Issue 9 Contributors

MARY ANN DIMAND was born in Southern Illinois, and the influence of this region is evident in her writing. Previous publication credits include: The History of Game Theory Volume I: From the Beginnings to 1945; and Women of Value: Feminist Essays on the History of Women in Economics, 
among others. Mary can be followed on twitter @maryanndimand and facebook. //CONSIDER THE MEADOW, PG 19, EPIC, PG 20

MARSHALL GECK is an emerging writer, environmental advocate, traveller, politico, and hopeless idealist with a sense of humor. He is a dual citizen of Minnesota and California, but currently resides in Washington, D.C., where he works on sustainable finance and climate change issues. You can find more of his short stories on his blog at https://marshallgeckfictionblog.wordpress.com and can also follow him on Twitter at @MarshallGeck. //HAWKING SPRING, PG 9

KATE LADEW is a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BA in Studio Art. She resides in Graham, NC with her cats, Charlie Chaplin and Janis Joplin. // IT IS SO SMALL, SO SLIGHT, PG 5, SHE DIMINISHED, PG 6, IT'S NOT REAL AT FIRST, PG 7, YOU FALL AWAY SLOWLY, PG 8

CHAD W. LUTZ is a speedy human born in Akron, Ohio, in 1986, and raised in the neighboring suburb of Stow. Alumna of Kent State University's English program, Chad earned an MFA in Creative Writing at Mills College and currently serves as an assistant editor for Pretty Owl Poetry. Their writing has been featured in KYSO Flash, Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, Gold Man Review, and Haunted Waters Press, was awarded the 2017 prize in literary fiction by Bacopa Review, and was a nominee for the 2017 Pushcart in poetry. // I-71 S, PG 13, GEOGRAPHY AS CATABOLISM AS PERCEPTION, PG 14

CARLA MCGILL I earned my doctorate in English from the University of California, Riverside. My work has been published in A Clean Well-Lighted Place, The Atlanta Review, Shark Reef, Crack the Spine, Westview, Common Ground Review, Caveat Lector, Door Is A Jar, Inland Empire Magazine, Carbon Culture Review, Vending Machine Press, Nebo: A Literary Journal, Schuylkill Valley Journal of the Arts, Streetlight Magazine, The Penmen Review, Whistling Shade, Cloudbank, Paragon Journal, Burningword, Poets’ Espresso Review, The Alembic, California Quarterly, and Broad River Review. My story, “Thirteen Memories,” received an Honorable Mention in Glimmer Train’s MAR/APR 2016 Very Short Fiction Contest. I write poetry and fiction. // HOW TO GET OVER ALMOST ANYTHING, PG 25, I WAS THE HOOK, PG 26

FINLEY J. MACDONALD grew up in Sun River, Montana. For the last decade, he has lived in China, currently in Zhuhai with his partner Yang Meiting and his daughter, Molly, where he teaches English writing and speaking at Sun Yat-sen University. He is the author of a collection of poems entitled House of Violence and a novel entitled Angels, Delirium, Liberty. His fiction and nonfiction has been published or accepted by Anomaly, Menacing Hedge, Nude Bruce Review, Near to the Knuckle, Embodied Effigies, and Shanghai Literary Review. His writing can be found on his site, deliriumliberty@wordpress.com, and he can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fin.macdonald.9. //SPOILAGE, PG 27

SARAH MORGAN A screenwriter and entrepreneur living in Austin, Texas, Sarah Morgan has written and performed sketch comedy at the Fallout Theater, and is currently working on a project writing 365 songs in 365 days. Her poems are published or forthcoming in Steam Ticket,and The Round Journal. See more of her work at: sarahmorganstory.com. //TRIM, PG 15, UNE PETITE FLUER BLEUE, PG 16

NOLO SEGUNDO spent 10 years teaching English, including the years 1973-75 teaching ESL [English as a second language] in Asia in the capital cities of Phnom-Penh, Taipei, and Tokyo. As an agnostic self-styled existentialist [and very full of himself] 24 year old, I almost drowned in a Vermont river and had an NDE [near-death experience]. I went into that river believing only this world, i.e., matter, is real; I came out of it knowing I have a consciousness that both predates and post-dates my body, and that there is an Intelligence/Being/Force immeasurably greater than our puny human intellects can conceive. [And no, my NDE was not of the white light sort, but then my near drowning was not accidental.] To put it another way, one day I believed there was no intrinsic meaning to life; the next day I was overwhelmed by how much meaning there is to our sentient lives--and I'm still overwhelmed by it [Oh, and karma is real, and like gravity, a law of the Universe: ALL our actions count]. More and more I feel we are all asleep, sharing a long dream we call 'life', and every day hundreds of thousands of people awaken from that dream while even more fall asleep. //THE OLD TRACKS, PG 24



EMORY RUSSO is a trans man, cat enthusiast, and Maryland native. He currently lives in Tampa, Florida. You can follow Emory on Twitter @emoryarusso // II MATTACCINO, PG 17

EVAN STEUBER hails from Kentucky where they spent their first twenty-some years working in restaurants and retail, meeting the love of their life, and getting educated. Evan's creative work has appeared or is forthcoming in journals such as LUMINA Online, Apofenie, Crack the Spine, and The Gravity of the Thing. They recently received their PhD in the Program for Writers at the University of Illinois at Chicago. You can find them on Twitter @justevanjs //TESTIFY PG 21