Joanne Esser is the author of the poetry collections "All We Can Do Is Name Them," (Fernwood Press, October 2024), "Humming At The Dinner Table," and the chapbook "I Have Always Wanted Lightning." Her new book of poems, "Nothing Is Stationary," will be released by Holy Cow! Press in June 2026. Recent work appears in Great Lakes Review, Humana Obscura, I-70 Review, Dunes Review, The Main Street Rag, and Orca, among other journals. She earned an MFA from Hamline University.

Fred Shaw is a Visiting Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Pittsburgh and was recently named to the Advisory Board for the International Poetry Forum. His first collection, Scraping Away was published by CavanKerry Press in 2020. A second book is in the works.

J.D. Isip’s collections include Reluctant Prophets (Moon Tide Press, 2025), Kissing the Wound (Moon Tide Press, 2023), and Pocketing Feathers (Sadie Girl Press, 2015). He is the editor for the upcoming anthology, American Pop Culture Almanac: 1776-2026 (Moon Tide Press, 2026). J.D. teaches in South Texas where he lives with his dogs, Ivy and Bucky.

Christina M. Rau, The Yoga Poet, leads Meditate, Move, & Create workshops for various organizations worldwide. Her collections include How We Make Amends and the Elgin Award-winning Liberating The Astronauts. She moderates the Women’s Poetry Listserv and has served as Poet in Residence for Oceanside Library (NY) since 2020. Her poetry airs on Destinies radio show (WUSB) and appears in various literary journals like fillingStation and The Disappointed Housewife.

Laurie King Billman is a poet and essayist. Her written work draws on her life experiences with diverse people and places, as a licensed professional counselor in schools, group homes, and on Native reservations. She’s traveled extensively, from Alaska to Peru, from New Mexico to Kenya. Her poetry has been published in numerous journals and anthologies including McGuffin, Forge, and San Pedro River Review. Originally from Colorado, she now lives in North Carolina.

David Rosenthal is a public school teacher in Berkeley, California. His poems and translations have appeared in Rattle, HAD, Rust & Moth, Birmingham Poetry Review, Eclectica Magazine, Teachers & Writers Magazine, Measure, and many other journals. He has been a Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award Finalist and a Pushcart Prize Nominee. His collection, The Wild Geography of Misplaced Things, was published by White Violet Press (Kelsay Books).

Tess Kelly’s work has appeared in Sweet Lit, River Teeth, Passages North, Cleaver Magazine, and BULL, among other publications. She lives, writes, and teaches in the public schools in Portland, Oregon.

Violeta Garcia-Mendoza is a Spanish-American poet, teacher, and suburban wildlife photographer. Her poetry has appeared in numerous literary journals, and in 2022, she received a grant from the Sustainable Arts Foundation. Violeta lives with her husband, teenage children, and pack of rescue dogs on a small certified wildlife habitat in western Pennsylvania. SONGS FOR THE LAND-BOUND (June Road Press, 2024) is her first book.

Deirdre Faughey’s essays have been published in Identity Theory and Mr. Beller's Neighborhood; her academic writing has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the English Journal, and her book, Restorative Literacy Practices: Cultivating Community in the Secondary ELA Classroom, came out in 2023 from Teachers College Press.

Matt Dube teaches creative writing and American lit at a small mid-Missouri university, and reads submissions for JackLeg Press. His poems have appeared in Pictura, Lenticular Lit, Last Stanza, and elsewhere.

Dimitri Reyes is a Boricua multidisciplinary artist, content creator, and educator from Newark, New Jersey. He has been named one of The Best New Latinx Authors of 2023 by LatinoStories.com for his most recent book, Papi Pichón (Get Fresh Books, 2023) which was a finalist for the Omnidawn chapbook contest and the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize. His other books include Every First and Fifteenth, the winner of the Digging Press 2020 Chapbook Award, and the poetry journal Shadow Wo

Emily M. Goldsmith (they/them) is a queer Cajun-Louisiana Creole poet originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They are a Ph.D. candidate in Creative Writing at the University of Southern Mississippi. Emily received their MFA in Poetry from the University of Kentucky in 2021. A Pushcart-nominated poet, their creative work can be found in or forthcoming from Zaum, The Penn Review, LaCreole Journal, Vagabond City Lit, Witch Craft Mag, and elsewhere.

Zalykha María Mokim is an educator and writer. She has worked in English as a New Language teacher, librarian and instructional leader in New York City public schools. The daughter of immigrants from Afghanistan and El Salvador, she has dedicated her career to working with multilingual and immigrant communities with a focus on social justice and equity. She lives in Los Jackson Heights with all the love in the world. She is a poet and posts on Instagram as @zalykhamaria.

Kalina is "mostly" a poet, but her fiction and creative nonfiction have also been published. She is a high school English teacher responsible for many courses, including creative writing. Kalina has previously been published in Nebo, A Literary Journal, Free Spirit, The Ignatian, FLARE: The Flagler Review, the Cackling Kettle, ONE ART: A Journal of Poetry, and RedRoseThorns. She is forthcoming in The Font.

Nathan Fako (he/they) is a poet from Salt Lake City, Utah. He currently lives in Bowling Green as an MFA candidate in poetry at BGSU. He has work forthcoming in West Trade Review. @nfako.bsky.social

Donna Vorreyer is the author of Unrivered (forthcoming, 2025), To Everything There Is (2020), Every Love Story is an Apocalypse Story (2016) and A House of Many Windows (2013), all from Sundress Publications. Her poetry, fiction, and essay work have appeared in Ploughshares, Cherry Tree, Poet Lore, Salamander, Harpur Palate, Booth, and elsewhere. She lives and creates in the Chicago area where she hosts the monthly online reading series A Hundred Pitchers of Honey.

Mary Lou Buschi (she/her) has 3 full length poetry collections. Her 3rd book, BLUE PHYSICS, 2024 (Lily Poetry Review) was a finalist for Contemporary Poetry in The International Book Awards. Her poems have appeared in literary journals such as Ploughshares, Glacier, Willow Springs, The Laurel Review and Jet Fuel Review.

Abby E. Murray (they/them) is the editor of Collateral, a literary journal concerned with the impact of violent conflict and military service beyond the combat zone. Their book, Hail and Farewell, won the Perugia Press Poetry Prize and was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award. Abby served as the 2019-2021 poet laureate for the city of Tacoma, Washington, and currently teaches rhetoric in military strategy to Army War College fellows at the University of Washington.

Ashley Kirkland writes in Ohio where she lives with her husband and sons. Her work can be found in Cordella Press, Boats Against the Current, The Citron Review, Naugatuck River Review, HAD, Major7thMagazine, among others. Her chapbook, BRUISED MOTHER, is available from Boats Against the Current. She is a poetry editor for 3Elements Literary Review. You can find her at lashleykirkland.bsky.social and lashleykirklandwriter on Instagram.

Christina Linsin is a poet and teacher in Virginia. Her work examines connections with nature, complexities of mental illness, and difficulties creating meaningful connections with others amid life’s obstacles. She currently serves as the Western Region Vice President of the Poetry Society of Virginia, and her poems have been published in Still: The Journal, Stone Circle Review, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, Whale Road Review, The Mid-Atlantic Review, and others.