Nic Alea; Sossity Chiricuzio; Miranda Schmidt; Imani Sims; Christopher Stephen Soden
Nic Alea holds a fellowship from the Lambda Literary Foundation and was voted one of SF Weekly’s “Best Writers without a Book.” Nic has work featured in journals such as Muzzle Magazine, The Paris American, decomP magazinE, Grimoire, and others. Nic reads tarot with focus on poets, writers, and creative processes. They are currently working on their debut novel and live in Melbourne, Australia.
Sossity Chiricuzio is a queer femme outlaw poet, a working class storyteller. What her friends’ parents often referred to as a bad influence, and possibly still do. A 2015 Lambda Fellow, she writes about activism, connection, and survival, and is found in journals like Adrienne, great weather for MEDIA, and Lunch Ticket, and in anthologies like The Remedy, Glitter and Grit, and Not My President. More info at www.sossitywrites.com.
Miranda Schmidt’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in TriQuarterly, The Collagist, Phoebe, Luna Station Quarterly, and other journals. Miranda grew up in the Midwest and now lives with her partner and two cats in Portland, Oregon, where she edits the Sun Star Review and teaches at Portland Community College. Miranda is a graduate of the University of Washington’s MFA program and a 2017 Lambda Literary Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellow. Her recently completed novel, Or Wanting To Be Known, was a finalist for the Nilsen First Novel Prize, and she is currently at work on a project inspired by shapeshifting fairy tales. You can read more of her work at www.mirandaschmidt.com.
Imani Sims is a spicy-Chai-tea-loving Seattle native who spun her first performance poem at the age of fourteen. She believes in the healing power of words and the transformational nuance of the human story. Imani works to empower youth and adults through various writing courses and interdisciplinary shows all over the nation. She is a 2016 Artist Trust and CityArtist Grant recipient, current Curator of Kitchen Sessions (a performance art collaboration with Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas), writer for On the Boards, 2016/2018 Gay City Arts Fellow and 2017 Center on Contemporary Arts Artist in Residence. Her book (A)live Heart is available from Sibling Rivalry Press.
Christopher Stephen Soden received his MFA in Poetry from Vermont College of Fine Arts in January of 2005. He teaches craft, theory, genre and literature. He writes poetry, plays, and literary, film, and theatre critique for www.sharpcritic.com, EDGE Dallas, and John Garcia’s The Column.
Tyler Champion
Tyler Champion is an illustrator and designer working in Nashville, TN. He graduated from the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic art in 2010. He has worked on an array of projects including gig posters, concept art for video games, comics, shirt designs, and advertisements.
