#Lockdown Issue: Contributors

Elvis Alves was born in Guyana and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He is a graduate of Colgate University and Princeton Theological Seminary. His work has appeared in several journals and magazines, including Sojourners, Rufous Salon, Caribbean Writer Journal, and The Applicant. Elvis is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet. He is the author of Bitter Melon and the chapbook Ota Benga. His most recent book is I Am No Battlefield But A Forest Of Trees Growing (Franciscan University Press, 2018), winner of the Jacopone da Todi Poetry Book Prize. His next book is called Blackfish, forthcoming in 2020 from Salmon Poetry Press (Ireland).

Helen Victoria Anderson has an MA in Creative Writing (Distinction) from Teesside University. She is fascinated by the therapeutic power of writing. Helen won first prize in the People Not Borders Short Story Competition 2017 and the InkTears Flash Fiction Contest 2015. Her poetry pamphlet Way Out was published by the Black Light Engine Press. Author of ‘Piece by Piece: Remembering Georgina: A Mother’s Memoir’ (Slipway, 2015), she is a bereaved parent and a widow.

Bob Beagrie is a poet, playwright and senior lecturer in creative writing at Teesside University. He has performed at numerous festivals and venues nationally and internationally. As well as collaborating with musicians, he has also worked closely with visual artists on public artworks and with theatre company Three Over Eden. He is co-director of Ek Zuban Press, an independent publishing house which produces Kenaz magazine, and bi-lingual poetry editions drawn from international exchange projects. Ek zuban also delivers creative writing, reminiscence and local history projects with community and education groups across the North of England, often culminating in performances and/or publication of participants work.

Francis Bede is an Australian who lives in Tasmania. His first book, Bad Clergy, was recently published by Niche Press and his poems appear in Terror House Magazine, Oddville Press, Literary Heist and Whimperbang.

Charlie Brice is the author of Flashcuts Out of Chaos (2016), Mnemosyne’s Hand (2018), and An Accident of Blood (2019), all from WordTech Editions. His poetry has been nominated for the Best of Net anthology and twice for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in The Atlanta Review, The Sunlight Press, Chiron Review, Plainsongs, I-70 Review, Mudfish 12, The Paterson Literary Review, and elsewhere.

Miki Byrne has had two poetry collections and a pamphlet published, plus over 500 poems included in poetry magazines/anthologies. She was a finalist for Gloucestershire’s Poet Laureate and a nominee for the Pushcart Prize. Miki has read on TV and on radio many times. She also ran a poetry writing group at The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury. She has read at many festivals and venues. Miki is disabled and now lives near Tewkesbury. Gloucestershire, UK.

Linda M. Crate’s works have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies both online and in print. She is the author of six poetry chapbooks, the latest of which is: More Than Bone Music (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, March 2019). She’s also the author of the novel Phoenix Tears (Czykmate Books, June 2018). Recently she has published two full-length poetry collections Vampire Daughter (Dark Gatekeeper Gaming, February 2020) and The Sweetest Blood (Cyberwit, February 2020).

Maria Castro Dominguez is the author of A Face in The Crowd, her 2016 Erbacce-press prize winning collection. Winner of the third prize in Brittle Star’s Poetry Competition 2018, finalist in the 2019 Stephen A DiBiase Poetry contest, her poems have appeared in Orbis, Obsessed With Pipework, Sarvasti, Apogee, The Long-Islander Huntington Journal NY, Popshot and London Grip.

Julie Easley is a working-class poet from Saltburn who has performed widely, both nationally and internationally. She has collaborated with musicians and, as part of the poetry collective ‘Words on Skin,’ and has been commissioned twice by Apples and Snakes as a ‘Deranged Poetess.’ An active member of Tees Women Poets, and events organiser/host for ‘DiVerse,’ Julie uses writing to be seen.

Fran Edwards has been short-listed for the Sid Chaplin short-story competition and has won a Scholastic Press children’s poetry competition. Recently she was a runner up in the Lost Words competition and has had a poem published in Tree Poetry, an anthology produced by Iron Press. She lives in the seaside town of Redcar in the North East of England

Joachim Frank is a German-born scientist and writer living in New York City and now, during lockdown, in Great Barrington, MA. He has published a number of short stories and prose poems in, among other magazines, Offcourse, Conium Review, StepAway Magazine, and Wasafiri. Frank is a recipient of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His first novel, “Aan Zee,” has been published by University Press of the South. Frank’s website franxfiction.com carries links to all his literary publications.

Gary Glauber is a widely published poet, fiction writer, teacher, and former music journalist. He champions the underdog, and strives to survive modern life’s absurdities. He has two collections, Small Consolations (Aldrich Press) and Worth the Candle (Five Oaks Press), and a chapbook, Memory Marries Desire (Finishing Line Press).  A new chapbook of surreal work, The Covalence of Equanimity, a winner of the 2019 James Tate International Poetry Prize, is now available from SurVision Books. Two new collections are forthcoming later this year.

Caroline Hardaker lives in the north east of England. Her poetry has been published worldwide, most recently in Magma, Shoreline of Infinity, and by The Emma Press. Her first poetry collection, Bone Ovation, was published by Valley Press in October 2017, and her second, Little Quakes Every Day will be published in November 2020. You can follow what she’s up to here.

Julie Hogg is published in many literary journals including Abridged, Black Light Engine Room, Butcher’s Dog, Corrugated Wave, Honest Ulsterman, Irisi, Poethead, PB7, Proletarian Poetry, StepAway, Well Versed and Words for the Wild. Featured in anthologies by Litmus, Zoomorphic and Seren, her debut pamphlet Majuba Road is available from Vane Women Press

Jayant Kashyap’s poetry appears in Rigorous Magazine, Event Horizon Magazine (June 2018), The International Poetry Digest, and several other national and international anthologies, and has appeared on several local and international websites. One of his poems has recently been featured in the Healing Words Awards Ceremony. His interests include reading extensively, delving into old forms of poetry, writing letters, lexicography, playing with dogs, listening to music and a lot more. You can see more of his work here.

Tom Kelly is a Jarrow-born poet, playwright, lyricist and short story writer, ‘Tom Kelly has Jarrow in his bones and his poems are shaped by the past.’ (Ambit). This Small Patch, his ninth collection, was recently published by Red Squirrel Press. The collection looks at Jarrow’s history as he tries to make sense of the past, his life and times. His website can be found here.

Rayon Lennon was born in rural Jamaica; he moved to New Haven County, CT, when he was 13. He currently resides in New Haven. He holds a B.A. in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Southern Connecticut State University. He holds a master’s degree in Social Work and works as an Adolescent Psychotherapist. His work has been published widely in various literary magazines, including, The Main Street Rag, StepAway Magazine, Folio, The Connecticut River Review, The African American Review, Noctua Review, Indianapolis Review, The Connecticut Review, Callaloo, Columbia Journal, and Rattle. His poems have won numerous poetry awards, including the 2017 Rattle Poetry Prize contest for his poem “Heard”; his poem, “Heaven Tree,” was nominated for Best of the Net anthology by The Indianapolis Review in 2018. He won the Folio Poetry Contest for three consecutive years–2007, 2008, and 2009. He won the Noctua Review Poetry Contest in 2014 and 2015. He also won Rattle’s Poets Respond contest in 2015 and 2019. His first book of poems, Barrel Children, was released in March, 2016, by Main Street Rag Publishing Company. Barrel Children was a finalist for the 2017 Connecticut Book Award for best poetry book.

Ilona Martonfi lives in Montreal, Canada. She is an editor, poet, curator, advocate and activist. Author of four poetry books, the most recent Salt Bride (Inanna, 2019). Forthcoming, The Tempest (Inanna, 2021). Writes in journals, anthologies, and six chapbooks. Her poem “Dachau on a Rainy Day” was nominated for the 2018 Pushcart Prize. Artistic director of Visual Arts Centre Reading Series and Argo Bookshop Reading Series. QWF 2010 Community Award.

Eva Michely lives in the German border region of the Saarland, where she works in marketing and PR. Eva is currently completing her PhD in Irish Literature. Her poems have appeared in Nothing Substantial, StepAway and Aurora: The Allegory Ridge Poetry Anthology.

Ruth Nyimba writes social observation and reflectory pieces. She is inspired by every day life and is motivated by the strength found in the hour of desperation.

Stevie Ronnie is a writer and artist based in Northumberland, UK. He was a contributor to the Northern Wanderer issue of StepAway Magazine and you can find out more about his work here.

Gerard Smyth has published ten collections of poetry, the most recent of which are The Sundays of Eternity and A Song of Elsewhere (both Dedalus Press). The Yellow River (with artwork by Seán McSweeney) was published by Solstice Arts Centre in County Meath. He was co-editor, with Pat Boran, of If Ever You Go: A Map of Dublin in Poetry and Song (Dedalus Press).

Gina Williams is a journalist, photographer, former firefighter, and gardener. She’s a Pacific Northwest native and can often be found rambling in the Oregon Outback, volunteering at the community garden, or on assignment in a far-flung location. She lives and creates near Portland, Oregon. Williams is a Pushcart Prize nominee for poetry and founder of Plein Air Poetry Northwest, a nonprofit organization supporting literary arts and environmental activism. Her writing and visual art have been featured most recently by River Teeth, Okey-Panky, StepAway Magazine, Carve, The Sun, Fugue, Palooka, Boiler Journal, Whidbey Art Gallery, Black Box Gallery, and Great Weather for Media, among others. Her full-length poetry collection, An Unwavering Horizon published by Finishing Line Press, is now available for pre-order and will be distributed in May 2020.

RM Yager is a retired nurse who writes for those who have no voice, are marginalised or are at risk. She has been writing for over 50 years.