Stevan Allred has survived circumcision, a tonsillectomy, a religious upbringing, the ’60s, the War on Poverty, the break-up of The Beatles, pneumonia (twice), any number of bad haircuts, years of psychotherapy, the Reagan Revolution, the War on Drugs, the Roaring ’90s, plantar fasciitis, an embarrassingly bad goatee, the Lewinsky Affair, the Internet bubble, the Florida recount of 2000, the Bush Oughts, the War on Terror, teenage children, a divorce, hay fever, the real estate bubble, male pattern baldness, the great ebola scare of 2014, and heartburn. His collection of linked short stories, A Simplified Map of the Real World, was published in 2013 by Forest Avenue Press. His work has appeared in numerous literary journals, and he teaches creative writing with Joanna Rose at The Pinewood Table.

Kristin Berger is the author of the poetry collection How Light Reaches Us (Aldrich Press, 2016), and a poetry chapbook, For the Willing (Finishing Line Press, 2008). Berger, while writing and living by the sightlines of joy, welcomes the target of fierce failure — a grove of support is always there in the trees.

Nikki Schulak writes and performs comedy about bodies and relationships. Her work has been published in numerous journals and websites. Her essay “On Not Seeing Whales” (Bellevue Literary Review) was chosen as a Notable Selection in Best American Essays 2013.  Her most recent tattoo is an ampersand.