Michael David Lukas, Faculty Advisor

Michael David Lukas has been a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey, a night-shift proofreader in Tel Aviv, a student at the American University of Cairo, and a waiter at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in Vermont. Translated into more than a dozen languages, his first novel The Oracle of Stamboul was a finalist for the California Book Award, the NCIBA Book of the Year Award, and the Harold U. Ribalow Prize. His second novel, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo, won the Sami Rohr Prize, the National Jewish Book Award, the Prix Interallié for Foreign Fiction, and the ALA’s Sophie Brody Medal. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Slate, National Geographic Traveler, and Georgia Review.

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Michaela Chairez, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Michaela Chairez is a poet from the Inland Empire. She holds a BA in English from Cal State Fullerton and is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. She’s planning ideas for a poetry book and where to travel next in the world.​

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Christopher Jones, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Christopher was born and raised in Northern California and later, spent many years traveling and living abroad throughout Europe. Inspired by the native poet and activist, John Trudell, he joined the MFA program at San Francisco State University for Creative Writing. He has just finished crafting a heavy suit of armor to finally be able to share some of his work with the local writing community.

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Jack Darrow, Managing Editor

Jack lives on the north slope of Mt. Tamalpais, waiting for rain.

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August Edwards, Art Editor

August Edwards is a nonfiction writer pursuing her MFA at San Francisco State University. Born in the Midwest, raised on the east coast, transplanted from California to New Mexico and back, she has found so much love across the country. She loves desert rock. You can find her work in Albuquerque Green Room, Mulberry Literary, and Hard Noise. 

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Nathalie Franco, Creative Nonfiction Editor

Nathalie Franco is a Mexican American writer whose work aims at exploring and blurring the borders of non-fiction through the fusion and weaving of hybridity and cross-genre writing. Her work primarily focuses on traversing the intersectionality of race, identity, gender, and sexual violence, specifically revolving around Mexican indigenous culture. She received her B.A. in Literature/Writing at the University of California-San Diego and is currently working on her MFA at San Francisco State University.

 

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Tadeh Kennedy, Fiction Editor

Tadeh enjoys writing a mess of different works, ranging from horror to fantasy, to experimental essays and prose poetry. He has had his work published in Transfer magazine and continues to work on a number of different projects that he hopes to finish soon (one day.) He is a writing coach for Gilliam Writer’s Group where he works to guide storytellers with their storytelling journeys. Tadeh makes music, draws comics, churns ice cream (like roasted-butter-rosemary-persimmon ice cream,) and is relearning his first language of Armenian.

 

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R.W. Maxwell, Assistant Fiction Editor

Ryakki is a British writer from Hastings, East Sussex. He’s studying for his MFA in Creative Writing at SFSU. His short stories have been published in a few magazines, here and there, he prefers writing fantasy novels. He holds a First Class Hons, Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Brighton.
 

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Chino Chung, Assistant Fiction Editor

Chino Lee Chung is a queer and trans Chinese Mexican creative non-fiction writer, grassroots activist, and is currently working on a collection of short stories that integrate his social activism with his intersectional identities. He is an MFA graduate of the California College of Arts and is currently pursuing his MA degree at San Francisco State University. His work appears in Gender Queer: voices from beyond the sexual binary, Our Family Coalition Newsletter and is editor of the Asian Pacific Islander Transgender Anthology.

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Fiona Flora, Assistant Fiction Editor

Fiona Flora is a queer writer and observer earning her MFA at SFSU. She draws inspiration for her works from her eclectic experiences as a transracially adopted Black/mixed trans woman. Ex-tax lawyer, ex-customer service representative, ex-retail employee, always actress and character, Fiona is yet to be published. She is a current editor of Fourteen Hills. She can be found reading her work at Take Place and other literary events throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.  

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Akasha Neely, Assistant Fiction Editor

Akasha (She/they) is originally from Chicago, Illinois but currently resides in San Francisco. Interests are sci-fi, horror, satire, comedy, graphic novels, anime, and watching old Star Trek reruns.

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Michael Gallagher, Poetry Editor

Michael is an Irish-Mexican poet from Oakland, California currently doing his MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State. Michael has published three books of poetry and earned his undergrad degree at California College of the Arts where he studied under poets such as Ishmael Reed, Joseph Lease, and Gloria Frym. Michael has attended writer's residencies at Arquetopia in Oaxaca, Mexico and CAMP FR in Toulouse, France.  He is an awardee of the Steven Kowit Poetry Prize and the Daniel Langton Poetry Prize. 

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Evan Burkin, Assistant Poetry Editor

Evan Burkin is fond of authors who delight in breaking language open like Mikhail Shiskin and Irene Solà. He is working toward an MFA in creative writing at San Francisco State University. His work has been published in THRUSH, Birdcoat Quarterly, and elsewhere. 

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Clara Sperow, Assistant Poetry Editor

Clara Sperow is a Pisces writer, multimedia artist, baker, student, and educator. She holds a BA in English & Creative Writing from UC Berkeley, and she is currently earning her MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. Their work can be found in The Berkeley Poetry Review, The Ana, Silver Operation, and Bullshit Lit

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Alder Duan Hurley, Assistant Poetry Editor

Alder Duan Hurley is a mixed-race Chinese American poet based in the East Bay, on Ohlone land. He has performed his work at APAture, an arts festival showcasing emerging APA artists, at Theyfriend, a performance art festival for nonbinary artists, and at the 2022 QTAPI week celebration at the Legion of Honor. They are currently a graduate student at SFSU in the Creative Writing program.

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James Giffin, Design Editor

James Giffin is a writer, designer, and multimedia consultant native to San Diego. He is currently finishing a memoir about his experiences coming of age on the streets of San Francisco, an excerpt of which has appeared in Heartwood Literary Magazine. He has three beautiful nieces, and is having difficulty watching his curse words.

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Quinn Rennerfeldt Fairchild, PR/Social Media Editor

Quinn Rennerfeldt Fairchild is a queer poet, parent, and partner earning her MFA at SFSU. Their work can be found in Cleaver, SAND, elsewhere, Salamander, and is forthcoming in Flash Frog. Her chapbook demigoddess semilustrous will be published by dancing girl press in Fall 2023. They are a reader for Split Lip Magazine and Flash Fiction Magazine.

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Becky Sanders, Publicity/Events Editor

Becky Sanders expects to receive her MFA in May 2024. She has a background in video production and non-profit management. Becky has written two independent films, Cult (2000) and Love (2002). She has authored or coauthored over a dozen scripts, two of which placed as finalists in  Scriptapalooza, Expo 5 and Hollywood Symposium Screenwriting Contests. Becky is involved in her neighborhood and can often be seen doing the door-to-door thing, serving ice cream or manning the mic at community events. 

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