Swetha Amit (she/her) is an MFA Graduate from the University of San Francisco. The author of a memoir, A Turbulent Mind, and three chapbooks. Her words appear in Had, Bending Genres, Ghost Parachute, Gone Lawn, Cream City Review, and others. A member of the Writers Grotto, her stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fiction. Her writing has received support from Tin House, the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, the Community of Writers, and the Writers Grotto. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and daughter. More can be found at www.swethaamit.com

Mayur Chauhan is an LA-based immigrant-actor-writer-comedian and a teacher of creativity with an MBA. He grew up in New Delhi in such a loving family that when he was leaving for the US, all his relatives came to the airport to ensure it was a one way ticket.

He writes stories in all forms. He has published over 40 pieces in Khôra, McSweeney’s and elsewhere. Mayur is a Breadloaf and Key West Literary Seminar Scholar.

Mayur created and facilitates C.A.R.E. for Artists an 8-week long online creativity, & accountability group for artists across disciplines. He wants you to know that you’re amazing.

Mayur loves writing letters by hand, chai and you.

Karina is a first generation Mexican-American from the San Joaquin Valley of California. She studied computer science at Harvard University and has taken writing courses through Hugo House in Seattle. VONA is her first workshop, though her poetry has appeared in Spectrum Literary Journal. Her work seeks to explore lost histories and the liminal place of immigrants in rural America, primarily through a speculative lens.

As an emerging writer of speculative fiction, Alani aims to create socially impactful novellas and short stories that fully explore the rich cultural tapestry of Black American experiences to honor his ancestors and spark conversations that may lead to meaningful change in the future. Alani wrote the book for the original speculative fiction musical At The River I Stand (2021 THEatre ACCELERATOR: New Realities Edition winner); and wrote an interactive prequel, The Calling: A Musical VR Experience (Slamdance Film Festival). Alani also successfully developed and sold an Afro-surrealist Civil War musical miniseries to HBO.

 A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Alani is currently honing his craft within the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. He enjoys building robots with his daughter and annoying his wife with random comic book trivia and other nerdery.

Trina K. Morris is a storyteller returning to the literary world after a decade-long break—and bringing fresh perspective with her. First published in The Dating Game in 2015, she writes contemporary fiction that challenges, inspires, and carves out space for the layered, joyful, and complicated realities of Black life.

Her work leans into emotional truth, subtle humor, and characters who are just trying to figure it all out (like most of us).

When she’s not writing, Trina can be found tending to her plant babies or vibing to the perfect writing playlist.

Majella Pinto, an Indian-American has an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University, LA. She is a Six Sigma Black Belt and an oil painter.

She has served in editorial roles for Lunch Ticket. Her work has appeared in Lunch Ticket, Dairy Hollow Echo and elsewhere. She loves the outdoors and is currently learning how to grow vegetables.

Natasha Somji’s stories center on the power of grief, forcing her characters to confront the light and darkness within, to break and reshape. Growing up in Tanzania, of South Asian descent and living in the US, she infuses her diverse identities into her writing. Follow her on natsomji.substack.com

Tanya Leah Young (she/her) is a Jamaican American writer in Charlotte, NC. A Hurston/Wright & Roots.Wounds.Words Fellow, her current work explores identity and ancestral healing. She enjoys watching anime, gardening, and spending time with her husband and dog. Find her on IG @_Leah_Hamilton

Katara J. Z. is a Chinese-adoptee with roots in Nova Scotia and Colorado. She writes all things fantasy, and her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies. If she’s not writing, she can be found designing and printing 3D models. Connect with her at https://www.katarajz.com/ or @katarajz on Instagram.