academy in May of 2018 with a certificate in Creative Writing and is now continuing her study of writing at University of California, Riverside. Emily’s work has been featured in News From Native California, Four Winds Literary Journal, and Hoot Review. She has been a featured reader at events such as Indigenous Now, And The Earth Was Shaken, and UCLA’s Environmentalists of Color Climate Justice Forum. Currently, Emily is writing poetry exploring modern Cahuilla identity, feminism, and human intimacy.

Meaghan Quinn is the author of Slow Dance, Bullets forthcoming from Route 7 Press. She holds an MFA from the Writing Seminars at Bennington College and has studied at The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA. She has been nominated for Best New Poets and the Pushcart Prize and is a recipient of the Nancy Penn Holsenbeck Prize. Her poems have been published in Prairie Schooner, Impossible Archetype, Off the Coast, Heartwood, r.kv.r.y., 2River, Adrienne, Free State Review, and elsewhere. She resides on Cape Cod.

Julia is an emerging writer that studies Creative Writing and Psychology at the University of Utah. She has dedicated her life to being an advocate for women and those affected by mental illness and addiction. Her work has been previously published in The Canticle and Rag Queen Periodical.

Having spent many years working in remote corners of the world, Lorraine now lives by the sea in Scotland and write stories that are touched by folklore and the wilderness. Her short stories have been published in several anthologies. She tweets @raine_clouds about science, writing, cats and weirdnesses

Danielle Wirsansky is a photographer and writer. Her focus is on storytelling, no matter the medium. Her photography has been published in The Weird Reader, 805 Lit + Art, Genre: Urban Arts, Sad Girl Review, and more. You can learn more about her work at www.DanielleWirsansky.com!

Timothy Herrick is a journalist, writer and poet based in Jersey City. He also works as Communications Director for Jersey City Theater Center. He holds an MFA in creative writing from New School University and a BA in Philosophy & Economics from Richard Stockton University. For a selection of his fiction, poems, prose-poems and other writings, visit >Timhrklit.com.

Born and bred in Buffalo, Catherine Keller published her first poetry chapbook, ‘Sonder’, in June 2018, which is available on Amazon. She has also had poetry published in ten literary magazines including Wilderness House Literary Review, Tipton Poetry Journal, The Stray Branch, and Hooligan Magazine, and articles in the Buffalo News, Esperanza Magazine and Buffalo Rising. She has been writing creatively for as long as she can remember and is also writing about ten other stories that will be novels and short story collections (eventually). Some of her favorite poets are Savannah Brown, Caitlyn Siehl, Rudy Francisco and Siaara Freeman. When she’s not writing, she spends her time chasing sunsets, waterfalls and free food, which you can check out on her Instagram @catiekeller.

Kirsty A. Niven lives in Dundee, Scotland. Her writing has appeared in anthologies such as Landfall, A Prince Tribute and Of Burgers and Barrooms. She has also featured in several journals and magazines, including The Dawntreader, Cicada Magazine, Dundee Writes and Word Fountain. Kirsty's work can also be found online on sites such as Cultured Vultures, Atrium Poetry and Nine Muses Poetry.

Luke Kuzmish is a new father, recovering addict, software developer, and writer. He was born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania. His work has been featured by Dope Fiend Daily, Octopus Review, Beatnik Cowboy, Poets’ Hall Press, Rye Whiskey Review, Ink Sweat and Tears, and Transcendent Zero Press. He will be featured by Rigg Welter and Mojave River Review later this year. His first full-length poetry collection, “Little Hollywood,” was published by Alien Buddha Press in 2018. http://lukekuzmish.com/

Adamu Usman Garko is student of Gombe High School, Gombe State. He is a poet, short story writer and essayist. Garko’s work have been published by several print and electronic platforms including but not limited to Blueprint Newspaper, The Arts-muse Fair, Poetry Planet, and Praxis Magazine.

Nicholas Trandahl is an Army veteran, poet, outdoorsman, journalist, and traveler. A member of WyoPoets and the Bearlodge Writers, he finds inspiration in new adventures, nature, good books, and the understated beauty of everyday life. Trandahl lives in Wyoming with his wife and daughters. Trandahl’s poetry collections are published by Winter Goose Publishing, and his poems have also appeared in various journals, anthologies, and compilations.

Quintin Collins is a writer, editor, and Solstice MFA program graduate. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in Lily Poetry Review, Up the Staircase Quarterly, poems2go, Transition magazine, and elsewhere. He also received a Pushcart Prize nomination in 2019. Quintin likes to post poems and writing memes on his Twitter (@qcollinswriter). He thinks the memes are funny sometimes, but that's debatable.

Chris Jansen is a recovering heroin addict. He lives in Athens, Georgia, where he teaches boxing and cares for a disinterested guinea pig named Poozybear.

Caris Allen's work has previously been featured in The North Texas Review, The Hunger Journal, Riggwelter Press, Dirty Paws Poetry Review, and more. She currently lives in North Texas with her partner and their bearded dragon, Mosey.

Darby Lyons lives in Cincinnati and recently retired from teaching English and creative writing in Wyoming, Ohio. She received her MFA from the Sewanee School of Letters, and her work has appeared in Mud Season Review, 8 Poems, SWWIM Every Day, and other publications. She reads poetry submissions for The Cincinnati Review.

Joe Barca is a poet from New England. He is married with two children and a Wheaten Terrier. He has self-published three short poetry collections and his work has been included in a number of cool publications. He is a fast talker and slow runner. Twitter @shepherdmoon53.

Since the age of fifteen, Hope has been putting pen to paper. Writing is her lifeline and her voice. She writes her story through poetry, quotes and memoirs. When she’s not up late at night engrossed in her writing, you might find her knitting her signature multicolored twist scarfs!

Hege A. Jakobsen Lepri is a Norwegian-Canadian translator and writer based in Toronto. In a previous life she wrote poetry and erotica in Norwegian. She returned to writing in 2011, after a very, very long break. Her writing has since been longlisted for Prism International nonfiction prize and the Peter Hinchcliffe Fiction Award, shortlisted for Briarpatch’s ‘Writing in the Margins’ contest, and published (or forthcoming) in J Journal, Saint Katherine Review, Monarch Review, Citron Review, Sycamore Review, subTerrain Magazine, Broken Pencil, Agnes and True, Forge Literary Magazine, Fjords Review, Grain Magazine, Typehouse Literary Review, The Nasiona, WOW! -Women on writing, The New Quarterly and elsewhere. Twitter handle @hegelincanada

Michael Inioluwa Oladele is a writer, historian, and blogger. He writes fiction majorly but dabbles into creative nonfiction and poetry. He has been writing since his fingers could grab the pen. He was shortlisted for the Abuja Literary Society contest in 2017 and the Etisalat Short Story Prize in 2015. He is the president of Creative Writers Niche, a writing club based in Obafemi Awolowo University with members all across Nigeria. He has been published on Brittle Paper, African Writer, Tuck Magazine, WRR, and many other literary sites. He likes glasses and natural hair.

David P. Kozinski received the 2018 Established Professional Poetry Fellowship from the Delaware Division of the Arts. His first full-length book of poems, Tripping Over Memorial Day was published by Kelsay Books in 2017. He received the Dogfish Head Poetry Prize, which included publication of his chapbook, Loopholes (Broadkill Press). Kozinski was named 2018 Mentor of the Year by Expressive Path, a non-profit that facilitates youth participation in the arts. He serves on the Boards of the Manayunk-Roxborough Art Center and the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference and is Art Editor of the Schuylkill Valley Journal.

Kate Wilson lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and attends Westminster College. They are an interview correspondent with Half Mystic Press and serve as a poetry editor for ellipsis… Literature & Art and Rose Quartz Magazine. Three of their poems were selected for the Academy of American Poets Student Poetry Prize and their work can be found with Pressure Gauge Press and Parentheses Journal, among others.

Delvon T. Mattingly, who also goes by D.T. Mattingly, is a writer from Louisville, Kentucky and a PhD student in epidemiology at the University of Michigan. His short fiction and poetry have appeared or is forthcoming in Maudlin House, Jellyfish Review, Star 82 Review, and elsewhere. He currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his two cats, Liam and Tsuki. Learn more about his work at http://delvonmattingly.com/

Katie Simpson is a writer and photographer based in San Francisco. Her work has been featured in Quiet Lightning, HitRecord's Body Book, and Entropy Magazine. When not writing, she loves traveling and people watching. You can find her online at: https://twitter.com/honest_creative.

Laura Stringfellow writes both verse and prose poetry, often exploring themes of transformation and woundedness. She is from the very humid Southern US, is passionate about protecting animals, and finds solace and healing in Nature. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing.

Sasha Newbury is a 24-year-old Copywriter living in London, originally from the not-so-sunny shores of Southend-on-Sea. She studied English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London and despite desperately longing for - is still dogless.

Kelsey Hoff is a poet and freelance writer in Chicago, where she received her MFA in Poetry from Columbia College in 2017. She writes tarot poems for her collaborative blog project, Stinger & Fringe. Her poems are published in Columbia Poetry Review, Poets.org, Redheaded Stepchild, Hobo Camp Review, and elsewhere. Follow her on Twitter at @MidwestMadGirl.

Daniel J. Pizappi lives in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is a PhD student, Managing Editor of Grist: A Literary Journal, and co-editor of the anthology Kentucky Writers: The Deus Loci and the Lyrical Landscape. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Dark Marrow, Still: The Journal, The Mantle, and Your Impossible Voice, among others. Visit him at www.danielpizappi.com. Twitter: @DjPizappi

Claudia Tesni has been writing poetry since childhood. She is a lifelong recluse, a visual artist, a naturalist, a guerilla gardener, and a forest janitor. She usually writes about isolation, dreamscapes, betrayal, and folk magic. Her visual art is somewhat available @ozomeneabominations on Instagram. Her poetry usually isn't available, but she's trying to be a bit less secretive about it.

Adrian Belmes is a Jewish Ukrainian poet and book artist residing currently in San Diego. He is a senior editor for Fiction International, editor in chief of Badlung Press, and vice president of State Zine Collective. He has been previously published in SOFT CARTEL, Philosophical Idiot, and elsewhere. You can find him at adrianbelmes.com or @adrian_belmes.

Ray Ball, Ph.D., is a history professor in Alaska. She is the author of two history books and her creative work has recently appeared inCirque, L'Éphémère Review, Okay Donkey, and The Cabinet of Heed. She tweets @ProfessorBall

Lagos based Michael Akuchie writes poetry with an exiled mind. His recent works are on Praxis Mag Online, African Writer Online, Ngiga Review and elsewhere. He studies English at the University of Benin, Nigeria.

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda is the author of the full-length poetry collection Flashes & Verses… Becoming Attractions from Unsolicited Press and the poetry chapbook So Many Flowers, So Little Time from Red Mare Press. His poetry has been featured in The Yellow Chair Review, Burning House Press, Frontier Poetry, poeticdiversity, The Wild Word, Rigorous, Tin Lunchbox Review, Rogue Agent Journal, Chanterelle’s Notebook, The Fem, Rigorous, Palette Poetry, San Diego Reader and Lunch Ticket’s Special Issue: Celebrating 20 Years of Antioch University Los Angeles MFA in Creative Writing. One of his poems was named the winner of Subterranean Blue Poetry’s 2016 "The Children of Orpheus" Anthology Contest and two of his poems “Buzz Me” and “Estranged Fruit” were nominated for Best of the Net in 2015 and 2016. Adrian is an LA Poet who has a BA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and he is also a graduate of the MFA program at Antioch University in Los Angeles where he lives with his wife and their cat Woody Gold.

Adedayo Agarau is a student and poet hoping to make the world a little better with his words and photography. He has works up at Barren Magazine, Geometry and 8poems. His first manuscript "Asylum Chapel," is coming to light for publication and looking for a good home. Please connect with him on twitter @adedayoagarau and on Instagram @wallsofibadan, where he documents the beauty and pain of his Nigerian city home.

Hannah Storm is new to writing flash, although she's been telling stories as a journalist for almost 20 years. Today her writing is her way of keeping up with some of the extraordinary people she has met and places she has visited, while juggling a busy job and two young children.

Curt Saltzman was born and raised in Los Angeles. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Gargoyle Magazine, Sou'wester, The Bitter Oleander, Into The Void, Epiphany, and elsewhere. He lives in France.

Adam Kelly Morton is a Montreal-based husband, father (four kids, all under six), acting teacher, board gamer, filmmaker, and writer. He has been published in Black Dog Review, (mac)ro(mic), Soft Cartel, Spadina Literary Review, Fictive Dream, The Fiction Pool, Open Pen London, Talking Soup, and Menda City Review, among others. He has an upcoming piece in A Wild and Precious Life, an addiction anthology to be published in London, UK. He is the editor-in-chief of the Bloody Key Society Periodical literary magazine.

Rick White is a fiction writer from Manchester UK. Rick has previously had work published in Storgy, Honest Ulsterman and Vice Magazine and is currently working on his first novel which he hopes to finish before he expires. Rick is 34 years old and lives with his wife Sarah and their small furry overlord, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Harry. @ricketywhite

Emily Lake Hansen is the author of the chapbook The Way the Body Had to Travel (dancing girl press). A 2018 Best of the Net Nominee, her poetry has appeared in Nightjar Review, Atticus Review, Stirring, 8 Poems, and SWIMM Every Day among others. When she's not writing, you can find her in Atlanta playing entirely too many children's board games.

Steve Passey is from Southern Alberta. He is the author of the short-fiction collection "Forty-Five Minutes of Unstoppable Rock" (Tortoise Books) and "The Coachella Madrigals" (Luminous Press) and many other individual things. He is a three-time Pushcart nominee, a one time Best of the Net nominee and is also part of the editorial collective at The Black Dog Review. Tweet to him @TheStevePassey.

Kiley first encountered poetry while wading through her mother's library as a child. This experience began in her a life-long love of language that has pushed her to quietly hone her craft. She recently relocated back to Almost Heaven, West Virginia. Her cat approves this poem. Follow her on Twitter: @KBogart10

Jordan Boyd is an artist and educator living in Oakland, California

Monique Kluczykowski is a first-generation immigrant who was born and raised in Germany. She has lived in Texas, Kentucky, and California, has worked as a band roadie, waitress, warehouse picker, and taught English for many years at Gainesville College in Georgia. She now makes her home in Iowa City. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and her most recent poems appear in Belletrist, Sierra Nevada Review, StepAway Magazine, and RabbleLit. Her most recent creative nonfiction is forthcoming in Blue Earth Review (2018 Flash CNF contest winner) and has been published in The Examined Life Journal.

JD Stofer is an artist and writer working from a tiny island off the west coast of Canada. She finds the raw landscape humbling since, by its very nature, it inspires. She paints, publishes a single frame cartoon in the local paper, spoils her dogs, gardens, is a great cook and bread maker, has a keen sense of humour, is secretly melancholy, loves language (is trying to learn Chinese) values silence and fleeting moments and dislikes talking about herself.

Jude Marr teaches, and writes poetry, as protest. They are currently a PhD candidate at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and their chapbook, Breakfast for the Birds (Finishing Line), was published in 2017. Recent credits include Nightjar Review, 8 Poems, and Oxidant Engine.

Ejiro Elizabeth Edward is a poet/writer and passionate lover of the art. She has been published in pangolin review, Praxis magazine, Kalahari Review, and a regular contributor in the and afri-diaspora and recently redefining herself seeing that writing /the art is probably her only way of living while she battles with the writers syndrome of depression or insomnia. She spends her free time reading, modeling and traveling . Currently an undergraduate of the University of Benin. She resides in Nigeria. She is on Instagram as Diasporapoetry, and on Facebook as Ejiro Edward, also on Twitter as ejiro Edward 552

Jeremy Radin is a poet, actor, and teacher. His poems have appeared (or are forthcoming) in Gulf Coast, The Cortland Review, The Journal, Vinyl, Passages North, and elsewhere. He is the author of two collections of poetry, Slow Dance with Sasquatch (Write Bloody Publishing, 2012) and Dear Sal (not a cult press, 2017). He lives in Los Angeles where he once sat next to Carly Rae Jepsen in a restaurant. Follow him @germyradin

Christian Sammartino is the co-founder and Editor-In-Chief of Rising Phoenix Review. He studied religion and philosophy at West Chester University. He is a Library Communications Technician at Francis Harvey Green Library. His poetry is influenced by life in the Pennsylvania Rustbelt near his hometown of Coatesville. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in magazines such as Rogue Agent, Ghost City Review, Voicemail Poems, and Yes, Poetry. His first chapbook, Keystones, was released by Rising Phoenix Press in December 2014.

Cate McGowan is the author of the story collection, True Places Never Are (Moon City Press, 2015), winner of the Moon City Press Fiction Award. A Georgia native, McGowan’s fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared in many literary publications, including Glimmer Train, Crab Orchard Review, Barrelhouse, Shenandoah, Into the Void, Vestal Review, and W. W. Norton’s Flash Fiction International. Find out more about Cate at: https://www.catemcgowan.com/ Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/cate_mcgowan

Bola is a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet. His poems have appeared or forthcoming in a few Journals like Frontier Poetry, Rising Phoenix Review, Writers Resist, Rattle, Cleaver, One, The Nottingham Review, The Puritan, The Literary Review of Canada, Sierra Nevada Review, Dissident Voice, Poetry Quarterly, The Indianapolis Review, Canadian Literature, Empty Mirror, Poetry Pacific, Drunk Monkeys, Temz Review, St. Peters College(University of Saskatchewan) Anthology (Society 2013 Vol. 10), Pastiche Magazine, and others. He holds a degree in City Planning and lives in Winnipeg MB. www.bolaopaleke.com

Joy Wright is a social justice, anti-violence activist, poet, storyteller and single queer Mom to two beautiful teenagers, a dog, a cat and two guinea pigs. She works as a non-profit fundraiser by day, and spends her weekends playing in an all mom garage band called the Hot Mamas and driving around Chicagoland not-so-cleverly disguised as a soccer mom. You can see Joy storytelling or reading poetry around Chicago, including at Louder Than a Mom, Do Not Submit and SHE Gallery events. Publications include Voice of Eve, sinister wisdom, ESME and a regular dating piece in Rebellious Magazine http://rebelliousmagazine.com/.

Exodus’s writing aesthetic includes strange, obscure flash-fiction, emotional and character-driven fiction and fantasy, and nonfiction writing that aims to create a healthier world for us all. Her publications include flash-fiction stories with Valley Voices and Indicia, short fiction with Literary Orphans, and a non-fiction essay with Luna Luna Magazine. She is a Cruger, Mississippi native, and a graduate of Mississippi Valley State University with a BA in English, as well as Mississippi University for Women with a MFA in Creative Writing.

Shelly Lynn Stone lives in a small town in Central Massachusetts. She writes short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. When not writing, she works a day job, moonlights as a massage therapist, and tries to find more time for tap dancing. Her work has appeared online in Resistance Poetry, Feminine Collective, Sad Girl Review, the Same, CEO Lit Mag and The Junction. You can find her on Twitter @storybyshelly.

Jack Caseros is an Argentine-Canadian writer and environmental scientist whose creative work has appeared in cool places like Every Day Fiction, Syntax & Salt, and Drunk Monkeys. His uncreative work has appeared in drearier places, like boardrooms and government databases. He’s an Assistant Fiction Editor for Pithead Chapel and a student in Stanford’s Online Writing Certificate. You can read about how exhausted Jack is at www.jackcaseros.wordpress.com.

Caroline lives with her family and her four cats in Georgia. She can most often be found curled up with a book in her hand and chocolate and diet Dr. Pepper in front of her. Stories have helped her throughout the years and helped shape who she is. She hopes that her stories might help shine a little bit of brightness in world where it is hard to see. She is excited for you to read her books and hopes you enjoy coming on this journey with her.

Nicholas Pullen was born and raised in Toronto, and has spent the last decade bouncing around the settler colonial world to Oxford, to London, to Ottawa, to Montreal, and most recently to Quebec City, where he shivers in the dark, works hard to improve his French, clocks in for the government and writes to make use of the solitude. He has a BA in history from Somerville College, Oxford University, and an MA in history from McGill. He is gay, and a good friend of Bill's.

As a professor in a Chinese university, and previously while earning a PhD in France, Kate's research interests have included magical realism, feminist utopia, and world literature. She has published three books in French, including one novel. In addition to academic writing, her work appears regularly in Rain and Thunder: A Radical Feminist Journal of Discussion and Activism. She cannot yet write fiction in Mandarin, but is plodding towards this with five new words per day. These poems are part of a (not yet published) larger collection called "Indias Divine."

Caroline Butler is a poet living in Tallahassee, Florida. She is pursuing a degree in Creative Writing from Florida State University. Her work has appeared in Ink & Nebula and Peculiars Magazine and is forthcoming in Before I Leave. She is the social media intern at Rose Quartz Magazine. She tweets @car0linebutler.

M. G. Stephens is author of 22 books, including the novel The Brooklyn Book of the Dead; the travel memoir Lost in Seoul (Random House); and the award-winning essay collection Green Dreams. His recent poetry collections include Occam's Razor (First Person Books, 2015); Top Boy (Spuyten Duyvil, 2017); and the e-chapbook Resistance (Political Poems) (Dispatches from the Poetry Wars, 2018).

Steve Henn is the author of Indiana Noble Sad Man of the Year (Wolfson 2017) and two previous poetry collections from NYQ Books. He writes and teaches in Indiana.

Michelle Besay is a Caribbean blooded author, based in Atlanta, GA. Coining herself the “Writer of all things internal”, her work is focused on mindfulness, open mindedness, and relatability. You can find more of Michelle’s work on Live Your Life On Purpose on Medium.com.

Susan Richardson lives and writes in Los Angeles. In addition to poetry, she writes a blog called, Stories from the Edge of Blindness. Her work has been published in Rust + Moth, Foxglove Journal, Amaryllis, The Writing Disorder, Eunoia Review, Dodging the Rain, Barren Magazine, and Burning House Press, among others. She was awarded the Sheila – Na – Gig 2017 Winter Poetry Prize, featured in the Literary Juice Q&A Series, and chosen as the Ink Sweat & Tears March 2018 Poet of the Month. Her poetry has also been nominated for Best of the Net.

Cher Guevara is from Avon, IN. They've spent the past decade in the Midwestern Poetry Underground, flooring audiences and earning massive critical acclaim for their hard-hitting verse and uncompromising live performances. You can find them at run-down theaters and drag dive bars throughout the area. Their work has appeared in numerous rags, mags, and journals. They have several books under their belt, their latest, Valley Blues, is available from Writing Knights Press.

Kolawole Samuel Adebayo is an old soul in a young Nigerian body whose poems seek to awaken the consciousness of men. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming on Tuck Magazine, Glass Poetry, PAROUSIA magazine, WRR, BPPC anthology, Pulse Nigeria, and elsewhere. He likes to connect with his friends via his 2 Instagram handles: @worshipholik and @samofthevoice.

Elias Andrevn is a young writer who has befriended silence as a form of living. He writes with depression as a creative companion. He currently lives in Benin City, Nigeria where he also schools. He's a Young Critic Literary Fellow at Wawa Book LTD, and also an editorial intern with Nantygreens.com.

Jennifer Wilson lives in Somerset, England, with her husband and spends her days as a faceless retail drone. Her work has appeared as a part of Molotov Cocktail's 2018 Shadow Poetry Award, the webzine from Fly on the Wall Press, and is forthcoming in Awkward Mermaid and the YANYR anthology from Rhythm & Bones Lit.

Robert Frederic Kenter is a writer and visual artist currently based in Toronto, Canada. He has published poetry, stories, created theatre works, draws, paints, & makes photo-based hybrid images. He is working on collaborations and a manuscript of hybrids. Publications: Burning House Press, ARC, Grain, New Quarterly, Writ, Prairie Fire, Cough, Paragraph, Lost & Found Times, and numerous others. Chapbook: Office Crimefrom Ice Floe Press. Follow him at Twitter @frede_kenter

David Martinez is a half-American half-Brazilian writer who has lived all over the US, Brazil, and Puerto Rico. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside Palm Desert. David has conducted interviews for The Coachella Review and has had fiction published in Broken Pencil. His most recent essay can be found in the Writers Resist Anthology. David teaches English and Creative Writing at Glendale Community College in Arizona.

Nancy lives in a small neighborhood in central New Jersey near a bay. She enjoys early morning walks to the beach with her dog and taking photos along the way. She graduated Rutgers University with a BA in English and the University of Florida with a MA in Special Education, but she currently spends her days in the role of sales coordinator in a local home repair business.

Meghan Louise Wagner is a fiction writer and professional chef from Cleveland, OH. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing from Cleveland State University. Her work is forthcoming or has appeared in Umbrella Factory Magazine, Flash Fiction Magazine, and Literally Stories.

Barbara Lovric is an American expat living in Kerry. A previous Irish Writers' Centre Novel Fair winner for The Corn Road, she’s had flash in The Fiction Pool, The Incubator, Words for the Wild, and Cabinet of Heed. She was short-listed for the 2017 Over the Edge New Writer of the Year Award, long listed for the 2017 Bare Fiction Prize and won a Fiction at the Friary flash competition judged by Nuala O'Connor. She has forthcoming pieces in Flash Fiction February 2019 and Spelk.

Barbara was also selected for the Irish Writers' Centre 2017 XBorders project which explored the theme of Borders in literature and memoir. She is the founder and facilitator of a local writers' group and is a reader and Senior Editor for TSS Publishing, UK.

Dave Gregory used to live and work at sea but now writes in a bay-windowed, book-lined room. He is an Associate Editor with Exposition Review and a Fiction Reader for journals on both sides of the Atlantic. His publication credits include The Nashwaak Review, The Lindenwood Review and Sky Island Journal. Dave’s story "Eighteen Dollar Shoes" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Bull & Cross in 2018.

Matthew Meriwether is a writer and performer currently living in Fort Wayne, IN. He writes and performs music under the name Fresh Tar, and is recently the author of Knock Knock (The Dandelion Review, 2018), a chapbook of narrative prose. His work has appeared in BOAAT Journal, FLAPPERHOUSE, Heavy Feather Review, and elsewhere.

Sheila R. Lamb received her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte. Her writing has appeared in Rappahannock Review, Monkeybicyle, JMWW, and elsewhere. She lives, teaches, and writes in the mountains of Virginia.

A young writer from Yorkshire, Emily has recently discovered that she actually likes creative writing, despite everything she may have previously said. She can be found on Twitter @emily__harrison, and has had work published with Ellipsis Zine, Storgy, Soft Cartel, Retreat West and Riggwelter Press to name a few.

Jules lives in Arizona. She likes to smell old books and drink red wine. Her chapbook ALL THE GHOSTS WE'VE ALWAYS HAD is out from Thirty West Publishing.

Conyer Clayton is an Ottawa based artist who aims to live with compassion, gratitude, and awe. Her most recent chapbooks are: Undergrowth (bird, buried press), Mitosis (In/Words Magazine and Press), and For the Birds. For the Humans. (battleaxe press). She released a collaborative album with Nathanael Larochette, If the river stood still, in August 2018. Her work appears in ARC, Prairie Fire, The Fiddlehead, The Maynard, Puddles of Sky Press, TRAIN, and others. She won Arc's 2017 Diana Brebner Prize, 3rd place in Prairie Fire's 2017 Poetry Contest, and honorable mention in The Fiddlehead's 2018 poetry prize. She is a member of the sound poetry ensemble Quatuor Gualuor, and writes reviews for Canthius. Her debut full length collection of poetry is forthcoming. Check out conyerclayton.com for updates on her endeavours.

Born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa, Sadie Shuck Hinkel is a writer working full time as a high school English teacher based in Myrtle Beach, SC. She received her Bachelor's degree in English Education from Morningside College and is currently enrolled in Coastal Carolina University’s Master of Arts in Writing program.

Daniel Romo is the author of Apologies in Reverse (FutureCycle Press, 2019), When Kerosene’s Involved (Mojave River Press, 2014), and Romancing Gravity (Silver Birch Press, 2013). His poetry can be found in The Los Angeles Review, PANK, Barrelhouse, and elsewhere. He lives, bench presses, and rides his folding bike in Long Beach, CA. More at danielromo.net.

Michael S. Begnal is the author of Future Blues (Salmon Poetry, 2012) and Ancestor Worship (Salmon Poetry, 2007), as well as the chapbook The Muddy Banks (Ghost City Press, 2016). His work has appeared in journals and anthologies such as Notre Dame Review, Poetry Ireland Review, Empty Mirror, Public Pool, Thinking Continental: Writing the Planet One Place at a Time (University of Nebraska Press, 2017), and he has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He has an MFA from North Carolina State University.
http://mikebegnal.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Michael_Begnal

Emmalyn Danvers is the pen name of a not-lost-but-wandering spirit. She is a librarian, lover, & perpetual observer of the world. She prefers a little coffee with her cream, dancing amidst thunderstorms, and dark literary fiction that will twist your soul.

Imogen Shaw is an environmental lobbyist and final year Creative Writing MA student at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her work has appeared in several online and print journals, including The Mays and Blueprint magazine. She is passionate about social advocacy and lives in a London flat with her fiancée and a tenacious family of mice. You can follow her on Twitter @ImogenShaw_otr.

Judith Kingston is a Dutch writer living in the UK. Her poems have been published in various online magazines such as Poets Reading the News, Barren Magazine, VampCat Magazine and Fly on the Wall Webzine. Besides writing, she translates, teaches and narrates audiobooks. Follow her on Twitter: @judithkingston and Instagram: @judith_kingston.

Linnea Cooley is an undergraduate poet at the University of Maryland

Andy Pérez is a latino combat veteran and "crazy artist" since ‘85, paramedic and poet when inspiration inconveniently strikes. He lives happily with his cat and husband.

Brendon Booth-Jones is the general editor of Writer’s Block Magazine in Amsterdam. Brendon’s photographs, poems and prose have appeared in the Peeking Cat Anthology 2018, Amaryllis, Botsotso, Neologism, Odd Magazine, Verdancies, Zigzag and elsewhere.

Carla Sameth is a writer living in Pasadena. Her debut memoir, One Day on the Gold Line, is forthcoming July 2019. Her work on blended/unblended, queer, biracial and single parenting appears in a variety of literary journals and anthologies including: Collateral Journal, The Nervous Breakdown, Brevity Blog, Brain, Child & Brain Teen Magazine, Narratively, Longreads, Mutha Magazine, Full Grown People, Angels Flight Literary West, Tikkun, Entropy, Pasadena Weekly, Unlikely Stories Mark V, and La Bloga. She writes about addiction, trauma and resilience with a sense of humor and connection to her readers. Carla was selected as a fall 2016 PEN In The Community Teaching Artist and has taught creative writing to incarcerated youth through WriteGirl. She teaches at the Los Angeles Writing Project (LAWP) at California State University Los Angeles (CSULA) and with Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). She is a member of the Pasadena Rose Poets who present “poetry within reach and in unexpected places.” Carla has an MFA in Creative Writing (Latin America) from Queens University. Previously she “brought home the oatmeal” as a single mom, running her PR firm, iMinds PR.

Jane M. Fleming is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of English at the University of Texas at Austin. Her poetry and prose has been previously featured or is forthcoming in Entropy, Drunk Monkeys, Pussy Magic Magazine, Silver Needle Press, and Moonchild Magazine, among others. She blogs at lunaspeaksblog.wordpress.com and can be found on twitter @queenjaneapx.

Tiffany-Amber Moton is a 23 year old New Yorker with a penchant for writing love poetry on bar napkins and oversharing to strangers. After studying politics and writing at Pace University, she self-published her first book, A Lonely Trip Down the Rabbit Hole in late November. Tiffany hopes to continue writing poetry about difficult topics and sharing it with others for the rest of her life and has plans to continue publishing until she finally runs out of things to say. (Never.)Twitter: @Tiffanypasse Website: WordsByTm.com

Jacob Butlett is a gay author with an Associates of Arts in General Studies and a bachelor's of arts in Creative Writing. In 2012 he earned a Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Gold Key for his fiction; in 2017 he won the Bauerly-Roseliep Scholarship for excellence in literary studies and creative writing; in 2018 he received a Pushcart Prize nomination for his poetry. Some of his work has been published in The MacGuffin, Panoply, Cacti Fur, Gone Lawn, Word Fountain, Lunch Ticket, Fterota Logia, Into the Void, and plain china.

Barrett Warner is the author of Why Is It So Hard to Kill You? (Somondoco, 2016) and My Friend Ken Harvey (Publishing Genius, 2014). His poems currently appear in Beloit Poetry Journal and Rabbit Catastrophe Review.

Prem Sylvester is an Indian writer who turns into words the ideas he catches a whiff of from time to time. Sometimes people read these words. His work has appeared or is upcoming in Memoir Mixtapes, Rigorous, and Rising Phoenix Review.

Courtney LeBlanc is the author of the chapbooks All in the Family (Bottlecap Press) and The Violence Within (Flutter Press), and a Pushcart Prize nominee. She has her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte and her poetry is published or forthcoming in Public Pool, Rising Phoenix Review, The Legendary, Germ Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Brain Mill Press, Haunted Waters Press, and others. She loves nail polish, wine, and tattoos. Follow her on twitter: @wordperv, and IG: @wordperv79.

Juliette Sebock is the author of the poetry chapbook, Mistakes Were Made. Her work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Cauldron Anthology, Royal Rose Mag, Marias at Sampguitas, Reclaim: An Anthology of Women's Poetry,and Paper Trains Literary Journal. She is the founding editor of Nightingale & Sparrow and runs a lifestyle blog, For the Sake of Good Taste.

Julie Greenough is a an Appalachian poet finishing her undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech. Her poetry has appeared in Heartwood, and The Broke Bohemian.

December Lace is a former professional wrestler and pinup model. She has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, Pro Wrestling Illustrated, TPG, Empower Magazine, The Molotov Cocktail, Pussy Magic Lit,Lonesome October, Erie Tales, Awkward Mermaid and Rhythm & Bones YANYR Anthology as well as the forthcoming Ghostlight, The Magazine of Terror, 24 Unread Messages, The Cabinet of Heed, Three Drops From A Cauldron, and Rhythm & Bones Dark Marrow. She loves Batman, burlesque, and things that go bump in the night. She can be found on Twitter @TheMissDecember, http://decemberlace.blogspot.com or in the obscure bookshops of Chicago.

Sophie Panzer grew up in New Jersey, completed her BA at McGill University, and currently teaches English in Prague, Czech Republic. She is the author of the forthcoming chapbooks Survive July (Red Bird Chapbooks 2019) and Mothers of the Apocalypse (Ethel Press 2019). She has edited prose for Inklette and Scrivener Creative Review. Her recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in Josephine Quarterly, Lavender Review, Gingerbread House, and Pulp Literature.

Ty Hall Lives in Texas, makes up stories, and tries to be good. He has been published in multiple literary journals, and has won the "English Faculty Prize for Best Fiction" (McLennan College, "A Story"), Swaggerfest Film's "Best In Show" (script, "9 Words"), and an ADDY for commercial copywriting.

F.C. Malby is a contributor to Unthology 8 and Hearing Voices: The Litro Anthology of New Fiction. Her debut short story collection, My Brother Was a Kangaroo includes award-winning stories, and her debut novel, Take Me to the Castle, won The People's Book Awards. Her short fiction has been longlisted in The New Writer Magazine Annual Prose and Poetry Prizes, the TSS Publishing Microfiction Contest, and won the Litro Magazine Environmental Disaster fiction competition. Her stories have also been widely published both online and in print.

Macey Spensley is a fourth year student at the University of Iowa, striving for a double major in English and Creative Writing and Journalism and Mass Communication with a minor in Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies. She was born and raised in Iowa and loves it with her whole heart. When she's not doodling sunflowers in her notebooks, she enjoys reading, going to the gym, chugging Dunkin' Donuts coffee, and obsessing about the cat she wants to adopt after she graduate

Juliana Tattoli is an artist in Oregon. Her Instagram is @julianatattoli

Puma Perl is a widely published poet and writer, as well as a performer and producer. She is the author of two chapbooks, Ruby True and Belinda and Her Friends, and two full-length poetry collections, knuckle tattoos, and Retrograde, (great weather for MEDIA press.) A fifth, Birthdays Before and After, is due for release Winter, 2019. She is the creator, curator, and producer of Puma Perl’s Pandemonium, which launched at the Bowery Electric in 2012 and brings spoken word together with rock and roll. As Puma Perl and Friends, she performs regularly with a group of excellent musicians. She’s received two honorable mentions and one first place award from the New York Press Association in recognition of her journalism and was the recipient of the 2016 Acker Award in the category of writing and lives and works on the Lower East.

C. Aloysius Mariotti was born in Pennsylvania and raised in Arizona. He studied creative writing at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he also listened to a lot of Rush, Radiohead, and PJ Harvey. He currently resides in Massachusetts with his wife Kristen and crazy Westie Bella Francine.

David Stillwagon has had short stories in CommuterLit.com and Johnny America. He has poetry forthcoming in Nine Muses Poetry, Foliate Oak and Right Hand Pointing as well as poems in Clockwise Cat and Lit-up magazines.

Samuel Guest is a Jewish/Canadian poet, author, and educator. Some of his poems have appeared in Half a Grapefruit Magazine, Montreal Writes, and Peeking Cat Poetry. More of his poems are set to come out later this year. His book "The Radical Dreams" was published back in April of 2018. He lives in Toronto, Ontario with his cats Archie and China.

Paul Robert Mullen is a poet, musician and sociable loner from Liverpool, U.K. He has three published poetry collections: curse this blue raincoat (2017), testimony (2018), and 35 (2018). He also enjoys paperbacks with broken spines, and all things minimalist.www.paulrobertmullen.com Twitter: @mushyprm35

Hugh Blackthorne writes fiction and poetry. He's a gay trans man living with bipolar. Hugh messes about with old stuff due to an archaeology affliction. His writing has been published by the Scottish Book Trust, P.S. I Love You, The Junction, and on Medium. Hugh lives in the urban wilds of Victoria, Canada, and spends his time trying not to fall into the Pacific Ocean. You can find him on Twitter @hughblackthorne and more of his work on Medium @hugh.blackthorne.

Jessica Drake-Thomas is a poet and freelance writer. She is a graduate of Emerson College's MFA in Creative Writing. She is the author of Possession (dancing girl press).Her work has been featured in Ploughshares, Eye To The Telescope, Ghost City Review, NewMyths, and Star*Line.

Jared Pearce's collection, The Annotated Murder of One, was released last year from Aubade Press (www.aubadepublishing.com/annotated-murder-of-one). His poems have recently been or will soon be shared in Triggerfish, The Rush, Your Impossible Voice, Xavier Review, and Adelaide.

Elisa L. Everts holds a Ph.D. in Sociolinguistics from Georgetown University, where she received a four-year fellowship. Her poetry, published or forthcoming in Lavender Review, Misfit Magazine, Bards Against Hunger, NOVA Bards and elsewhere, is driven by her passion for human interaction She is the author of two seminal academic articles about family humor style and blind/sighted interaction, published by Mouton and Georgetown University Press. She has also just finished a children’s chapter book tentatively titled, “This Little Pig is Family.” Elisa writes and teaches near Washington, DC.

Satya Dash has been a cricket commentator, dabbled with short fiction and has a degree in electronics from BITS Goa. His poems have been published or are forthcoming in The Magnolia Review, Prelude, The Nasiona, Turnpike Magazine, Verse of Silence. He lives in Bangalore and recites his poetry in the city's cafes. Twitter Handle - @satya043
https://twitter.com/satya043

Lauren Scharhag is an award-winning writer of fiction and poetry. She is the author of Under Julia, The Ice Dragon, The Winter Prince, West Side Girl & Other Poems, and the co-author of The Order of the Four Sons series. Her poems and short stories have appeared in over eighty journals and anthologies, including Into the Void, The American Journal of Poetry, Gambling the Aisle and Glass: A Journal of Poetry. She lives in Kansas City, MO. To learn more about her work, visit: www.laurenscharhag.blogspot.com

Amanda J. Forrester received her MFA from the University of Tampa. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Indolent Books’ What Rough Beast, Collective Unrest, Trailer Park Quarterly, and Indie Blu(e) Publishing’s anthology We Will Not Be Silenced, among others. She is a founder and Production Manager of Critical Sun Press and snuggles with her fur babies when she isn’t working long hours as a data analyst at Saint Leo University. Follow her on Twitter @ajforrester75.

Roz is a poet and spoken word performer from the North of England. She has been published in Catalogue of Failure, Dear Damsels, Whisper and the Roar, Morality Park, Yellow Arrow Journal, Persephone’s Daughters, as well as the poetry anthologies ‘Persona Non Grata’, 'Further Within Darkness and Light' and ‘Essential Existentialism - The Meaning of Life’. In 2018, her work was displayed at the annual Rape Crisis UK Conference, as well being displayed and performed at two further exhibitions in London – ‘The Sunlight Project’ and ‘Testimony’.

Karen Shepherd lives with her husband and two teenagers in the Pacific Northwest where she enjoys walking in forests and listening to the rain. Her poetry and flash fiction have been published in various journals online and in print, but most of her work just lives on her laptop. Follow her at https://twitter.com/karkarneenee

Kerri Farrell Foley is the founder and managing editor of Crack the Spine Literary Magazine. Her poetry and short prose has been published in Black Words on White Paper, Short Fast and Deadly, Flash Daily, and others. Her novel “In the Margins” was published in 2013.

Ky J. Dio is a host and Administrator for Juniper House Readings, a Slam Poet, a facilitator of creative writing workshops, and the author of 5 chapbooks. She makes recycled acrylic and spray paint art and works as a Jewelry Specialist at a pawn shop. She lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Cathal Gunning (25) is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the online literature, poetry, and non-fiction collective 'Cold Coffee Stand' (www.coldcoffeestand.wordpress.com). His poetry has been published in The Rose Magazine, Lonesome October Lit, and Lagan Online and his fiction has been published (or is forthcoming) in Tales From the Forest, The Honest Ulsterman, The Cabinet of Heed, The Runt, Snakes of Various Consistency, The Weary Blues, HCE Review, TRAIN, Funicular, The Occulum, Sleaze Magazine, and the collection 'From the Candystore to the Galtymore'. His debut novel 'Innocents' was published by Solstice in 2017. His work has been short-listed for the 2015 Maeve Binchy Travel Award and Hennessy New Irish Writing.

John Leonard is a professor of composition and assistant editor of Twyckenham Notes, a poetry journal based out of South Bend, Indiana. He holds an M.A. in English from Indiana University. His previous works have appeared in Poetry Quarterly, Sheila-Na-Gig, Fearsome Critters: A Millennial Arts Journal, Up the Staircase Quarterly, and Burningword Literary Journal. His work is forthcoming in Mojave Heart Review and PoeticDiversity. He was the 2016 inaugural recipient of the Wolfson Poetry Award and 2018 recipient of the Josephine K. Piercy Memorial Award. He lives in Elkhart, Indiana with his wife, three cats, and two dogs.

Nestled in the mountains of Upstate New York, Kate Shannon is a farmhand and environmentalist who spends her free days backpacking and writing. She mostly uses natural and environmental themes in her work, as nature has always had a place in her heart, even in the darkest of times.

denise h bell is a mature published poet. she is a proud resident of Clinton Hill in Brooklyn, NY. denise’s work focuses on the marginalization, ageism, and other ills and joys found in an urban community. denise studied with Aafa Michael Weaver, Cheryl Boyce Taylor, Adrienne Kennedy, and Joel Dias Porter. She is a Brooklyn Poets Fellow. Her work appeared in Rattle Journal, Badlands, Peregrine, The Chaffey Review, The Tinderbox Poetry Journal. Her poem, “remember my name" was nominated for the 2018 Pushcart Poetry Prize. To denise writing is all about craft.

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About our contributors - 2019