Elizabeth Senja Spackman is a poet and playwright. Her poetry and prose can be found in Guernica, Fence, Enzigam, Post Road, and Cosmonaut's Avenue, among other places. Her play on censorship and news, Radio Play, has toured to seven countries.

Holnes's poetry has appeared in Poetry, American Poetry Review, Callaloo, and elsewhere. His plays have been read, produced, presented at the Kennedy Center, Second Stage Theater, National Black Theater, Kitchen Theater, and elsewhere. He teaches at Medgar Evers College and NYU.

Ngwatilo Mawiyoo is a poet and performer. The author of two chapbooks—Dagoretti Corner and Blue Mothertongue—received her MFA from the University of British Columbia. Twice shortlisted for the Brunel International African Poetry Prize, the Callaloo Fellow is a copywriter at a Nairobi Ad Agency.

Ketty Nivyabandi is a poet and human activist from Burundi. In May 2015 she became a refugee after she led women-only protests against the violation of her country's constitution. Ketty writes, speaks, and advocates regularly on women in conflict zones, human rights defenders and displacement.

María Fernanda (Chamorro) is a writer whose poems and translations have appeared in Kweli Journal, The Wide Shore, Luna Luna Magazine, and elsewhere. A Candela founder, she has performed at MoMA PS1, Hudson Valley Writers Center, and various colleges. She has received fellowships from Callaloo and CantoMundo.