Managing Editor Maggie Smith writes upmarket women’s fiction with a focus on relationships. Her debut novel, TRUTH & OTHER LIES, was published in March, 2022 by Ten16Press. Because she loves both writers and readers, she finds joy in bringing the two together as the host of Hear Us Roar, a podcast featuring debut women’s fiction novelists. And because she knows writing can be a lonely journey, she shares advice and encouragement on the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. She may be a terrible housekeeper but she’s one terrific friend and makes her home in Milwaukee with her tolerant husband and her aging, but still adorable sheltie. www.maggiesmithwriter.com and instagram.com/maggiesmithwrites/

Associate Editor Cole Lavalais is a prolific writer and teacher whose work can be found in the Chicago Tribune, Obsidian, Apogee, Warpland, Tidal Basin Review, Aquarius Press, and others. Her debut novel, Summer of the Cicadas was published by Willow Books Press. She is a fellow of the Kimbilio Center for Black Fiction, VONA and the Callaloo Writing Workshops. She holds an M.F.A. from Chicago State University and a Ph.D. from University of Illinois at Chicago. She has taught writing for over fifteen years and is the founder/director of the Chicago Writers Studio, and an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and English at Chicago State University .

Associate Editor Samantha Hoffman is the author of What More Could You Wish For, published by St. Martin’s Press. Her stories have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Dieter’s Soul, The Corner Magazine in London and other print and online publications. Samantha is V.P. of the Chicago Writers Association and Executive Director of Let's Just Write! An Uncommon Writers Conference.
She is also a writer, editor, executive assistant, runner (8-time marathoner), film and theatre buff and traveler.
www.samanthahoffman.com

Associate Editor Molly DiRago is a graduate of the creative writing certificate program at the University of Chicago’s Graham School. Her work has been recognized by Typehouse Literary Magazine (first place in its 2017 open fiction contest) Glimmer Train (March/April 2016 Fiction Open honorable mention), the American Short(er) Fiction Contest (semifinalist), Cutthroat Magazine’s Rick DeMarinis Short Fiction Prize (semifinalist) and the Tampa Review’s Danahy Fiction Prize (finalist). Publication credits include Typehouse Literary Magazine, the Maine Review, and Black Mirror Magazine. Molly resides in Chicago with her husband and two children.

Associate Editor - Poetry Christina D. Rodriguez is a Latinx poet, entrepreneur, and woman of tech from New York, currently living in Chicago. Her poems have appeared in Tupelo Quarterly, Yes, Poetry, Rust + Moth, Satin Soulbits, and elsewhere; she also has work published in the anthologies War Crimes Against the Uterus, edited by Wide Eyes Publishing as a response to the recent anti-abortion laws and the She Will Speak Series: Gender Based Violence Anthology, a book that has appeared on the bookshelves of organizations such as End Rape on Campus. Christina has received awards for the Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Winter Tangerine’s Catalyze Self-Revolutions workshop. She was the winner of the 2016 Commencement Poetry Contest and performed at Columbia College Chicago’s commencement ceremonies and has performed in places such as the Chicago Public Library and The New York Poetry Festival. She is a board member of the Chicago Writers Association as the coordinator of social media and the organization’s internship program, as well as the new poetry editor for CWA's The Write City Magazine. She's also a contributor to the Instagram poetry book club, Can We Discuss Poetry with a series called Poems Picked by Christina. She was previously a poetry reader for Muzzle Magazine. To learn more about Christina, visit her at crodonline.info or @poemlust on Instagram.