Dr. Kelly Ann Jacobson is the author or editor of many published books, including her contest-winning chapbook An Inventory of Abandoned Things (Split/Lip Press), her young adult novel Tink and Wendy (Three Rooms Press), and her forthcoming young adult novel Robin and Her Misfits (Three Rooms Press). Kelly received her PhD in fiction from Florida State University and teaches as the Assistant Professor of English (Creative Writing) at the University of Lynchburg and as an Instructor of speculative fiction and short story writing for Southern New Hampshire University’s online MFA in creative writing. Kelly’s short works have been published in such places as Best Small Fictions, Boulevard, Southern Humanities Review, Daily Science Fiction, Northern Virginia Review, Iron Horse Literary Review, New Plains Review, and Gargoyle.

Miriam Gershow’s debut novel, The Local News, was hailed as “unusually credible and precise" and "deftly heartbreaking” by The New York Times. Miriam’s stories appear in The Georgia Review, Gulf Coast and Black Warrior Review, among other journals. She is the recipient of a Fiction Fellowship from the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing andan Oregon Literary Fellowship, as well as writing residencies at Playa Summer Lake and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. Miriam lives with her family in Eugene OR, where she teaches at the University of Oregon. She is at work on her next novel. (Photo Credit: Livia Fremouw)

Born in London to a runaway teenager, Rosie has always been a cuckoo in the nest. She's an eclectic writer and performer, ranging from singing in post-punk gothic band The March Violets, through touring with the Subversive Stitch exhibition in the 90s to her alter-ego Rosie Lugosi the Vampire Queen, cabaret chanteuse and mistress of ceremonies. She has published five solo collections of poetry and her award-winning short stories, poems and essays have been widely anthologized. She is winner of the DaDa Award for Performance Artist of the Year and a Poetry Award from the People's Café, New York. Her most recent poetry collection, 'Everything Must Go' (Holland Park Press 2012) draws on her experience of throat cancer. She won the Mslexia Novel competition in 2012 and her debut novel 'The Palace of Curiosities' was published in March 2013 by HarperCollins. Her second novel, 'Vixen', (Borough Press 2014) is now available in all formats.

Melanie Figg is the author of the award-winning debut poetry collection, Trace, as well as the sold-out chapbook, Hurry, Love. She has won grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The McKnight and Jerome Foundations, the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and others. Her poems, personal essays, and book reviews have been published in dozens of literary journals, including The Iowa Review, Nimrod, and Iron Horse Literary Review. With over 25 years of teaching experience, Melanie teaches at the Writer’s Center and privately in the DC area, and also critiques prose manuscripts—offering specific and helpful feedback for improvement. As a certified professional coach, she works with all kinds of writers and people looking to add more creative practices to their lives, finish creative projects (by tackling procrastination, the Inner Critic, poor time management, etc.), write a new chapter after retirement, or achieve other results in their creative or personal lives. She also leads annual Women's Writing Retreats within 60 miles of DC.

Writer of feminist medical thrillers and suspense. Author of THE ALGORITHM WILL SEE YOU NOW and THE COMMITTEE WILL KILL YOU NOW ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jennifer / JL Lycette is a novelist, award-winning essayist, rural physician, wife, and mom. Mid-career, she discovered narrative medicine on her path back from physician burnout and has been writing ever since. She is an alumna of the 2019 Pitch Wars Novel Mentoring program. Her first novel, The Algorithm Will See You Now, was published in March 2023. It was a 2023 SCREENCRAFT CINEMATIC BOOK COMPETITION FINALIST, 2023 READER'S FAVORITE BRONZE MEDAL WINNER in the Medical Thriller category, 2023 MAXY AWARD'S FINALIST - Thriller category, and 2023 PAGE TURNER AWARD'S FINALIST - Best Debut Novel category. The Committee Will Kill You Now is her second novel and will be out November 2023. Available for pre-order now! Connect with her, see more of her writing, and subscribe to receive the latest updates at https://jenniferlycette.com or her Facebook author page, https://www.facebook.com/Author.JL.Ly..., or Instagram @jl_lycette

Audrey Burges writes novels, humor, satire, and essays in Richmond, Virginia. Her stories have been published in McSweeney's, Pithead Chapel, Cease, Cows, HAD, Into the Void, and elsewhere. Audrey was raised in Arizona by her linguist parents, which is a lot like being raised by wolves, but with better grammar. She moved to Virginia as an adult but still carries mountains and canyons in her heart, and sometimes, when she closes her eyes, she can still smell ponderosa pines in the sun.

Jennifer Murvin is a writer and teacher. Her essays and stories have appeared or are forthcoming in American Short Fiction (2015 - Winner of the American Short(er) Ficton Contest, judged by Stuart Dybek), Phoebe (Honorable Mention, judged by Ramona Ausubel, 2015 Fiction Contest), Out of Sequence: The Sonnets Remixed, Revolver, The Sun, Mid-American Review, Midwestern Gothic, Bellingham Review, Cincinnati Review, Baltimore Review (Third Place, Winter 2012 Short Fiction Contest), Huizache, and other literary journals. Jen Murvin has also published several comic books for children, including the series Chickasaw Adventures, Stories of the Saints, and McGraw-Hill's World History Ink. Jen is a faculty member at Missouri State University, where she teaches Fiction Writing (short story), the Graphic Novel (craft and literature), and Contemporary American Fiction. She is also a faculty member for the River Pretty Writers Retreat held twice annually in Tecumseh, Missouri. Jen holds an MA in English from Missouri State University and an MFA in Nonfiction from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Tara Campbell is a writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, and fiction co-editor at Barrelhouse. She received her MFA from American University. Previous publication credits include SmokeLong Quarterly, Masters Review, Wigleaf, Booth, Strange Horizons, CRAFT Literary, and Escape Pod/Artemis Rising. She's the author of a novel, TreeVolution, and four collections: Circe's Bicycle, Midnight at the Organporium, Political AF: A Rage Collection, and Cabinet of Wrath: A Doll Collection. Connect with her at www.taracampbell.com or on Twitter: @TaraCampbellCom or IG: @thetreevolution