In the panic room seeking sanctuary….
ADAMS
Tracie Adams, a 2025 Pushcart nominee, writes from her farm in rural Virginia where she spends a ridiculous amount of time with two writing buddies who look a lot like dachshunds. She is the author of Our Lives in Pieces: A Collection of Flash Memoir Essays. Her work is featured in BULL, Frazzled Lit, Cleaver Magazine, Fictive Dream, SoFloPoJo, Raw Lit, and others. Read more here and follow her on Twitter @1funnyfarmAdams.
BABUREK
Alice Baburek is an avid reader, determined writer and animal lover. She lives with her female partner and four canine companions. Retired, she challenges herself to become an unforgettable emerging voice.
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.
COLEMAN
Linda “Lu” Coleman enjoyed a 45-year career in financial services as a writer and marketer. Now retired, she’s traded business copy for creative nonfiction. Her work has appeared in The New York Times’ Metropolitan Diary. Coleman is deeply engaged in the writing community through ongoing critique workshops and courses, and is a member of the National Association of Memoir Writers. She is working on a memoir-in-essays about her adventures as a newly retired, gray divorcee navigating her Third Act in New York City. When not writing, Coleman performs with The Pacemakers Dance Team, a troupe of professional dancers ages 60 to 80. Find her.
DAS GUPTA
Sarah Das Gupta is an 83 year old, retired English teacher from near Cambridge, UK who has taught in UK, India and Tanzania. She lived in Kolkata for some years. Her interests include, Art, the countryside, Medieval History, parish churches, early music and the supernatural. She has had work published in journals and magazines online and in print, in over twenty countries, from New Zealand to Kazakhstan. She has recently been nominated for Best of the Net and a Dwarf Star Award. She Is hoping to publish a poetry collection.
DOYLE
Anthony Doyle was born in Dublin and raised in Wicklow Town. He holds a joint honours degree in English and Philosophy and a master’s degree in Philosophy from University College Dublin, Ireland. In 2000 he moved to São Paulo, Brazil, where he works as a translator from Portuguese to English. Anthony writes poetry and fiction for adults, teens and children. His first novel, Hibernaculum, was a finalist in the Science-Fiction categories of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards, and is available in hardback, paperback, Kindle and Audible. He just published the poetry book: Jonah’s Map of the Whale and Other Poems Jonah’s Map of the Whale and Other Poems. Find him.
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.
FUNSTON
Diane Funston writes poetry of nature and human nature. She co-founded a women’s poetry salon in San Diego, created a weekly poetry gathering in the high desert town of Tehachapi, CA and most recently has been the Yuba-Sutter Arts and Culture Poet-in-Residence for the past two years. It is in this role she created Poetry Square, a monthly online venue that features poets from all the world reading their work and discussing creative process. Her first chapbook, Over the Falls, was published in 2022 by Foothills Publishing
Funston is also a visual artist in mosaic, wool felting, and collage.
GOOSSEN
J W Goossen, born and raised in Vancouver, currently lives in Ladner BC and enjoys carving out time for writing poems and stories, and painting. Publishing credits include Rhubarb, Red World Periodical, As Surely As The Sun Literary Journal, Grain, Canadian Stories, Red Ogre Review and Alchemy. Find him.
GREENBERG
KJ Hannah Greenberg’s images have appeared as interior art in many places, including Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, Les Femmes Folles, Mused, Piker Press, The Academy of the Heart and Mind, The Front Porch Review, and Yellow Mama and as cover art in Angime, Black Petals, Door is A Jar Literary Magazine [sic], Impspired [sic], Pithead Chapel, Red Flag Poetry, Right Hand Pointing, Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Magazine, The Broken City, and Torah Tidbits. Her digital paintings are featured alongside of her poetry in One-Handed Pianist (Hekate Publishing, 2021) and in Subrogation (Seashell Books, 2023).
HAMMOND
Alaina Hammond is a poet, playwright, fiction writer, and visual artist. Her poems, plays, short stories, philosophical essays, creative nonfiction, paintings, drawings, and photographs have been published both online and in print. “One Patient” was originally produced in August 2015, at Manhattan Repertory Theatre. It starred Janani Sreenivasan as Ramirez and Ben Enkler as Hadley. @alainaheidelberger on Instagram.
HELENE
Susan Helene wrote her first book in sixth grade. It took a while for her to return to this first love. Along the way, she lived in five states and became a teacher, mother, wife, ceramicist, and Tai Chi instructor before brushing off her keyboard. She has published several short stories, poems, and memoirs in journals and anthologies. Womenscape: Selected Stories of Eclectic Women, was published in 2022. Collections: Stories of Unexpected Encounters, her second short story collection, was published in 2025. Find her.
JAGODA
Joanne Jagoda took one inspiring writing workshop when she retired which launched her on an unexpected creative writing trajectory. Though she got a late start, creative writing became her passion. Her prize-winning poetry, creative non- fiction and short stories appear on-line and in more than seventy print anthologies including The Write Launch, Persimmon Tree, Burningword Literary Journal, Better After 50, Thirty West, various Pure Slush publications, Ravens Perch, Passager, Viewless Wings, and Red Noise collective. She has received two Pushcart nominations, and first place in the Gemini Open poetry competition. Jagoda’s book, My Runaway Hourglass, was published in 2020. She takes a variety of craft classes and several weekly workshops and has enjoyed working closely with notable Bay Area poets. Find her.
JAS
Trudy Jas is a 73-year-old retired occupational therapist who has recently started writing fiction.
KAPP
Kenneth M. Kapp has been 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. He was a homebrewer for more than 50 years and runs whitewater rivers on the foam that’s left. His essays appear online in Havok Journal and articles in Shepherd Express. His stories have appeared in more than eighty publications world-wide including The Saturday Evening Post and October Hill Magazine. Find him.
KEANE
Mark Keane has taught for many years in universities in North America and the UK. Recent short story fiction has appeared in The Interpreter’s House, Paris Lit Up, Culterate Magazine, For Page & Screen, Midsummer Dream House, Avalon Literary Review, Bards and Sages Quarterly, Epistemic Literary, Shooter, untethered, Night Picnic, Granfalloon, and Into the Void. He lives in Edinburgh (Scotland).
KIVOWITZ
Barbara Kivowitz started writing when she discovered journaling quieted her chronic pain. Her book, Love in the Time of Chronic Illness, for patients and care partners, led to articles in popular and clinical publications. She has published poetry, fiction, and memoir in Passager Journal, Bright Flash Literary Review, the Writers’ Journal, Litquake Elder Anthology. One of her pieces was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She spends half her time in San Francisco advocating for patients and care partners. The other half she spends in the Sierra Foothills hiking and watching out for mountain lions.
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.
LANDE
E.P. Lande, born in Montreal, has lived in the south of France and now, with his partner, in Vermont, writing and caring for more than 100 animals. Previously, as a Vice-Dean, he taught at l’Université d’Ottawa, and he has owned and managed country inns and free-standing restaurants. Since submitting two years ago, more than 100 of his stories, many auto-fiction, and poems have found homes in publications on all continents except Antarctica. His story “Expecting” has been nominated for Best of the Net. His debut novel, Aaron’s Odyssey, a multi-genre gay-romantic-psychotic thriller, is to be published in 2025.
MAHFOUZ
Zoé Mahfouz is a multi-talented French artist: an award-winning bilingual actress, screenwriter, content creator, and writer whose work spans fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Her writing has appeared in over 70 literary magazines and best-of anthologies worldwide, including Cleaver Magazine, OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters, NUNUM, as well as Ginyu Magazine, and The Asahi Shimbun.
MANGRU
Daniel R. Mangru is currently an MFA Creative Writing student at Dominican University of California, with a passion for exploring the unsettling beauty of everyday people. He writes literary, speculative, and gothic fiction.
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.
MEHAS
Mona Mehas (she/her) writes from the perspective of a retired disabled teacher in Indiana USA. A Pushcart and Best New Poets nominee, her poetry books includeQuestions I Didn’t Know I’d Asked (LJMcD Communications, 2024), Hand-Me-Downs (LJMcD Communications, 2024), Calling to Shore (Cicada Song Press, 2025), Self-Centered (Bottlecap Press, 2024), My Colorful Heart (Bottlecap Press, 2025), Breathing Through My Spine (Poptab Press, 2025). Her writing has appeared in multiple publications, and she works with an online Star Trek magazine. Mehas is editing her second novel while perpetually distracted by her next chapbook. Find her.
MERRIGAN
Kat Merrigan was born and raised in New York. She is a published author, blogger, podcaster, and actress who recently made her feature film debut in the independent movie Tried By Fire from Broadwil Films. Her work has appeared in Bluebird’s Scribe Review, Harrow House Journal, and Flights e-Journal. She has been featured in a Cloaked Press anthology, Calla Press, and Academy Of the Heart and Mind. She narrated one of her pieces for the Story Unlikely podcast. She hosts a blog on her site and provides fresh content through IG: Kat Controversy and FB: Kathy Merry. Find her.
MILL
K. L. Mill has midwest roots so strong, she lives in the house she grew up in, designed by her father. She’s also a voice actor, and when she’s not talking to herself in her padded room (home studio), she tries to get the voices out of her head and onto the page. Most recently her work has been published by Cursed Morsels, Crepuscular, and Small Wonders Magazine; she also has stories included in the anthologies Greater Than His Nature (Atomic Carnival) and Once Upon a Future Time, Vol 4 (Brothers Uber).
NAWROCKI
Monica Nawrocki has lived in three provinces, had five concussions, owned a Ford Pinto, and married a woman long before it was cool. Writing was inevitable. She has published four books, and her short fiction has appeared in various journals and anthologies in North America and the UK. Find her.
PATRA
Cithara Patra currently lives in NC with their family, traveling between there and Texas. They spend much of their time writing and studying languages. They’re fond of reading all kinds of things, from romance to horror. . They’re also a big fan of things from the ocean, dachshunds, and making brand new meals. In their spare time, they travel with their family around the city and check out brand new restaurants and places to eat.
PENNEY
Alexander Penney is an occasional writer and musician. Other times, they work as a Social Worker in NYC. Find them..
PETRIDES
American Christina E. Petrides started writing poetry on Jeju Island, South Korea, where she lived for 6.5 years. Her verse collection is On Unfirm Terrain (Kelsay Books, 2022). Her children’s books are Blueberry Man (2020), The Refrigerator Ghost (2022), Tea Cakes, Quilts, and Sonshine (2022), and Mr. Fisher’s Whiskers (2024). She is the primary translator of Maria Shelyakhovskaya’s memoir, Being Grounded in Love (2023). You can find more info at her website and Substack.
RAMBO
Nedan Rambo fell in love with the art of storytelling at an early age. Growing up in Southern California, he aspired to become a filmmaker, but his parents gave him a typewriter instead of a camera, and he’s been writing ever since. After graduating from Cal State Long Beach, he continued writing horror, science fiction, and fantasy stories. He’s had his stories published in the horror anthology book Tenpenny Dreadfuls. He continues to share stories, believing that genre fiction can be unapologetically honest through its storytelling.
SCHMID
Haley Schmid a.k.a. Scarlett Alderwood is a recent graduate with a degree in literature and a passion for creative writing. She also had work published in EPIC Literary Magazine.
STRIJDOM
ML Strijdom is a South African medical professional and emerging writer, crafting stories in her second language. She draws inspiration from African landscapes, often found on safari. Her work was recently recognized with an Honourable Mention in the Tenth Writers Playground Competition.
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.
TEFFT
Marianne Tefft is a poet and voiceover reader who daylights as a Montessori teacher in Toronto, Canada. Her poems and short stories have appeared online, in print and on air in North America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. Her work has been nominated for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize 2025. She is the author of Full Moon Fire: Spoken Songs of Love and Moonchild: Poems for Moon Lovers.
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).
WOLD
Melissa Wold lives on the coast of Alabama surrounded by bays, rivers and the Gulf of Mexico. Her poems explore historic and current events, people, injustices and regenerations. She is happiest with her feet in the water and her face turned to the sun.
YAU
Wing Yau (she/them) is a Hong Kong-born poet. Wing’s work has appeared in The 5 Islands Press, The Garlic Press, Hot Pot Magazine, Locative, and more. A Pushcart Prize nominee, Wing is currently based in Melbourne Australia. Their debut poetry collection is The Fiction of Flying. Find their IG: @antidotetowork.
INSTANT NOODLES 