CONTRIBUTORS NOTES

Joanna Acevedo: is a writer, educator, and editor from New York City. She was nominated for a Pushcart in 2021 for her poem “self portrait if the girl is on fire” and is the author of three books and chapbooks, including Unsaid Things (Flexible Press, 2021) and List of Demands (Bottlecap Press, 2022). Her work can be found across the web and in print, including or forthcoming in Litro USA, Hobart, and the Rumpus. She is a Guest Editor at Frontier Poetry and The Masters Review, Associate Poetry Editor at West Trade Review, and a member of the Review Team at Gasher Journal, in addition to running interviews at Fauxmoir and The Great Lakes Review. As well as being a Goldwater Fellow at NYU, she was a Hospitalfield 2022 Interdisciplinary Resident. She received her MFA in Fiction from New York University in 2021, teaches writing and interviewing skills through the nonprofit system, and is supported by Creatives Rebuild New York: Guaranteed Income For Artists.

S.J. Adler: is Massachusetts-based writer, mother of two daughters, and a teacher. She is currently putting the finishing touches on a collection of poems, essays, flash, and plays about her nearly two decades of work in the sex industry. As such, she hopes to add her voice to the soft murmur of representation in published literature about sex work.

Laila Ali: is an aspiring writer who wants to spread her thoughts to the world. She finds that simple objects that we pass every day have a deeper meaning. Life seems like a shallow puddle but if you look closely there is an ocean of thought expression and resilience. Pickled is a memoir of her experiences, and adventures during the summer. She hopes that you too will find an unforgettable experience in a simple task.

Shijoon Bae: is a student at the Orange County School of the Arts. Born in South Korea and currently residing in California, he spends his days reading and playing with his family’s four cats

Anon Baisch: is currently a data analyst working in the semiconductor industry. Anon’s poems have been published most recently in Defunct, 2River, OxMag, and are forthcoming in Mantis, Nat 1 LLC – Audience Askew, and Waxing & Waning. Anon’s collection w/Ashes is forthcoming from April Gloaming.

Tyler Baron: is originally from Long Island and currently lives in Brooklyn. He works at a liquor store and fumbles his way through various artistic media, including film and music. His writing explores how biggest stressors are often the means to strengthen our connections to the world around us and move with more kindness. You can find his work on instagram @tyler.baron and @libbyquinnband

Michael Bemis: is an aspiring poet and short story writer. His most recent credit, prior to LEVITATE, is his poem, “Lizzie, in a Tizzy: A Meditation on Murder and Madness,” which has appeared in the pages of The Literary Hatchet (issue #32, fall 2022). Bemis resides in the St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area with his wife Jill.

Rachel Berkowitz: Rachel Berkowitz’s paintings were recently displayed in a solo painting exhibition February - May 2023, called “Biophilic Harmonies”. The work brings attention to the innate human desire to be close to natural elements within everyday life. Light as an energy source plays a strong role in the aesthetic and spiritual nature of the work, as the contrasting techniques lead into visual meditations for the viewer. The work includes painting, printmaking and photography. Her travels across US National Parks have been used as inspiration for her most recent paintings, placing a need on the heightened concern for conservation and preservation. Previously, she has exhibited in solo painting and photography shows, group Fine Art shows and at global artist events in Los Angeles, London and Japan.

Erica Berquist: Since graduating from Towson University in 2014 with a BS in English, Erica Lee Berquist has worked for KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. as an Editorial Associate and Cloudmed

Solutions LLC as a Recovery Analyst. Erica has been published previously in Grub Street Literary Magazine, volumes 65 and 71, and has an upcoming publication in Nat 1’s anthology Star-Crossed and Other Tales of Intergalactic Love. In her free time, she enjoys making jewelry, researching family history for herself and others, and spending time with her cats.

Lisette Boer: (she/her) is a Poetry and Fiction MFA candidate pursuing graduate minors in Impact Entrepreneurship and Digital Storytelling at The New School. She works as a freelance digital media manager for The Poetry Society of New York, The Poetry Brothel, Statorec, Milk Press, and Pen Parentis. Additionally, she serves as a poetry editor at Milk Press Books and Statorec, the Marketing Director at Ohm Journal, an Event Specialist at The New School, and a research assistant to the Director of The New School’s Creative Writing Program. Her creative work centers itself in themes of girlhood and can be found in 12th St. Journal, Medium, Opus, Pandemic Poems, Thought Catalog, and elsewhere in the ether.

Maggie Bowyer: (they/them/theirs) is a poet, cat parent, and the author of various poetry collections including Allergies (2023) and When I Bleed (2021). They are an essayist focusing on Endometriosis, chronic pain, and trauma. They have been featured in The Abbey Review, Chapter House Journal, The Elevation Review, The South Dakota Review, Wishbone Words, and more. They were the Editor-inChief of The Lariat Newspaper, a quarter-finalist in Brave New Voices 2016, and a Marilyn Miller Poet Laureate. You can find their work on Instagram and TikTok @maggie.writes.

Lawrence Bridges: photographs have recently appeared in the Las Laguna Art Gallery, the London Photo Festival, and the ENSO Art Gallery in Malibu. He created a series of documentaries for the NEA’s “Big Read” initiative, including profiles of Ray Bradbury, Tobias Wolff, and Cynthia Ozick. He lives in Los Angeles.

Brian Bruso: Once considered an up and coming Chef de Cuisine, Brian Bruso simply did what all humans do — aged. As the past couple years have been filled with convalescing, he reached out for inspiration from a former mentor, Michael Waters. That singular act of reaching has propelled Brian to put teeth back into his writing. He recently had his ekphrastic poem “TMA” named Honorable Mention by Passengers Journal in their Autumn 2022 visual art contest.

Lindsey Bryant: (she/her) is a professional daydreamer, age 40, living and working on a small farm in Alaska with her wife (Meghan) and Old English Sheepdog (Chloe). Follow Lindsey on Twitter @ lindseyleighllb.

Michael Cannistraci: began his creative journey as an actor; he worked for thirty years acting in theatre and television. In midlife he answered a new calling and completed a Master’s Degree at Hunter College School of Social Work. He currently works as a clinical social worker and psychotherapist. His essays have been published in Entropy Magazine, Briar Cliff Review, Ravensperch, Literary Medical Messenger, The Evening Street Review, Bright Flash Literary Review,The Bangalore Review, The Dillydoun Review, Quibble, Stonecrop, Glacial Hills Review, and the 34th Parallel. He was finalist in the Pen2Paper Literary Contest, the New Millennium Writings, and The Good Life Review Literary Contest.

Anthony Chatfield: lives in Philadelphia with his family and recently completed his M.F.A. at Drexel University. His work has been published in Bricolage and Hare’s Paw. You can find more information on his website at www.anthonychatfield.com .

Leonardo Chung: is a young aspiring poet who has attended several programs such as Iowa Young Writers’ Studio, Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference, and Juniper Summer Writing Institute. He is the founder and editor of Clepsydra Literary and Art Magazine. His work has been previously accepted by Sheila-Na-Gig, Sweet Lit, Rigorous, riverSedge, Vermilion and others. He merges the subtle observations noticed in life with words to delicately express his emotions. He has dedicated his time musing the art of poetry through life experiences and imagination.

Rachel Coyne: is a writer and painter from Lindstrom, MN. Her books include Whiskey Heart, The Patron Saint of Lost Comfort Lake and the Antigone Ravynn Chronicles

Callie Crouch: (she/her) is an undergraduate English major at Saint Joseph’s University. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the university’s literary magazine, the Crimson and Gray. Her work is currently featured in Olit Magazine’s 2022 winter Issue and Wingless Dreamer Publisher’s anthology Dulce Poetica. She is from Florida, but now lives in Philadelphia, and spent this past summer studying travel writing under poet Dr. April Lindner while living abroad in Rome, Italy.

Ari Cubangbang: is a visual artist based in Calgary, Alberta. She draws with ink based mediums and brushes. As an artist living with complex and rare diseases she feels as though she fades away into the background of life. However, Ari is resilient living life within the safety bubble of her home; she draws strength from creating art that evokes emotion in the viewer.

Ky Davis: is a Black queer poet from Alabama. They’re work typically revolves around the certainty and uncertainty of being Black in what they would call an anti-Black world, the level of performance that Black people all over the diaspora must commit to when existing in white spaces, and the struggles and complications of Blackness and queerness.

Mary Christine Delea: has a Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing, and is a former university professor. She has also worked as a social worker, an AmeriCorps VISTA, a Girl Scout leader, a domestic violence shelter counselor, a retail manager, and an improv comedy performer. Her publications include 1 full-length poetry collection (The Skeleton Holding Up the Sky) and 3 chapbooks. Delea’s website (www.mchristinedelea.com) includes a blog, where she posts writing prompts each Sunday, and poems she loves on Sundays and Wednesdays.

Abbie Doll: is an eclectic mess of a person who loves exploring the beautiful intricacies of the written word. She resides in Columbus, OH and received her MFA from Lindenwood University; her work has been featured or is forthcoming in Door Is a Jar Magazine, Ellipsis Zine, OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters (O:JA&L), among others. Follow her @AbbieDollWrites.

William Doreski: lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire. He has taught at several colleges and universities. His most recent book of poetry is Dogs Don’t Care (2022). His essays, poetry, fiction, and reviews have appeared in various journals.

Merridawn Duckler: is a writer from Oregon and the author of three chapbooks, most recently MISSPENT YOUTH (rinky dink press.) New work in Seneca Review, Posit, Plume, Painted Bride Quarterly. Winner of the 2021 Beulah Rose Poetry Contest from Smartish Pace. Winner of the 2022 Invisible City CNF flash contest, judged by Heather Cristle. Winner of the Elizabeth Sloan Tyler Memorial Award from Woven Tale Press, judged by Ann Beattie. She’s an editor at Narrative and the philosophy journal Evental Aesthetics.

Austin Farber: is a writer and photographer from Utah. Austin is a Wichita State University alumnus where he studied English literature and writing. Austin’s writing and photography encompass different perspectives of people, time, and space. This submission, ‘Wonders,’ embraces a multilayered combination of travel, landscape, and altered reality. Austin currently resides in Denver, Colorado.

Zoe Gianfrancesco: (she/her) is a poet/editor/nerd from Pittsburgh, PA. She’s the EIC of Spillover Magazine and tends to spend more time watching aquarium build videos than writing. Her work has been previously published in PULP: A Literary Magazine, Stone of Madness, Sledgehammer Lit, and others. You can find her at @ sweeetzoejane on Twitter and Instagram.

Robin Gillespie: is a freelance artist from Chicago. In her free time she enjoys sketching and spending time with her two kittens.

GJ Gillespie : is a collage artist living in a 1928 Tudor Revival farmhouse overlooking Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island (north of Seattle). In addition to natural beauty, he is inspired by art history -- especially mid-century abstract expressionism. The “Northwest Mystics” who produced haunting images from this region 60 years ago are favorites. Winner of 20 awards, his art has appeared in 57 shows and numerous publications. When he is not making art, he runs his sketchbook company Leda Art Supply.

Cebo Hadebe: is a South African writer, speculative storyteller, essayist, critic, social commentator, and editor from Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. He is a three-time Honours recipient for the SA Writers College Short Story Competition, and he has been awarded an Honorable Mention in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. The Shallow Tales Review named his contribution on Issue 38 as the 2022 Best Essay of their inaugural Best of a Shallow Year selection. A host of his works have been placed in various publications such as Kalahari Review, oranges journal, Salamander Ink, and elsewhere. Additionally, he has appeared in The James Currey Anthology Vol. 1 and 2017 In Focus Anthology, published in the UK and Canada, respectively. He can be found on Twitter and Instagram: @cs_hadebe.

Jesi Halprin: received her MFA from Stony Brook Southampton, where she worked with her thesis advisor, Amy Hempel, and second reader, Paul Harding, on an early version of this piece.

Abbie Hart: (she/they) is a queer 18 year old poet from Houston, TX currently living in Worcester, MA. She has been published over 20 times, including in BRIDGE and Millenial Pulp, she is the editor in chief for the Literary Forest Poetry Magazine, and she was previously a semi finalist for the Houston Youth Poet Laureate. In her spare time, she learns many useless skills and does her best to be like a nice warm soup. Her website is abbiemhart.wordpress.com.

Alex Hulslander: (she/her/hers) has been writing creative genre fiction for over 10 years now. In May 2020 she received her BA in Creative Writing and English from the University of Arizona. She is currently working a full-time job, doing freelance beta-reading and editing, working on short stories, and running her personal blog.

Eroldi Idlore: (they/them) is a Jewish writer from the Chicago suburbs. They’ve been writing as a freelance artist since 2012. Their artistic intent is to reflect pure and liminal earth-based spiritual growth through the use of interpretive story. You can find other writings of theirs in the Lake County Bloom and WordSwell’s Literary Journal.

Savannah Jackson: is an 18-year-old high school student from rural Iowa. She uses her local landscape and experiences to write on realist themes like animal brutality, men, and women. In 2021, Savannah was recognized as an Honorary Mention in the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest out of Hollins University. She has also been published in the online poetry journal The Weight.

Maya Jacyszyn: is a recent graduate of Saint Joseph’s University where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the literary magazine titled, Crimson & Gray. More recently, her work is featured in the Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle, Wingless Dreamer, Poet’s Choice, The Ignatian Literary Magazine, Quibble Lit, and Clepsydra Literary and Art Magazine. Maya resides outside of Philadelphia where she works as a Professional Writing Tutor.

Peycho Kanev: is the author of 10 poetry collections and three chapbooks, published in the USA and Europe. His poems have appeared in many literary magazines, such as: Rattle, Poetry Quarterly, Evergreen Review, Front Porch Review, Hawaii Review, Barrow Street, Sheepshead Review, Off the Coast, The Adirondack Review, Sierra Nevada Review, The Cleveland Review and many others. His new book of poetry titled A Fake Memoir was published in 2022 by Cyberwit.

Alan Keith: is a substitute teacher working out of Toronto, Canada. He tries to keep his writing honest by only writing about what he sees, but if he’s being (really) honest, he actually makes a lot of it up. Alan has printed two short story collections and a novel; they sit anonymously on his bookshelf... A poetry collection is his next project.

Mickie Kennedy: is a gay writer who resides in Baltimore County, Maryland with his family and two feuding cats. A Pushcart Prize nominee, his work has appeared in The Bangalore Review, The Pinch, Plainsongs, Portland Review, Wisconsin Review, and elsewhere. He earned an MFA from George Mason University.

Kenneth Kesner (肯内思 ): has lived and worked in Asia for several years. He’s twice received a publication award from National Cheng-chi University (ROC) and accepted academic placements through the State Administration of Foreign Experts (PRC). He received but declined a one-year appointment to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Some recent works are featured in: Arlington Literary Journal, Quail Bell Magazine, San Pedro River Review, Sleet Magazine, and The Woven Tale Press.

Lisa Kuhn: is a Northern Kentucky University graduate, where she earned her B.A in English with a focus in Psychology and is working towards her Master’s in English. Two of her critical analyses were published in Pentangle, the campus literary magazine. She also served as a Pentangle editor in 2021. In 2017 she was a contributor to an online humor journal, Sneer Campaign. Tarot readings are her current side-hustle. Her dream is to write cult classic novels and pop culture literary criticism while also becoming the next Stevie Nicks (or perhaps PJ Harvey). When she isn’t writing, Lisa enjoys intense, fandom debates about fictional characters and cosplaying said characters at conventions. She is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and currently lives in Kentucky, where she takes moonlit walks and pretends her neighbor’s cat is hers.

Sharon LaCour: was born in New Orleans and most of her writing takes place there and around the Gulf Coast. Her novel, Light in the Woods, unfolds within the rich Acadian culture of the Louisiana coast in the 1920s. Her stories can be found in the Xavier, Arkansas, Blue Lake and Sheepshead Reviews among others. Most of them are available on her website at www.sharonlacour.com. She lives with her husband, dog and cat and works as a piano teacher.

Kathryn Lauret: lives in Colorado with her snake, Cynthia B and two cats. She earned her bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Colorado State University. She currently works with children with special needs. This is her first nonfiction piece to be published.

Adrien Lee: was born in Anderlecht, Belgium. He has lived in both the United States and France. He was introduced to art by his father whom first showed him how to hold a pencil and would go on to show him woodworking techniques. He learned about ceramics in high schoo land focused on hand building and sculpture. After high school Adrien enlisted into the military as a combat engineer and would go onto deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan to search for IED’s. It was here he realized the military was not his career. After four years of service and an honorable discharge Adrien went on to pursue his dream of a career in the arts. Graduating from the American university of Paris in 2016. Adrien needed a vacation and went on to sail up and down the east coast of the United States of America. In 2021 Adrien became a member at red heat ceramic studio and regained the momentum for work on large scale sculpture.

YS Lee: was born in 2006 and now is a student at Dulwich College Seoul. She is an emerging artist based in Seoul. She is interested in expressing human emotions through drawings and paintings. She always tried to capture the moment of her daily life.

Jiaojiao Liu: graduated from the Department of Environmental Art and Design of Donghua University in 2002. In 2005, they graduated from East China University of Science and Technology with a master’s degree in design and art.In the same year, they joined Shanghai Art and Design Academy as a lecturer. They resigned in 2011. They’re now full-time painter. Their works have been exhibited many times and are in private collections. They have several series work, for example: Dream Space, Nights, Mark, and Stones.

Frankie Lord: (they/them) is a writer and performer out of Sacramento. Their work is dark yet absurd, as one would expect of a comedian turned horror writer. A large swath of their work can be found on the STAB podcast, which they’ve written for over thirty times, mostly credited as Melony Ford. Additionally, they are all over the internet @oopsanonbinary.

Christian Hanz Lozada: authored the poetry collection He’s a Color Until He’s Not (Moon Tide Press 2023) and co-authored the poetry book Leave with More Than You Came With (2019). He lives in San Pedro, CA and uses his MFA to teach his neighbors’ kids at L.A. Harbor College.

Adonis G. Macasieb: is an undergraduate senior studying creative writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Adonis pursues writing both out of a love for literature and as a way to interact with his many unpredictable interests (a consequence of growing up with three brothers and three sisters). Though originally from Catawba, North Carolina, he now resides in Wilmington as he seeks to conclude his undergraduate career.

Jacob Mack: is a writer from Macon, Georgia. He is an undergraduate at Mercer University majoring in Secondary Education in English with minors in Creative Writing and Religion. He enjoys writing in all its forms, from poetry to fiction and creative nonfiction. He is also part of a podcast called Pages of Discourse, where he discusses books with his partner, Evelyn Johnson. His work has also been published in The Dulcimer, Mercer’s literary magazine.

Eion Magana: My work is the crack in the door that separates the ordinary world from a world of mystery and horror. I channel the unknown to make stories and birth creatures. My artwork focuses on myth, folklore, speculative biology, and creatures in general. I use organic shapes, natural and contrasting colors to make these things come to life. I use traditional and digital approaches to flesh out my art and design its features and quirks. However, I use sculpture to actualize my work and to make it become tangible. The texture, form, weight, and size can be seen in real space. It then truly becomes alive.

Devin Mainville: graduated from Columbia College Chicago’s television writing program. She has written about TV and film for PopMatters, Screenrant and The Watercooler Journal. Her short screenplays have been included in several festivals and she have been published in The Brushfire Literary Journal, Write City Magazine and selected for the 2021 Rockford New Words Festival.

Brenna Manuel: childhood began with reading Dick, Jane and Sally and ended with watching riots in Detroit. She later received her B.F.A. in Painting, her M.F.A. in Sculpture and taught Humanities at Franklin Pierce University for sixteen years. She frequently writes stories and poems in New Hampshire now.

Margaret Marcum: lives in Delray Beach with her three cats, Angel Clare, Alice, and Adam. She recently graduated from the MFA program in creative writing at Florida Atlantic University. Her poems have appeared in Amethyst Review, NonBinary Review, Scapegoat Review, October Hill Magazine, Writing in a Woman’s Voice, and Children, Churches, and Daddies, among others. She was a finalist for the 2021 Rash Award in Poetry sponsored by Broad River Review.

Elizabeth Mason: is an Associate Professor at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, OH where she teaches composition, literature and creative writing and serves as faculty advisor for the student-operated literary magazine. When she’s not grading papers or in her office, you can usually find her with a pen in her hand, her nose in a book, cheering at a baseball game, or more often than not, doing the laundry.

Jill Nied: age seventeen, is a junior at Danville Area High School. She has been a bookworm since birth and is currently the managing editor of her school’s literary magazine. Outside of the literary world, Jill is an active member of her school’s marching band, soccer team, and drama club.

Kieran Orndorff: is an Assistant Project Manager with Century Kitchens. He’s currently pursuing a bachelors in business administration at Western Governors University. Kieran lives in Winchester Virginia with his wife and three dogs.

Jonathan Owens: is a new writer who lives in O’Fallon, Missouri. His first short story “The Bigfoot Race” was published by the Belmont Literary Journal. He can be found on Instagram at @ owens_jonathan2424.

Sarah Parmet: is a high school sophomore who lives off caffeine mints, adrenaline and very little sleep. When she’s not struggling in chemistry, she can be found writing, dancing and making music. Sarah, who now lives in LA, draws inspiration from a childhood spent in Hong Kong, and the academic challenges she faces (see the note about struggling in chemistry). She enjoys writing poetry, which has been published in The Weight Journal.

Donald Patten: is an artist from Belfast, Maine. He is currently a senior in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the University of Maine. As an artist, he produces oil paintings and graphic novels. His art has been exhibited in galleries across the Mid-Coast region of Maine.

Kendra Marie Pintor: (she/her/hers) is an emerging author from Southern California, with work appearing in Lunch Ticket Magazine’s “Amuse-Bouche,” series, Fast Flesh Literary Magazine, CRAFT Literary, and one coming soon to FOLIO Literary Journal May 2023. Kendra’s creative nonfiction piece “THE SLUAGH,” was recently nominated for Best American Science Fiction/Fantasy and Best Small Fiction of 2023. Kendra studied creative writing at the University of La Verne, and is also a graduate of the 2022 UMass Amherst Juniper Summer Writing Institute.

Aluu Prosper: Born and raised in Nigeria, West Africa, Prosper Aluu makes figurative and expressive paintings. His usually stylized figures show the use of the artistic devices of elongation and exaggeration, as well as his unique style of painting the iconic afro hairstyle. These are his ways of celebrating and negotiating African identity. Prosper grew up drawing comics and characters which enabled him to understand the human figure and expressions properly, after which he became a full time studio artist in 2017. In traditional African art visual codes, the exaggeration of the head in comparison to other parts of the body is a well-known visual strategy to establish the head as the seat of wisdom and intellectual prowess according to the beliefs in parts of Africa. Prosper plays with the size, forms and presentation of the head of the figures in his paintings as a visual pun to challenge what he considers a one-sided narrative about the size of the head in traditional African art. His style of painting rich afro hairstyle and golden crowns on the heads of his figures are meant to ennoble and dignify the subjects in his work.

Anshi Purohit: is a 15-year-old freshman from Maryland. She has published two books and is published in Cathartic Literary Magazine, the WEIGHT journal, and the Eleventh Hour anthology. She aspires to become a psychiatrist and is very passionate about mental health. You can find her cuddling with her dog, playing viola, or going on hikes when she’s not reading upside down or writing.

Niles Reddick: is author of a novel, two collections, and a novella. His work has been featured in over 500 publications including The Saturday Evening Post, PIF, New Reader Magazine, Forth Magazine, Citron Review, Nunum, and Vestal Review. He is a four time Pushcart, three time Best Micro nominee, and a nominee for Best Small Fictions. He works for the University of Memphis, and his newest flash collection If Not for You has just been published by Big Table Publishing.

Juheon Rhee: is a 17-year-old writer residing in Manila. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Indolent Books, 580 Split, Lunch Ticket, and Cleaver Magazine among others. She has also received nominations for her works, such as the Best of the Net Nomination.

Mark J. Richards: was born in Euclid but grew up in Toledo Ohio. Early on he has practiced and participated in numerous American realist and plein air studies. His education at Ohio State University and graduation with a B.A. degree in Studio Arts from the University of

California at Santa Barbara launched his Fine Art career.

Esther Sadoff: A teacher and writer from Columbus, Ohio. Her poems have been featured or are forthcoming in Little Patuxent Review, Jet Fuel Review, Cathexis Poetry Northwest, Pidgeonholes, Santa Clara Review, South Florida Poetry Journal, among others.

Susan Sanders: writes and teaches at SustainableSue.com where you can find more information about Sustainable Productivity and its three dimensions: Health and Fitness, Mental Well-being, and Environmental Surroundings. Susan’s Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology, MBA, Project Management Professional Certification, and Professional Organizer experience give her a unique foundation to help you create a life with more fulfillment and less need to escape.

Cecil Sayre: is a Visiting Lecturer for the English Department of Indiana University. His work has appeared in the Naugatuck River Review, Falling Star, Main Street Rag, The Cape Rock, and many other fine publications. He is always surrounded by cats and dogs.

Urja Shah: is a senior in high-school living in Australia, far away from her home in Vancouver. She aims to write enough about the female dilemma to leave an impact someday and loves curling up with a good book, especially those written by Sylvia Plath or Franz Kafka. Her favorite season is winter, and she detests leaving the house unless it’s to spend hours browsing through aisles in any bookstore.

Terril Shorb: has been a rancher and photo-journalist and teaches Sustainable Community Development at Prescott College where he founded that program. He and his wife, the poet, Yvette A. Schnoeker-Shorb, co-founded Native West Press. Terril’s photography and writing appears in The MacGuffin, Cargo Literary Magazine, bioStories, and Range Magazine, among others.

Tomislav Šilipetar: was born in Zagreb. In 2014 he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb- Painting Department. In 2015 he became a member of Croatian Society of Fine Artists. In addition to many group exhibitions, he had a number of solo exhibitions in Croatia as well as in the other countries. He is the winner of the rector’s award for excellence in 2013. The paintings are mostly made in acrylic, and the themes vary from solitude and isolation to the very existence of human existence in the society that condemns. It favors the simple colors, and the line that goes perfectly with the total preoccupation of getting out of the ‘box’ of academy restraints. In 2016 he gained the status of an independent artist.

Trinnity Sistrunk: is a senior undergraduate pursuing a bachelors in creative writing at University of Mary Washington. She specializes in horror, leaning toward science fiction and slasher sub genres in both her writing and her love of fiber arts. She has yet to be published for her writing.

Doug Smith: After training hospice workers in all fifty states and having published several nonfiction journal articles and books on care for the dying, Doug Smith is now converting his patient stories into works of fiction. He teaches at Northern Michigan University.

Josh Stein: (b. 1973, Hammonton, New Jersey; currently residing in Napa, California) is a lifelong multi-mode creative artist, musician, writer, professor with multiple advanced degrees from the University of California and the University of Liverpool, adult beverage maker, and current MFA candidate at School of Visual Arts in New York City. With formal training in calligraphy, graphic design, and color work; more than two decades as a researcher, teacher, and writer in cultural analysis in the vein of the Birmingham and Frankfurt Schools; and a decade and a half as a commercial artist and designer for multiple winery clients; he brings his influences of Pop art, Tattoo flash and lining techniques, and Abstract Surrealism and Expressionism to the extreme edge where graphic design and calligraphy meet the Platonic theory of forms.

Ezra Sun: is an 18-year-old poet and physicist from Windsor, CT and Flushing, NY. When he’s not writing poetry, you can find him playing the guitar with his band Inertia or going on long, aimless jogs.

Janine Tang: founded by Los Angeles based artist Janine Tang, utilizes a discipline towards sustainable fine arts: My unconventional approach envelops an eco-mindfulness based upon my childhood upbringing. With Enchanted, I explored using textured paste while repurposing and priming old canvases. The intention was to create a whimsical series to play on one another, yet allow each piece to convey its individual narratives. The use of pastel pigments of peach, lavender, pink, white add a feminine touch of dreamy fairy dust. IG: @jatelier9.

Jillian Thomas: is a 16 year old poet from the East Coast. She enjoys music, skiing, and photography. She writes about mental health, outer space, and sometimes Taylor Swift. She has been previously published in Footprints on Jupiter and The Weigh

Jack Thome: DMV based artist, LeRoyJacks; started his artistic professional life as a fully trained and licensed architect named Jack LeRoy Thome’. After numerous completed structures and a few unrealized designs he soon realized that he could not express his full artistic passion & other worldly vision working solely with the materials & constraints of the ‘built environment’. This, of course, inevitably lead to other forms of expression; some good some not; as seen in the continuously evolving technique, changes of media and style of presentation. even practiced as a serigraph (screen printing) instructor for the Virginia Beach Art Association in the mid 80’s. Current work involves cutouts & spray paint on paper which is over lain with cut and/or torn painted paper and completed with hand painting ( usually acrylic) markers and/or colored pencil. As he says “ the idea or image can be expressed in depth by color but better by layered color and actual separations adding texture as well as depth

Shu Tu: is an artist working in multiple disciplines. She has a BFA from Parsons School of Design, and studied fashion accessories at Cordwainers at London College of Fashion. In the past 25 years, Shu worked as a creative director, including as a creative leader in the advertising and beauty industry. She has now returned to her roots in creating personal work, communicating her story through many different mediums— traditional, digital, fabric, floral art, and metalsmith.

E. P. Tuazon: is a Filipino-American writer from Los Angeles. They have work in several publications and their newest novella called The Cussing Cat Clock was released by Hash Journal in 2022. They were chosen by ZZ Packet as the winner of the 2022 AWP Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction for an upcoming book with Red Hen Press (2024). They are currently a member of Advintage Press and The Blank Page Writing Club at the Open Book, Canyon Country. In their spare time, they like to go to FIlipino Seafood Markets to gossip with the crabs.

Laura Vitcova: is an emerging writer living in northern California. She is a multidisciplinary artist with a love for language. Her poetry has appeared in The Shore, Rue Scribe and Tangled Locks. In her spare time she travels, hikes, and looks through the lens of a camera. Twitter @lauravitcova Instagram @startlinglaura

Ronald Walker: An artist living in the Sacramento area of California. They work in a style which they call “Suburban Primitive.” Their style combines their interest in the origins and functions of art along with life in the suburbs. Their work has been shown in more than 50 solo exhibits over the years and they hold both a MFA as well as a MA in painting.

Benjamin Wang: is a sophomore at Dougherty Valley High School. My free time is usually split between golfing, writing non-fiction and news articles, and doing math. Attached please find my creative nonfiction piece entitled “Not My Name.” Thank you for taking the time to read my piece, I hope you enjoy it!

Hannah Weisz: (any pronouns) is a student at Golda Och Academy and the writer of You Are Cordially Invited To Elika Strauss’ Birthday Celebration. Outside of creative writing, Weisz enjoys musical theater, drag, and cosmetology. Weisz wrote short plays, poems, short stories, and other pieces at Columbia University’s Pre-College

Summer Program. Additionally, they won the Writing Award when entering Golda Och Academy. She is the Features Editor of the Scholastic-award-winning newspaper, the Flame, the Editor-in-Chief and marketing manager for the student-run literary and art magazine Nuts ‘n’ Raisins, and the Marketing Manager for the student poetry slam competition Battle of the Bards.

Cassie Wells: was born and raised in Valparaiso, Indiana, and now resides in Apex, North Carolina with her husband and 4 year old daughter. She has lived all over the country and traveled to many countries, but writes mostly about growing up with a pack of feral children in a small town USA, while navigating years of cystic acne and unfortunate haircuts. She enjoys comedy, taking in too many animals, and thrift stores.

Robert Wexelblatt: is a professor of humanities at Boston University’s College of General Studies. He has published ten collections of short stories; two books of essays; two short novels; three books of poems; stories, essays, and poems in a variety of journals, and a novel awarded the Indie Book Awards first prize for fiction.

JJ Williams-Presley: is a young African American artist who specializes in character design in the form of monsters. He likes to turn the things he sees in everyday life into monsters, such as something small like a shoe, to something big like a dog.

Robin Young: Based in Borrego Springs, California Robin EchoYoung works in mixed media focusing mostly on collage and contemporary art making. Using magazine clippings, masking tape, wallpaper, jewelry, etc allows her to develop deep into the whimsical and intuitive. Repurposing a variety of materials into lighthearted and sometimes disquieting messages, Robin’s artistic universe is strange, funky, and sometimes perverse.

Steve Zimmerman: story can be most favorably summarized as ‘quirky.’ Despite being raised in a family of teachers, he never enjoyed speaking in public. He double-majored in the lucrative fields of Anthropology and Creative Writing at Miami University. Immediately following, he moved to Seattle and immersed himself in the world of retail while also pursuing some semblance of a career in photography. His work has appeared in venues such as PhotoSpiva, Target Gallery and the Tacoma Art Museum, as well as being published in the Bellingham Review, 3Elements Literary Review and the Evansville Review, amongst others.

Aftermath

Robin Young