KAYLA BLATCHLEY is a fiction writer and writing teacher living in Syracuse, NY. She teaches fiction, non-fiction, and everything in between, with the goal of exposing writers to different ways of reading, writing, and revising.

TIM CARTER is the Director of Writing Workshops at the Writers Voice of CNY. He is the author of Remains (2022) and The Pigs (2023).

SARAH CEDEÑO teaches, edits and writes in Brockport, NY. Her debut of short fiction, The Grand Scheme of Things, will be released from Small Harbor Publishing in July 2025.

CHRISTOPHER CITRO is the author of If We Had a Lemon We'd Throw It and Call That the Sun (Elixir Press, 2020), winner of the 2019 Antivenom Poetry Award, and The Maintenance of the Shimmy-Shammy (Steel Toe Books, 2015). He has taught at the University of Kansas, Indiana University, The Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, the Kettle Pond Writers’ Conference, and SUNY Oswego. He is an editorial assistant for the Seneca Review and lives in Syracuse, New York.

GEMMA COOPER-NOVACK is a queer writer, play-wright, literacy scholar, and writing coach whose work has been published in over 50 journals. She's the author of the poetry collection We Might As Well Be Underwater.

JESSICA CUELLO's latest book is Yours, Creature (JackLeg Press, 2023). Her book, Liar, was picked by Dorianne Laux for the 2020 Barrow Street Book Prize. Cuello is the poetry editor at Tahoma Literary Review and teaches French in CNY.

CHRIS DELGUERCIO is a writer, teacher, editor, and lecturer. His new collection of short stories An Unsettled Score (2023) is available. Visit him at www.CDelGuercio.com.

SUZANNE FRISCHKORN is the author of four poetry collections, most recently Whipsaw. She’s an editor for $-Poetry is Currency, and is an assistant poetry editor for Terrain.org.

DEB DIEMONT writes poetry influenced by her experience in Mexico and Central America. She teaches Spanish-language poetry and translates Spanish poetry into English. Her books are Wanderer, Diverting Angels and The Charmed House.

LEN FONTE’S plays include SALT Award-winner Werewolf, Wasted Bread, Melagrana, and others. He taught playwriting at Syracuse University and is a theater critic for the Syracuse Post-Standard.

ONA GRITZ‘s memoir, Everywhere I Look, explores sisterhood, true crime, and family secrets. Helen Fremont calls it “profound.” Lilly Dancyger says it’s “Stunning and fearless.” Ona’s earlier books include Geode, an MSR Poetry Award finalist.

GEORGE GUIDA is the author of ten books, including five poetry collections. He teaches at New York City College of Technology, and curates the Finger Lakes Arts Series.

GLORIA HEFFERNAN is the author of two full-length poetry collections and three chapbooks. She won the 2022 CNY Book Award for Nonfiction for her guide, Exploring Poetry of Presence.

SUSAN KEETER is an children’s book illustrator and author and writes non-fiction for all ages. Sunday’s Wheels was published in Ghana and received the CNY Book Award. Keeter has an MFA from Syracuse University.

PHIL MEMMER founded the Downtown Writers Center in 2000. His sixth book of poems, Cairns, was published in 2022.

SARA PARROTT is the author of Tipping the Water Jar of Heaven. Her poems have appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Dappled Things, and Light on the Walls of Life.

DEREK POLLARD currently serves as the Poets on Poetry Series Editor at the University of Michigan Press. He’s a widely published poet and critic, as well as a longtime educator and workshop leader.

GEORGIA A POPOFF is the author of five books of poetry, most recently, Living with Haints (Tiger Bark Press 2024). She currently serves as Poet Laureate of Onondaga County.

DARIAN RAZDAR is a writer, artist, and independent scholar. His practice is embodied, ecological, collaborative, and research-intensive, incorporating poetry, image, textile, and print. His practice is based in Toronto and Mexico City. Learn more at darianrazdar.info

JUHANNA ROGERS, PhD. is a motivational speaker, commentator, artist, and education activist. She has an MFA from Goddard College. Her work explores ways through which underrepresented populations, specifically those of African descent, can improve their lives and communities.

NICK RYS is a writer and instructor living in Syracuse, NY. He has published in The Antioch Review, Lake Effect, and others. He holds an MFA in writing from Bowling Green State University.

KEITH STAHL’s first novel, Dear Future Occupants, is forthcoming from University of Wiscon-sin Press (Fall, 2026). He is a long-time instructor at the Writers Voice and holds an MFA in creative writing from Syracuse University.

DANIEL SIMPSON’s poetry collection, Inside the Invisible, won the Propel Poetry Prize and was nominated for the American Academy of Poets Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize.

THOMAS TOWNSLEY has published five books of poetry, and his work appears in two international anthologies of surrealist poetry. A graduate of Syracuse University's MFA program, he teaches at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, NY.

VIRGIE TOWNSEND is the author of the fiction chapbook Because We Were Christian Girls, which won the 2022 CNY Book Awards for Fiction. Her writing has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, and others.

MARK WISH's short stories have appeared in Best American Short Stories, New England Review, Fiction, The Antioch Review, and The Sun. He's won a Pushcart Prize, and he edits and publishes Coolest American Stories. He's the author of four published novels, including Necessary Deeds.