Editorial Staff


​Editor in Chief
Katie Budris holds an M.F.A. in poetry from Roosevelt University and is a Senior Lecturer in Writing Arts at Rowan University, where she also serves as Program Coordinator for the M.A. in Writing. Her poems have appeared in over a dozen literary magazines, and her two chapbooks, Mid-Bloom and Prague in Synthetics, are both available from Finishing Line Press. Previously, she served as editor and marketing intern for Oyez Review. Find Katie online at katiebudris.com

Aesthetically, Katie believes Peter Cooley said it best: "poetry is instant access to emotion." She is drawn to poems that use concrete imagery and may appear simple, but utilize metaphor and layers of meaning to create a larger emotional impact.

​Managing Editor
Cate Romano earned both her B.A. in English and her M.A. in Writing from Rowan University, where she now teaches full-time in the First Year Writing Program and the Writing Arts major. She has also worked at the Rowan Writing Center as both a peer tutor and a faculty administrator and currently serves as Assistant Director.
 
Cate enjoys poetry and prose that use language playfully, tell the truth, and offer readers more to discover with each pass. She especially looks for work that promotes connection rather than alienation.
Associate Editors

Alexia Breeden (they/she) seeks work that leaves a lasting impression, where a moment, a sentence, or a character lingers in her mind and keeps them coming back for more. They admire the kind of writing where the world is so expansive that even the reader can imagine themself within it. She enjoys pieces driven by the characters as they explore the complexities and rawness of human emotion and relationships in unique ways. In short, they love any sort of writing that is strange, unusual, and fantastical. 

Ellie Cameron looks for poetry that explores the complexity of life and language, twisting expectations and evoking magic from the mundane. They love works that delve into unique experiences and find a commonality, that find darkness in light or light in the dark, and that speak not just with poetic language, but through it.

Briar Nwankwor enjoys poetry that delves deep into human experiences and psyche. They love when poets traverse through their own experiences and how it has shaped them as a person. She is looking for a wide array of voices that they can connect with on a deeper level. 

Austin Schuh looks for stories that filter the world through a unique lens. He believes that stories are an expression of how their authors understand the world and a way to share that understanding. He's drawn to the deeper stories, those that may be hard to share but just may help others through even harder moments.

Mel Springfield enjoys reading explorations of real feelings, ideas, experiences, and moments. With an emphasis on perspective, narrative, sequence, and voice -- she loves when a writer imbues their own Dickinsonsonian "slant."

Coney Zhang (she/they) is fond of stories that leave more questions than answers because in her mind, a story may end but it lives on in the reader’s head. They also adore stories which feature characters who are as tragic as they are funny. She is drawn to works containing discussions of identity and navigating the difficult obstacle called life. Vivid descriptions of imagery and nature also happen to be some elements they enjoy in writing. Her hope is that there is always a happy ending waiting at the end despite the pain one must overcome to find it.
Fiction Editors

Ethan Gross looks for stories that don't shy away from the wonderous moments in life. He loves grounded, natural-sounding dialogue that reflects real manners of speech, no matter how grammatically incorrect it is. Tales of people wrestling with complex emotions are a particular pleasure for him.

Sophia Nigro (she/her) enjoys stories that completely immerse her and let the rest of the world fall away. She's fond of character-driven stories and loves to see how characters interact with one another. Sophia is always on the lookout for some good dialogue and is a sucker for plot twists. Overall, she seeks pieces that were written with passion and leave the reader feeling something once finished. 

​Rachel Yuro enjoys reading work that encapsulates the complexities of life and human existence. To her, there is nothing greater than a story that bewitches you from beginning to end and enlightens your mind. She feels that while stories can be an escape from reality, they can also be a resource that offers unique, new, and deep perspectives that leave a lasting impression on the reader -- the most worthwhile are ones that change you.
Nonfiction Editors

Jordan Avery loves her narratives with a little bit of magic. She gravitates toward essays that stick with her for days, weeks, or even months, and which inspire her own writing. When a writer's love for the craft shines through in their work, she's really in love. 

Stephen Harrison is endlessly curious about people and their experiences. He is enthralled by stories that speak to where a writer comes from, where they are, and where they'd like to go. A consistent and emphatic voice grabs his attending and doesn't let go.

Joshua Wilson is interested in nonfiction works that free their words from mere reiterations of fact or mechanisms for transmitting a stale recollection, and instead uses them to revitalize the narrative with vivid colors that assail the senses, infiltrate into even the most closed considerations, and add stain to the picture of our ongoing realities. He loves when a writer can take even their most personal experiences and bravely hoist them into the light of the sun so that they may create an enveloping shadow that affects the vision of all readers who find themselves underneath.
Poetry Editors

Alexa Diamant (she/her) loves a poem that emphasizes the cynical actuality of repressed emotions. As a lover of all things philosophical, she gravitates toward poetry that peels back the layers of these veiled struggles, revealing the pressure and depth of being human. She seeks out works that explore the gravity of melancholy, heartbreak, and the power of metaphorical double entendres. 

Briar Nwankwor (they/he/she) enjoys poetry that delves deep into human experiences and psyche. They love when poets traverse through their own experiences and how it has shaped them as a person. He is looking for a wide array of voices that they can connect with on a deeper level. 

Jamie Roes believes that poetry has the unique ability to tell an intricate and layered story while using clear and simple language. She enjoys poetry that allows readers to escape their busy worlds by diving into nature and the physical world.