Dr. Matthew J. Farrell grew up in Sacramento and currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, a fellow doctor. He received a BA in Film & Media Studies from Stanford University, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Oregon, and an MD from Oregon Health & Science University. He is now a radiation oncology resident at UCLA, doing his best to write in his head during long commutes. His fiction, poetry, and essays have been published in both literary and academic journals, including JAMA and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Deirdre O’Connor is the author of two books of poems, most recently The Cupped Field, which received the 2018 Able Muse Book Award. Her work has appeared in Poetry, Cave Wall, Fourth River, On the Seawall, and other journals.

She directs the Writing Center at Bucknell University, where she also served for many years as Associate Director of the Bucknell Seminar for Undergraduate Poets. She can be found online at deirdre-oconnor.com.

A graduate of Queen’s University Artist In The Community Education Program, Rhonda Melanson has been published in several print and online magazines. She is the author of two chapbooks: Gracenotes (Beret Days Press) and My Name is Mary (Alien Buddha Press). She also co-edits a literary blog Uproar.

Lucy Griffith has published two collections of poetry, We make a Tiny Herd, which won both a Wrangler Award and a Willa Award, and Wingbeat Atlas. A former hospital administrator, she lives on the Guadalupe River near a town called Comfort.

Christine Lacedra is a retired RN who spends her days in her cabin by the McKenzie River in Oregon, writing poems about the healing power of nature.