The Writers’ Journal is delighted to share the names and bios of the contributors to Volume 2: Doors. Kudos to all!
Contributors to Volume 2: Doors
Minahil Afzal is a student of English Literature with a deep passion for poetry. Her work delves into the art of being, exploring themes of existence, reflection, and the human experience. Through her writing, she seeks to convey meaningful messages that resonate with life’s deeper truths.
Wendy Agars’ interest in writing was recently rekindled after joining a passionate group of writers in a Memoir writing group, following retirement from a career in Nursing. She draws inspiration for memoir and short stories from her experiences as a Midwife and Flight Nurse in several states in Australia and overseas. She lives in Adelaide, South Australia with one spoilt calico cat.
Francis Allenby was born in Taranto, Italy in 1960. He got his High School Degree in 1979 and continued on to the University. He completed the two-year course, but did not finish his studies. He began working at the Taranto steel plant and for the Belleli Industries. He is passionate about drawing and creative writing and channels to communicate idea. He creates and manages blogs dedicated to social issues.
Duane Anderson currently lives in La Vista, NE. He has had poems published in Fine Lines, Cholla Needles, and several other publications. He is the author of “On the Corner of Walk and Don’t Walk,” “The Blood Drives: One Pint Down,” and “Conquer the Mountains,” and “Family Portraits.”
AMK Abdul Azis is a History College Instructor and prolific writer. With a Master’s, he explores identity and displacement in works published internationally since 2019, including recent contributions to “Echoes in the Wind” and “All Your Poems Magazine.” His diverse publications span anthologies and literary journals. At Northwestern Mindanao State College, he combines scholarship in ethnography, peace studies, and Philippine history with his poetic artistry, inspiring students.
Efraín Bartolomé was born in 1950 in Ocosingo, Chiapas, Mexico. He has published twenty-five books of verse, for which he has won numerous literary awards. His poems have appeared in nearly 200 anthologies and have been translated into twelve languages. English translations include Jaguar Eye, trans. Asa Zatz (Libros de Chiapas, 1999) and Ocosingo War Diary: Voices from Chiapas, trans. Kevin Brown (Calypso Editions, 2014).
Terri Watrous Berry has received awards for her short stories from venues as diverse as The Hemingway Days Festival and the Des Plaines/Park Ridge NOW Feminist Writers Competition. This past year her stories were included in Persimmon Tree, an anthology by Wising Up Press titled Out of Line, the University of Alabama for their Call Me series, and one forthcoming in Blood & Bourbon.
T.P. Bird, a retired industrial drafter/designer and minister, has published in a number of journals and is the author of five full collections of poetry; the latest are from Golden Antelope Press, A Loose Rendering, and from Wipf and Stock/Resource, Upstate Trilogy: A Celebration of Creation, Creativity, and the Examined Life. Bird lives with his wife, Sally, in Lexington, KY.
David Blumenfeld is a former philosophy professor who resumed writing stories and poems after a break of more than forty years. Since 2022, he has been nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize. One of his pieces received a “notable essay” mention in The Best American Essays 2023, another was featured in The Best American Haiku 2023, and ten of his works were finalists or received other high praise in literary magazines.
Teresa Brady, B.A, M.B.A., J.D., Honorary Doctor of Letters, is a born intuitive, attorney, former professor and business school dean. She is the author of Ignite Your Psychic Intuition, translated into six languages. She has authored dozens of journal articles, and she is the co-leader of the Harvard Writers’ Group of New York City.
Teresa Breeden (she/her) lives in the high desert at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains where she finds inspiration in both the serenity and the chaos of the spaces around her. Teresa has one novel, Falling by Tori Briar, has published over 60 poems in various journals and anthologies, and is a recipient of the NVArts Council Fellowship for literature. Her writing revolves around relationships: with people, the environment, and even inanimate objects.
B.A. Brittingham Born and raised in the grittiness of New York City, Brittingham spent a large segment of her adult years in the blue skies and humidity of South Florida. Today she resides along the magnificent (and sometimes tumultuous) shores of Lake Michigan.
Neil Brosnan is from Listowel, Ireland. His work appears in print and digital anthologies and magazines in Ireland, Britain, Europe, Australia, India, USA, Latin America, and Canada. A multiple Pushcart nominee, he has won The Bryan MacMahon, The Maurice Walsh, and Ireland’s Own awards, and has published two short story collections.
Jim Burns was born and raised in rural Indiana, and received degrees from both Indiana State University and Indiana University. He spent most of his working life as a librarian in Iowa and Florida, and turned to a long- held interest in writing after retiring, being fortunate enough to have placed a little over 30 pieces in journals, blogs, anthologies, etc. over the last five years. He lives with his wife and dog in Jacksonville, Florida.
Philip Byrne is a retired teacher living in Westchester, New York. Poems recently published have appeared in The Raven Review, Beach Chair Press, The Soliloquist, and are forthcoming in The Argyle Literary Magazine, and The Westchester Review. He captures snippets of memory and observation in poems that finds sustenance, rejuvenation, and joy in language.
Christopher Caci. It was never his ambition to be a writer. In 1997 he embarked on a sailing adventure that lasted five years. If it wasn’t for an accident he might still be at sea. His adventure was cut short in 2002, which is when he wrote his first novel. Since then, he’s amassed twenty novels and over two hundred short stories. Almost all of these are from real life experiences. His own.
Anna Camins is a writer based in Springfield, Illinois. She holds a PhD. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and literary outlets, including the Writers’ Journal and Sun Magazine. She contributes to several writing groups in Illinois, including Off-Campus Writers’ Workshop. She is an entrepreneur and owned a self-publishing house for new writers in India.
Vanessa Caraveo is an award-winning author, published poet, and artist whose literary work brings focus to various social issues that exist today. She has been published in Literature Today Journal, The Poet Magazine, Latinidad Magazine, Poetrybay, Anacua Literary Arts Journal, and in multiple anthologies throughout the years.
Carissa Cardenas studied at Valencia College and the University of Central Florida, earning a Bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Studies. Carissa’s dream to be published first came true with the notification that her work was selected for the Phoenix magazine’s 2019 edition, and her work has been published several times since. Her dream is to spread her passion for the beauty and power that words hold through teaching and raising her own children.
William Cass has published over 350 short stories and won writing contests at Terrain.org and The Examined Life Journal. He’s been nominated once for Best of the Net, twice for Best Small Fictions, six times for the Pushcart Prize, and had three short story collections released by Wising Up Press.
Carol Casey lives in Blyth, Ontario, Canada. Her work has been twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize and has appeared in Gastropoda, Santa Fe Literary Review, Dust Poetry, antilang, Sublunary Review, Popshot Quarterly, Blank Spaces and others, including a number of anthologies, most recently, Stones Beneath the Surface (Black Mallard Press). She has recently published her first collection, What Can Happen: family and other raptures of imperfection.
Laura Claridge has four mainstream-published biographies about: Tamara de Lempicka, Norman Rockwell, Emily Post, and Blanche Knopf. She has written for Wall Street Journal, Vogue, L.A. Times, and the Christian Science Monitor. Her work has appeared in Hektoen International and Volume 1 Brooklyn. A PhD, Dr. Claridge has been awarded an NEA grant and the J. Anthony Lukas Prize. She has appeared on the Today Show, NBC, CNN, and NPR. You can learn more at her website: lauraclaridge.com.
Emma Clohessy, an Irish poet, has publications in the Holly Bough, Poetry Ireland, The New Ulster, The Galway Review, The Echo, Spillwords and many other journals. Poems in anthologies, ‘Midleton Golden Miscellany’ 2024, 2019 and ‘Chasing Shadows’ 2022. Short listed by Saolta Arts 2024 and 2023, along with The Independent 2022. After taking a Creative Writing course in UCC, she’s been invited to read her poetry all over Ireland, at festivals and local radio stations.
Juliet Coe lives in Somerset, England. She has written a first novel based in Fiji, where she spent much of her childhood, and recently began working on her second novel. She belongs to a local writing group and has had some flash fiction and short stories published in anthologies.
Joe Cottonwood has repaired hundreds of houses to support his writing habit in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. His books of poetry are Son of a Poet, Foggy Dog, and Random Saints. His website is joecottonwood.com.
Samuel Crockford is a writer from Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, who is finding his voice through flash fiction and emotional storytelling. With no formal background in writing, Sam aims to write stories we can relate to—stories that make us feel something and, hopefully, inspire us to move forward.
Linda M. Crate (she/her) is a Pennsylvanian writer whose poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has twelve published chapbooks the latest being: Searching Stained Glass Windows For An Answer (Alien Buddha Publishing, December 2022).
Nicole Cremeans accidentally majored in accounting and is trying to make up for it through her writing. A native Texan, Colorado always called to her soul, and she finally listened several years ago. When not glaring at a manuscript that refuses to write itself, Nicole can be found rock climbing with her husband, playing with her kid and dogs, or discovering a new whiskey for her smoked old fashioneds.
J. Allen Cunningham is the 47-year-old author of the Trials of Andoria Inspired by many sources of mythology, literature, and roleplaying games, his passion is in characters, their experiences, and where they fit in their world be it fantasy or science fiction. He is from Southwest Virginia and lives with his amazing wife and pack of furbabies, and he wishes nothing but peace and for people to enjoy his stories.
Ed Davis’s 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. His work has appeared in journals such as Sky Island Journal, Write Launch, and Slippery Elm. He lives with his wife and three cats in the village of Yellow Springs, Ohio.
Ron DeChristoforo holds an MFA from Columbia University. He is a former college English teacher with a career in publishing and educational technology. Koehler Books will publish his novel, This Way Out, in July, 2025. Ron has written three novels based on screenplays, including Grease, The One and Only, and A Small Circle of Friends. Ron’s story, “Never Put Anything in Writing,” appeared in The Writers’ Journal, Volume 1, “Live and Learn” (December 2024.)
Judy DeCroce is a poet and professional storyteller. She has been widely published in print, online, and in anthologies. She has co-authored a book of poetry The Posture of Trees, and one of Prose/flash fiction, A Collection of Incidents with her husband, Antoni Ooto.
Bonnie Demerjian writes from her island home in the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, a place that nourishes her writing. Her poetry has appeared in Unbroken Journal, Alaska Women Speak, and Blue Heron Review, among others. She has also written four books on the area’s human and natural history. When not writing, she is gardening, hiking, boating, and watching the ever-changing ocean.
David Dobson was born in post-war London and left aged 18 to travel. He has since lived in a number of countries around the world and visited many more. He currently lives in the Welsh Valleys and has two daughters and three grandchildren in Alberta, Canada. He has an MA in Creative Writing from an American University and has published short fiction and poetry in anthologies on both sides of the Atlantic.
Sushma R. Doshi completed her graduation in History from Loreto College, Kolkata. She went on to acquire a PhD in International Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She dabbles in writing fiction and poetry and her work has been published by Contemporary Literary Review India, Everyday Fiction, Muse India and Literally Stories amongst others. Her short story “Magic” in Syncopation Literary Journal has been nominated for the Pushcart prize.
Ciel Downing’s short stories are in Timberline Review, Issued, Worker’s Write & more. She lives and writes in the coast range woods of Oregon with her dog, Freedom.
Bob Ellis, retired from financial services, has lived and worked on three continents and swum in all the oceans of the world. He currently writes quirky short fiction from Arizona. Recently publications include the Florida Writers Association Collections anthologies (a top story in 2023). Among the Headstones (an international anthology) named his story, “Dead Person Collection,” their top story in 2021. The stories “Silicon Witchcraft “and “Confessing” were featured in anthologies in December of 2024.
Stan Ellis is a 34-year experienced teacher of music in public education, with a book Hi-Hat Rhythms for The Modern Drummer published through Columbia Publications. Six of Stan’s original articles are published in Modern Drummer Magazine. Two short stories have been published: “Ghost Music” in Jerryjazzmusician.com and “Grand Clippers” in The Writer’s Journal. “Life Is Jazz” will soon appear in Jerryjazzmusician.com. Stan resides in Falmouth, MA.
Wil A. Emerson, a Reg. Nurse and full-time writer, lives in Raleigh, NC. Material from a family of ten urged her to write. After a break in Europe, she claimed the title ‘author’. Her first novel was published by Five Star. A love for mysteries led to short stories. Multiple stories now appear in national and international publications. Presently, a home is needed for her ‘Wally and Oliver’ series. Idle time is for painting: www.wilemerson.com.
Wilson F. Engel III, who resides in Ohio, USA, is a Distinguished Member of the International Society of Poets in the UK and a Best American Poet for the last twenty years. A member of Master Bards, his poems have won a Second Place (2024), a Third Place (2023), a Fifth Place (2014) and several Honorable Mentions (2018-2022) in international amateur poetry competitions. He was winner of numerous haiku contests sponsored by poetry.com. In 2006 he was awarded medal for his lifetime service to poetry education.
Sara Etgen-Baker began writing after her 25-year teaching career. Her memoir vignettes, personal narratives, and poems have been published in numerous anthologies and magazines. This year, she will release a poetry chapbook, Kaleidoscopic Verses, and a collection of memoir vignettes, Shoebox Stories.
Sean Ewing is a poet who aims to evoke emotions and reflections through vivid imagery and relatable themes. His work is inspired by the complex interplay between nature, human experiences, and the enduring spirit that drives us to overcome challenges.
Cynthia Gallaher is a Chicago-based poet. She is the author of four poetry collections, including Epicurean Ecstasy: More Poems About Food, Drink, Herbs and Spices, and three chapbooks, including Drenched. Her award-winning nonfiction/memoir/creativity guide is Frugal Poets’ Guide to Life: How to Live a Poetic Life, Even If You Aren’t a Poet. One of her poems will be sent on NASA’s manned flight to the south pole of the moon later this decade.
Stacy Goebel is a nanny from Minnesota who wants to write every genre she possibly can while sipping a beverage she’s never tried before and staring out a library window. Her published short stories are comedy (Who Wants It?), realism (Warming Up), and horror (To Know the Truth), and her unpitched novels are all over the place, but creativity will always be her home base.
Jack Granath is a librarian in Kansas. His poetry has appeared in Poetry East, New York Quarterly, and North American Review among other journals and magazines. He is a library director in Kansas.
John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in New World Writing, City Brink and Tenth Muse. Latest books, Subject Matters, Between Two Fires and Covert are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in Paterson Literary Review, Amazing Stories and Cantos.
Kelly Griffiths lives in the forgotten wilds of northwestern Ontario. When not elbow-deep in garden soil or madly scribbling in her journal, she can be found rambling around her farm’s fields and forests with her two pups in search of the perfect vista. Currently, Kelly is an MFA (Fiction) student at King’s University in Halifax. Her personal essays reflecting poignant moments with her daughters have appeared in the Globe & Mail. Visit: www.kellygrffiths.ca.
Vidya Hariharan is a manic reader, traveller and teacher. In her spare time, she wrestles with crossword puzzles. Some of her prose narratives and poems can be found on Setu, Poetry Superhighway, The Woodside Review, Glomag, Café Dissensus, Borderless, The Bamboo Hut and The Wise Owl. She also won the Editor’s Choice Award for her haiku from “Under the Basho” in 2024.
Mark Andrew Heathcote is an adult learning difficulties support worker. His poems have been published in journals, magazines, and anthologies online and in print. He is from Manchester and resides in the UK. Mark is the author of “In Perpetuity” and “Back on Earth,” two books of poems published by Creative Talents Unleashed.
Duane L. Herrmann holds degrees in Education and History. He is an award winning, internationally published historian, poet, and author. His published includes sixty-plus in print and online in anthologies, over one hundred other publications, a sci fi novel, nine collections of poetry, two collections of short stories, a local history, stories for children, and more, despite an abusive childhood embellished with dyslexia, ADHD; now compounded by cyclothymia, an anxiety disorder, and PTSD.
Jane Hertenstein is the author of over 100 published stories both macro and micro: fiction, creative nonfiction, and blurred genre. Her work has received a Pushcart nomination and been featured in the New York Times. She can be found blogging at https://memoirouswrite.blogspot.com/
J.M. Hussey Jr. is a writer from New Hampshire who has traveled too little and thinks too much. He has some framed papers from some universities collecting dust somewhere less fulfilling than just writing. Also, he’s a cat person.
Doug Jacquier writes from the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia. His works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry have been published in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and India. See his blogs at: https://sixcrookedhighways.com/
Sandra Carol Jarvis was born near Cape Cod, Massachusetts and now lives in rural New Hampshire. A lifelong naturalist and novice writer, she held careers in Montessori Teaching and Environmental Business Administration. Her family includes two children, five grandchildren, her six siblings, and a few especially true friends. “Behind and Beyond” was written specifically for submission to The Writer’s Journal as a tribute to her late Mom, Dad, and beloved husband.
Sunila Javaid is pursuing Bachelors (Hons) in English Literature. Though new to the world of poetry, Sunila examines everything from an introspective lens. Her poems reflect a deeper curiosity about life. Through her writing, she seeks to unravel emotions, question realities, and find beauty in contradictions.
Martha Ellen Johnson lives alone in an old Victorian house on a hill on the Oregon coast. Retired social worker MFA. Poems and prose published in various journals and online forums.
Eleanor Jones is a Maryland resident and public relations executive. Her quirky memoirs and evocative poetry have been recognized internationally in publications including The Writers’ Journal Volume 1, Sun Magazine, Decolonial Passage, Instant Noodles and several Maryland Writers’ Association journals. Eleanor’s nonfiction has appeared in Essence, People and The Washington Post.
Kenneth M. Kapp was a Professor of Mathematics, a ceramicist, a welder, an IBMer, and yoga teacher. He lives with his wife in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, writing late at night in his man-cave. He enjoys chamber music and mysteries. Please visit www.kmkbooks.com. His stories have appeared in more than eighty publications world-wide including The Saturday Evening Post and October Hill Magazine.
Susan Keillor is an editor and author in Oho. She has three cats that like to take turns helping her “write” by lying on her keyboard several times a day. She also loves to bake and craft and especially enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.
Marianne Kennedy’s passion for writing began as a child when she wrote and illustrated a children’s book and chronicled her family’s activities in a daily newspaper. The movie “Melinda’s World,” based on stories from her novel Faces of Exile was produced by DawnTreader Films in 2004 and featured Zac Efron in his first movie role. Recently, while pursuing writing in retirement, she has had three short stories published in 2024.
Kashish Khan is pursuing English Literature in Pakistan. Her writing reflects a lighthearted yet meaningful perspective. A happy soul at heart, she believes in finding meaning through happiness and remains steadfast regardless of the ups and downs of life. Deeply connected to the universe’s playful rhythm, she sees love as the ultimate punchline a divine comedy that binds us all.
Craig Kirchner loves storytelling. He has been nominated for the Pushcart three times, and has a book of poetry, Roomful of Navels. He’s been published in Chiron Review, The Main Street Rag, One Art, Glacial Hill, Writer’s Journal, Abraxas and dozens of other journals.
Rebecca Klassen is co-editor of The Phare and a Best of the Net 2025 nominee from Gloucestershire. She has won the London Independent Story Prize and was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, Alpine Fellowship, Oxford Flash, and Laurie Lee Prize. Her work has featured in Mslexia, Fictive Dream, Toronto Journal, Shooter, The Brussels Review, Amphibian, Roi Faineant Press, Cranked Anvil, Ginosko, Bar Bar, and has been performed at numerous literature festivals and on BBC Radio.
Irma Kurti is an Albanian poet, writer, lyricist, journalist, and translator and has been writing since she was a child. She is a naturalized Italian and lives in Bergamo, Italy. Irma Kurti has published more than 100 works, including books of poetry, fiction and translations. She is one of the most translated and published Albanian poets. Her books have been translated and published in 20 countries.
Allan Lake is a migrant poet from Allover, Canada who now lives in Allover, Australia. Coincidence. He has published poems in 20 countries. His latest chapbook of poems, entitled My Photos of Sicily, was published by Ginninderra Press. It contains no photos, only poems.
Kathleen Langham is a first-time writer, an Australian retired midwife with a vivid imagination and a love of storytelling. Family history studies at the University of Tasmania, a participant in an online writing course and a current memoir writing group have inspired her passion for writing. The experiences documented in ‘Secrets Hidden in Words’ are based on facts which started her obsession with writing a memoir.
Valerie Lawson’s work has been published in Café Review, About Place Journal, and others. Lawson participated in the Writing the Land project, connecting protected spaces with poets. Lawson was co-editor of Off the Coast literary journal and edited the Maine Literary Award winning 3 Nations Anthology: Native, Canadian & New England Writers published by Resolute Bear Press.
Joan Leotta plays with words on page and stage. Her poems, articles, essays, and short stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Yellow Mama, The Ekphrastic Journal, anti-heroin chic, One Art, Writer’s Journal, Gargoyle, and other publications. She is also a story performer presenting folklore and personal tales on food, family, mythology, and strong women and has a one-woman show featuring Louisa May Alcott, Civil War Volunteer.
Ruth A. Letwin is a retired purchasing agent. She has written stories for family and friends for years. One of her short stories was printed in the Guardian Angels section of the Women’s World magazine in 2023. She enjoys retirement volunteering, reading, crocheting, belonging to various groups of interest and spending time with family and friends.
Barry Lewis, the author is a Missouri native and is often found in wooded lots gleaning nature’s wonders. He shares his home with his lovely bride of 50 years. His poetry has or will appear in HotPoet Equinox, Literature Today, Amethyst Review, Poetry Breakfast, The Writers’ Journal, Grist and elsewhere.
Lynne Lieberman was born under the Liberty Bell and now dwells among the saguaros. Her work has previously appeared in The Writers’ Journal. She is writing an urban fantasy novel and a children’s fantasy series about Jewish holidays. Lather, Rinse, Repeat is dedicated to the memory of Dan, a kind and generous soul who couldn’t find the next open door.
LindaAnn LoSchiavo is a native New Yorker, poet, writer and dramatist. In 2024 she had three poetry books published in three different countries; winning multiple awards. Two titles are forthcoming in 2025: Cancer Courts My Mother in which “Arrival” will appear, and Vampire Verses illustrated by Giulia Massarin. Artist Statement: “A segment of my formal verse functions as dispatches from the Bar-do—that liminal space I escape to with my imaginative alter-egos and my gothic predilections.”
Keith Ludden is a native of Nebraska. He lived in Maine for twenty years. Ludden worked as a journalist for Nebraska Public Radio, and as an arts administrator for the Maine Arts Commission. His story, “The Man Who Had Nothing More to Say,” was published in Little Fish, an online magazine. He also has been published in DoubleSpeak, The Writer’s Journal, PentaCat, Paradox and Ariel Chart.
Vanaja Malathy, Winner of Spring Poetry, 25, by Academy of Heart and Mind, was interviewed in Author Talks of The Literary Yard. The Writers Journal, Dec 24, published her short fiction and poetry. Centre of Asia Pacific Initiatives ( CAPI ) published her short story and poetry in Anonymous Was A Woman and TMYS Review 2023, via Amazon and Barnes & Noble. She published “Navigating Nostalgia” and “Aditya Hrudayam, feel the pulse of cosmos,” for Gen Z.
Phil Madden lives in Wales. His main work is with the engraver Paul Kershaw, with whom he has created six limited edition fine art books, several prize-winning.
Pam Martin-Lawrence lives on a small English island with a collection of ‘book boyfriends’ and a long-suffering partner. While writing her second novel she writes poetry and short fiction for relaxation, some of which have appeared in publications including Passionfruit Review, Macrame Lit. J. Flights e-Journal, Coin-Operated Zines, a MockingOwl Roost anthology, Micromance and Bunker Squirrel magazine. Her novella The Tale of a Dragon was published by Alien Buddha Press in September 2024.
Bob McAfee is a retired software consultant who lives with his wife near Boston. He has written nine books of poetry, mostly on Love, Aging, and the Natural World. For the last several years he has hosted a Wednesday night Zoom poetry workshop. Since 2019, he has had more than 80 poems selected by over thirty different publications. See his website for links to his published poetry: www.bobmcafee.com.
Deschela McClenton is a passionate, creative writer who expresses herself through poetry and stories. Her writing journey is just beginning, and she’s excited to hone her skills and find her narrative voice.
K.A. McGowan lives 49 feet above sea level near Lafayette, LA. His first full-length poetry collection Pangaea was published in 2022 by Kelsay Books *80Jackie Meekums-Hales
Mona Mehas (she/her) writes poetry and prose from the perspective of a retired disabled teacher in Indiana USA. A Pushcart and Best New Poets nominee, her work has appeared in multiple journals, anthologies, and online. Her poetry books, Questions I Didn’t Know I’d Asked, Hand-Me-Downs, Self-Centered, Calling to Shore, and My Colorful Heart are available online. Mona is Editor-in-Chief of Cicada Song Press and President of the Poetry Society of Indiana.
“Madcap Mary” Mendoza is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The South Sounder, Discover Magazine, The Seattle-based Journal news papers, in Chronicle, and online. Her humor column “Udder Nonsense” was a monthly feature in Country Pleasures magazine for many years. Mendoza, the recipient of two humor-writing awards, is also the author of five humorous books, and her work was featured in two Not Your Mother’s Book, series by The Publishing Syndicate.
Jenny Morelli is a NJ high school English teacher who lives with her husband, two cats, and myriad yard pets. She seeks inspiration and memories in everyone and everything and loves to spin mundane, everyday things into fantastically weird tales. She’s published in several print and online literary magazines including Spillwords, Red Rose Thorns, Scars tv, and Bottlecap Press for two poetry chapbooks.
Fatima Nadeem, a passionate writer from Lahore, Pakistan, is pursuing her Bachelor’s in English Literature. She draws inspiration from everyday moments, turning them into powerful stories. Writing is not just a hobby for her—it’s a calling. Whether it’s poetry, fiction, or essays, she pours her heart into every word. Her creativity and commitment mark her as a rising literary voice. For Fatima, writing is how she understands life and connects deeply with others through storytelling.
JoAnneh Nagler is the author of Stay with Me, Wisconsin (Coyote Point Press), Naked Marriage (Skyhorse Publishing); How to Be an Artist Without Losing Your Mind, Your Shirt, or Your Creative Compass (W.W. Norton); and The Debt-Free Spending Plan (HarperCollins), two on Amazon Top-100 titles. Her books have been featured in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, The Huffington Press, Medium.com as well as many journals including New Haven Review, The Brussels Review, Persephone, and Glimmer Train.
Penny Nolte from Montpelier, Vermont, is an author, artist, and educator creating gentle narratives of family and place. After a decades-long break from storytelling, her new work is beginning to appear in literary magazines. Among them The Avalon Literary Review, Moonflake Press, Domesticated Primate, and Little Old Lady Comedy. With work upcoming in Loud Coffee Press.
Berenice Norris is a South African-born Australian writer residing in Adelaide, South Australia. She believes that everyone has a unique story to tell, especially how challenges are faced and overcome. A retired teacher, Berenice is involved in facilitating a memoir writing group and volunteering at an art gallery. Her interests include historical fiction, memoir and poetry, in which she discusses challenges and disappointments, but also the joys and positive situations we face.
Judy DeCroce is a poet and professional storyteller. She has been widely published in print, online, and in anthologies. She has co-authored a book of poetry The Posture of Trees, and one of Prose/flash fiction, A Collection of Incidents with her husband, Antoni Ooto.
Richard Oyama’s work has appeared in Premonitions: The Kaya Anthology of New Asian North American Poetry, The Nuyorasian Anthology, Breaking Silence, Dissident Song, A Gift of Tongues, About Place, Pirene’s Fountain and Buddhist Poetry Review. He has a M.A. in English: Creative Writing from San Francisco State University*90Sandor Paulson
Bernard Pearson’s work appears in over one hundred publications worldwide, including; Aesthetica Magazine, The Edinburgh Review, and Crossways. In 2017 a selection of his poetry ‘In Free Fall’ was published by Leaf by Leaf Press. In 2019 he won second prize in the Aurora Prize for Writing for his poem Manor Farm.
James Piatt is a nonagenarian and retired professor. He has published five collections of poetry; The Silent Pond, Ancient Rhythms, LIGHT, Solace Between the Lines, and Serenity and over 1850 individual poems, five novels, and forty short stories in hundreds of national and international literary publications. He is a twice The Best of Net nominee and four times a Pushcart nominee. He earned his doctorate from BYU, and his BS and MA from California State Polytechnic University, SLO.
Jack Powers is the author of two poetry collections: Everybody’s Vaguely Familiar (2018) and Still Love (2023). His poems have appeared in The Southern Review, Salamander and The Cortland Review. His fiction has appeared in Inkwell, Flash Fiction Magazine and Flash Point Science.
Linette Rabsatt is a Virgin Islands poet who began writing in 1996. You can find her work in her Kindle book, “Be Inspired: Poems by Linette Rabsatt,” in Pulse Poetry Magazine, on her blog, Words of Ribbon, and on the Micromance Magazine website. She was nominated for a 2024 National Spoken Words Award for Best International Artist and won the 2024 Read Yuh Ting TOO Virtual Caribbean Poetry Contest.
Danielle Riccardi lives in Connecticut. Her poems appear in the Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Last Leaves Magazine, Pure Slush Lifespan Series: Loss, MER, and is forthcoming in Literary Mama. She is especially fond of the weeping willow tree, and can be found occasionally on Instagram at: @poetryunderthewillowtree.
Kristin Roedell graduated from Whitman College (1984), and the University of Washington Law School (1988). Her poetry has appeared in over seventy journals, magazines and anthologies, including The Journal of the American Medical Association, Crab Creek Review, Switched on Gutenberg, and Ginosko. She is the author of two chapbooks: Girls with Gardenias, Flutter Press, Night Circus, Legal Studies Forum, and a full-length collection: Downriver, Aldrich Press. Visit her website at: kristinroedell.wikidot.com.
Gabriel Rosenstock is a poet, haikuist, essayist, tankaist, short story writer, children’s author, novelist and in the words of Hugh MacDiarmid, ‘a champion of forlorn causes’. Recent books with Kashmiri artist Masood Hussain include Boatman! take these songs from me (Manipal Universal Press, India), Love Letter to Kashmir (Cross-Cultural Communications, New York) and the children’s books The Hen/ An Chearc (Lulu) and The Path (Cross-Cultural Communications).
Kelly Boyer Sagert from Lorain, Ohio is the scriptwriter of the Emmy Award-nominated Trail Magic: The Grandma Gatewood Story that appeared on PBS. She wrote the script and served as an associate producer for Victoria Woodhull: Shattering Glass Ceilings that appeared at the Cleveland International Film Festival. Her newest books are Lorain County Family Recipes: History and Tradition from Pierogis to Plum Dumplings and Wells Waite Miller and Me: An 8th OVI Civil War Biography.
Adrian Sam is an abstract artist and furniture up cycler. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, she now resides in South Florida. Having a streak for all things creative, she has written various poems that were inspired by her observations and thoughts on situations in the lives of the anonymous.
Trish Saunders’s poems are drawn from her own experiences or imagined from current events. She has poems and fiction published or forthcoming in Chiron Review, Right Hand Pointing, Pacifica Poetry Review, Off The Coast, Eunoia Review, and The American Journal of Poetry. Twice nominated for Best of the Net. She lives in Seattle.
Mark Scheel served with the American Red Cross, taught at Emporia State University, was a library information specialist and helped edit Kansas City Voices magazine. His book A Backward View was awarded the 1998 J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award from the Kansas Authors Club. More recent works include the blog collection The Pebble: Life, Love, Politics and Geezer Wisdom, a fiction collection And Eve Said Yes, poetry collection Star Chaser, the novel The Potter’s Wheel.
Hibah Shabkhez is a writer and photographer from Lahore, Pakistan. Her work has previously appeared in Harpur Palate, Stirring, Forevermore, Empyrean Literary Magazine, Good River Review, and a number of other literary magazines. Studying life, languages, and literature from a comparative perspective across linguistic and cultural boundaries holds a particular fascination for her.
Susan Shea’s poetry has been accepted by Chiron Review, ONE ART, Folio Literary Journal, Radix Magazine, Ekstasis, Across the Margin, RavensPerch, Umbrella Factory Magazine, Triggerfish Critical Review, and others. Recently, one of her poems was nominated for Best of the Net, and three were nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Faye Silton is a daughter of Holocaust survivors, a retired educator, a book lover, needlework enthusiast, mother of seven and grandmother of 31. She is a writer of fiction and non-fiction pieces for newspapers and magazines and the author of Of Heroes, Hooks and Heirlooms—an MG novel, originally the winner of the Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award Competition. Flash fiction and non-fiction are a current passion. She lives in upstate New York.
Nelly Shulman’s prose has been published in numerous literary magazines and anthologies and she has authored three collections of short stories. She is a member of The Society of Authors (UK).
Cynthia Steele, translator, is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at the University of Washington, Seattle. Her translations include Inés Arredondo, Underground Rivers (Nebraska, 1996), José Emilio Pacheco, City of Memory (with David Lauer, City Lights, 2001), and Jaime Huenún Villa, Chronicles of New Hope (Santiago: LOM, 2024). They have also appeared in numerous journals, including Agni, Chicago Review, TriQuarterly, Gulf Coast, Southern Review, Washington Square Review, and Michigan Quarterly Review.
Meredith Stephens is an applied linguist from South Australia. Her recent work has appeared in The Muse, Borderless, The Font – A Literary Journal for Language Teachers, Syncopation Literary Review, Blue Mountain Review, Lit Shark Magazine and MockingOwl Roost blog. In 2024 her short story Safari featured as the Editor’s Choice for the June edition of All Your Stories.
Linda Susan writes poetry, essays and short stories. She published A Soul Grown Bold, an illustrated poetry book about healing from a relationship. Her essays appear in Tales2Inspire, the Jade Collection, and The Writers Journal: Live and Learn. She lives in South Florida and enjoys writing, volunteering, travel, meditation and dancing. Linda is a certified meditation instructor and a Reiki master. She can be reached at www.LindaSusan.com.
John L. Swainston A retired Finance Executive, College Professor, and Army Veteran.started writing poetry at age 76, to cope with feelings of isolation during COVID. He learned the craft by taking Zoom classes in poetry and writing at Turning Point, a cancer support organization. His first book, Memory Box, was published in 2002. He has had over fifty pomes published: a poem in Veterans’ Voices – received Editor’s Choice Award.
Frank Talaber lives in Chilliwack, BC, Canada, is a traditional and self-published author who has been called a natural storyteller who writes like his soul is on fire and the pencil is his voice screaming. Literature written beyond the realms of genre he is known to grab readers kicking, screaming, laughing or crying and drag them into his novels. He has over eighty articles/short stories, sixty blog posts, over ten interviews and fifteen novels written or published.
Nima Tharchen is a teacher in Bhutan, he holds a master’s degree in arts and literature. He is a recipient of His Majesty’s Award of Academic Excellence. He is passionate about all things poetry, as a young teen he discovered poetry in the works of Frost and Tagore. It was a moment of rousing and rediscovery. Today, he still has poetry molding the young minds to take up pottery and savour the lessons it has to give.
Michael Theroux writes incessantly from Northern California. His career has spanned field botanist, environmental health specialist, green energy developer and resource recovery web site editor. He is shifting from the scientific and technical environmental field to placing his cache of creative writing, challenging in my seventh decade, but much more satisfying. Some of my work may be found in The Acedian Review, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Wild Word, Fixator Press and here, in The Writer’s Journal.
Myrtle Thomas lives in Indiana and has been published in several poetry journals. She is retired and that allows time for her writing. She has been a member of ALLPoetry.com for several years under the Penn name Bluebird74, and Myrtle has self-published four books of her poetry.
Rosanne Trost is a retired research oncology nurse. After retirement, she discovered her passion for creative writing. Her work has appeared in numerous print and online publications, including Chicken Soup for the Soul, Commuter Lit, Blink Ink, Months To Years and Ravens Perch.
Douglas Twells. Following his service in the Peace Corps in India, he completed his MA in South Asian languages and civilizations at the University of Chicago. He later returned to India for further study in Sanskrit and Hindi at Benares Hindu University. Retired from a career in university administration, Twells continues to write poetry and study ancient Indian literature. He lives with his wife in St. Louis.
Plamen Vasilev is an award-winning freelance writer/poet with published works online and in various US magazines. He has been writing since he was 10 years old. He has won numerous writing contests and has awards from different parts of the world. He a creative person with big dreams and loves to help people. He has Certificates on Creative Writing from the UK Writing Centre, from the Open University in Scotland, Oxford Study Centre and from Harvard University.
Lois Perch Villemaire of Annapolis, MD, is the author of My Eight Greats (2023) and a chapbook Eyes at the Edge of the Woods (Bottlecap Press 2024). Her work has appeared in Spillwords Press, The Ekphrastic Review, Third Street Review, and elsewhere. Her poetry and memoir have been included in anthologies including I Am My Father’s Daughter. She is a contributing writer to AARP The Ethel. Lois, a Pushcart nominee, researches family history, volunteers at the public library, and propagates African violets.
Greg Watson’s work has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. He is the author of eleven collections of poetry, most recently Stars Unseen, published by Holy Cow! Press. He is also co-editor of The Road by Heart: Poems of Fatherhood, published by Nodin Press.
Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. She has been nominated for Pushcarts, Best of the Net and a Rhysling Award.
Amanda Williams, a writer and photographer, residing in Tennessee, finds inspiration for her creative pursuits in nature’s serene beauty. *121
Peter W. Yaremko is a former journalist, corporate executive, and president of a corporate communications agency. He’s the author of four non-fiction books and a novel, writes poetry that appears in numerous literary journals, and publishes a weekly blog. In conjunction with the American Cancer Society, he teaches patients and caregivers to write poetry to better manage the trauma of a cancer diagnosis. He also leads day-long retreats exploring healing poetry.