Zine – ang(st)

Issue V / May 2021

The theme for this issue is HANDS.

As we moved and continue to move into unprecedented times across the world, we chose the theme of ‘HANDS’ for its quiet strength, for the possibility of touch, connection and creation that it symbolizes and offers. In this issue, we present 21 powerful pieces that explore the remarkable variety of meanings that hands hold: from intimate relationships shared through and between hands to social customs and physical disease. Some pieces explore the traumatic memories associated with hands. Others provide a tender glimpse into personal triumphs and efforts to (re)create something new.

So, we offer you hands: as memory, as image, as metaphor, as fact, engaged in creating and destroying, extending and enduring, holding and letting go.

TW/CW: This issue contains themes of and references to illness, disease, physical / medical conditions, surgery, cancer, sexual assault and death.

Please let us know if we need to add anything more to this list.

Happy and safe reading!

Issue 5 – HandsDownload Now

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Covert Art – Cosmic Gesture by Sarah Peck

Sarah Peck is a painter and illustrator living in Rockledge, FL. She earned her BFA in Animation/Illustration from SUNY Fredonia and attended residencies at Chautauqua Institution’s School of Art and The Yards Collaborative Art Space in Rochester, NY. You can find more of her work on Instagram @silverlynstudio and on her website www.sarahpeckpaints.com.

The first hello by Noreen Ocampo

Noreen Ocampo (she/her) is a Filipina American writer and poet based in metro Atlanta. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Taco Bell Quarterly, Hobart, and HAD, among others, and her debut micro chapbook TEASPOONS is forthcoming fall 2021 with The Daily Drunk Mag. Say hello on Twitter @maybenoreen!

Syndactyly affects one in 2500 babies and God chose me by David Salazar

David Salazar (he/xe/she) is a queer teenage writer from Chile. He has been published or is forthcoming in The Daily Drunk, The Hearth, Ogma Magazine, among others. You can find her on Twitter at @smalllredboy or on her website, davidvsalazar.weebly.com.

Sink Demon by Karo

Karo (he/him) is an ex-salaryperson who has only quit their job last year to become a storytelling pirate. He creates comic book stories, carefully written and illustrated with love, to bottle and throw into the vast seas of the internet, all while sailing these scary uncharted waters of being an artist. You can find him on Instagram @lastshanty.

The Gospel According to the CT Scan by DT McRea

DT McCrea (they/she) is a trans-anarchist poet, a reader for Flypaper Lit, and Pushcart Prize nominee. They love the NBA and know the lyrics to every Saintseneca song. Her work can be found in Indianapolis Review, Gordon Square Review, Honey & Lime, mutiny!, Stone of Madness Press and others. Follow them on twitter @dt_mccrea.

Pink by Hana Ghosh

Hana (of the bog) is a nonbinary queer artist who goes by they/them/she pronouns and adores frogs and butterflies. Their art usually has dreamy scenes with undertones to queerness and transness or straight up cottage core fairy fantasy vibes. They also make music! You can find them on Instagram @hanaofthebog.

My Marvel Movie Tattoo by Jennifer Furner

Jennifer Furner (she/her) has essays in the anthologies of Art in the Time of Covid-19 and A Teenager’s Guide to Feminism. She has been published in HuffPost Personal, Motherwell, Sammiches and Psych Meds, and multiple Medium publications. She lives in Grand Rapids, MI, with her husband and daughter. For more of her writing, visit her website jenniferfurner.com or follow her on Twitter @JenniferFurner.

Trauma by Aracely Medina

Aracely Medina was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. She has been published in Élan, Black Fox, The Freshwater Review, and The Talon Review. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and writing poetry and science fiction. She currently attends the University of North Florida, where she is pursuing a BA in English with a minor in Creative Writing.

Burnt Toast by Fran Fernández Arce

Fran Fernández Arce (she/her) is a Chilean poet currently living in Suffolk, England. She has recently started sharing her poetry to the outside world and has been published in Pollux Journal. She has been living in England for more than a year now but she is still scared of all the apparently harmless house spiders crawling around the ceiling of her bedroom. You can find her talking about poetry as @dylanblue3 on Twitter.

These Hands Is God by Devonae J. Manderson

Devonae J. Manderson (she/her) is a queer, Jamaican poet and storyteller. Her work explores themes of black womanhood, sexuality, spirituality, and culture as well as her experiences with meeting herself as the many different women she is. Find her on Twitter @soulandmelanin or blogging at soulandmelanin.wordpress.com.

In Nana’s Bedroom by Sophie Scolnik-Brower

Sophie Scolnik-Brower is a professional pianist in the Boston area with a longtime passion for writing poetry and creative nonfiction. An active participant in writing workshops throughout the city, she is drawn to prose that sounds like music. Her work has been published with Willowdown Books and in Sky Island Journal.

Still My Hands by Wendy Kennar

Wendy Kennar (she/her) is a mother, writer, and former teacher. Her writing has appeared in a number of publications and anthologies, both in print and online. You can read more from Wendy at http://www.wendykennar.com where she writes about books, boys, and bodies (living with an invisible disability). You can also find her on Instagram @wendykennar.

Holding by Sarah Hilton

Sarah Hilton (she/her) is a queer poet from Scarborough, Ontario and a Master of Information student at the University of Toronto. Her work is currently featured or forthcoming at Contemporary Verse 2, Off Menu Press, Ithaca Lit, and elsewhere. You can find her on Twitter @hilton_sarah_ and on Instagram @sar_ahhil.

Offering by Samantha K Mosca

Samantha K Mosca is a jack of many trades: actress, writer, academic, photographer, and editor. She is a bi-femme, immigrant, activist and a mum who spends her days chasing her wee toddler and her nights chasing her art. You can find her on Twitter @xsyrinex and on Instagram @syrine_barathrum.

Dead Souls by Amy Lee Lillard

Amy Lee Lillard is the author of Dig Me Out, a short story collection forthcoming from Atelier26 Books. She was shortlisted for the 2017 Berlin Writing Prize and named one of Epiphany’s Breakout 8 Writers in 2018. Her writing appears in Barrelhouse, Foglifter, Off Assignment, Gertrude, and other publications. Lillard is one of the broads behind Broads and Books, the funny and feminist book podcast. Find her work at http://www.amyleelillard.com, and connect on Instagram (@alillard77) or Twitter (@amyleelillard).

Pillow Talk by Carly Silva

Carly (she/her/hers) lives in Boston, MA, where she is pursuing an undergraduate degree in Writing and Communications. She writes both poetry and prose, and particularly enjoys exploring topics including femininity, mental health, and love in her pieces. When she isn’t writing, you can find her reading, playing guitar, or hanging out with her dog. Find her on Instagram @carlysilva23.

Hands and Flowers by Rae

Rae (she/her) is a queer artist in her 20s who uses her work to explore the relationship between herself and the world around her. She works both traditionally and digitally and has always been fascinated with light and the human body. You can find her on Twitter @DriveNii or on Instagram @i.drive.a.nii.san.

The Chair by Emmaline Bristow

Emmaline Bristow (she/her) grew up in Helena, Montana, and obtained her BA in English literature and creative writing at the University of Montana, then her MFA in poetry from Drew University. She currently lives in Missoula, Montana where she works in communications for her local government.

Contours of Land & Hand by Nicole Little

Nicole Little is the grown-up edition of that queer kid with ADHD who was always drawing. She has a deep love for picking up and reimagining discarded and unvalued things. She posts free, monthly pocket zines on her website: littleneocreative.com/zines and hangs out appreciating art & poetry as @littleneocreative on Instagram.

october elegy by Audrey Gidman

Audrey Gidman is a queer poet living in central Maine. Her poems can be found or are forthcoming in SWWIM, The West Review, époque press, FEED, Anti-Heroin Chic, and elsewhere. She received her BFA from the University of Maine Farmington and her chapbook, body psalms, winner of the Elyse Wolf Prize, is forthcoming from Slate Roof Press. You can find her on Twitter @audreygidman.

The Mehndi Ritual by Mariya Khan

Mariya Khan (she/her) is a South Asian and Muslim American writer from Maryland. She is a graduate of the International Writing Program’s Summer Institute in Iowa City. When Mariya isn’t writing, she’s trying new recipes and watching crime dramas. You can find more of her work at mariyaskhan.wixsite.com/portfolio.

Issue IV / October 2020

The theme for this issue is HAIR.

We chose this theme because we wanted to explore people’s experiences with hair – is it a tool of oppression, a form of control, an impossible beauty ideal, a beloved friend, an extension of our identities, or a form of protest?

We present a collection of 33 powerful and remarkable pieces that capture the most intimate moments between our contributors and their hair. Some of these speak to identity – from the curls of Black hair to bleached bisexuality to the buzzcut of femininity. Some explore how hair defines our relationships with lovers and mothers and children and ourselves. Sometimes hair is a companion, through love, illness, grief, birth and death. Sometimes hair is rebellion, a statement against age, racism, beauty, disease. Sometimes hair is just hair. So, we present hair – cut and shaved, fallen and regained, plucked and bleached, sometimes lost never to be found again, always in the process of creating and being created.

TW/CW: This issue contains themes of and references to self-harm, violence, cancer, death, childbirth, physical and mental illness. Hair related references include body hair, pubic hair, straightening, plucking, shaving, blades, and hair loss. Please let us know if we need to add anything more to this list.

Happy and safe reading!

angst issue 4Read Here

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Covert Art – Tangerine Ambivalence Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad

Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad (she/her) is an Indian-Australian artist and poet. She holds a Masters in English. She has been widely published in both print and online literary journals and anthologies. Her recent works have been published in Otoliths, and Unlost Journal, and are forthcoming in Parentheses, Pithead Chapel, and elsewhere. Find her work on poetry.oormila.com and Instagram @oormila_paintings.

My Personal Haircut by Lynne Schmidt

Lynne Schmidt is the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, and mental health professional with a focus in trauma and healing. She is the author of the chapbooks, Gravity (Nightingale and Sparrow Press) which was listed as one of the 17 Best Breakup Books to Read in 2020, and On Becoming a Role Model (Thirty West), which was featured on The Wardrobe’s Best Dressed for PTSD Awareness Week. 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. Lynne was a five time 2019 Best of the Net Nominee, and an honorable mention for the Charles Bukowski and Doug Draime Poetry Awards. In 2012, she started the project, AbortionChat, which aims to lessen the stigma around abortion. When given the choice, Lynne prefers the company of her three dogs and one cat to humans.

Labels on Shampoo by H. E. Casson

H. E. Casson went very grey, very quickly and enjoys the invisibility-cloak-like powers of grey hair. Their words have recently been published in Flash Nonfiction Food, Lunate, Serotonin, Taco Bell Quarterly, and Workers Write. They can be found online at hecasson.com and as @hecasson on Twitter.

Wash Day Routine by Hunter Blackwell

Hunter Blackwell (she/her) is a Black bisexual poet and author. Her previous work has appeared in The Write Launch, Barren Magazine, Crepê & Penn, Nightingale & Sparrow, and others. She is a novice baker and cosplayer. So feel free to send recipes on Twitter @hun_blackwell.

Ajakolokolo by Oke Oluwasegun

Oke Oluwasegun (b,1994) is a documentary photographer based in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. His work is centered around personal experience, moments and everyday life. Oluwasegun began actively working in photography in 2017, focusing on social-cultural, health, and environmental related issues in Nigeria. You can find him on Instagram @okeoluwasegunmoses.

Let’s Call It Something Else by Jowell Tan

Born, bred, and based in Singapore, Jowell Tan writes prose & poetry after hours for fun and emotional release. His nights consist of writing, rewriting, watching videos on Youtube to avoid writing, and finally, writing again. Please say hello to him on Twitter at @jwlltn and Instagram at @jwlltn.

Proof I am Actually Medusa by Victoria Fraser

After flitting around random jobs like a fruit fly, Victoria Fraser has realized maybe she doesn’t belong in the real world. Instead, she spends her time writing weird, fantastical poetry. If you listen closely, you’ll hear her singing off key to her ukulele about why online dating is a nightmare (especially when you are bisexual). Read her musings on Twitter @drunkukulele.

Reflection by Josh Holton

Josh Holton (he/him) is an ex-MMA fighter who took too many blows to the head and now writes and draws the weird. His work has featured in literary magazines across the UK and the USA. He was shortlisted for Spread the Word’s Life Writing Prize 2020. Find him on Twitter @JHoltonWriter.

Grow Up by 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.

Drowning in Hair by Addie Tsai

Addie Tsai is a queer, nonbinary Asian artist and writer who teaches literature, creative writing, humanities, and dance at Houston Community College. The author of the queer Asian young adult novel Dear Twin, she holds an MFA in Poetry from Warren Wilson College and a PhD in Dance from Texas Woman’s University. Addie is Nonfiction Editor at The Grief Diaries, Assistant Fiction Editor at Anomaly, and Associate Editor at Raising Mothers. You can follow her on Instagram @bluejuniper and Twitter @addiebrook.

Loss or Gain by 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, Ghost Heart, GroundXero, etc. She is also the co-founder of the student-led collective called Pink Freud that works around destigmatizing mental health issues. You can find her on Instagram @shlaghab.

Flyaways by Megan Cannella

Megan Cannella is a doctoral candidate, and her research focuses on 21st century dystopian motherhood narratives. She is a Midwestern transplant currently living in Nevada. For over a decade, Megan has bounced between working at a call center, grad school, and teaching. She has work published (currently and forthcoming) in 3 Moon Publishing, Porcupine Lit, The Daily Drunk, Verse Zine, and perhappened. You can find her on Twitter @megancannella.

From mouths of babes of the playground by Laura Cliss

Laura Cliss (she/her) is a feminist, vegan, reader, and cat-lover. She received her BA in English and History from Sheffield Hallam University before training as a primary teacher and spending a number of years teaching in the UK and Europe. She has recently moved back home to Cambridgeshire – UK, to start her MA in creative writing at Anglia Ruskin University in September. She is enjoying finding her feet as a writer and writes about anything that she feels an emotional connection to – moments, people… and sometimes cats.

Me Rajaron de las Raíces by Karla Renée Nemanic

Karla Renée Nemanic (she/they) is a queer Latinx poet pursuing a bachelor of arts at the University of Georgia. They have previously been published in magazines such as Marias at Sampaguitas and The Fem. Find them on Twitter @jajceglava.

bridesmaid dress by Olivia Braley

Olivia Braley (she/her) is a writer living in Annapolis, Maryland. She is a co-founder and Editor in Chief of Stone of Madness Press and a Reader for Longleaf Review. Her list of publications can be found at her website, oliviabraleywrites.com. Keep up with her on Twitter @OliviaBraley.

google inappropriate hairstyles & click images by Rayn Fox

Rayn Fox is from Colorado but not the crunchy kind. They’re an upcoming poet who loves to talk shit with the stars.

Your Hair is Everywhere by Lisa Lerma Weber

Lisa Lerma Weber has a lot of thick hair she has teased, permed, and even dyed blue. Her words and photography have been published online and in print. She is a poetry contributor and junior editor for Versification. Follow her on Twitter @LisaLermaWeber.

My Body is an Earth by Margaret Balich

Margaret Balich (she/her) is an 18-year-old writer from Pittsburgh, PA. She has been recognized in Pittsburgh’s Regional Scholastic Writing Awards, Carnegie Mellon University’s MLK Writing Awards, and Hooligan Mag’s Spilled Ink column. She hopes to study writing at the University of Pittsburgh while making music and finally learning how to ollie. You can find her on Instagram @margaretbalich.

Flowers by Prithiva Sharma

Prithiva Sharma (she/her) is a demisexual/biromantic writer from India, and is an Editor at Teen Belle Mag and Nightingale & Sparrow. She loves napping, horror movies and binging fanfiction. Find her work at https://campsite.bio/prithuwu and on Instagram @prithuwu.

Letters to my Mother by Leela Raj-Sankar

Leela Raj-Sankar (noun; she/her, pile of dust in a floral print dress) is an Indian-American teenager from Phoenix, Arizona. She enjoys drinking obscene amounts of coffee and making far too many Richard Siken references. Her work has been published/is forthcoming in Perhappened, Ex/Post Mag, and Stone of Madness Press, among others.

Thoughts on my Recent Haircut by Parker Li

Parker Li (she/they) is a queer Taiwanese-American artist specializing in digital and traditional art forms, as well as ceramics. They use their work as a form of resistance, exploring the themes of belonging, politics, and their transnational queer identity. When not working on art, they are reading history books and memoirs in the park. You can find them on Instagram or Twitter @humilityorigins.

Shave by Kaitlyn Crow

Kaitlyn Crow (they/them) is a Richmond, VA based poet. While juggling writing and dog-parenthood, they serve as a co-editor for K’in Literary Journal’s Young Writers Section. Other works have appeared in: Vagabond City, Apeiron Review, and bluestockings magazine. Find them on Instagram @kaitlynwriteswords and Twitter @kaitwriteswords.

Bleach, Bigots and Bisexuality by Nick Newman

Nick Newman (he/him) grew up in China and Scotland, and studies English Lit at the Uni of Leeds. His work appears / is forthcoming in Marías at Sampaguitas, Stone of Madness Press, and Lucky Pierre Zine, and you can find him procrastinating on Twitter @_NickNewman.

Compels by Prachi Valechha

Prachi Valechha (she/her) is a freelance cartoonist and 2D animator from India. She is greatly inspired and excited by the old mtv style cartoons, psychedelic art, anime – Ghibli, the paranormal, everything flashy and tacky, sex, violence and memes. She believes the world inside her head is a more acceptable one and keeps drawing in efforts to bring it to life. She enjoys conspiracy theories – the crazier the things sound, the better. She is also the creator of a fictional place called PeachTown and you’re always welcome to talk or collaborate with her! You can follow her on Instagram @rainbowteeth.

Remission by Claire Taylor

Claire Taylor (she/her) writes poetry, short fiction, and the occasional essay. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous print and online journals including Capsule Stories, Sage Cigarettes Magazine, Dreams Walking, perhappened mag, and Canary Literary Journal. She is the creator of Little Thoughts, a monthly newsletter of original stories and poetry for children. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland and can be found online at clairemtaylor.com, on Twitter @ClaireM_Taylor and Instagram @todayweread.

Negara(mbut)ku by May Chong

May Chong is a Malaysian poet and speculative writer with previous work in Strange Horizons, Apparition Literary, Anathema Magazine, Longleaf Review and Fixi Novo’s 2020: An Anthology. When she’s not pounding the keyboard, she enjoys birdwatching, good cheese, great stories, and terrible, terrible puns.

A Little Relaxer by A. Martine

A. Martine (she/her) is a trilingual writer, musician, artist of color, an Assistant Editor at Reckoning Press and co-EIC/Producer/Creative Director of The Nasiona. Her collection AT SEA, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Kingdoms in the Wild Poetry Prize is forthcoming with Clash Books. You can find her on www.amartine.com and on Twitter @Maelllstrom.

Coiled by Samara Powers

Samara Powers is a Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee whose work has appeared in Bird’s Thumb, The Christian Century, Inflectionist Review, SWWIM Every Day and others. She has two kids, a BA in Poetry, and works in marketing (thereby commercializing her pun habit).

The Mad Look: Quarantine Hair by Kara Laurene Pernicano

Artist and writer, Kara Laurene Pernicano explores intersectional feminism, queer love, trauma and healing through a hybrid image-text practice; she often hears a lyric quality in text messages and overanalyzes the use of parentheticals. Her creative writing has been published in Snapdragon, Waccamaw and Rabbit. She is a MFA Candidate in Creative Writing and Literary Translation at Queens College, CUNY and a Lecturer in English at CUNY. You can find her on Instagram @karalaurene and Twitter @KaraPernicano.

Closing Arguments: The Counsel for Lowlights Recommends Leniency by Mary Ellen Talley

Mary Ellen Talley’s (she/her) poems have recently been published in Banshee, Raven Chronicles, Ekphrastic Review, and Gyroscope, as well as in several anthologies. Her work has received a Pushcart nomination. A chapbook is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press.

Putting on That Face by Margaret Elysia Garcia

Margaret Elysia Garcia (she/her) is the author of short story ebook collection Sad Girls and Other Stories, and the audiobook Mary of the Chance Encounters, and the co-founder and director of Las Pachucas theatrical troupe in northeastern California. She teaches creative writing and theatre at California Correctional Center in Susanville, CA. You can find her on Instagram @writerchickmama and @laspachucas.

Bliss by Katherine Hillier

Born 1994, Katherine Hillier (she/her) is a freelance illustrator from the Northamptonshire countryside in the UK. Her work is informed by the nature that surrounds her and the folklore it has inspired, while she also draws on the pop culture and history that has filled her life. You can find her on Instagram @katherinehillierart and on Tumblr @katherinehillierillustration.

My Unkempt Angel by Katie Dillard

Katie Dillard (she/her) was born and raised in rural Missouri. In 2010, she moved out west to pursue her MA in Creative Writing at The University of California-Davis. She has published poems in Prism International, Mothers Always Write, The Revolution (Relaunch), and several other online ‘zines. You can visit her blog, The Untamed Heart, for links to her work and follow her on Twitter @ktbeckmagic.

Issue III / April 2020

The theme for this issue is SKIN.

We are thrilled to bring to you a collection of truly remarkable pieces from North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. We are amazed at the unique and underrepresented interpretations of the theme SKIN provided by our contributors: Does skin become a manifestation of our mental or physical illness? Or a site for our desire? Does it become a reminder of past transgressions? Do we want to harm it? Can we learn to love it again?

TW/CW: This issue contains themes of and references to sexual abuse, self-harm, violence, and illness. Please let us know if we need to add anything more to this list.

Happy and safe reading!

ang(st) issue 3Read Here

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Cover Art by 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

The cover image explores self-consciousness, and in particular how we tend to project our insecurities onto other people, shaping what we perceive to be their opinions and expectations of us.

lichenology by 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.

My skin as a fabric of bruises by 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.

Petals by 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

shadow by 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

The Entirety by 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.

What Defines Beauty by 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.

What Defines Beauty contains a pattern design of beauty and diversity. Beauty comes in all skin tones, body shapes, sizes and age. The artist’s main focus with this design is to indicate that we should stop promoting the same stereotype of beauty standards in the Western culture. We should think about the definition of beauty.

the year my body learned to speak (but not the year i learned to listen) by 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.

Elara by 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.

This Hairshirt Is For You by 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.

Oh, to think my body is an airship by 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.