MERRILY O’ER THE DEEP BLUE SEA:
ALTI
Nicholas Alti, originally from rural Michigan, is a bartender in Atlanta. He is interested in horror, arcana, silliness, and surrealism. More of Nicholas’s recent poetry is in or forthcoming in Vagabond City, TIMBER, Whiskey Tit, Uppagus, and Star*Line.
BAILEY
Helen Bailey retired from the practice of law after over 35 years. She now spends time catching up on all the things she neglected during those years, even basics, like cooking and baking. She has poems published in several editions of Legal Studies Forum which showcases the literary works of attorneys.
BARILE
Stephen Barile, a Fresno, California native, educated in the public schools, and attended Fresno City College, Fresno Pacific University, and California State University, Fresno. He studied poetry writing with famed poet, Maude Meehan, at University of California, Santa Cruz. He was a long-time member of the Fresno Poet’s Association. Barile taught writing and literature at Madera Community College, and CSU Fresno. He also taught poetry writing at branches of the Fresno County Library. He lives in Fresno. His poems have been published extensively, including in: Featured Poets, Santa Clara Review, Writer’s Club, Kathmandu Tribune, Tower Poetry, As It Ought To Be Magazine, Rue Scribe,Open: Journal of Arts & Letters, Metafore Magazine, From Sac Literary Journal, North Dakota Quarterly, The Heartland Review, Rio Grande Review, The Broad River Review, The San Joaquin Review, Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal, Pharos. Barile can be contacted at stephenbarile5100@comcast.net.
BECKET
Diana Becket began to write poetry when she retired from teaching composition courses. Her poems have been published in Muddy River Poetry Review, Moss Puppy, and the anthology, I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing. She lives in Ohio.
BERN
Alan Bern is a retired children’s librarian who received an MA in Creative Writing from Boston University where he studied with poet Anne Sexton and classicist Donald Carne-Ross. Bern is a Pushcart nominee and has published three books of poetry and a hybrid fictionalized memoir, IN THE PACE OF THE PATH, UnCollected Press, 2023. Bern has a chapbook, because lack, forthcoming from back room poetry in June 2024, backroompoetry.co.uk. Recent awards include: Longlist, The Bedford Competition (2023); Winner, Saw Palm Poetry Contest (2022). Recent/upcoming writing and photo work include: Third Street Review, EcoTheo Review, Thanatos, The Hyacinth Review, DarkWinter, Feral, Porridge Magazine, and Mercurius. Bern performs with dancer/choreographer Lucinda Weaver as PACES: dance & poetry fit to the space, is a published/exhibited photographer, and runs a fine press/publisher with artist/printer Robert Woods, Lines & Faces: linesandfaces.com.
BRAND
Gabriella Brand’s work has appeared in Comstock Review, Echoes, Citron Review, Room Magazine (Canada) and Shiuli (India). She is a Pushcart Prize nominee in both fiction and poetry. An active outdoorsperson, Gabriella teaches in the OLLI program at the University of Connecticut. Find her.
CASS
William Cass has published over 350 short stories in a variety of literary magazines such as december, Briar Cliff Review, and Zone 3. Winner of writing contests at Terrain.org and The Examined Life Journal, he’s also been nominated once for Best of the Net, twice for Best Small Fictions, and six times for the Pushcart Prize. He’s had three short story collections published by Wising Up Press.
CLEMENTS
Pam Clements lives in Albany, New York. Her poetry and nonfiction have appeared in several literary magazines, including Kalliope, The Palo Alto Review, The Baltimore Review, and others. She has published one volume of poetry, Earth Science (Troy Book Makers) and is currently completing a memoir about five years she spent teaching in Charleston, South Carolina.
DAUGOVISH
Oleg Daugovish has been researching the delicate lives of California strawberries, after completion of Ph.D. in 2001. He rushes to tell growers about his discoveries and documents them in peer-reviewed journals. Aside from writing about plants, Daugovish completed a 61,000-word manuscript and fifteen ten-minute stories he’d love to share.
EHRENPREIS
Eli Daniel Ehrenpreis started life as a musician and became a physician, educator, writer, and inventor. He stopped seeing patients in 2016 after a major surgery. He has published many scientific papers and six books on medical topics. His poetry and short stories have appeared in Reapparition, Medicine and Meaning, Bright Flash, Of the Book, Hektoen International, Star 82 Review and other literary magazines. His creative work often focuses on academia, medicine, psychology, and the natural world. He lives with his wife Ana, and a small dog, in Skokie, Illinois.
FITZGERALD
Jane H. Fitzgerald is a retired history teacher who loves to write poetry and stories. Her four books, including, Notes From the Undaunted, are on Amazon. Jane’s work has been featured in, Instant Noodles, Green Ink Poetry, Bright Flash Literary Review, Isele Quarterly Magazine, Still Point Arts Quarterly, Little Old Lady Comedy, and more. In addition to staying up all night writing, Jane enjoys being outside by the water, designing with colors, taking photographs, and being with family and friends. Jane lives in sunny Florida, USA. Find her.
FLEMING
Robert Fleming (b. 1963) is a visual poet and digital artist from Lewes, DE. He follows his mother as a visual artist and grandfather as a poet. He is a founding editor of Old Scratch Press and editor of the digital magazine Instant Noodles. His books are White Noir, an Amazon best seller, and Con-Way in 4 in 1, #4. He is an award-winning writer and artist, wins: 2022 San Gabriel Valley California-broadside, 2024 and 2021 Best of Mad Swirl poetry; nominations: 2025 best of short fiction; 2023 Blood Rag Poet, Delaware Press: poem: 3rd place and 2 poetry honorable mentions (HM) and 1 graphic design HM, and 2 Pushcart/Best of the Net. Follow Robert @ https://www.facebook.com/robert.fleming.5030 and https://artleagueofoceancity.org/artists/robert-fleming/. Follow Robert. See his new book White Noir.
FULCHER
R. David Fulcher is an author of horror, science fiction, fantasy, and poetry. Major literary influences include H.P. Lovecraft, Dean Koontz, Edgar Allen Poe, Fritz Lieber, and Stephen King. Fulcher’s first novel, a historical drama set in World War II, Trains to Nowhere, and his second novel, a collection of fantasy and science fiction short stories, Blood Spiders and Dark Moon, are both available from authorhouse.com and Amazon. David’s work has appeared in numerous small press publications including Lovecraft’s Mystery Magazine, Black Satellite, The Martian Wave, Burning Sky, Shadowlands, Twilight Showcase, Heliocentric Net, Gateways, Weird Times, Freaky Frights and the anthologies Dimensions and Silken Ropes. David’s work can also be found in the DPP collection Halloween Party 2019. A passion for the written word has also inspired David to edit and publish the literary magazine, Samsara, which has showcased writers and poets for over a decade. Fulcher resides in Ashburn, Virginia, with his wife Lisa, and their rambunctious cats. Fulcher’s short story collection, The Pumpkin King and Other Tales of Terror, is also availabe Stateside on Kindle Vella where the first episodes are free! Fulcher’s new horror collection Asteriod 6 is now available. Find him.
GILLIAM
Gabby Gilliam lives in the DC metro area with her husband and son. Her poetry has most recently appeared in One Art, Plant-Human Quarterly, The Ekphrastic Review, Pure Slush,Deep Overstock, Vermillion, MacQueen’s Quinterly, and Anti-Heroin Chic. Gilliams’s book, CHASING A CURE in her DRUMMING FOR THE DEAD series is available now.
GREENWOOD
Aspen Greenwood is a writer who regards using their words as a form of activism. As a swimming teacher and aquatics tutor, Greenwood combines their activism with physical and mental fitness.
HALL
Thierry D. Hall is a Poet from Southern California, a war-veteran and engineer. Most of his time is spent sitting in a circle, in the heart of an Orange.
HOSTOVSKY
Paul Hostovsky’s poems have won a Pushcart Prize, two Best of the Net Awards, the FutureCycle Poetry Book Prize, and have been featured on Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, The Writer’s Almanac, and the Best American Poetry blog. Find him.
KANAGY
Julian Kanagy (he/him) is a Chicago-based poet whose work sets out to explore questions he can’t find the words to ask. As Editor-in-Chief of The Wild Umbrella, in regular reading, and in his own writing process, Kanagy appreciates deliberacy, concision, and variety in structure. Per the advice of a mentor, he is always searching for those “poems nobody else could have written.” Find him.
KNAPP
Zelda Knapp is a New York-based writer of short fiction, plays, poetry, theater reviews, television revisits, and academic scholarship. Her short fiction and poetry have been published by Flash Frog, Judith Magazine, Standard Culture, and The Biscuit, along with her first collection, This Is What They Made It Out Of: tales from the end of the world. Her produced plays include Butterflies, This is Hell, Something On Your Mind, and Evidence, which played at Theatre Row in NYC. She reviews theater and television online and her articles on musical theater have been published by Routledge and in various journals. Find her.
MARIL
Nadja Maril writes prose and poetry that has been published in literary magazines that include, Lunch Ticket, Spry Literary Review and Across the Margin. Her chapbook of poems and memoir, Recipes from My Garden, was published in 2024 by Old Scratch Press, of which she is a founding member. She recently published her first children’s book, Who Is Santa? A former journalist and editor, Nadja has an MFA from Stonecoast at the University of Southern Maine. To read more of her work and follow her weekly blog posts, find her.
MACIAS
Joanne Macias is a multi-disciplinary creative from Sydney, having featured in Best of Times, The Sour Collective, Two Wolves Digest, Short Stories Unlimited, Roi Fainéant plus many more. She loves finding interesting ways to challenge reader perception through unique scenarios. She embarks on her first residency in Ireland in 2025. @joanne_macias_writer
NICOLA
James B. Nicola is the author of eight collections of poetry, the latest three being Fires of Heaven: Poems of Faith and Sense, Turns & Twists, and Natural Tendencies. His nonfiction book Playing the Audience: The Practical Actor’s Guide to Live Performance won a Choice magazine award. He has received a Dana Literary Award, two Willow Review awards, Storyteller’s People’s Choice award, one Best of Net, one Rhysling, and eleven Pushcart nominations—for which he feels stunned and grateful. A graduate of Yale, Nicola hosts the Writers’ Roundtable at his library branch in Manhattan: walk-ins are always welcome. Find him.
OWENS
Lisa H. Owens, a former monthly humorist columnist, resides in North Texas with rescue dogs, ailing houseplants, and Harry, a stealthy possum who’s had a cozy burrow beneath the backyard storage shed since birth. She began writing at the age of 56, her most recent accomplishments: Spillwords’ June 2024 Author of the Month, Tortive Lit’s 2024 Winter Wonderland Christmas winner, honorable mention in the 2024 Gwyl Anglesey Festival and a finalist in the 2024 Great Clarendon House Book Challenge. Lisa’s multi-genre stories are sometimes inspired by true events, often including private jokes and family nicknames. Find her.
PARKER
Sean Bw Parker (MA) is a writer, artist and musician based in Worthing, West Sussex. He lived in Istanbul for ten years, has written or contributed to a number of books and albums, and given a TED talk. He was born in Exeter in 1975. SOCIETY is Parker’s tenth book, but first consisting solely of original paintings, from Johnny Depp to Dilbert creator Scott Adams to Elon Musk, plus other more obscure or abstracted figures. The portraits capture the cancelled, the imprisoned-maintaining-innocence and the otherwise interesting, mostly from 2018-2025.
SCHWEI
Stephen Schwei is a Houston poet with Wisconsin roots, published in Wax Poetry & Art, Beneath the Rainbow, Hidden Constellation, Borfski Press, and the New Reader Magazine. A gay man with three grown children and four wonderful grandchildren, who worked in Information Technology most of his life, he can be a mass of contradictions. Poetry helps to sort all of this out. Find him.
SHUSTER
George W. Shuster, Jr. lives in Rhode Island and spends much of his time in, on, and around Narragansett Bay. He studied poetry at Columbia University and the University of Virginia, and he is a 12th-generation direct descendant of Anne Bradstreet, the first woman poet of colonial America.
SUPRANOWICZ
Edward Michael Supranowicz is the grandson of Irish and Russian/Ukrainian immigrants. He grew up on a small farm in Appalachia. He has a grad background in painting and printmaking. Some of his artwork has recently, or will soon, appear in Fish Food, Streetlight, Another Chicago Magazine, The Door Is a Jar, The Phoenix, and other journals. Supranowicz is also a published poet who has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize multiple times.
TOMEN
JH Tomen lives in Chicago and works in clean energy. When he’s not writing, he’s a passionate volunteer translator at his local food pantry. He’s also a climate advocate and author of a climate change Substack, The Carbon Fables. He won the 2024 Storytrade Award for Fantasy. His short pieces have been published in Tangled Web Magazine and Maudlin House.
TULODO
Fendy Satria Tulodo is a versatile writer and creative professional with expertise in sales coordination, strategic communication, and content creation. His experience spans retail and automotive industries, where he blends analytical skills with a passion for storytelling. With interests in videography, music, and digital tools like Photoshop and Premiere Pro, Tulodo adds a creative edge to his work. Holding a Management degree from Airlangga University, he is committed to innovation and excellence in every project. For inquiries, contact him at nepkidads@gmail.com.
TURES
John A. Tures was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and raised in El Paso, Texas. Tures wrote sports for the El Paso Herald-Post. In college, he worked for a radio station. He worked his way through graduate school in education outreach for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He earned his doctorate in political science at Florida State University, analyzed data in Washington DC, and is now a professor at LaGrange College in Georgia. He writes columns for a number of newspapers and magazines and has published more than two dozen short stories in various genres, from thrillers and mysteries to nonfiction and flash fiction. He thanks his family for listening to his story drafts.
VERES
Jordan Veres is a Jewish musician / songwriter / composer / lyricist / producer, shutterbug, poet, sculptor, artist, and welder currently residing in the Upstate of South Carolina. If you need to contact Jordan, he can be reached at krupafan8@gmail.com or, if you are interested in hearing his music, he can be found on YouTube as The Dearest Truth (General Variety).
ZHAO
Yuting Zhao is a bilingual writer living in China. She received her MA in Writing from the University of Warwick, UK. Her fictions and essays can be found on Past Ten, Aloka Magazine, Troublemaker Firestarter, Beijing Literature, and other journals. She can be contacted at yutingmooncake@163.com. Follow her on Instagram @yutingzhao0121.
INSTANT NOODLES 