Contributors

© All works of art have been published with the permission of authors and creators. The copyright for individual pieces rests solely with them.

Bonnilee Kaufman

At 65, (damn) Bonnilee Kaufman is still workin it. A Lambda Literary Fellow & QueerWise emeritus, she (dyke/femme) participates in readings at various venues. Publications include Sinister Wisdom, Selfish, The Brillantina Project, Gyroscope Review &recently included in Los Angeles’ Library National Poetry Month celebration.

Shringarika Pandey

Shringarika (she/her) is a 20-year-old English Literature student at Delhi University. She loves Fiona Apple’s music, metro rides and old book stores. As much as she enjoys reading, she spends more of her time looking for her glasses. Find her on Instagram @shringarikaa and Twitter @rvmantics.

Alexander Peterson

Instagram: @iamphenomal

Moon Rose

Moon Rose (she/her, they/them) is a renaissance artist who specializes in word play. Her colorful language reimagines the juxtaposition of poetry and prose. Her dream is to obliterate the literary canon. You can follow her on Instagram @moonroseuniverse and on Twitter @moonroseuni. 

Jade Mutyora

Jade Mutyora (she/her) is a British writer of British and Zimbabwean heritage. Her novel Soaring is a coming of age story about birdwatching, friendship, and navigating two distinct families and cultures. She also writes short fiction, poems and creative non-fiction. Find her on Twitter @JadeMutyora and Instagram @jademutyorawriter.

Noreen Ocampo

Noreen Ocampo (she/her) is a Filipina American writer studying English and Film Studies at Emory University. She is also a book reviewer for Counterclock and a regular contributor for Marías at Sampaguitas, and she aims to work in the intersection of storytelling and education. Find her on Twitter @maybenoreen and Instagram @noreen.ocampo.

Hemali Gandhi

If you come across a super active person who is cheering almost all the time, that is Hemali (she/her). She literally lives on biryani, thrillers and spoken word poetry. If you need a go-to person for fashion suggestions, instagram captions or great shady places to laugh your heart out at, hit her up! Instagram: @theek_hai.

Vanesa Cardenas Garcia

Vanesa Cardenas Garcia is a sixteen year old self taught artist in both traditional and digital mediums. She is constantly exploring her style and forms of expression in her art with themes of identity, development, home, and love in all forms. Reflecting her own mind, her art and coloring fluctuates between maturity and whimsy. Find her on Instagram at @vanes.ahh and @ar.tea.st.

Shlagha Borah

Shlagha Borah (she/her) is pursuing her undergraduate degree from Lady Shri Ram College for women. She is a regular contributor and Select Writer for Terribly Tiny Tales and has been an editorial intern with Katha Publications. Her work has been accepted and published in various online literary platforms like Ayaskala, Marias at Sampaguitas, The Literary Impulse, GroundXero, etc. She is also the co-founder of the student-led collective called Pink Freud that works around destigmatizing mental health issues. Find her on Instagram @shlaghab.

Geri Gale

Geri Gale is a Jewish lesbian married to a Japanese-American. Her award-winning books include: Patrice: a poemella (2015 Silver IPPY Award: GLBT Fiction, Independent Publisher Book), Alex: The Double-Rescue Dog (2016 National Indie Excellence Award, Picture Book, Finalist), and Waiting: prosepoems (Dancing Girl Press). She is also a 2016 Moth StorySLAM winner and performed in the Moth Seattle Grand Slam. Currently she works as a copyeditor at Starbucks Creative Studio and writes and draws at night and on weekends.

Her poetry and prose have appeared in Sinister Wisdom, South Loop Review: Creative Nonfiction + Art, Bayou Magazine, Under the Sun, Raven Chronicles, Sunday Ink, Otoliths, and the Canadian Jewish Outlook. Find her at gerigale.com or on Instagram @gerigaleword.

Feral Kenyon

Feral Kenyon, author of Phoenix: poetry and prose, is an Atlanta based author and poet. Her work stands out among other female contemporary poets by focusing on the darker sides of feminism, mental illness, and the horrors (and blessings) of everyday life as a woman. Follow her on Instagram @feralblacksheep.

Trinity C.

Trinity C. (she/her) is a bisexual Black artist who uses her work to explore the world, as well as herself. She wants her work to bring whatever emotion you need in that moment.  Find her on Instagram @neptuune.jpg.

Trishita Das

Trishita Das (she/her) is a student and writer from Mumbai, India. In her work, she celebrates and archives the magic of everyday life. She also enjoys culinary experiments, fluffy dogs and bathroom singing. Read more of her work on Instagram @fine_lined or on her blog: manybrokenteacups.wordpress.com.

Renata Smith

Renata Smith (she/her) is a queer black girl, writer, and artist from D.C. An incoming college freshman, she loves art history, the color yellow, reading, and baking, and is planning to major in Political Science and Theatre Design with a minor in Gender Studies. Follow her on Instagram @Renata.Tsmith.

Mileva Anastasiadou

Mileva Anastasiadou (she/her) is a neurologist, from Athens, Greece. A Pushcart, Best of the Net and Best Small Fictions nominated writer, her work can be found in many journals, such as Litro, Jellyfish Review, Queen Mob’s Tea House, Moon Park Review, Okay Donkey, Kanstellation, Open Pen and others. Find her on Twitter @happymil_  and Instagram @happilander.

Niamh Jerrie Haran

Niamh Jerrie Haran (she/her) is a lesbian poet and Irish trad musician based in London. She is part of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective 2019/20 and is an English Undergraduate at King’s College London. Find her on Twitter @niamhjerrie and Instagram @niamh.haran.

L Scully

L Scully (they/them) is a queer writer and double Capricorn currently based in Madrid. Find them in the ether @LRScully.

Courtney WZ

Courtney WZ (she/her) is a writer and mental health advocate. She is in her final year of a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and English Literature at Western University in Ontario, Canada. She can be found on Twitter @courtneyneue.

Victoria Iacchetta

Victoria is an from Spencerport, New York, and is currently working towards a Master’s degree in London, England. Her first chapbook, The Cubicle was published with Gap Riot Press in November of 2019. Forthcoming work will appear in Crêpe & Penn. Other works have appeared in: The Honey Mag, The Gravity of the Thing, Ghost City Press, Vamp Cat Magazine, Bottlecap Press, and Peach Mag. Follow her on Twitter @holleratlouise and Instagram slick.vic_.  

Yael Veitz

Yael Veitz (she/her) is a New York-based poet and professional empath. Her works, which have appeared in The Ogilvie, Coffin Bell, Sheila-Na-Gig, and Castabout, among others, reflect her geographically-diverse background, her work in mental health, and, occasionally, her love for her cats. Her website is www.yaelveitz.com and her Facebook. 

Karen Steiger

Karen Steiger (she/her) lives in Schaumburg, Illinois. She frequently posts on her blog, The Midlife Crisis Poet, and her work has been published in The Wells Street Journal, Arsenika, The Pangolin Review, and Black Bough Poetry. Her poetry will soon appear in Kaleidotrope, Mineral Lit Mag, and Rejection Letters. Find her on Twitter @maisedawg.

Kora Schultz

Kora Schultz (they/them) is a queer Wisconsin-based poet and writing student. By day, they work with folks experiencing homelessness and mental health crises. Their work has appeared in Mineral Magazine and is forthcoming in The Hellebore, Goat’s Milk, and Blisters. You can find them on Instagram @oatmilkmom and Twitter @oatmilkmom.

Preston Smith

Preston Smith (he/him) is an MA candidate and poetry editor, and his debut chapbook Red Rover, Red Lover released in early 2020. He can be found on Twitter @psm_writes and Instagram @psm_writes. His poems appear in Black Bough Poetry, Nightingale & Sparrow, and Pink Plastic House a tiny journal, among others.

Nick Creel

Nick Creel (they/them) is a nonbinary poet and web developer currently sheltering-in-place in Massachusetts. Their hypertext chapbook Evidence (self-published, 2020) is available at ncreel.itch.io/evidence. Their work is forthcoming and featured in Rejection Letters, Sludge, Petrichor, Déraciné Magazine, and Mineral Lit Mag, among others. Follow them on @toofyMaw.

Sarah Marquez

Sarah Marquez (she/her) is an MA candidate at National University. She is based in Los Angeles and has work published and forthcoming in various magazines and journals, including Capsule Stories, Human/Kind Journal, Kissing Dynamite, Sandy River Review and Twist in Time Magazine. When not writing, she can be found reading, sipping coffee, or tweeting @Sarahmarissa338. 

Morgana Moore

Morgana Moore (she/her) is a UK based short fiction writer interested in speculative fiction, the oddities of the human experience, and personal identity. She is the editor-in-chief of @fatcatmagazine where she publishes flash fiction submissions online. You can find her writing featured in @_Re_side_ and forthcoming in @perhappened and @_IdleInk_. To keep up to date with her work, you can find her on twitter @morgana_moore.

M. P. Armstrong

M.P. Armstrong (they/them) is a disabled queer poet from Ohio, studying English and history at Kent State University. Their work appears or is forthcoming in Luna Negra, Red Earth Review, and Social Distanzine, among others. They also serve as managing editor and reporter for Curtain Call and Fusion magazines. In their spare time, they enjoy traveling, board games, and brightly colored blazers. Find them on Twitter @mpawrites, Instagram @mpawrites, and at mpawrites.wixsite.com/website.

Penelope Rudolph

Penelope Rudolph (she/her) is a teenage lesbian who lives in a Southern small town. When she isn’t working on school or a project she’ll never finish, she enjoys going on small, nonsensical adventures with friends. She has work forthcoming in perhappened. 

silas denver melvin

silas denver melvin (he/him) is a trans masculine poet from southern NH. He is published in Sunday Morning at The River’s first poetry anthology and Toyon Literary Magazine’s 66th Volume. He attended the 2017 writing conference at Breadloaf Campus of Middlebury College in Ripton, Vermont for his poetry. More of his work can be found on Instagram @sweatermuppet.

Alex

Alex (he/him, they/them) is a queer artist and printmaker from Western New York. They usually explore themes of gender, and body image. Find them on Twitter @oddpinkgoblin. 

Aditi Trivedi

Aditi Trivedi (she/her) is a dance/movement therapist and a mental health counselor, currently on a hiatus. She strongly believes in the role that arts can play in enhancing all facets of well-being. She approaches therapeutic work and arts from the perspective of highlighting the mind-body connection and valuing process over product. Find her on Instagram @breathflowmovement, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Alice Godliman

Alice Godliman (she/her) is a writer and workshop facilitator based in Manchester, England. She’s performed for International Women’s Day and Reclaim the Night as well as the Edinburgh Fringe. You can read her work in Dear Damsels and Twist in Time Mag. You can find more of her work on Twitter @alicegodliman and Instagram @alicegodliman.

Vanessa Walters

Vanessa Walters is a visual artist and writer, born in Malta, grew up in Oxford, and currently living in London. Her other work can be seen at www.vanessawalters.xyz. Follow her on Twitter @vanessa_walters and Instagram @walters.vanessa.

Adi McNally

Adi McNally (they/them, he/him), originally from Santa Cruz, California, is currently attending Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. There, he will soon get his bachelor’s degree with a major in English writing with too many minors to list in a short bio. Their poetry has been published in Script and The Fruit Tree and is also available on Instagram @peas.and.poetry.

Benjamin Champagne

Recently published in Beyond Words and Willowdown Press, Benjamin Champagne coordinates events at the Saginaw Art Museum in Michigan. He has been making interstitial art and running a DIY venue for several years now. He believes how a word sounds is often more important than what a word means. It’s best when the two converge. Find him on Twitter @peskykiddd and Instagram @peskykiddd.

Olúwádáre Pópóọla

Olúwádáre Pópóọla (he/him) is a poet or so he thinks, a student of Microbiology and a Sports Writer for a media company. He writes from the famous city under the rocks and longs to see the world without discrimination of any form. The best of his names given by his grandfather, he is learning how images are made from words. Find him on Facebook and Twitter @Kunmi_sher.

Aura Martin

Aura Martin (she/her) graduated from Truman State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. She is the author of the micro-chapbook Thumbprint Lizards (Maverick Duck Press). Her recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in 3 Moon Magazine, Kissing Dynamite, and Variant Literature, among others. Find her on Twitter @instamartin17 and Instagram @instamartin17.

Arsha Adarsh

Arsha Adarsh (they/them) is a queer and disabled Desi writer from the UK, currently based in Oregon. A lot of their work is either written for or inspired by their relentlessly supportive queer family. Arsha’s hobbies include crochet, sleeping and learning bass guitar. Their work has been or is due to be published by Ang(st), ANEH and Write.as/cues. Find them on Twitter @Arsha_Writes and Mastodon arsha@writing.exchange.

Yas Necati

Yas Necati (they/them) is a writer and performance poet based in London. They explore themes of queer and trans identity, migrant identity, mental health, recovery, community and resistance in their writing. Follow them on Twitter @yasnecati.

Virginia Vigliar

Virginia Vigliar is a poet, writer, editor and activist with roots in her pocket. She has made five places her home in the last ten years, and is now based in Barcelona. In her writing, she explores themes such as social justice, human conditioning, womanhood and feminism and believes that writing can speak loudly against violence, sexism and misogyny, and in favour of our bodies, social justice, and respect for our nature. Find her on Instagram @vivivigliar or check out her website virginiavigliar.com.

Kay-Ann Henry

Kay-Ann Henry (she/her) is a queer-identifying Jamaican writer and poet, living in Miami! She is currently attending the University of Miami, studying journalism, sociology and creative writing. She loves astrology, June Jordan and day-dreaming. Find her on Twitter @kaypoetaa_ and Instagram @kaypoetaa_.

Madison Zehmer

Madison Zehmer (she/her) is an emerging writer and wannabe historian from North Carolina, with work published and forthcoming in Gone Lawn, Déraciné, Drunk Monkeys, Kanstellation, and more. Her first chapbook, Unhaunting, will be released by Kelsay Books in 2021. Follow her @madisonzehmer on Twitter and @mirywrites on Instagram.

Andy Lopez

Andy Lopez (she/her) is a writer and advocacy communications manager from the Philippines. Her work has been published in CHEAP POP, Ascend Magazine, and other magazines and anthologies. Find her on Twitter at @andylopezwrites.

Amee Nassrene Broumand

Amee Nassrene Broumand is an asthmatic Iranian-American writer from the Pacific Northwest. A three-time Pushcart Prize nominee, her work has appeared in numerous journals including Glass: A Journal of Poetry (Poets Resist), Rust + Moth, Barren Magazine, Sundog Lit, and Empty Mirror. Find her on Twitter @AmeeBroumand.

Laura Owens

Originally from the North of England, Laura Owens (she/her) is a 3D animator now working in the South. A keen baker and crafter, she is currently building a collection of poems inspired by a recent trip to Iceland. Follow her on Instagram @laurabethowens and Twitter @laurabethowens.

Josie Thornhill

Josie Thornhill (she/her) is a writer & bookseller from Atlanta, Georgia. You can find her work at Dark Marrow, Voices of Mental Health, The Mighty, and Writers With Mental Illness. Follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and WordPress.

Paul Robert Mullen

Paul Robert Mullen is a poet, musician, lecturer, radio presenter, traveller and sociable loner from Liverpool, U.K. He has three published poetry collections: curse this blue raincoat (2017), testimony (2018), 35 (2018) and disintegration (2020) He has been widely published in magazines worldwide. Paul also enjoys paperbacks with broken spines, and all things minimalist.  Follow him on Twitter @mushyprm35.

Paola Butler-Zanetti

Paola Butler-Zanetti (she/her) is a Swiss scientist and visual artist based in Hackney, London.  She favours drawing, printing and collage. She tends to add eyes and hands to everything she draws, no matter how relevant. Instagram: @toadlunch

Katy Haas

Katy Haas (she/her) is a poet from mid-Michigan. Her recent poems appear in trashheap, Taco Bell Quarterly, petrichor, Sad Girl Review, and Honey & Lime. Find her on Twitter at @katyydidnt.

Naphtali Festus Adda

Naphtali Festus Adda is a Nigerian. He is a fat guy from Sondi, Taraba State, Nigeria. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in praxis magazine, atunis poetry, and some anthologies. To him, Poetry is an abode of peace.

Vaishnavi Sharma

Vaishnavi Sharma is a 19-year-old WoC, walking through life losing her pens, temper, paints, mind, etc. She likes to talk (a lot) about poetry, history, sciences, and politics. Can always be found with her nose in between the pages of a book, uninterested in the torments of this world. Twitter: @umvaishnavi Instagram: @um.vaishnavi

Charlie Watts

Charlie Watts (she/her, they/them) is 17 years old and in her final year of high school. She loves poetry, theatre and dance. Her favourite colour is yellow and in her spare time she draws or plays video games. In the future she’d love to become a script-writer or poet. Twitter: @library_fae Instagram: @robot_with_anxiety_poems

Aleah Dye

Aleah Dye (she/her) primarily writes poetry, tending towards topics of morbidity, love, social justice, and philosophy. Her biggest inspiration is Walt Whitman, and she specializes in the free verse that he pioneered. Dye also writes fiction and nonfiction occasionally, focusing on self-reflection and, once again, philosophy. She aspires to change people’s lives and hearts with her words. You can find Dye’s published book of poetry, If I Just Look Hard Enough, for purchase on Amazon and Sweek. You can also follow her @bearsbeetspoet on Twitter for more content.

Sayeeda Bacchus

Sayeeda Bacchus is a Dutch-born illustrator with Guyanese descent, living in London UK. Her work was recently published in a UK magazine that represents BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) artists. Sayeeda has also been featured as ‘Illustrator of the Month’ in a French magazine. Culture, equality and diversity are common themes in her work. Follow her on Instagram @sayeeda.bacchus.

Haley Morgan McKinnon

Haley Morgan McKinnon (she/her) is an emerging poet based in Portland, OR. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from Pacific University and currently works as an editor for Cascadia Rising Review. She writes most often about sexuality and mental illness. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Royal Rose Magazine, Elephants Never, Ayaskala, and The Almagre Review, among others. She can be found on Twitter at @haleymmckinnon and Instagram at @hmm.writer.

Imogen L. Smiley

Imogen. L. Smiley (she/her) is a twenty-two year old writer from Essex, UK. She has anxiety, depression and a relentless love of dogs. Although poetry isn’t her strongest area of writing, she does really enjoy the ability to neglect the rules of style,and come up with convoluted imagery that would otherwise be inappropriate.

Abigail Pearson

Abigail Pearson (she/her, they/them) is a 24-year-old queer writer of novels and poetry. Most recently they have published a poetry collection titled Maybe (Not) Her, which explores themes of bisexuality and polyamory. Other works by Abigail have been published in Pussy Magazine and Moonchild Magazine. You can find her on twitter @whimsywriter3.

Sarah Loverock

Sarah Loverock is a writer and MA Creative Writing student from England. She has a passion for writing, history, folklore and journalism and hopes to work in a museum again once she finishes school. She was previously published in Streetcake magazine and is available on Twitter @asoftblueending. 

Grace Royal

Grace Royal (she/her) is a recent university graduate who writes both poetry and prose. Her work explores eating disorders, mental health, lesbian identity, the small details of life and the impact of social media. When she isn’t writing, she can be found reading or looking after her eight guinea pigs.

Zuryvette Reyes

ZRB (she/her) is a Puerto Rican born individual living in Tucson, AZ. Self identifying lover of the arts, her primary passion is dance. Follow her on Instagram.

Gail Bello

Gail Bello is a playwright and poet from Waltham Massachusetts. She hopes her piece in this issue will empower and inspire body positivity in others. All bodies are beautiful, and it is time for radical self-love. Follow her on Twitter and find her other publications here.

Kelly Duarte

Kelly Duarte is a Guatemalan-American writer based in Southern California. Her work has appeared in Palabritas, Turnpike Magazine, St. Sucia and more. You can find more of her work at kellyduarte.com. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

Iona Murphy

Iona Murphy (she/her) is an Mst(res) student at The University of St Andrews, trying to navigate her way through her early twenties. She is a feminist, bisexual, mental health advocate, and is forever reading Sylvia Plath. You can keep up with her on Twitter and Instagram.

Shreyaa Tandel

Shreyaa Tandel is a writer/poet from India, published in a few anthologies and several online journals/magazines. When not writing, she is either reading, stuck on her phone screen or pretending too hard to be happy.

Rosie Carter

Rosie Carter (she/her) is a photographer, illustrator, and writer based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her work has recently been published in Marias at Sampaguitas and Ayaskala. You can find her reading philosophy and relaxing with her two cats, Butterscotch and Orzo. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Lynne Schmidt

Lynne Schmidt is a mental health professional in Maine who writes memoir, poetry, and young adult fiction. Her work has received the Maine Nonfiction Award, Editor’s Choice Award, and was a 2018 and 2019 PNWA finalist for memoir and poetry respectively. She is a five-time 2019 Best of the Net Nominee, and regular contributor for Marias at Sampaguitas. In 2012 she started the project, AbortionChat, and has been and continues to be a featured poet at events throughout Maine. When given the choice, Lynne prefers the company of her three dogs and one cat to humans.
Twitter: @Abortionchat @LynneSchmidt

Rebecca Norman

Rebecca (she/her), or Willy Won’t He, is a budding king in the world of drag. Her interests lie in writing fan-fiction, listening to K-Pop, and drawing beautiful vaginas.

Saesha Kini

Saesha (she/her) wouldn’t have found herself if it weren’t for her writings. She pens her self-reflections as NoFilterSassy for the Indian Queer-based zine Gaysi.

Mansi Shanbag

Mansi Shanbag (she/her) writes for both work and pleasure. Her interests include making playlists, and doting over her friends. She loves mean love poems and stories with surprise endings.

Emily Bruusgaard

Emily Bruusgaard (she/her) is a professor at Trent University and a proud mother of four. She is a world traveler, a connoisseur of Victorian literature, and studies textiles as a form of storytelling.