Tess Taylor’s work has appeared in The Atlantic, Poetry, The Kenyon Review, and The New Yorker. She is the on-air poetry reviewer for NPR's All Things Considered and has taught at Whittier College, UC Berkeley, and Queen's University Belfast. Her books are The Forage House and Work & Days.

Marion Winik is the author of The Glen Rock Book of the Dead and First Comes Love, among others. She is a professor at the University of Baltimore, reviews books for Newsday and Kirkus, writes a column at BaltimoreFishbowl.com, and was a longtime commentator for NPR. More info at marionwinik.com.

Richard Z. Santos is a writer and teacher whose fiction, poetry, essays, and author profiles have appeared in multiple online and print publications. In a previous life, he worked in politics. He has completed two novels and is seeking representation.

Gregg Barrios is a playwright, poet, and journalist. He is a 2013 USC Annenberg Getty Fellow and serves on the board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle. He was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters in 2015. He is a former books editor of the San Antonio Express-News.