Meet Our Team
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James Rawlings (he/his), AKA David Galloway, author of poyms for people, his poetry and essays have appeared in Rattle, The MacGuffin, Salamander, Penn Review, Permafrost, Passager, and many others. He earned his B.A in English with a Creative Writing Concentration in Poetry from University of Maryland, College Park.
Editor-In-Chief
James Rawlings
Maria S. Picone (she/her) is multi-genre writer and artist from Massachusetts and a Korean adoptee. She has been published in Zócalo Public Square, Fractured Lit, and Whale Road Review, among others including Best Small Fictions ’21. Maria is a Kenyon Review fellow and holds an MFA in fiction from Goddard College. She can be found on Twitter at @mspicone, on Instagram at @mspicone, and at mariaspicone.com.
Managing Editor
Maria S. Picone
Brooke Randel (she/her) is a writer and associate creative director in Chicago. Her writing has been published in Gigantic Sequins, Hypertext Magazine, Jewish Fiction, Pidgeonholes, Smokelong Quarterly, and elsewhere. She can be found on Twitter as @brookerandel and at brookerandel.com.
Prose Editor
Brooke Randel
Annie Schoonover is a Minnesota native who recently graduated from Oberlin College with a major in Creative Writing and minors in English and Theater. Her work appears in Barnstorm Journal, Thimble Literary Review, Mycelia, and more. She can be found on Twitter at @AnnieSchoonover and on Instagram at @atcoolannie.
Associate Prose Editor
Annie Schoonover
Praise Osawaru (he/him) is a writer of Bini descent. A Best of the Net, Pushcart Prize, and Nina Riggs Poetry Award nominee; his work appears in Agbowó, FIYAH, Frontier Poetry, Down River Road, The Maine Review, 20.35 Africa, and Uncanny Magazine, among others. He’s the first-place winner of the 2021 Valiant Scribe Poetry Prize. He’s also a Contributing Poetry Editor for Barren Magazine. Find him on Instagram & Twitter @wordsmithpraise
Associate Prose Editor
Praise Osawaru
B. Luke Wilson (he/him) lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. His fiction and poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Moon City Review, LIT Magazine, East by Northeast Literary Journal, Streetlight Magazine, and elsewhere. In his spare time, he enjoys open water swimming and bouldering. Luke can be found on Instagram @blukewilson. Read more at blukewilson.com.
Poetry Editor
B. Luke Wilson
Michael Imossan is an award-winning poet with the poetry chapbook “For the Love of Country and Memory” (Poetrycolumnnd, 2022) & the gazelle “A Prelude to Caving” (Konya Shamsrumi, 2023). His manuscript “Broken in Three Places” was named semifinalist for the Sillerman Prize for African poetry ‘23. He is a recipient of the PEN International grant.
Associate Poetry Editor
Michael Imossan
Mohammed U. Yusuf is a writer and editor from North-Central, Nigeria. His works have recently appeared—or are forthcoming—in Frontier Poetry, RoseyRavelston Books, Lunaris Review, The Lumiere Review, Olongo Africa Journal, KonyaShamsrumi, among others. He is an Associate Editor at Zoetic Press and tweets @Unyomo.
Associate Poetry Editor
Mohammed U. Yusuf
Samira Shakib-Bregeth is an Iranian-American writer from Chicago who teaches in suburban Atlanta. Samira earned an English M.A. in Literary Studies and has a soft heart for creatives and dreamers. Her #ownvoices novel about a struggling artist and her feminist mother is currently on submission. Find her @samirastorytelling and samirashakibbregeth.com.
Communications Manager
Samira Shakib-Bregeth
Roseline Mgbodichinma is a Nigerian writer passionate about documenting women’s stories. Her work has appeared online and in print and are published or forthcoming in Poet Lore, Agbowo, Isele magazine, Swwim, Native Skin, Down River Road, JFA human rights Journal, and elsewhere. You can reach her on her blog at www.mgbodichi.com.
Social Media Coordinator
Roseline Mgbodichinma
Semilore Kilaso is a student Quantity Surveyor, writer, and communications enthusiast with interest in user psychology. She can be found on Twitter @ooreola.
Social Media Coordinator
Semilore Kilaso
Teresa Snow (she/her) holds a master’s in linguistics from Cornell University, and has over twenty years’ experience in logo design and publication layout. Her interests include mid-twentieth century German lace knitting patterns and researching the original provenance of early internet fan art.
Art/Layout Editor
Teresa Snow
Kieran Galloway (he/him) is a programmer and musician. He graduated from Hobart College with a B.S. in Computer Science. He enjoys drumming, fantasy novels, and video games.
Website Manager
Kieran Galloway
D.E. Hardy’s work has appeared in X-R-A-Y Magazine, Sledgehammer Lit, New World Writing, among others. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and can be followed on Twitter at @dehardywriter.
Senior Prose Reader
D.E. Hardy
Adamu Yahuza Abdullahi, THE PLOB, TPC V, is a poet from Kwara state, Nigeria. He is a pioneer resident of Muktar Aliyu Art Residency, Minna, Niger state, Nigeria. He is a Best of the Net Nominee, and second place winner of both the first edition of Hassan Sulaiman Gimba Esq Poetry Prize and the Bill Ward Poetry Prize for Emerging Writers 2023.
Poetry Reader
Adamu Yahuza Abdullahi
Addhaya Anil (they/them) is a queer feminist writer and literary translator from India. They are said to be “driven and guided by love” and like to spend their leisure time in varied creative pursuits.
Poetry Reader
Addhaya Anil
Shitta Faruq Adémólá, Frontier XIV, is a 2021 SpringNG Writing Workshop alumnus, a member of the Frontiers Collective, a poet, digital artist and Fiction Writer from Nigeria. He is the author of two poetry books. His works have appeared in Jalada Africa, Beestung magazine, Blue Marble Review, Serotonin, FERAL, Icefloe Press, and elsewhere. He tweets @shittafaruqade1
Poetry Reader
Shitta Faruq Ademola
Samuel A. Adeyemi’s chapbook, Rose Ash, was selected by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani for the New-Generation African Poets chapbook box set, 2023. A Best of the Net Nominee and Pushcart Nominee, he is the winner of the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize 2021. His works have appeared in Palette Poetry, Frontier Poetry, Chestnut Review, Evergreen Review, Agbowo, Isele Magazine, Lolwe, and elsewhere.
Poetry Reader
Samuel Adeyemi
Shedrack Opeyemi Akanbi (he/him/his) is from Nigeria. A Barrack Boy, believer and dreamer, his writings appear in The Roadrunner Review, Kalahari Review, Chestnut Review, and elsewhere. He tweets @ShedrackAkanbi.
Prose Reader
Shedrack Opeyemi Akanbi
Eniola Arowolo is a writer from Nigeria and a member of the Frontiers Collective. A Pushcart and BoTN nominee, he currently serves as a Poetry Contributing Editor for Barren Magazine. His works have appeared—or are forthcoming—in 2024 Small Fictions anthology, Bacopa Literary Review , The Republic, 4faced Liar, 20: 35 Africa, Ake Review, ANMLY, and elsewhere.
Poetry Reader
Eniola Arowolo
Zaynab Iliyasu Bobi, Frontier I, is a Nigerian-Hausa poet, artist and licensed Medical Laboratory Scientist from Bobi. She is the author of Cadaver of Red Roses (O, Miami Books) winner of the 2023 Derricotte/Eady Chapbook Prize, and Uncensored Snapshots forthcoming with Chestnut Review in 2025. X @ZainabBobi.
Poetry Reader
Zaynab Iliyasu Bobi
Ellis Breunig (they/he) writes poems, essays, and short stories when they should be working on the next draft of their first novel. They are an organizer of the Seattle Trans Film Union and an editor of its publication, Transition Lens. Their pitbull, Stevie, is usually asleep next to them while they write, read, and watch movies. Ellis lives in Seattle, WA.
Prose Reader
Ellis Breunig
Zuali (She/Her) is a 19 year old poet located in Aizawl, Mizoram. When she isn’t writing poetry for her Creative Writing courses, she’s devouring a novel or looking for stray cats to pet. @zualicore
Poetry Reader
Zuali Bungsut
Keeley Burmeister is a writer living in Idaho with her partner and rescue pup, graduating with an MFA in Fiction from Pacific University in 2024. Her work appears in 50 Give or Take and After Dinner Conversation. She can be found on Instagram at @kburmz_
Prose Reader
Keeley Burmeister
Oscar C. (he/him) is a freelance editor and jack of all trades located somewhere on Turtle Island. He enjoys writing that bends genre, weird fiction, unweird fiction, and taking five hour walks before dawn.
Prose Reader
Oscar Cadeau
Carlos Contreras (they/them) is non-binary, Guatemalan, and a multimedia artist who wants to do a bit of everything. They are the lead fiction editor of Alien Magazine, and their recent publications can be found in Complete Sentence, The Lumiere Review, Chestnut Review, and Passages North. They also exist on Twitter @cafaco
Prose Reader
Carlos Contreras
Subhravanu Das is an Indian writer living in Bhubaneswar. His work has been published in Gordon Square Review, Atlas and Alice, Chestnut Review, AAWW’s The Margins, among others, and included in Wigleaf’s Top 50.
Prose Reader
Subhravanu Das
Ejiro Elizabeth Edward is the winner of the the ANTOA Poetry Contest 2021. She has been published in HOAX, down river road, and Isele Magazine amongst many other magazines. She has many other works upcoming, and she is also a co-founder of the Benin art and book festival. She can be found on Twitter at @Ejiroedward552 and on Instagram at @ejiro_elizabeth_edward.
Prose Reader
Ejiro Elizabeth Edward
Bronwyn Galloway (she/her) is a writer and tutor in Chicago. Her work focuses on food sustainability and culture. She graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A. in Russian Language, Literature, and Culture.
Prose Reader
Bronwyn Galloway
Reina Garcia is a native of Los Angeles and is now working toward her certificate in the UCLA Extension Creative Writing program. Last year, Reina went to an international retreat in Wales to workshop her poetry. Her artistry explores the layered and sometimes hidden history of Mexicans in southern California. Reina lives with her fiancé, is kahu to a chihuahua terrier, and works for a video game company.
Poetry Reader
Reina Garcia
Jacob Ginsberg (he/him) is a writer and tutor living in Philadelphia, PA. He earned his MFA at Temple University. His work has appeared in HAD, Tiny Molecules, Entropy, Rejection Letters, and Boudin, the online home of The McNeese Review. He can be found on Twitter at @JacobGinsberg1.
Prose Reader
Jacob Ginsberg
Courtney Heidorn (she/they) lives and writes in Seattle, WA. They are a regular book reviewer for Wild Shrew Literary Review and a poetry and creative nonfiction reader for Epiphany Literary Journal. You can see more of their work in their chapbook, Palimpsest, from Bottlecap Press and at CURIOUS Magazine and Pearl Press. @palimpsestpoems
Poetry Reader
Courtney Heidorn
Noonherd is a brown writer based in Singapore. She is a third year student at the National University of Singapore. Her works have been published in magazines such as Sploosh!, Pareidolia Literary, and Antifragile Zine. Find her at instagram.com/noonherd.
Prose Reader
Noon Herd
Steven R. Hopkins (he/him) graduated from Knox College with a degree in Creative Writing in 2010. In addition to reading for Chestnut Review, he has also published with them under the name Robert S. Hillery. He looks forward to continuing to ditch the pen name. Twitter: @S_Hopkins312
Prose Reader
Steve Hopkins
Prosper C. Ìféányí (he/him/his) is based Lagos, Nigeria. His works are featured or forthcoming in The Offing, Salt Hill Journal, Obsidian, ANMLY, Black Warrior Review, Lolwe, Uncanny Magazine, Denver Quarterly, New Delta Review, the Oxonian Review, 20.35 Africa and elsewhere. See his website here.
Poetry Reader
Prosper C. Ìféányí
Ayesha Jamal is an Engineer on paper, a wife and a mother on duty. She is a 30 year old poet from India and has her work published in magazines like pile press, the creative zine, Indian Periodical etc and also in several online platforms such as Poemsindia, LiveWire, delhi poetry slam. She was also the winner of poetry contest held by Verse of Silence in the year 2023.
Poetry Reader
Ayesha Jamal
Rahma O. Jimoh is a recipient of the Undertow Writing Workshop as winner of the Lagos-London Poetry Contest, Her work can be found or is forthcoming in The Slowdown Show, Salt Hill Journal, Ake Review, Parentheses Art, Agbowo, Brittle Paper and elsewhere.
Prose Reader
Rahma O. Jimoh
Nwenna’s poetry has appeared in Obsidian: Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora, Anti-Heroin Chic, Aji Magazine, Tipton Journal, The West Trade Review, and Bum Rush the Page: A Def Jam Poetry Anthology. Her creative non-fiction has appeared in Heart and Soul Magazine, Sacred Fire: The Power of the First Element to Change Your Life, and The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature.
Poetry Reader
Nwenna Kai
Charlotte Joyce Kidd has remarkably omnivorous taste in literature and great respect for all who undertake the act of writing. She writes short stories and creative non-fiction and has a novel in progress. She lives in Toronto with a cat, a boyfriend, and a day job as a public librarian.
Prose Reader
Charlotte Joyce Kidd
Emmie Kline is a queer fiction writer based in East Nashville, Tennessee. Her work has received support from the Kenyon Review Writers’ Workshop.
Prose Reader
Emmie Kline
Stephen Guy Mallett is the author of the full-length poetry collections Disparate Logoi (Alien Buddha Press) and Sunolon (forthcoming from Vraeyda Media) and the chapbooks A Brief History of Scarecrows (Back Room Poetry) and Markov Chainmail (forthcoming from Cactus Press).
Poetry Reader
Stephen Guy Mallett
Emma McCoy loves writing of all kinds. She has two poetry books: This Voice Has an Echo (2024) and In Case I Live Forever (2022), and a nomination for Best of the Net 2023. She’s been published in places like Stirring Literary, Cosmic Daffodil, and Thimble Mag. She’s probably working on her novel right now. Catch her on Twitter/X: @poetrybyemma
Poetry Reader
Emma McCoy
Trevor is a poet and former coal miner, park ranger, bookseller, and sandwich artist from Pittsburgh, PA. His work appeared as an honorable mention in Nimrod’s 2020 Francine Ringold Award for New Writers, and recent poems can be found in Sleet, Chautauqua, Sampsonia Way Magazine, and Roanoke Review.
Poetry Reader
Trevor Moffa
Saty Mukherjee (They/Them) lives in the quiet suburbs of New Jersey. New to the poetry scene, they hope that with time they’ll develop a voice that they can call their own.
Poetry Reader
Saty Mukherjee
Kortney Nash is a writer and editor based in New Jersey. She is one of the new voices featured in the indie bestseller horror anthology The Black Girl Survives in this One, and has a picture book titled Tell me About Juneteenth coming out in 2025. When not writing, she can be found cross stitching or watching cartoons. Connect with her on twitter @quarrtknee.
Prose Reader
Kortney Nash
Andrew Nickerson (he/him) is a writer from Massachusetts. His fiction has appeared in Chestnut Review, Waxwing Magazine, Stoneboat Journal, Guesthouse, and elsewhere. He likes to read on his porch when the weather is nice and received an MFA from Emerson College.
Prose Reader
Andrew Nickerson
Brian O’Sullivan (he/him) teaches English and is chair of core seminars at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. His work has been curated by or is forthcoming in such journals as Rattle, ONE ART, The Galway Review, and HOWL New Irish Writing. @bposullivan
Poetry Reader
Brian O'Sullivan
Selen Ozturk is a San Francisco-based writer born in Istanbul. Her writing appears in publications including Evergreen Review, Hobart, California Quarterly, Bayou Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, and SFGATE. Her work has received support from Bread Loaf. She holds a philosophy degree from UC Berkeley and works as a journalist. She loves Morrissey and tennis. Find her work at freeverse.blog.
Poetry Reader
Selen Ozturk
Shella Parcarey is a Filipino writer working on her first novel with Stanford’s Online Writing Certificate program. Her work as a journalist has been published in the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Citizen, Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and Minneapolis Star Tribune. She is a graduate of Yale University. She can be found on Instagram at @shella_parcarey and at shella74.com.
Prose Reader
Shella Parcarey
Cosima Smith (his/hers) is a lifelong reader, writer, and yogi who loves to dissolve into the world around them, having found homes in 5 countries in as many years. Now, find them hiking Virginia’s mountains, or follow them on instagram @simareading for reading/writing adventures & @cronesima for yoga fun!
Poetry Reader
Cosima Smith
Hemmy So is a Korean American fiction writer from Houston, Texas. Her work appears in Witness (2024 Winner of the Witness Literary Award), Redivider, and The Good Life Review (runner-up for the 2023 Honeybee Prize). She has received support from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and Kenyon Review Writers’ Workshop. In her former lives, she was a news reporter and tech/sports lawyer. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Prose Reader
Hemmy So
Saheed Sunday, NGP V, is a Nigerian author, a Star Prize awardee, a Pushcart Prize nominee, a Best of the Net Prize nominee, a Best Small Fictions Prize nominee, and an HCAF member. He can be reached on Instagram @saheedsunday or on X @saheedtsunday
Poetry Reader
Saheed Sunday
Sharon Clemmons Thomas is an aspiring author working on her first memoir. She enjoys reading fiction and especially creative nonfiction. She lives in the Lowcountry of South Carolina with her husband, Bill Thomas, and together they have five children, 11 grandchildren and two very spoiled pups.
Prose Reader
Sharon Clemmons Thomas
Colby Vargas writes short stories, has a copy of his novel right here in this satchel that you can look at, and teaches and lives with his family in the Chicagoland area. He can be found on Twitter at @Colby_Vargas.
Prose Reader
Colby Vargas
Xueyi Zhou was born and raised in Foshan, a city of manufacturing in Guangdong, China. She is currently pursuing her MFA at UNLV. Her fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in X-R-A-Y, Waxwing, Passages North, Chestnut Review, Pithead Chapel, JMWW, Atticus Review, Tahoma Lit Review and AAWW. She can be found on Twitter at @xueyizhou and at xueyizhou.com.
Prose Reader
Xueyi Zhou
Alexis Barton is an 18 year old writer from Woodstock, GA. Her work can be found in The Journal of Undiscovered Poets, The Listening Eye, and other literary magazines. She loves baking, coffee, and listening to the rain. @leksieb
Intern
Alexis Barton
Brielle Blood (she/her) Recently graduated from Connecticut College with a BA in English and Sociology, Brielle has a deep-seated passion for words and editing. She is interning with Chestnut Review volunteering both as a reader and communications assistant, and is so excited to work alongside people who are as passionate and dedicated to the power of words as she is!
Intern
Brielle Blood
autumn koors-foltz is a lesbian poet from Baltimore, Maryland. Their work can be found in Ghost City Review and Citron Review, among others. They are a poetry MFA student at Colorado State University.
Intern
Autumn Koors Foltz
Corey Page Martin (they/them) is an undergraduate student studying linguistics, English literature, and sexual & gender diversity at Queen’s University, where they are a Managing Editor at Quilt. Their writing has appeared in Quilt, Collective Reflections, and The Undergraduate Review and can be found at www.coreympages.ca.
Intern
Corey Martin