Luisa A. Igloria’s books include Ode to the Heart Smaller than a Pencil Eraser (2014 May Swenson Prize), The Saints of Streets, and Juan Luna's Revolver (2009 Ernest Sandeen Prize). She teaches at Old Dominion University, where from 2009–15 she directed the MFA creative writing program.

Nishat Ahmed is a Bengali American poet working towards an MFA at Old Dominion University. His works revolve around blending spoken word elements with musical punk confessionalism. His poems thematically tie in mental illness, language, immigration, racism, and place.

Tim Seibles has published several collections of poetry, including Buffalo Head Solos, Fast Animal—a finalist for the National Book Award in 2012—and, most recently, One Turn Around The Sun. He is a professor of English at Old Dominion University and the current poet laureate of Virginia.

Cornelius Eady is the author of eight poetry collections including Victims of the Latest Dance Craze, winner of the 1985 Lamont Prize, and Brutal Imagination. He holds the Miller Chair at the University of Missouri and is cofounder of Cave Canem.

Amanda Galvan Huynh has been a recipient of a 2016 AWP Intro Journal Project Award and a 2017 Sewanee Conference Tennessee Williams Scholarship. Her work was a finalist for the 2015 Gloria Anzaldua Poetry Prize, and she has received a scholarship from the Sundress Academy for the Arts.