OPENING LETTERS > FROM THE EDITORS
Sky Island Journal hails from the borderlands of southwestern New Mexico, where the desert meets the mountains and the indigenous meets the exotic. This is a land of shapeshifters, a place where the old gods find sanctuary—running the ridgelines and flying low between the stars. The fabric between worlds is thin here, the veil between dimensions translucent and porous. Time and space are fluid, suggestable. This is a place where you can feel—in the vibration of your blood—the brightness of all our warm origins and the darkness of all our cool returns.
Our ranch is the source of our positive energy, our rugged independence, and our relentless tenacity. But winter—even in all its bare beauty—can exact a toll. We often find ourselves exhausted from chasing long shadows on short days. It is easy, at times, to consider losing hope.
Whenever that happens, we turn to the writing of our contributors, and we are instantly reminded of just how resilient language can make the human animal. Language gives us the power to resurrect our past, define our present, and create our future. Language is the sword and compass of the human imagination. It allows us to escape the grasp of these difficult winter days, but it also allows us to embrace them and live them more fully.
The collective work of our contributors provides us with a portal through which we may step. Choosing to do so allows us to live beyond the limits of our corporeal experience. Choosing to do so reveals the depth of humanity’s potential. Choosing to do so gives us hope, again. This journal continually reminds us that hope favors the brave, and our contributors in Issue 30 are about as fearless as they come.
As an independent international literary journal, we keep a fire burning for readers and writers who may be discouraged by this life or doubting their path. We keep it burning for those who, through literature, want to break free from their matrix programming and feel things they’ve never felt before—see things from different perspectives and be completely transported by the hearts and minds of others.
By keeping the fire burning for others, we are also able to provide some warmth and light for ourselves, and it will always be enough to sustain and guide us to the next issue. Path and purpose. Relentless resilience. Endless evolution. Reading and responding to every submission—then being able to share the work of writers from around the world, with readers from around the world—are privileges beyond the telling.
We believe in the power of reading and writing, and we believe that art can make a difference in people’s lives. Our constellation of over 150,000 readers in 150 countries, and our family of over 1,000 published writers hailing from 54 countries, believe in the healing warmth of our shared humanity—even, and especially, in the cold, dark hours of winter. That’s what sustains us. That’s what propels us forward into the unknown, unstoppable.
We’ve elected to leave the "scroll-through” experience and the pop-up ads to other literary platforms. By design, the writing in Sky Island Journal opens as a protected Word document for an authentic, focused, and immersive experience that encourages a close, intimate, distraction-free reading of the work. We want your experience with the work of our contributors to be singular—just as it would be on the printed page, with crisp white paper between your collective fingertips. That said, several poems in this issue with unusually long line lengths will open as JPEGs so fidelity to the author’s original line and stanza breaks can be maintained on all mobile devices around the world.
Without advertising to distract from and cheapen the literary experience, you can fully engage with the worlds that our contributors have so carefully crafted for you. Without subscriptions and bullshit paywalls, you are welcome to read and enjoy whenever you like, wherever you like, regardless of your means. We believe in removing the barriers between readers and access to high quality literature, especially in regions of the world that have traditionally been underserved by English language journals or completely ignored by the literary establishment. As a truly independent publication, we are not beholden to the politics or agendas of institutions that provide funding conditional on content; we are not beholden to advertisers who coerce editorial decisions by threatening to withhold ad revenue, and we are neither beholden to the groupthink of crowd funding nor the fickle patronage of subscribers.
The result? Freedom.
And in a space where we have the freedom to be anything, we choose to be kind.
Why? Tom Hardy said it best:
It takes grace to remain kind in cruel situations. That’s the bloody truth, isn’t it? Because kindness mate, it ain’t weak. It’s the quiet rule of strength. When the world shows its teeth, snarling and ready to bite, it’s easy to grow claws in return. But grace? Grace stands there, battered and bruised, and still chooses to extend an open hand. That’s the real fight, isn’t it? To stay soft—to stay human—when life tries to harden you into something less. Grace, my friend, is the armor of the brave, worn not for glory but for the soul.
Regardless of the cruelty that happens in the world, Sky Island Journal will always choose to respond with grace. We will always choose to champion art and artists—all art and artists. We will always choose to fight censorship—in all its forms. We will always choose freedom, even and especially when it is uncomfortable, because it allows us to grow together in a world where we can no longer afford to grow apart.
So, in the spirit of kindness and grace, and on behalf of all our contributors, welcome to Sky Island Journal. Of the 1,669 individual pieces that we received from around the world for Issue 30, we found these 53 to be the most powerful. Enjoy!
Respectfully,
Jason
A few weeks ago, I attended a final residency in completion of my Doctor of Education degree, which included a conference-style afternoon of presentations from my fellow classmates. Our prompt was to present the ways we changed through the course of our doctoral studies, key findings of our respective dissertations, and our goals for the future.
For the past two years, I found support and partnership from my colleagues in the program, making connections and engaging in the learning community cultivated by our instructors. As a fully-online program, this in-person residency was the first time I had met many of my teachers and classmates outside of a Zoom screen. We were able to shake hands, give hugs, and share smiles during the celebration.
One classmate I was tremendously excited to meet was my friend, Derrick, who had flown in from Georgia the night before. I gave Derrick a big hug, and later that afternoon I listened intently to his presentation. As he spoke about his journey, he mentioned the five most influential books he had ever read. Of the five, I had also read four of them, and the fifth one surprised me. The book is titled Unscripted, a memoir from Ernie Johnson, Jr.
For those of you who do not know, Ernie Johnson is most well-known in popular culture as a sports broadcaster and anchor of the Emmy-Award winning television show, Inside the NBA, where he sits alongside professional basketball icons Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O'Neal. Much of the charm of their basketball program lies in the unscripted nature of their banter throughout the NBA basketball season, and has enjoyed 17 years of airtime in the United States and all over the world.
My respect for Derrick as a thinker, an educational leader, and as a man of character propelled me to pick up a copy of Johnson's book right away. If it was in Derrick's top five books of all-time, I had to know what resided within its pages. I intended for this experience to be a casual read, one of the first times I dove into a book without a highlighter in my hand in over two years. To my surprise, it only took the first few pages for me to realize that the insights and pithy lines from Ernie Johnson would necessitate the same fluorescent yellows, greens, and oranges that marked up my Ed.D. readings, because I was all in.
In the first chapter, Johnson recalls a story from his youth. At about the age of 8, his baseball team was in a tight matchup, and a line-drive hit by the opposing team bounced over the outfield wall, which, according to the rules, allowed two runs to score, and stopped play. While the coach huddled up with his infielders, pitcher, and catcher, two of the outfielders hopped over the fence, seemingly to retrieve the baseball. What the group would soon learn was that the missing outfielders were filling their mouths with as many blackberries as possible from a bush a few feet away. Coaches, parents, and umpires got a good laugh at the time, unexpectedly seeing that such innocence and sweetness drove the kids to disregard the game in exchange for a quick little treat. That story got so many miles over the years that it became what Johnson would coin a "blackberry moment."
By Johnson's definition, a blackberry moment is:
a). an unpredictable moment that makes life extraordinary
b). an unforeseen moment that catches you off guard and marks you forever
c). a moment so sweet that you savor the taste for a lifetime
Upon reflection, I've been fortunate enough to experience my fair share of blackberry moments as well. One of the most unexpected was the day Jason called me in the spring of 2017 asking if I was interested in starting a literary journal. That day, the seed from which Sky Island Journal would sprout was planted in my mind and heart. I could have never imagined that such an unforeseen moment would lead to the tremendous ride we have been on together for nearly 8 years, with many more to come.
Since the very beginning, we knew that we wanted to publish accomplished, established authors -- side-by-side -- with fresh, emerging voices. We intentionally decided to read blindly, which means that we do not know who the poet or author of a piece is while we go through the multiple stages of deep reading and deliberation as editors to determine which pieces we will select for publication. Finally, we do not set content or theme preferences or stylistic parameters that might force a writer's art to conform to some preconceived aesthetic. In other words we don't claim to know what "won’t fit" before we even try it on. We encourage potential contributors to read our previous issues, and simply send us their best work. By keeping the process open and unscripted, we've allowed for numerous blackberry moments to shape our experience as editors and as human beings. We are often floored by the unpredictable moments that come from being moved by some of the finest literature found throughout the world.
And let me tell you, Issue 30 is gushing with blackberry moments just waiting for you!
As you explore this issue, and all of our issues, you will see the author, their bio, and then an orange button that can transport you to the world that has been created within the lines of the poem, flash fiction, or creative nonfiction piece on the other side. Purposefully, we do not offer summaries, teasers, or key words. We just hope you'll trust us enough to dive into the bramble, where you can be moved intellectually and emotionally by works of literature ripe for consumption, and you never know, you may find just the right ones that remind you how life is extraordinary, catch you off guard, and maybe even mark you forever.
Thank you for joining us -- we're so happy you're here and hope you'll visit time and time again.
Respectfully,
Jeff
Alina Kalontarov > pOETRY > nEW yORK, usa
Alina Kalontarov is a teacher of English literature in New York City. Poetry and photography have always been a way for her to rummage through the unspoken and unseen spaces in the world. Her work has been published in various anthologies, including the forthcoming Words Apart: A Globe of Poetry.
Angela Townsend > Creative Nonfiction > Pennsylvania, USA
Angela Townsend is in her 18th year of writing for a cat sanctuary, where she bears witness to mercy for all beings. She is a four-time Pushcart Prize nominee and seven-time Best of the Net nominee. Her work appears in Pleiades, SmokeLong Quarterly, and West Trade Review, among others. She graduated from Princeton Seminary and Vassar College, has lived with Type 1 diabetes for 34 years, and laughs with her poet mother every morning. She loves life affectionately.
Brenna Walch > Flash Fiction > Virginia, USA
Brenna Walch is a poet and fiction author with a BA in English from Christopher Newport University. Currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing Fiction at West Virginia Wesleyan College, she aims to teach creative writing and literary theory in the future. Her academic work has been published in CNU's The Cupola, and her poetry has been published in Oddball Magazine. Brenna is currently working on a duology, a magical realism flash fiction collection, a one-act play, and many other creative pieces.
Celia Meade > Poetry > Canada + New York, USA
Celia Meade holds an MFA in writing from Sarah Lawrence College (2023), an MFA in painting from the University of Calgary (98) and a B.Sc. In Biology (86) from Queen’s University. She lives on Salt Spring Island in Canada and Bronxville, New York. Her debut poetry collection Anatomy of the World (Wipf and Stock 2024) is on Amazon. She won second place in the 2022 Raven chapbook contest for her chapbook The Ones You Love. Her poetry, nonfiction essays and stories have appeared in dozens of magazines. Meade’s work explores the relationship of humans amidst our fellow animals and each other. To quote poet Gregory Orr, she “accesses joy” through describing her life experience in poetry. She also enjoys encounters with wild animals, walking in natural settings, and painting.
Charles Peters > Poetry > North Carolina, USA
Charles Peters is a writer living in North Carolina. His work has appeared in Litro Magazine, Westchester Review, Broad River Review, and other places.
Christian Knoeller > Poetry > Indiana, USA
Christian Knoeller is Professor Emeritus of English at Purdue University. His first collection of poems, Completing the Circle from Buttonwood Press, was awarded the Millennium Prize. A Past President of the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature, he also received their Gwendolyn Brooks Prize for Poetry. His most recent book, Reimagining Environmental History was published by the University of Nevada Press (2017). Current projects included a sequel on environmental history, Revisiting Wild America, and a collection of poems entitled Time Signatures.
Claire Coenen > Poetry > Tennessee, USA
Claire Coenen, LMSW, is a writer and teacher living in Nashville, Tennessee. After many years of graduate school and working as a psychotherapist, Claire now devotes her time to writing and to sharing the practices that nourish her most: collage, yoga, and expressive writing. Throughout her life, Claire has experienced the creative process as a path toward healing, peace, and wonder. Her work has appeared in several publications including The Banyan Review, Poetry Breakfast, and Salvation South. Her first book of poems, The Beautiful Keeps Breathing (Kelsay Books), was published in June 2024.
Dagne Forrest > Poetry > Canada
Dagne Forrest is a Canadian poet. In 2021 she was included in Canada’s Poem in Your Pocket campaign. Her work has appeared in december magazine, Rust + Moth, Lake Effect, SWWIM Every Day, Prism International, Whale Road Review, The New Quarterly, Sky Island Journal, and elsewhere. She belongs to Painted Bride Quarterly’s senior editorial and podcast teams. Her debut chapbook will be published by Baseline Press in 2025.
Dorothy-Mae A. Eldemire > Poetry > The Bahamas + Georgia, USA
Dorothy-Mae A. Eldemire (28) is a queer writer from Nassau, The Bahamas. She currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia where she currently works as a technical writer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Eckerd College and is currently working on her first novel. Also an avid music listener and critic, her album reviews were acknowledged by Florida’s Sunshine State Journalism Awards for three consecutive years.
Ed Davis > Flash Fiction > Ohio, USA
Ed Davis has immersed himself in writing and contemplative practices since retiring from college teaching. Time of the Light, a poetry collection, was released by Main Street Rag Press in 2013. His novel The Psalms of Israel Jones (West Virginia University Press 2014) won the Hackney Award for an unpublished novel in 2010. Many of his stories, essays and poems have appeared in anthologies and journals such as Write Launch, The Plenitudes, Slippery Elm, Hawaii Pacific Review, and Bacopa Literary Review. He lives with his wife and three cats in the village of Yellow Springs, Ohio.
Elda Oreto > Flash Fiction > Italy + Sweden
Elda Oreto is a writer and art historian from Italy, now living in Sweden. She holds a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and a Master’s in Art History from Federico II University of Naples. Her essays and art criticism have appeared in publications such as Anniversary Magazine, Xbit Magazine, Segno, and Flash Art. In her fiction, she likes to explore themes like desire, betrayal, and the complexities of human relationships, often with a darker twist. She’s the author of the suspense novella The Secret Lodge and also Bright Nightmares, a collection of short stories that reimagines classic horror in unexpected ways. Elda has also had the chance to refine her writing at Futurescapes Writers’ Workshop and Yale’s Summer Writers’ Workshop.
Elly Katz > Poetry > New York, USA
At 27, verging towards a doctorate at Harvard, Elly Katz went for a mundane procedure to stabilize her neck. Somehow, she survived what doctors surmised was unsurvivable: a brainstem stroke secondary to a physician’s needle misplacement. In the wake of the tragedy, she discovered the power of dictation and the bounty of metaphor. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in the Stardust Review, the Sacramento Literary Review, the Amsterdam Review, and many others. Her first collection of creative nonfiction, From Scientist to Stroke Survivor: Life Redacted is forthcoming from Lived Places Publishing in their Disability Studies Collection (2025). Her first collection of poetry, Instructions for Selling-Off Grief, is forthcoming from Kelsay Books (2025).
Eric Fisher Stone > Poetry > Oklahoma, USA
Eric Fisher Stone is a poet, composition instructor, and PhD student at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. His publications include three full-length collections of poetry: The Providence of Grass from Chatter House Press, Animal Joy from WordTech Editions, and Bear Lexicon from Clare Songbirds Publishing House.
Erika Wright > Poetry > Washington, USA
Erika Wright (she/her) has been writing, reading, and performing poetry since 1996. She has had a few careers, from data entry specialist for online restaurants to attorney to, most recently, head of school at a small, independent learning community. Throughout, she continued to write and has performed her poetry in coffee shops, dive bars, and local bookstores. She met her husband at a weekly open mic at Sunrise Coffee in Las Vegas. She currently lives in Snohomish, Washington, with him and their three children.
Erin Brady > Poetry > United Kingdom
Erin Brady is a writer and translator based in the UK. She was shortlisted for the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize and in the Writers' and Artists' Short Story Competition in 2023, and she completed her MA in Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham in 2024. Her flash fiction and poetry has been published in places such as Acropolis Journal, Amaryllis Poetry, Mslexia, Sky Island Journal, and Propel Magazine.
Gary Lark > Poetry > Oregon, USA
Gary Lark’s most recent collections are “Coming Down the Mountain,” "Easter Creek," and "Daybreak on the Water," His work has appeared in Beloit Poetry Journal, Catamaran, Rattle, and Sky Island Journal. Gary and his wife Dorothy live in Oregon's Rogue Valley.
Hari B Parisi > Poetry > Oregon, USA
Hari B Parisi’s (formerly Hari Bhajan Khalsa) poems have been published in numerous journals, most recently in Atlas and Alice, Paper Dragon, and Poetry South. She is the author of three volumes of poetry, including, She Speaks to the Birds at Night While They Sleep, winner of the 2020 Tebot Bach Clockwise Chapbook Contest. She has recently moved from the city to reside in her hometown, in the heart of Oregon.
Isaac Rankin > Poetry > North Carolina, USA
Isaac Rankin lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he works as a financial consultant. His poems, creative nonfiction, and short stories have appeared in the Indianapolis Review, Potomac Review, William & Mary Review, Sky Island Journal, and other places. His first collection of poetry, Wonderings, was published by Main Street Rag Publishing Company in 2022.
Jeri Griffith > Creative Nonfiction > Vermont, USA
Jeri Griffith is both writer and artist. She regularly publishes essays and short stories in literary quarterlies. Many of these can be accessed through her website and read online. Her artwork—paintings, drawings, and films—can also be viewed on her website. Jeri lives and works in Brattleboro, Vermont with her longtime collaborator and husband Jonathan, her best friend Nancy, and their two beagles, Molly and Ruby.
Ken Craft > Poetry > Maine, USA
Ken Craft's poetry has appeared in The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor, The Pedestal, Spillway, and Pushcart Prize XLIX: Best of the Small Presses (2025 Edition). He is the author of three poetry collections, most recently Reincarnation & Other Stimulants, and maintains a blog on reading, writing, and poetry.
Ken Holland > Poetry > New York, USA
Ken Holland has had work widely published in such journals as Rattle, Tulane Review, Southwest Review, and Tar River Poetry. He was awarded first place in the 2022 New Ohio Review poetry contest and was a finalist in the 2024 Concrete Wolf chapbook competition and the 2022 Lascaux Prize in Poetry. His book length manuscript, Summer of the Gods, was a semi-finalist in the 2022 Able Muse book competition as well as Word Work’s 2022 Washington Prize. He’s been nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize and lives in the mid-Hudson Valley of New York.
Maisie Kirn > Poetry > Montana, USA
Maisie Kirn is a sometimes-writer born and raised in Livingston, Montana. Her writing is concerned with her changing home state, its people, and wilderness. A graduate of Harvard University, she received the Le Baron Briggs English Prize and Harvard Monthly Prize for her thesis, Driving Wise River, a collection of non-fiction essays spanning her girlhood in the West.
Marilyn Duarte > Flash Fiction > Canada
Marilyn Duarte is a Luso-Canadian writer whose writing has appeared in Longleaf Review, Emerge Literary Journal, The Tishman Review, and elsewhere. Her work has also been nominated for Best of the Net. Marilyn holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Tampa's low-residency program.
Maya Klauber > Poetry > New York, USA
Maya Klauber is a poet and artist living in New York City. Since childhood, she has coped with chronic health issues—an often-isolating experience that has informed and deepened her writing. Through her poetry, Maya aims to offer readers the same light that others have given her in times of need. Most recently, her work has been published or are forthcoming in Bellevue Literary Review, Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, The Awakenings Review, The Sunlight Press, tiny wren lit, among others.
Michael K. Norris > Flash Fiction > California, USA
Michael K. Norris has spent much of his adult life engaging in communications work in the government, nonprofit and private sectors. He is perhaps best known as a senior analyst and editor at Simba Information, where he made regular presentations on book industry trends at the London Book Fair and Book Expo America and was frequently quoted in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today. Since then, he has written speeches, annual reports, newsletters and other content for a variety of organizations. He travels extensively and has ridden a bicycle in twenty countries. Michael lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, artist Suma CM.
Mike Bove > Poetry > Maine, USA
Mike Bove is the author of four books of poetry, most recently EYE (Spuyten Duyvil, 2023). His poems have appeared in Rattle, Southern Humanities Review, Tar River Poetry, Rust & Moth, and many others. He serves as a 2024 Writer-in-Residence at Acadia National Park and is Associate Editor for Hole in the Head Review. Mike lives with his family in Portland, Maine where he was born and raised.
Morrow Dowdle > Poetry > North Carolina, USA
Morrow Dowdle has poetry featured in or forthcoming from New York Quarterly, Baltimore Review, Pedestal Magazine, and I-70 Review, among other publications. They have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, the Best of the Net, and was a finalist for the 2024 Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize. They edit poetry for Sunspot Literary Journal and run a performance series called “Weave & Spin” which features historically underrepresented voices. In addition to writing, they are an amateur herbalist and a student of the mystical and mysterious. They live in Durham, North Carolina.
Naomi Stenberg > Poetry > Washington, USA
Naomi Stenberg lives in Seattle, Washington where she often dresses her dog in sweaters to protect her from the cold and damp. She is queer and disabled. Her writing is often inspired by her dreams. Her poetry has been selected twice by 4Culture, a King County arts and culture agency. One of her poems won 2nd Place in the Write on the Sound poetry contest. Her poems have also appeared or are forthcoming in Palms Turned Up, Sea Salt Chronicles, and Sky Island Journal. She was the co-editor of Other Voices, an anthology for writers with mental illnesses. Her chapbooks include, On the Wire and I Named my Dog Seroquel.
Page Jenkins > Flash Fiction > South Carolina, USA
Page Jenkins is a young writer from South Carolina beginning her journey. After publishing an anthology highlighting local talent in her hometown, Painting the Palmetto, Jenkins fell in love with storytelling and the creative process. Her works are inspired by her mission to better understand mental health and the struggles seen in daily life. Jenkins believes discovery is infinite, and in this she finds peace. She is self-published as well as seen in a few literary magazines, such as the Wild Nonprofit.
Paris Rosemont > Poetry > Australia
Paris Rosemont is an Asian-Australian poet and author of the poetry collection Banana Girl (WestWords, 2023), shortlisted for the Association for the Study of Australian Literature’s 2024 Mary Gilmore Award for a first volume of poetry. Paris’s poetry has won a swathe of awards both locally and internationally, including first place in the Hammond House Publishing Origins Poetry Prize 2023 (UK) and shortlisted for the International Proverse Poetry Prize 2023 (Hong Kong). She takes delight in bringing her poetry to life through multi-disciplinary modes of expression, including theatrical performance.
Peihe Feng > Poetry > China
Peihe Feng is a student poet from Guangzhou, China. She has published a prose collection in Chinese while her English poems are published or forthcoming in Lavender Review, Thimble, and The Write Launch, among others. In her free time, she gardens on her family's balcony with her cat and edits her school's literary magazine.
Richard Spilman > Poetry > West Virginia, USA
Richard Spilman is the author of two collections of poetry: In the Night Speaking and Suspension. He has also published two books of short stories, including the New York Times Notable Book: Hot Fudge. He grew up in Normal, Illinois, and now lives with his novelist wife, Joan, and two grandsons in Hurricane, West Virginia.
Sandrine Letellier > Poetry > Canada
Sandrine Letellier finds inspiration in human nature, music and visual arts. She spends a great amount of time observing, pondering, and wandering around her city. From Montreal, she self-published her first collection, Aftermath, in 2022 and her second collection, Surges, in 2024. Her work has been published in Firewords Magazine, Sky Island Journal, Aurum Journal, Wild Roof Journal, Free Verse Revolution, Querencia Press, The Poetry Cove, The Poetry Lighthouse, and more.
Sara McAulay > Poetry > California, USA
Sara McAulay is the author of three novels and numerous works of short fiction (Black Warrior Review, California Quarterly, Third Coast, ZYZZYVA, among others). She received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and New Jersey Arts Council for prose. Recently, she has turned to poetry and flash, with work appearing or forthcoming in The Atlanta Journal, Bending Genres, The Brooklyn Review, Hole in the Head Review, Sand Hills, and others; she has also been nominated for Best of the Net.
Svetlana Litvinchuk > Poetry > Missouri, USA
Svetlana Litvinchuk graduated from University of New Mexico. She is the author of a debut poetry chapbook, Only a Season (Bottlecap Features, 2024). Her work has been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes and Best of the Net. Her poetry has appeared in Sky Island Journal, Apple Valley Review, Jet Fuel Review, About Place, Plant-Human Quarterly, ONE ART, and elsewhere. Originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, she now lives in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She is the reviews editor with ONLY POEMS. She plants a garden everywhere she goes.
Tracie Adams > Flash Fiction > Virginia, USA
Tracie Adams is a writer and teacher in rural Virginia. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in BULL, Does It Have Pockets, Cleaver Magazine, Bodega, Anodyne, Discretionary Love, The Write Launch, Bright Flash Literary Review, and others.
Travis Flatt > Flash Fiction > Tennessee, USA
Travis Flatt (he/him) is an epileptic teacher and actor living in Cookeville, Tennessee. His stories appear in Fractured Lit, Gone Lawn, Flash Frog, New Flash Fiction Review, HAD, JMWW, The Disappointed Housewife, and other places. He enjoys theater, dogs, and theatrical dogs, often with his wife and son.
Uchechukwu Onyedikam > Poetry > Nigeria
Uchechukwu Onyedikam is a Nigerian Poet/Photographer based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is a BOTN and a Pushcart Prize nominee. His poetry has appeared in Amsterdam Quarterly, Brittle Paper, Poetic Africa, Poetry Catalog, The Hooghly Review, Unlikely Stories Mark V, and Spillwords, among other publications. He and Christina Chin have co-written and published two poetry chapbooks. He's also a contributor at Mad Swirl.