Masthead

Jadyn Nguyen

Jadyn believes the key to this universe is being your full self. His experience includes working with leading philanthropic foundations and serving as a founding team member for three Denver-based non-profits.

As the founder of Penkhay J, LLC, he supports organizations with social media strategy and content distribution. When more people know about the great effects of youth development, then more individuals can be positively impacted.

Jadyn is a Denver Public School alumni and serves as a board member for the Colorado Youth Congress. He loves learning, playing card games, and spending time with loved ones. He’s a bigtime fan of the Chainsmokers!

Madden Oliver

Madden grew up in Washington D.C. They are a prior Division 1 athlete who loves hedgehogs, piercings, and Disney. They are an advocate, activist, and student. Their passions include creating connections through shared lived experiences and mental health resourcing. They believe storytelling is a powerful avenue to destigmatize and uplift minority narratives. They create content on social media, write poetry, and enjoy using mixed media to depict life. They are a current volunteer with American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. They love trying new sports, the latest being: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Rock Climbing and Trail Running. They aspire to be an Ironman. As a queer neurodiverse person, who values humor, they hope that sharing stories can capture struggle and highlight hope.

Ann Hickox

Ann is an undergraduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder pursuing a BS in Accounting. She is also pursuing a minor in Art History which feeds her love of museums and historic studies. Also an accomplished musician, Ann has received merit awards from the Royal British School of Music and has played in multiple orchestra ensembles and quartets. She enjoys busy college life and looking after her two pampered rabbits. Outside of school, Ann can be found reading historical novels, rock climbing, and finding fun places to eat.

Eva Reish

Eva Reish is a student at the University of Colorado Boulder studying Marketing and Creative Technology and Design. She is a Diverse Scholar, a brother of Delta Sigma Pi Professional Fraternity, and member of Business & Engineering Women in Technology. Eva grew up in Aurora where she played basketball, was the president of DECA, and curated recipes for NASA through her high school. She is passionate about discovering the world through travel, cultural immersion and meeting new people. In her free time, she likes to connect with friends and family, participate in outdoor activities like hiking and fishing, improve her graphic design skills, and watch Breaking Bad.

Luis Diego Rodriguez

Luis Diego was born in Little Rock AR, his family being from Venezuela and Spain. He’s an avid runner, as a part of his high school cross-country team, completing his first marathon at age 15. He has a love for history, especially military history. He interviews veterans and does in depth research into their stories, publishing them in his YouTube channel “Military History Unveiled.” He seeks opportunities for community service—including spending a month in Egypt helping communities have access to water and shelter—and he enjoys attending school and traveling. His other interests include reading, mainly non-fiction and science-fiction, playing classical and electric guitar, and water and snow skiing.

Jaron Cook

Jaron, a dedicated single father of two, is an avid reader passionate about exploring diverse perspectives. He thrives on engaging in conversations, cherishing the opportunity to delve into others’ thoughts. Beyond his love for literature, Jaron finds solace and inspiration in the performing arts.

Vishnu Gonzales

Vishnu Gonzales is a dedicated professional with a strong foundation in the music industry, particularly as a rap artist known by the stage name “The Sun Vishnu.” At 19, he has already made significant strides in his career, showcasing his talent and creativity through multiple successful releases. With 5 years of experience honing his craft, Vishnu has developed expertise in songwriting, performance, and music production. His professional journey is marked by his ability to connect with audiences through powerful lyrics and dynamic performances. Vishnu’s commitment to excellence and passion for music continue to drive his pursuit of creating impactful art that resonates with listeners globally.

Stevi Sargas

Stevi Sargas is a queer, spec-fic author from Aotearoa New Zealand. She graduated NorthTec: Tai Tokerau Wānanga summa cum laude in 2024 with a Diploma in Creative Writing. Her work can be found in journals such as bad apple and A Part of Me. Stevi edits for F(r)iction and freelances in publishing, where her recent project won the 2023 Australian Game Developer Award (ADGA) for Excellence in Narrative. She is an unflappable welfare advocate, using her experience of chronic illness and neurodivergence to increase accessibility and awareness. Stevi writes about messy little guys new to the human condition—which, honestly—aren’t we all?

Jazzmin Joya

Jazzmin Joya (she/her) is an enthusiastic young writer who is currently attending the University of California, Berkeley pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English and Media Studies. She enjoys reading short fiction, poetry, and horror/mystery thrillers but is open to all genres. She spent her high school career participating in an organization called WriteGirl where she was published in one of their anthologies, This Moment. She also wrote for her school’s advocacy newspaper and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate two years in a row. She plans to continue her passion in writing and exploring the publishing industry.

Ciena Valenzuela-Peterson

Ciena Valenzuela-Peterson is a graduate student at USC pursuing a master’s degree in Literary Editing and Publishing. She graduated from USC with a BA in English Creative Writing and Political Science with a concentration in Race, Gender, and the Politics of Justice. She is the President of the USC Literary Society, the university’s premier student-led literary organization, and she is passionate about building supportive communities of readers and writers and promoting the literary arts. A lover of all things gothic, Ciena is fascinated by the macabre and the horror genre’s underrated literary merit. Her work has been published by Pornstar Martini Magazine, ARC South Pasadena, and Systems Change Alliance. In her spare time, you can find Ciena doodling in her sketchbook, eating takeout with friends, and building elaborate houses in Minecraft.  

Asma Al-Masyabi

Asma Al-Masyabi is a poet, writer, and visual artist based in Colorado. She is a Scholastic Silver Medal Poetry winner and ruth weiss Foundation Emerging Poet Award winner with publications in The Cincinnati Review, Subnivean, the Santa Clara Review, and more. In her spare time, she spends too much money on manga, watches competitive cooking shows with her family, and gets lost on Pinterest while trying to draw all the pretty outfits. She’s pursuing a degree in creative writing at the University of Colorado-Denver and looks forward to a career filled with words and art, her two biggest passions. 

Ari Iscariot

Ari Iscariot is a queer, neurodivergent, chronically ill author and artist living in Florida. They recently graduated from Florida International University summa cum laude, with a BA in Literature and a minor in International Communications. Among their many hobbies, they DM for an insatiably chaotic DND group, attend weekly meetings with their (somewhat) less chaotic writing group, “Seaquills,” and regularly fall down research rabbit holes from which they’ve always emerged unscathed. (So far.) But mostly, they write. Their writing centers intense queer relationships, indulges in the power of ravenous love, and explores the transgressive nature of gender-variant bodies.  

Sara Santistevan

Sara Santistevan was born in California, where she grew up around vivid storytellers. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a B.A. in Literature and Legal Studies. During her time at UCSC, Sara received the 2021 Reyna Grande Scholarship for her poetry on the Latina identity. Her forthcoming chapbook, The Root from Which Freedom Blossoms, explores how complicated mythologies, histories, and cultural norms can live on in the internal lives of marginalized individuals. In her free time, Sara enjoys visiting local cafes, petting all her neighborhood cats, and discovering the magic of the written word. 

Inanna Carter

Inanna is a recent graduate of Kutztown University with a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in English/Professional Writing. She’s currently undertaking an online MFA in Emerson College’s Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing program and freelances for a gaming journalism site. With her two wild cats Remy and Mouse constantly on the run, Inanna’s been doing her best to outline and write her first novel, all while crocheting, reading (more like collecting) any romance books she can find, and happily listening to BTS or Stray Kids. 

www

Zara Garcia

Zara Garcia is a proud Mexican American woman living in Southwest Florida, where she recently graduated with a BA in English and a minor in World Literature. She is an aspiring editor with a passion for magical realism and Latinx literature. When she isn’t reading, she is writing free verse poems in her journal, making fake cakes out of spackle, or cooking vegan food.  

Aubrey Unemori

Aubrey Unemori graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Creative Writing. She was born and raised on Maui, Hawaii but currently resides in Seattle, Washington. She likes to fill her days with reading, writing, playing games with friends, and pretending to be a coffee snob.  

Haley Lawson

Haley Lawson is a writer and educator, having taught English in the U.S.A., Mongolia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Currently, she works as a Program Coordinator for AmeriCorps. A lover of all things make-believe and magick, she writes genre fiction under the pen name H. M. L. Swann. Some of her works are published in The Manchester Anthology IX and Quibble Literary. She received her master’s degree in Creative Writing from the University of Manchester in December 2021. When not writing, she can be found reading tarot cards and hiking along the shores of Lake Superior. 

www

Simon Kerr

Simon Kerr is a writer/reader/editor from Colorado. Their home turf is fantasy and sci fi, their passion is queer representation in media, and they have opinions about loose leaf tea. 

Marizel Malan

Marizel Malan was born and raised in South Africa, and recently graduated from the University of Pretoria with an Honours Degree in English Literature. She showcases her poetry on the online platform Substack via her newsletter named I don’t drink gin and tonic. Marizel is currently working as a ghost writer, writing nonfiction books in various niches including history, hobbies and crafts. Whenever she is not reading or writing, you can find her dabbling in a variety of arts and crafts, playing Minecraft, or baking for her family.

Sam Burt

Sam is a tutor and proofreader living in east London. Since graduating in 2021 with a master’s in creative writing, he has been a bookseller for Phlox Books and Waterstones, and started the East London Indie Book Club to champion innovative fiction from small presses. Sam is the founder and editor of POINT BLOC, a new online literary journal that will launch later this year, and has edited fiction submissions to Bandit Fiction, An Inkling, and The Manchester Anthology IX. His fiction has appeared in Popshot Quarterly, Bandit Fiction, and Ink, Sweat and Tears, and his essays/reviews in The London Magazine, 3:AM Magazine, and BookRiot. Off the page, he can usually be found baking, volunteering at a local LGBTQ+ charity, or missing shuttlecocks.

Azalea Acevedo

Azalea Acevedo grew up in Florida, where she spent her childhood drawing portraits of her favorite characters from the books she read. In high school, she moved to South Carolina. She attended Trident Technical College and graduated from Converse University, where she studied creative and professional writing. She was an editor for The Concept Literary Magazine, the school’s literary journal, which piqued her interest in developing stories in collaboration with an editorial team. Azalea has been published in both The Concept Literary Magazine and Converse Magazine, the university’s annual publication.

Asmaani Kumar

Asmaani Kumar is a graduate in Sociology from Delhi University. Brought up in Guwahati, Assam and currently living in Delhi, she works as a writer for a media company. You’ll always find her taking the longer road for walks while blasting music in her ears. A hardcore postcard collector who spends too much time writing letters, reading poetry, gazing up at the skies and daydreaming of being in the mountains or a seaside village, these days she has been trying to learn new things like a language, an instrument, and cooking. What brings her happiness more than anything is stories, seen, read, or heard and she hopes she can spend a lifetime telling stories, sometimes her own but mostly of the people she comes across. She’s always ready to listen.

Gina Gruss

Gina Marie Gruss is an undergraduate student at the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of FAU, double majoring in Creative Writing and Visual Art. She’s a born-and-raised south Floridian who hates the heat but loves her home state’s myths and nature. Her works have been featured by Amazon Prime Video, Mensa America, Wattpad, and FAU. She’s excitedly crafting her interdisciplinary senior thesis, which explores different Armageddons while centralizing disabled, queer, and diverse narratives. When not creating, she loves planning events, cooking and baking way too much food for said events, avoiding getting eaten by gators, and spoiling her cat Apollo.

www

C. E. Janecek

C. E. Janecek is the internal newsletter wizard of the Brink team, keeping the staff up to date on happenings, deadlines, and projects each month. C. E. recently got their MFA in poetry at Colorado State University and is now a freelance editor and writer—having work featured in Poetry , Booth ,Gulf Coast, and elsewhere. Online at  www.cewritespoems.com. 

www

Chase Bailey

Chase Bailey is a baker living in Columbus, OH. He holds a BA in Professional Writing from Miami University and he enjoys learning about the evolution of colloquial language. Chase is a fiend for any book with magic or queer characters—don’t even get him started on queer characters with magic. When he’s not spamming your feed with F(r)iction-related content, Chase enjoys listening to the birds, sharing apples with his dog, and doing yoga. Eventually—eventually—he will put together a chapbook of poetry.

Ally Geist

Ally is a quirky little Canuck living in Toronto, Canada (yes, they do have a lot of maple syrup up there!). She graduated with a BA in Theatre Studies (specializing in Playwriting and Dramaturgy) from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. She also has a post-grad certificate in Publishing from Ryerson University. When Ally is not reading, crying over cute puppy videos on the internet, defending the merits of the Oxford comma, or watching reruns of Schitts Creek, she is most likely lip-synching for her life in her bedroom, pretending she is one of the fabulous Drag Race queens.

Jaclyn Morken

Jaclyn is an aspiring writer and editor from Saskatoon, Canada, where she completed an MFA in Writing and BA Hons in English at the University of Saskatchewan. Her work can be found in antilang no. 1, Dually Noted (March 2019), and River Volta Review of Books. Jaclyn writes fantasy and speculative fiction.

Amber Sullivan

Amber Sullivan is probably hiding in a dark corner somewhere. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English Writing at the University of Colorado in 2018. Her work at Brink includes editing for  F(r)iction  and  F(r)iction Log, reviewing submissions, and other miscellaneous assignments. Her writing can also be found in F(r)iction Log. Fortunately for Amber, Brink is mostly remote, as she usually smells a bit like canned fish after her cat drags her shoes into his food bowl. She spends her time outside of Brink training her apartment demon, working a day job, and feeling like a secret agent while writing fanfiction under an alias. 

Erin Clements

Erin Clements is an Ohio-based knower of things and sender of emails. Armed with a graduate certificate in Publishing from New York University and a summa cum laude BA in English, she does a bit of everything: outside of her work with Brink, she works as the Author Coordinator and Personal Assistant to the CEO at Lucinda Literary, as a freelance Publicity Assistant and Community Manager for a few publishing small businesses, and as an editor.

She loves everything literary, from Shakespeare to the newest fantasy and romance bestsellers, and she’ll happily tell you her opinions on everything. When she’s not working, she’s probably buying more books than she could ever read, making travel plans, talking about how she previously worked for bestselling author John Green, or getting emotional over cute dogs.

Sonya Minner

Sonya Minner is a self-proclaimed writer from western Pennsylvania. She successfully graduated from California University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing in 2015. Since then, she’s bounced around from place to place. She currently works in an office by day and writes YA fiction (and sometimes hockey articles) by night. If she’s not writing, she’s probably tweeting. One day, she hopes to pay off her student loan debt and publish a best-selling YA novel, just maybe not in that order.