Adrianne Mathiowetz Photography

Meet historical fiction writer Estefania Konarek, who is working on her debut novel!

Estefania is drawn to World War II historical fiction and untold stories of cultural displacement, shaped by her own intimate connection to the imprints of war and migration. She focuses on the research and revival of Polish forgotten stories of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Meet author Erin Kannan!

Something about a high curly updo that's a little Victorian, a little wild, I'm always here for it.

Meet writer Christina Kidd! Christina admirably has no internet presence that I could locate, so I assume she's been doing some very interesting, possibly covert things with her life. Farmer? Spy? Both? Also: she was a total delight to be around, as you can see!

Meet Chloe Yelena Miller & Shasta Grant, of Brown Bag Lit! These two were so joyful to photograph.

Meet poet Elizabeth Mercurio! Elizabeth is the author of the chapbooks Doll, and Words in a Night Jar. She earned an MFA in poetry from The Solstice Low-Residency Program, and her poems have appeared in Lily Poetry Review, Thimble Magazine, Vox Populi, and elsewhere. She’s been nominated for Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize, named a finalist in the Cordella Press Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize, and the Two Sylvias Press Wilder Poetry Prize.

Children's book author Charlene Goddard. Charlene is writing a series of illustrated kids' books called "Magnificent Macie!"

Meet Dana Belott! Dana is a trans poet and multidisciplinary artist, who got their MFA from Pratt Institute after 5 years teaching creative writing in middle and high schools. Their work explores ghosts, q***r desire, and the body. Dana received a 2025 Finalist award from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

Meet writer, advocate and community leader Edra EJ Stephens, whose work bridges storytelling, heritage preservation, and social equity. A Watering Hole Fellow, National Arts Futures Fellow, and graduate of the University of South Carolina Beaufort with a Bachelor of Arts in English, where she was awarded The Tombe/Eby Award, her poetry and short stories have appeared in multiple anthologies. Edra's work embodies the belief that storytelling is both art and activism, an instrument of healing, empowerment, and transformation.

Also, first image: sometimes just one single light really DOES IT, doesn't it?

Poet Amy Hughes, who wanted photo #3 because "I look EXACTLY like my dad." Amy is a founding member of Poetry Free Cleveland, a team of typewriter poets composing poems on demand at public events, which sounds downright delightful. Her work has appeared at CAN Triennial 2022: You Are Here; Tigertail, A South Florida Annual; and is forthcoming in Rattle. .hughes

Meet science fiction/fantasy author and former journalist Emily Wagner! Emily is the author of the novel, Go Back. She is an alumna of the Taos Toolbox writing workshop and is a two-time honorable mention of the Writers of the Future contest. Emily lives in Baltimore where she teaches PreK/K ESOL at a Title 1 school.