Malcolm Friend is a poet and author of the collection Our Bruises Kept Singing Purple. He received his BA from Vanderbilt University and his MFA from the University of Pittsburgh. He has received fellowships from organizations including CantoMundo and the Center for African American Poetry & Poetics.

Jennifer Maritza McCauley is a PhD candidate at University of Missouri, and holds editorial positions at The Missouri Review and Pleiades. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, CantoMundo, and Kimbilio, and is the author of the collection SCAR ON/SCAR OFF.

Julian Randall is a living queer Black poet from Chicago. A Pushcart Prize nominee, he has received fellowships from Callaloo, BOAAT, and the Watering Hole. Julian is the curator of Winter Tangerine Review’s Lineage of Mirrors and a candidate for his MFA in poetry at Ole Miss.

Jasminne Mendez is an award winning author, performance poet, and educator. She received her BA in English literature and her MEd in curriculum and instruction from the University of Houston. She is the author of two hybrid collections of poetry and essays.

Yesenia Montilla is an Afro Latina poet. Her poetry has appeared in Prairie Schooner, Gulf Coast, Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day, and others. She received her MFA from Drew University and is a CantoMundo Fellow. The Pink Box is her first collection and was longlisted for the PEN Open Book Award.