Nan Cuba's fiction appeared in Columbia, Antioch Review, and Printer's Row. She reported on causes of extraordinary violence in LIFE and D Magazine. Her books are Body and Bread (PEN/Southwest and Steven Turner Awards) and Art at Our Doorstep (coeditor). She founded a literary center, Gemini Ink.

Ellen Meeropol is the author of two novels, On Hurricane Island and House Arrest, and the dramatic program, Carry It Forward. Her short story and essay publications include the Writer's Chronicle, Bridges, the Cleaver, Rumpus, and Portland magazine. She is a founder of Straw Dog Writers Guild.

Hayan Charara, NEA Fellow and University of Houston faculty, is the author of three poetry books, most recently Something Sinister; a children's book; editor of Inclined to Speak: An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Poetry; and a series editor of the Etel Adnan Poetry Prize.

Achy Obejas is the author of the acclaimed novels Ruins, Days of Awe, and three other books of fiction. She has translated works (English/Spanish) by Junot Diaz, Wendy Guerra, F.G. Haghenbeck, Eduardo Halfon, and many others. She is currently the Distinguished Visiting Writer at Mills College/Oakland.

Fred Arroyo is the author of Western Avenue and Other Fictions and The Region of Lost Names: A Novel. A recipient of an Individual Artist Grant from the Indiana Arts Commission, Fred is completing a book of lyrical and ekphrastic essays, and is at work on a novel set primarily in the Caribbean.