Meet The Team

Preston is a student of philosophy and English literature at USU. He enjoys making various teas and soups, writing poetry, and reading. He particularly likes continental philosophy and modernist literature.

Melissa is an English Literature major at Utah State University. She loves writing, reading, and music. Melissa always has a list of books to read that is a mile long, and a writing project complete with its own playlist of classic rock (anything Tom Petty, really). 

Kj is an English Creative Writing Major at USU. She loves reading books that need to be mourned after finishing. When she isn’t reading or writing she spends her time exploring nature with her dog, brewing coffee or tea, painting, thrifting, and curating her dream art collection.

Amber is studying creative writing in her junior year at Utah State. After graduating, she plans to work in editing and publishing and write novels on the side. In her free time, she enjoys playing Tetris, taking naps, and taking day trips to Salt Lake to thrift and try new food.

McKinlee is an English Technical Communication and Rhetoric major from Boise, Idaho. Outside of school, her day-to-day life includes trying to create a perfect playlist for every occasion, getting way too invested in pop culture, and despairing over which books to add to her collection.

Bio

Ashleigh is a junior at Utah State University studying English with a teaching emphasis. In her free time, she enjoys writing fiction and poetry, playing guitar, and spending as much time as possible in the mountains. She speaks French and is learning Spanish and Korean. She aspires to become a writer and professor

Bio

Will Clark is an English Literature major at Utah State University. He enjoys rock climbing, hiking, reading, and writing. He is from California but has spent the last 4 years in Logan. He finds it far too cold up here, but he likes the mountains. He likes to read science fiction but also enjoys fantasy and the classics. When he's not reading something for class or writing essays, he can be found watching movies (his favorite is currently the new Dune), thrifting, or sketching.

Eli is studying creative writing and molecular biology at Utah State. He's a total nerd, so if he's not reading the newest Brandon Sanderson book or playing a game of chess, you can probably find him working on his own novel, playing Magic: the Gathering, or skiing in the wintertime.

Colby is a creative writing major from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He loves to hike, write, and watch as many movies or shows as possible. In addition to traveling the world after graduation, he wants to be an author.

Woodrow is a creative writing major. He has returned to USU for his second bachelor’s as a way to pursue his dream of becoming a writer for a AAA gaming studio. He loves all things related to character development and hopes to publish a novel someday.

K'Lee is studying English with an emphasis in creative writing. She is a big fan of animals, nature, and the masochistic act of running. In her free time, you can likely find her reading a new book and ignoring fifty unfinished ones on her bookshelf.

Eliza is an undergraduate at USU. She's always searching for more novel and comic recommendations to add to an ever-expanding list. In her free time, she likes to write, draw, and make (extremely) amatuer animations.

Gregory is an undergraduate at USU with a focus on Creative Writing. He is originally from a small town in West Virginia but moved to Utah in 2021. In July 2018—halfway between Baltimore and Nassau—he competed (and won) in the Princess Cruise Lines weekly bellyflop competition. He was disappointed to learn there was no prize for winning. When he’s not competing in pointless competitions, he enjoys photography, reading, and sailing small boats around buoys.

Brianna is Majoring in Wildlife Ecology with a Minor in English and Sociology at Utah State University. When she isnt found behind her laptop writing Fiction or Poetry, she can usually be located somewhere in the mountains birdwatching and documenting wildlife encounters through her photography. Her love of nature inspires her creative work, and she aspires to one day use her writing professionally as a method of spreading awareness to and curating a love of the outdoors within others. 

Cade is a student of creative writing and folklore with a deep love of fantasy and sci-fi. If he’s not exploring a fictional world, he’s probably building one, or at the very least thinking really hard about making one.

Pearson is a Creative Writing major here at USU. He has a deep love for comics and graphic novels, and one can almost always find him ready with a new book recommendation. He believes that stories have the power to change the world for the better, and one day he hopes to be known as one of the great comic writers.

Chloe is studying English Literature, Environmental Studies, and Anthropology at USU. She enjoys reading memoirs, short stories, and all things spooky. In her free time, you’ll find her listening to her dad’s favorite music, eating ice cream from a waffle cone, or backpacking in the middle of nowhere. You could potentially catch her crying over sappy book dedications too.

Jaxson is a English major with an emphasis in literature in his Junior year. He enjoys making various types of music as well as writing his own poetry. After graduating he hopes to pursue a master’s degree at Utah State.

Addie Hemsley is a Junior studying English Creative Writing and Psychology. In her free time, she loves watching movies, reading, writing, and hanging with friends.

Zack studies Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, and English as part of USU's Interdisciplinary Program. He revels in the stories and poems that rest just atop the primeval current of telling. He has found himself behind the wheel of a large automobile, in a beautiful house, and with a beautiful wife.

Eliza is a double major in Marketing and Liberal Arts. When she's not at school, you can find her baking another dessert or at the USU Hockey games. She discovered a love for poetry last year and writes or reads any chance she gets.

Brook is a Creative Writing English major at USU. She hopes to publish a book one day, but will settle for becoming rich and famous some other way. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry, rock climbing, and nonograms. 

Russ co-authored the book On Fly-Fishing the Northern Rockies: Essays and Dubious Advice. He received the Frederick Manfred Award for creative writing from the Western Literature Association, and both edits and contributes to howsmallatrout.wordpress.com and Braidedbrook.com. His essays have appeared in Eat Sleep Fish and The Huffington Post. He teaches writing at Utah State University.

Charles is the co-editor and co-translator of Ta Duy Anh’s The Termite Queen, forthcoming from Penguin Random House Southeast Asia, and two collections of Vietnamese short fiction, Wild Mustard and Family of Fallen Leaves. He earned his Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Denver and teaches fiction writing at USU. Among other venues, his work has appeared in The Literary Review, Words Without Borders, Foreign Policy, ISLE, Flyway, and saltfront.

Brittney Skye (she/her) received her Master of Arts from Utah State University in 2020. Cache Valley born and raised, she has been writing ever since she picked up crayons. Her first chapbook, Harvest, was published in 2021 by Finishing Line Press. Her work has been published in Narrative Magazine, Crab Orchard Review, and Sugar House Review. She currently works at Utah State University as an Alumni Outreach Coordinator for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Robb Kunz hails from Teton Valley, Idaho. He received his MFA in creative writing from the University of Idaho. He currently teaches writing at Utah State University. His art has been published Peatsmoke Journal, Wild Roof, Hole in the Head Review, and Fatal Flaw Literary Magazine. His work is forthcoming in Beyond Words Literary Magazine, Third Street Review, and Glassworks Magazine.