Taylor Risinger studied creative writing and literary studies at Marshall University. He is planning to proceed on with his education with a MFA in poetry. Currently, he is working on poetry that advocates for transgender equality (being a transman himself) and spending a lot of time with his dog, Stark.
You’re always praying, How to Throw a Birthday Party, Four Deaths Ago, Wolf’s Bane, and Emptying the Blue Jar, Volume 5, Issue 2
Nicolas Ridley writes fiction, non-fiction, scripts, and stage plays. A prize-winner and Pushcart Prize nominee, his short stories have been published in a wide range of journals and magazines in the UK, the USA, and Ireland.
Losers, Volume 5, Issue 2
Robert P. Parker, PhD, taught at the University of Chicago, Rutgers University, and the University of LaFeltra (used to be the University of La Verne). Before the strokes, Parker published five books on English Education. After the strokes, Parker published three more diverse books. The second one is Poems & Stories 2016 (Amazon). The fourth book is under contract. Half poems, half prose interspersed. This is the first time that Parker focuses on poems exclusively. Parker came to poems late in the day.
Flowing, Going, and Whirling, Volume 5, Issue 2
Ben Nardolilli currently lives in New York City. His work has appeared in Perigee Magazine, Red Fez, Danse Macabre, The 22 Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Elimae, fwriction, Inwood Indiana, Pear Noir, The Minetta Review, and Yes Poetry. He blogs at mirrorsponge.blogspot.com and is looking to publish a novel.
One Story Too Many, Drunk in LA, Plans this Evening?, and Art Projects, Volume 5, Issue 2
Andrew Miller retired from a career that included university teaching and research in endangered species and aquatic habitat restoration. Now he has time to pursue his long-held interest in creative writing. Recent work has appeared in: Literally Stories, Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, Gravel: A Literary Journal, Front Porch Review, Dime Show Review, Typehouse Literary Magazine, and Shantih Literary Journal. Miller lived in Louisville for a while and attended the University of Louisville.
Call Me Ellen, Volume 5, Issue 2
John Maurer is a 23-year-old writer from Pittsburgh who writes fiction, poetry, and everything in-between, but his work always strives to portray that what is true is beautiful. He has been previously published in Claudius Speaks, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Thought Catalog, and more than twenty others. @JohnPMaurer (johnpmaurer.com)
Terracotta Castle, Lost at Sea, and Padded Walls, Volume 5, Issue 2
Kate Maruyama’s novel HARROWGATE was published by 47North. Her short work has appeared in Stoneboat, Controlled Burn, and Arcadia, as well as on Entropy, The Rumpus, and Duende among others and in numerous anthologies. She writes, teaches, cooks, and eats in Los Angeles, where she lives with her family.
Traces, Volume 5, Issue 2
Courtney LeBlanc is the author of the chapbooks All in the Family (Bottlecap Press) and The Violence Within (Flutter Press), and a Pushcart Prize nominee. She has her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte and her poetry is published or forthcoming in Public Pool, Rising Phoenix Review, The Legendary, Germ Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Brain Mill Press, Haunted Waters Press, and others. She loves nail polish, wine, and tattoos. Follow her on twitter: @wordperv, and IG: @wordperv79.
A Choose Your Own Path Poem, Permanence, Fall Leaves, Yellow, and Original Sin, Volume 5, Issue 2
Michelle Kouzmine graduated from Lesley University with an MFA in Creative Writing. Kouzmine is currently an English professor at Miami Dade College, teaching both composition and literature.
What Cara Wants, Volume 5, Issue 2
J.D. Kotzman’s fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in After the Pause, The Bookends Review, The Chronos Chronicles (a project of Indie Authors Press), Crack the Spine, Drunk Monkeys, Foliate Oak, Ink Stains (a project of Dark Alley Press), Inscape, Kentucky Review, Pidgeonholes, Slink Chunk Press, The Speculative Edge, Straylight, An Unlikely Companion (a project of E&GJ Little Press), and Yellow Chair Review. Kotzman currently works in the health policy field in Washington, D.C. Previously, Kotzman served as an editor and writer for several print and online news publications.
Washes Ashore, Volume 5, Issue 2
The Magnolia Review 