Sue Ellen Thompson’s sixth book of poetry, SEA NETTLES, was published in 2022. Her work has been included in the Best American Poetry series, read on National Public Radio many times by Garrison Keillor, and recently won a Pushcart Prize. She taught at Wesleyan University, Middlebury College, Binghamton University, and Central Connecticut State University before moving to the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 2006. She now mentors adult poets and teaches workshops at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda. She was awarded the 2010 Maryland Author Prize from the Maryland Library Association.
I have two books of poetry--Island and Living Room (prose poems)--a lyric essay memoir, My CIA; a poetry chapbook, Muse Annie; and a literary memoir, Run Scream Unbury Save. My CIA was named a top ten book of 2012 by the Review of Art, Literature, Philosophy and Humanities and added to their ongoing list of Great Nonfiction reads. It won a Baker Artist Award; was showcased on Maryland Public Television’s program, An Artworks Special; and was featured through an art installation co-produced by Maryland Institute College of Art’s MFA in Curatorial Practice in early December 2013 in Baltimore.
Ollie L. Jefferson (Ph.D., Howard University) is a Producer, Playwright, Professor, Publisher, and the Founder/President and Chief Executive Officer of Timeless Visual Works – The Inspirational Film, Theater & Publishing Co. She formed the collegiate communication, culture, and multimedia organization with extensive experience in the arts and education. As a professional teaching artist, Dr. Jefferson designed Masterclasses at Timeless Theater Academy. She has a proven track record in educating and training film, television, and theatre professionals to compete in a global market.
Benjamin Jancewicz is a Baltimore, Maryland based visual artist whose work is shown in galleries, cafes and homes around the United States and Canada. He joins a cadre of creatives pioneering the vector technique. Trained in several traditional art forms, including photography, screenprinting, sculpture and painting, Benjamin has found vector art to be a fulfilling and exciting new manifestation of his creative vision. As a vector artist, he uses the emerging form to create compelling pieces that share stories and inspire action.
Pat Valdata is fiction writer and poet. Her new novel, Eve’s Daughters, by Moonshine Cove in November 2020, won first prize in the Novel category from the Delaware Press Association. Her other novels are Crosswind and The Other Sister, which won a gold medal from the Árpád Academy of the Hungarian Association. Her poetry book about women aviation pioneers, Where No Man Can Touch, won the 2015 Donald Justice Poetry Prize. Her other poetry titles are Inherent Vice and Looking for Bivalve.
Judy Kelly is an adjunct professor at Montgomery College. She enjoys bicycling, walking, running, the movies, theatre and many other activities. She, of course, enjoys writing. She has published her first novel, That Ever Died So Young, a Finalist in the Somerset Literary and Contemporary Fiction Award for 2014. She will soon publish her second novel, Blessings and Curses. Her presentation on the Importance and Purposes of Dialogue at the Mid-Atlantic Fiction Writers Institute and Montgomery College was extremely successful.
Mary Amato is the author of over 25 books for children and young adults. Her work for adults also includes poems, plays, essays, and short fiction. Amato's fiction has been translated into foreign languages, optioned for television, and produced onstage. She teaches workshops in creative writing, songwriting, and the creative process around the country and is a frequent presenter in Maryland schools. She is a former classroom teacher and also teaches a weekly online class for adults and teens who are serious about writing.
Andrea Dulanto is a Latinx queer writer. Degrees include an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Florida International University, and a B.A. in Literature and Women’s Studies from Antioch College in Ohio. They have worked as a writing instructor, freelance writer, and editor. In 2022, they were awarded a Create and Activate Now (C.A.N.) Recover Stipend from the Frederick Arts Council. Publications include Bending Genres, Entropy, FreezeRay Poetry, peculiar, SWWIM Every Day, Berkeley Poetry Review, Court Green, Sinister Wisdom and others.
Stephanie Garon received dual science degrees from Cornell University, then attended Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Her environmental art has been exhibited internationally in London, Colombia, South Korea, as well as across the United States. Her writing, a critical aspect of her artistic process, has been published in international literary journals.