Contributors

Kristen Wildfire (She/Her) is a writer, artist and actor from Toronto who currently resides in Muskoka. Kristen’s writing path has been defined by her deep love for fantasy, nature, magic and the power of connection and memory. Having been working on two literary high fantasy novel projects for many years, writing short stories has allowed her to explore other ways of creating a tale outside of her novel universes. Kristen has a degree in Classical Studies from York University and has fun cosplaying as her D&D character, Juniper. Her poetry has been published with Diaspora Dialogues in the past and at the start of the year, one of her short stories was long-listed for Augur Magazine. She currently co-hosts an open mic event in the town she lives near and hopes to finish the final edit of her main novel project by spring.

Kristi Schirtzinger's work has been featured in The Black Fork Review, The International Feminism and Rhetoric Conference, Drunk Monkeys, Wild Greens Magazine, and Flash Fiction Magazine.

Kristopher Monroe's work has been featured in places like The Atlantic, Playboy, Dazed & Confused, Juxtapoz, Coffin Bell Journal, storySouth, Neon Dystopia, and many others. Kristopher is the recipient of two Georgia Press Association Awards for arts journalism and is currently seeking representation for a recently completed pre-apocalyptic novel.

A writer and book artist working in both text and image, Kristy Bowen creates a regular series of chapbook, zine, and artist book projects. Since 2005, she has blogged about writing, art, and other creative pursuits at dulcetly: notes on a bookish life. She is the author of eleven full-length collections of poetry/prose/hybrid work, including the recent SEX & VIOLENCE (Black Lawrence Press, 2020), and the self-issued ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MONSTER, DARK COUNTRY and FEED.

Although Kushal Poddar has authored ten books, the latest being 'A White Can For The Blind Lane', and his works have been translated into twelve languages, and he has been a sub-editor of Outlook magazine and the editor of Words Surfacing, and he does some illustrations and sketches for various magazines if you ask him, he will say that he gardens a growing up daughter.
Twitter- https://twitter.com/Kushalpoe

At 39 years old, Langdon L. Lytle moved to St. Pete, Fl and went back to school for a Culinary degree. Four years later, he is currently on hiatus from the hospitality industry and focusing on his original collegiate pursuit and career passion of writing. He recently completed a feature-length script which is being read over by several people in the industry that he has hopes for. He additionally fills his time with a new blog on his personal development, travels, and culinary tastes.

Laura McPherson (she/they) is a multigenred writer based in Chicago. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Night Picnic Journal, Downstate Story, Cosmic Horror Monthly, The Hyacinth Review, and elsewhere. Her CNF chapbook, inVISIBLE, is forthcoming from Alien Buddha Press. Find her online at https://lauramcphersonwriter.com/ and on Twitter @silversatire.

Laura Stamps is the author of 51 novels, novellas, short story collections, and poetry books. Most recently: “The Good Dog” (Prolific Pulse Press 2023) and “Addicted to Dog Magazines” (Impspired, 2023). Recipient of 7 Pushcart Prize nominations. Lover of feral cats, Chihuahuas, and Yorkies. www.LauraStampsFiction.blogspot.com

Laura Stamps loves to play with words in her fiction and prose poetry. Author of 49 novels, novellas, short story collections, and poetry books. Forthcoming: “The Good Dog” (Prolific Pulse Press 2023) and “Addicted to Dog Magazines” (Impspired, 2023). Winner of the Muses Prize. Recipient of a Pulitzer Prize nomination and 7 Pushcart Prize nominations.

Lauren Farmer is a corporate fundraiser from Nottingham and lives in London. Her writing has been published in places such as City Lit’s 2020 Anthology with an extract from her in progress novel, ‘On Loan’, in Swoop Book’s Ordinary People anthology with the short story ‘I Should be Grateful’ and most recently in Cerasus Magazine with ‘Playing Along’.

Laurie Koensgen lives and writes in Ottawa, Canada. Her poetry appears internationally in journals, anthologies and online magazines. Recent publishers include The Ex-Puritan, The Madrigal, Stone Circle Review, The New Quarterly, and Twin Bird Review. She’s a founding member of the Ruby Tuesday Writing Group. Laurie’s fourth chapbook, this clingstone love, will be released by Pinhole Poetry this summer.

Laurie Kuntz has published two poetry collections (The Moon Over My Mother’s House, Finishing Line Press and Somewhere in the Telling, Mellen Press), and three chapbooks (Talking Me Off The Roof, Kelsay Books, Simple Gestures, Texas Review Press, and Women at the Onsen, Blue Light Press). Simple Gestures, won the Texas Review Poetry Chapbook Contest, and Women at the Onsen won the Blue Light Press Chapbook Contest. She has been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes and a Best of the Net Prize. She currently resides in Florida, where everyday is a political poem waiting to be written. Visit her at:

https://lauriekuntz.myportfolio.com/home-1

Lawrence Moore writes from a loft study overlooking the coastal city of Portsmouth where he lives with his husband Matt and nine mostly well behaved cats. He has poetry published at, among others, Sarasvati, Fevers of the Mind, Fahmidan Journal and The Madrigal. His debut chapbook, Aerial Sweetshop, was released by Alien Buddha Press in January 2022. His Twitter handle is @LawrenceMooreUK

Lawrence Winkler is a retired physician, traveler, and natural philosopher. His métier has morphed from medicine to manuscript. He lives with Robyn on Vancouver Island and in New Zealand, tending their gardens and vineyards, and dreams.

His writings have previously been published in The Montreal Review. Some of his other work can be found online at lawrencewinkler.com.

A graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University's Film and English programs—Leah Mosier has been interested in film and art from girlhood and writing for as long as she's been able to capture their characteristics in technical and evocative terms. Her work centralizes political themes, often captured through the lens of feminism or coming-of-age pedagogy.

Leen Raats lives in Belgium. She runs a copywriting business, writing about nature, landscapes, and history. She self-published books in Dutch and won writing contests in Belgium and the Netherlands. Her work appeared in magazines such as Pleiades, 34 Orchard, Crannóg, and Rathalla Review. Find out more at leenwrites.com.

Leigh Therriault is a writer and researcher from Ottawa, Ontario. She is completing a MSc in Communication, Behaviour and Credibility Analysis at the Manchester Metropolitan University, and recently graduated from the Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) certificate program at Ramapo College of New Jersey. She currently volunteers on a team using IGG to help resolve Doe cases. Her poetry has appeared in Hearth & Coffin with another piece forthcoming in Polar Starlight. She also writes for children and is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, and the Canadian Authors Association. Her poems and short stories for young readers are published or forthcoming in The Caterpillar, The Dirigible Balloon, The Toy, and Cricket.

Leigh-Anne Burley is published in nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Leigh-Anne enjoys walking, reading, writing, knitting, and movies. Leigh-Anne Burley and her husband of 43 years live in Virginia.

Lene MacLeod writes dark fiction, suspense, quiet horror, and poetry in Ontario, Canada. She has had a few pieces published since finally deciding to send her work out into the world, after writing for many years. When not writing, she delves into artwork, watching films, or working on micro-publishing projects (she published a zine for two years, and one anthology), Twitter: @lenemacleod

Lesley Goldie trained and worked as a graphic designer until she moved to Portugal. This gave her the opportunity to develop her skill as a fine artist and time to work with words (although, until recently, she had never considered submitting her written work). One day she would love to combine the two. Find her at http://lesart61.wixsite.com/myportfolio

Leslie Cairns (She/her): Leslie Cairns holds an MA degree in English Rhetoric. She lives in Denver, Colorado. She loves her two dogs, especially the dramatics of her husky. She has upcoming flash, short stories, and poetry in various magazines, including Cerasus Magazine, Londemere Lit, and others. Twitter: starbucksgirly

Lilah Warren is a young poet living on the West Coast. She was raised on the shore and now returns to it whenever possible, finding the sea to be her best source of inspiration. That and the shifting nature of female adolescence, spirituality, life, and death. And flowers. At this moment she is likely reading, spending time with her family, or attending an open mic night.

Lillibit Ray has always written in her own personal journals, but began to create poetry and fictional writing in her 20s. She took several creative writing classes during this time which helped her to develop and evolve a story or poem. It assisted her in taking life experiences and developing deeper stories found there, as well as richer characters to bring the story or poetry to life. She has never been published, but she has never attempted to be published before. She writes on her own, for herself sometimes.

Linda Allison is a recovering banker, attempting to be what she always said she would be when she grew up: a writer. Linda lives in The Woodlands, Texas, with the love of her life, where together they’re trying to figure out this retired thing. Her work has appeared in McQueen’s Quinterly, Star 82 Review, and Pile Press. She recently took first place in the Creative Nonfiction Category of the League of Utah Writer’s annual Olive Woolley Burt writing contest. A life-long learner, Linda will be entering an MFA program at Lindenberg University in the fall.

Linda M. Crate (she/her) is a Pennsylvanian writer whose works have been published widely both online and in print. She has twelve published poetry chapbooks, the latest being: Searching Stained Glass Windows For An Answer (Alien Buddha Press, December 2022).

Lis Maestrelo is a Brazilian journalist and translator living in São Paulo, Brazil. When she's not listening to some questionable punk music, she tries to make sense of it all through writing and photography.

Lisa Borkovich was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario where she happily resides with her
family. She writes poetry and the occasional short fiction. The poem “photo synthesis: pictures
of candidate for memory consolidation” appears this June in issue 16-1 of Hamilton Arts and
Letters. The poem “For Les” will appear in the 2023 summer issue of Tower Poetry; the poem
“The Love Song of Grindstone Marsh” will appear in The New Quarterly’s fall issue. Her
memoir in verse, The Way Through awaits publishing.

Liz Worth is a writer based in Hamilton, Ontario. She is the author of several books, including poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Her latest poetry collection, Inside Every Dream, a Raging Sea was published by Book*hug Press in 2024. She can be reached at lizworthauthor.com

Lois Anne DeLong is a freelance writer living in Queens, New York, and is an active member of Woodside Writers, a literary forum that meets weekly. Her story "White Noise and Warm Dogs" was published by DarkWinter Literary Journal in July of 2024, and her stories have also appeared in Dear Booze. In her free time, DeLong enjoys going to the theatre, singing show tunes in piano bars, and cheering her beloved New York Mets.

Lorette C. Luzajic reads, writes, publishes, edits, and teaches flash fiction and prose poetry. Dark stories have appeared in Eclectica, DarkWinter, Ghost Parachute, Centaur, and beyond. Her work has been widely nominated, anthologized, taught in writing courses from Tennessee to Egypt, and translated into Urdu and Spanish. Two of her stories have been selected for Best Small Fictions anthologies. She is the founding editor of The Ekphrastic Review and The Mackinaw: a journal of prose poetry.

Lori D'Angelo is a grant recipient from the Elizabeth George Foundation and an alumna of the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. Her first book, a collection of short stories, is forthcoming from ELJ Editions. Recent work has appeared in All Existing Literary, Bullshit Lit, Chaotic Merge, Divinations Magazine, Ellipsis Zine, Major 7th Magazine, North Dakota Quarterly, Rejection Letters, Sophon Lit, and Voidspace. Find her on Twitter and Bluesky @sclly21 or Instagram and Threads at lori.dangelo1.

Lori has spent the bulk of her career in business communications and public relations. A versatile writer and editor, she has produced materials ranging from articles, brochures and online text - to technical manuals, annual reports and video scripts. Writing flash fiction presents some unique challenges. Interestingly, she approaches it in the same way as her non-fiction work: keep the audience top of mind, write tight, and strive to give people content worthy of their time and attention.

Lori Romero won the Spire Press Chapbook Competition with her entry entitled “The Emptiness That Makes Other Things Possible.” Her first poetry chapbook, “Wall to Wall,” was published by Finishing Line Press. Lori’s poetry and fiction have been published in more than one hundred journals and anthologies.

Lotté Jean is a writer based in Northern England. She is the published author of a fiction novel THE MONSTERS CLUB, poetry collections LETTERS TO JUPITER, 눈 덮인 정원의 밤, and an upcoming screenwriter. She has works featured in Literary Mark, Brave Voices Magazine, Sledgehammerlit and BBC Newcastle.

Louie Leyson write on the unceded ancestral territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Louie's work has earned a CBC Literary Prize in Nonfiction (2023), long-listed for the CBC Literary Prize in Poetry (2024), was a notable selection for the Best Canadian Poetry anthology series (2024), and has received a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. You can find Louie's works in Nimrod Journal, The Malahat Review, The Account, DIAGRAM, Pedestal 95, Radar Poetry, and elsewhere.

LM is a member of the Snake Den Writer's Nest Consortium. He is drinking black coffee, with the sun shining through the blinds, next to a blue/red betta. Louis has been published, in print, on the internet, and is in some dusty basement of a university. Plus, three newspapers. Very hard boiled, noir.

Louise Worthington’s dark poetry and flash fiction have recently been published in The Horror Zine, Chamber Magazine, Sirens Call Publications and many others. She is the author of six novels and two short story and poetry collections and can be found at https://linktr.ee/louiseworthington

South African born, Luke Beling, left home at 19. In 2007, he graduated from Campbellsville University with a BA in English. Luke has had several short stories published in magazines, including: Quiet Shorts (2012), Eyelands (2019), and New Reader Magazine (2021). Luke is the director of tennis for a private club on the Big Island of Hawaii and a content writer for a popular surf brand. Luke is also an indie-folk singer-songwriter. Twitter: @BelingLuke Instagram: luke.beling Facebook: facebook.com/luke.beling Spotify: Luke Beling

Luke Campbell is a 21-year-old writer from Silver Spring, Maryland. His work is influenced by authors such as William S. Burroughs and Charles Bukowski, often exploring the darker sides of American youth culture. When he is not writing fiction, Luke is also a vocalist and guitarist in the punk band Rickety Cricket.

Lunar Vampyre is almost twenty-five years of age. I am a devout vegan, and I care for many jumping spiders (that are in need of new homes). I love reading, and I have written many poems and short stories. I can be contacted through the following e-mail: lunarvampyre@hotmail.com.

Lynda Scott Araya is a short fiction writer from New Zealand, She has most recently been published in The Bangalore Review and has work forthcoming in a Weasel Press anthology.

Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her poetry is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and a Rhysling Award. Find Lynn at: https://lynnwhitepoetry.blogspot.com and https://www.facebook.com/Lynn-White-Poetry-1603675983213077/

M.R. Mandell is a poet based in Los Angeles. You can find her words in SWWIM,
The McNeese Review, Door Is A Jar, HAD, and others. She is the author of two chapbooks, “Don’t Worry About Me,” (Bottlecap Press) and “The Last Girl” (Finishing Line Press). She is a Pushcart nominee, 2024.

Born in Singapore, M.A Amru is an avid writer and a struggling university student. Formerly the secretary of Temasek Polytechnic's Writing Club, he is mainly interested in Science Fiction but also delves into other genres. His works include First Under Heaven and A song for Zenith. His favourite authors include Ayn Rand and Ernest Hemingway. You can find him on Instagram @Endeavourwrites.

M.E. Proctor is currently writing a series of contemporary detective novels. The first book will come out from TouchPoint Press early 2023. Her short stories have been published in Vautrin, Bristol Noir, Pulp Modern, Mystery Tribune, The Bookends Review, Shotgun Honey and others. She lives in Livingston, Texas. Twitter: @MEProctor3

M.W. Irving is a teacher and writer from Vancouver Island in B.C. He hopes you enjoy reading the poem as much as he enjoyed writing it. He's had his work most recently published in Factor Four, OnSpec, and The Lyre. To see more of his work visit mwirving.ca.

M F Drummy holds a PhD in historical theology from Fordham University. The author of numerous articles, essays, poems, reviews, and a monograph on religion and ecology, his work has appeared, or will appear, in Allium, [Alternate Route], Anti-Heroin Chic, Ars Sententia, Deal Jam, Emerge, FERAL, Green Silk, Last Leaves, Main Street Rag, Marbled Sigh, Meetinghouse, Poemeleon, The Word’s Faire, Winged Penny Review, and many others. He and his way cool life partner of over 20 years enjoy splitting their time between the Colorado Rockies and the rest of the planet. He can be found at: Instagram @miguelito.drummalino Website https://bespoke-poet.com

MK Walsh lives in Denver with their partner and four rescue cats (who now run the house). They bike, climb, and write when not vegging on the couch or trying out new forms of peanut butter ice cream. Their short fiction has also been featured in The Viridian Door and PopCULT! Literary Magazine.

Mackenzie Kemp is an aspiring writer with a focus on short stories and poetry. She can be found on Twitter @MackenzieKemp22.

Madeleine D'Este is a writer of dark mysteries from Melbourne. Growing up in Tasmania, obsessed with books and the shadows at the end of the bed, Madeleine now writes female-led speculative fiction. Her supernatural mystery novel The Flower and The Serpent was nominated for the Australian Shadow Award for Best Novel 2019. Find Madeleine at www.madeleinedeste.com or on Twitter @madeleine_deste