Renee Simms's fiction and essays appear in national news publications, literary journals, and anthologies. Her short story collection is currently under consideration. Her fiction has been supported by Vermont Studio Center, Ragdale, Kimbilio, PEN, and VONA. She teaches at University of Puget Sound.

Amina Gautier is the author of three short story collections: The Loss of All Lost Things, which won the Elixir Press Award; Now We Will Be Happy, which won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize; and At-Risk, which won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. https://aminagautier.wordpress.com/

Dianca London Potts is the prose editor of LIT Magazine and she is currently earning her MFA in fiction from The New School. Her work has been featured in Kweli Journal, Obsidian, the Village Voice, and elsewhere. She is a Kimbilio Fiction Fellow, VONA Voices alumna, and a Pushcart Prize nominee.

Cole Lavalais received her MFA from Chicago State University. She is a fellow of the Callaloo, VONA, and Kimbilio Writer’s Workshops. Her work has appeared in several print and online literary journals. Her debut novel is forthcoming.

Andy Johnson is a Kimbilio Fellow. He teaches at the University of Alabama and directs the UA in Zanzibar study abroad program. His stories have been published in African American Review, Kweli, Lunch Ticket, and Echolocation.