Name: Karolis Strautniekas
Contribution: Cover artist for Issue 4
Location: Vilnius, Lithuania
Bio: I constantly draw illustrations for magazines, as a rule illustrating texts about technology, culture and science.
Links: strautniekas.com | @strautniekas
Name: Charles Leggett
Contribution: Author of "Haiku" in Issue 4
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Bio: Charles Leggett is a professional actor based in Seattle, WA, USA. Recent publications include Southword Journal (Munster Literature Centre, Cork City, Ireland), Punchnel's, Clover: A Literary Rag, Frigg Magazine, The Worcester Review, The Floating Bridge Review, The Raven Chronicles, Vine Leaves Literary Journal (Australia/Greece) and Magma Poetry (United Kingdom). His long poem "Premature Tombeau for John Ashbery" is an e-chapbook in the Barnwood Press "Great Find" series.
Name: Mick Lynch
Contribution: Author of "Slide" poem in Issue 4
Location: York, UK.
Bio: Mick Lynch is an award-winning artist whose work embraces various genres including film, photography, design, music and writing. Trained as a graphic designer at the York School of Art, he worked for several London design studios before becoming the Editorial Artist for a daily newspaper. He is currently studying for a joint honours degree in Creative Writing/English Literature and has just completed his first book, '24 Exposures', a collection of 'snapshots in words'.
Links: micklynchcreative.com
Name: Jordan Harrison
Contribution: Artist for "Slide" in Issue 4
Location: Yorkshire, UK.
Bio: Jordan Harrison is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer based in Yorkshire. Currently trying to find his feet in the creative world, he loves to experiment with various styles within his work and challenges himself by working on a broad range of client & personal projects.
Links: Email
Name: Christopher Swiedler
Contribution: Author of "Orion, the Hunter" story in Issue 4
Location: Pacifica, CA.
Bio: Christopher lives in Pacifica, CA, where he's under constant threat from earthquakes, tsunamis, and freak sandstorms. Currently he's trying to finish his first novel and begin his second. His goal is to win the Newbery Honor without coming near the Medal itself, because he was once told that being runner-up builds good character.
Links: christopher.swiedler.org
Name: Sarah Evans
Contribution: Author of "Feeling Fine" story in Issue 4
Location: Welwyn Garden City, UK
Bio: Sarah Evans has had over a hundred stories published in anthologies, magazines and online. Highlights include: appearing in the 2008 Bridport anthology; having several stories published in the acclaimed Unthology series (Unthank Books); recently winning the inaugural Winston Fletcher Prize with her story 'Acclimatising.' She's had work published by (amongst others) Bloomsbury, Writers' Forum, Earlyworks Press and Rubery Press, and performed at live events in London, Hong Kong and New York.
Links: amazon.co.uk/Sarah-Evans | @Sarah_mm_Evans
Name: Nicole M. Spooner
Contribution: Author of "Walking in the leaves" poem in Issue 4
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Bio: Nicole Spooner has been writing since she could hold a crayon. In 1992 she discovered poetry which led her to the Creative Writing Program at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota where she studied exclusively under the tutelage of Bill Meissner. In her free time she likes to run, teach yoga, and enjoys taking classes at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. Nicole is thrilled to have her piece published in Firewords.
Name: Eliot North
Contribution: Author of "He Lay Back in the Snow" story in Issue 4
Location: Tynemouth, UK
Bio: Eliot North is a doctor, medical educator and writer who lives and works in the North East of England. She completed her Creative Writing PostGrad Certificate at Newcastle University in 2014. She won the EuroStemCell Creative Non-Fiction Poetry competition in 2013 and was commended for the Hippocrates Poetry Prize 2014. She is currently looking to publish her first poetry pamphlet 'Suture Lines.' This is her first prose writing to be published.
Name: Christina Taylor
Contribution: Author of "The Artist" story in Issue 4
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Bio: Christina Taylor is a library assistant from Newcastle upon Tyne. She began writing from an early age but gave it up to get a proper job. However, the urge to write became too strong and she started writing again a couple of years ago. She loves writing short stories and making her own clothes. 'The Artist' is her first published work.
Name: Nicole J Simms
Contribution: Author of "The Snowflakes of Time" story in Issue 4
Location: West Midlands, UK
Bio: Nicole J Simms is a UK horror writer. She has written flash fictions, short stories, and even a novel. Her stories have been published by websites, such as Alfie Dog Fiction and 50-word stories. Her story, Caught up in Murder, can also be found in the Dark Bard anthology. Even though she is open to many genres, she prefers to write horror, crime, and fantasy stories.
Links: nicole-j-simms.co.uk | facebook.com/NicoleJSimmsWriter
Name: Mark Newman
Contribution: Author of "Tiny Indentations" story in Issue 4
Location: Leicester, UK
Bio: Mark Newman is a library supervisor with Leicestershire Libraries. He has been shortlisted for the Costa Short Story Award, longlisted for the Bristol Prize and highly commended in the New Writer Prose & Poetry Awards. In 2014 he won competitions judged by Alison Moore, Tania Hershman and David Gaffney, and also met his literary idol Susan Hill.
Links: marknewman1973.wordpress.com | @mn73
Name: Kyle Adams
Contribution: Artist for the flash fiction section in Issue 4
Location: San Antonio, TX USA
Bio: Kyle is an icon designer and illustrator living in San Antonio, TX USA. He has a passion for speaking volumes through concise images and does so with great care and simplicity. He is currently working with clients, growing his business, and writing a weekly blog where he shares valuable insights about his years of design experience.
Links: kyleadams.me | @itskyleadams
Name: Marie Gethins
Contribution: Author of "The Apocalypse" story in Issue 4
Location: Ireland
Bio: Marie Gethins' work has featured in the 2014 NFFD Anthology, Flash, Litro, NANO, The Incubator, Words with JAM and others. She won or placed in Tethered by Letters, Dromineer, The New Writer, Prick of the Spindle, Sentinel Literary Quarterly and 99fiction.net. Marie is a Pushcart Nominee and Best Short Fictions Nominee. She lives in Cork, Ireland, working on her MSt in Creative Writing at the University of Oxford.
Links: @MarieGethins
Name: Angela Rizza
Contribution: Artist for "The Apocalypse" in Issue 4
Location: New York, USA
Bio: Angela graduated from the Fashion Institute in 2011 and currently lives in New York. Her work is a combination of traditional and digital media which is reminiscent of a classical storybook illustration. She loves drawing birds and likes to revision movies and tv shows in her unique style.
Links: angelarizza.com | instagram.com/canvasbird
Name: Nik Eveleigh
Contribution: Author of "Henry Spiller" story in Issue 4
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Bio: Nik is a Welshman based in Cape Town who began writing short stories in 2013. He has no set style or genre but tries to waste as few words as possible when telling a tale. He spends his days keeping his imagination in check long enough to hold down a job. When he isn't writing he tries to be a good dad and husband to two wonderful children and an understanding wife.
Name: Christi du Toit
Contribution: Artist for "Henry Spiller" in Issue 4
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Bio: I'm an illustrator, letterer, graphic designer, and excessive coffee drinker currently residing and working independently in the beautiful city of Cape Town, South Africa. Through my work I try to create a close connection between functional, conceptual ideas and interesting, engaging illustrations with varying themes. Whether working in black and white or bright, vibrant colours, I always try to retain a fun, and sometimes weird, twist in my ever-evolving style and artwork.
Name: Ronald Jackson
Contribution: Author of "The Station" story in Issue 4
Location: Durham, North Carolina, USA
Bio: Ronald Jackson writes stories, poems, and non-fiction. His work has appeared in North Carolina Literary Review, Iodine, Prime Number, in anthologies and online venues, and is slated to appear in Tar River Poetry and Chattahoochee Review. He's working on a story collection and a poetry chapbook. Recognitions include honorable mention in the Doris Betts fiction competition, third prize in Prime Number's flash fiction competition, and honorable mention in the New Millennium Writings short-short fiction competition.
Name: Elicia Edijanto
Contribution: Artist for "The Station" in Issue 4
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Bio: Elicia Edijanto is a watercolour artist based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Her works often depict innate relationship between children and animals, human and nature, which focus on the intimacy and tranquil atmosphere between them.
Links: behance.net/eliciaedijanto | eliciaedijanto.tumblr.com
Name: Mark James Hammond
Contribution: Author of "The Tides" poem in Issue 4
Location: Gateshead, UK
Bio: My dad bought me almost every Dickens novel when I was a lad. I've been hooked on words ever since. At present I study Advanced Creative Writing with the Open University. I have been published by various regional magazines such as Narc, The Crack and Elite. Curiosity and creativity keep me equal parts balanced/unhinged. I write and perform my own music and I also have a podcast available on iTunes called 'The Intelligentleman'.
Links: markjameshammond.com | mjhammond.weebly.com
Name: Georgie Bennett
Contribution: Artist for "The Tides" in Issue 4
Location: Kent, England
Bio: Georgie Bennett is a recent illustration graduate from Norwich University of the Arts. Her work is very much inspired by drawing on location, taking reference photos and experimenting with mark making. She is particularly drawn to reportage and narrative based projects and is always open to new collaborations.
Links: cargocollective.com/georgiebennett | georgie-bennett-illustration.tumblr.com
Name: Damon King
Contribution: Author of "Eight Across" story in Issue 4
Location: Somewhere in the Irish Sea
Bio: Damon toyed with the idea of writing a novel for years, but it was only in 2012 that he picked up his pen and soon discovered his preference for the short story. His literary tastes are wide ranging, but he highlights a particular appreciation for the works of John Banville, Charles Bukowski and Jorge Luis Borges.
Name: Jeffrey Penn May
Contribution: Author of "Pluggin' Leaks" story in Issue 4
Location: St. Louis, USA
Bio: Jeffrey Penn May has won several fiction awards and published numerous short stories, poems, and articles. He wrote and performed a short story for radio, his novel Where the River Splits was praised in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and his nonfiction received a Pushcart nomination. Jeff's adventures include navigating a Johnboat from St. Louis to New Orleans and a raft to Memphis, digging for Pre-Colombian artifacts, and climbing mountains from Alaska to Colombia.
Links: askwritefish.com | @AskWriteFish
Name: Nicolet Schenck
Contribution: Artist for "Pluggin' Leaks" in Issue 4
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Bio: Nicolet Schenck is a freelance illustrator, working graphic designer, and practicing printmaker in Baltimore, MD. She finds interest in the little things and seeks to transcend the mundane through her work. She collects unusual sightings, idiosyncratic stories, and cacti.
Links: nicoletschenck.com | @nicoletschenck
Name: Jennifer Falkner
Contribution: Author of "Salt" story in Issue 4
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Bio: Jennifer Falkner is a short story writer living in chilly Ottawa. Her writing has been published in American Athenaeum, The Steel Chisel, Vintage Script and THEMA, among other places. In addition to writing short stories for fun and very little profit, she is the founding editor of Circa: A Journal of Historical Fiction.
Links: @JenFalkner | jkfalkner.wordpress.com
Name: Marie Peach-Geraghty
Contribution: Author of "The Pigeon Problem" story in Issue 4
Location: Nottingham, UK
Bio: Marie Peach-Geraghty is writer who works and lives in Nottingham with her husband and a cat who knows how to fetch a ball. Studying for her MA Creative Writing degree at NTU, she writes both adult and YA short stories and is currently working on a short novel for publication.
Links: @pe27ach
Name: Delia Evin
Contribution: Artist of "The Pigeon Problem" in Issue 4
Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Bio: I'm an illustrator based out of Brooklyn. I grew up here and and honestly cannot imagine living anywhere else. I graduated from FIT after majoring in Illustration and have been refining my work ever since and I work primarily with watercolors. As a side-note I am a lover of all things covered in snow. I would spend my whole life living in winter if I could, and I draw a lot of inspiration from nature in my work (ironic, since there isn't much nature where I live).
Links: deliaevin.com | @deliaevin
Name: Lance Nizami
Contribution: Author of "California Winter" in Issue 4
Location: Palo Alto, California, USA
Bio: Lance Nizami has no formal training in the Arts. He is active in the world's most competitive profession, yet without an institutional appointment. He started writing poetry during a long airplane flight in late 2010, and has written much since then in-flight. As of 28 January 2015 he had 142 poems in print or in press (not online), the most recent acceptances being at Prospectus: A Literary Offering, The Seventh Quarry, and 94 Creations.
Name: James Keane
Contribution: Author of "Street Corner" in Issue 4
Location: Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, USA
Bio: James Keane resides in northern New Jersey USA with his wife and son and several merry pets. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in English Literature 100 years ago at Georgetown University. His poems have appeared recently in Contemporary American Voices (he was Featured Poet in the January 2015 issue), the Wilderness House Literary Review and Blue Monday Review. In 2013, his first poetry chapbook, What Comes Next, was published by Finishing Line Press.
Name: Melissa North
Contribution: Artist for "California Winter" & "Street Corner" in Issue 4
Location: London, UK
Bio: I am a London based illustrator with a passion for printmaking. Travel, history and culture are the main inspirations for my work. I love to combine my own photography, drawing and collage through silk-screen print where I embrace the accidents that are all part of the process. I am currently pursuing my dream of building my own print studio in London.
Name: Alison Lock
Contribution: Author of "Sprite" story in Issue 4
Location: West Yorkshire, UK
Bio: Alison Lock is a writer of poetry and fiction. Her first collection of poetry A Slither of Air, (IDP 2011) was published as a result of winning the Indigo Dreams Poetry Collection Competition. Subsequently, a collection of short stories, Above the Parapet (IDP 2013), and forthcoming: a second collection of poetry, Beyond Wings, (IDP 2015), and a fantasy novella, Maysun and the Wingfish (MothersMilkBooks 2015) She has an MA in Literature Studies.
Links: alisonlock.com | @ali_lock_
Name: Lisk Feng
Contribution: Artist for "Sprite" in Issue 4
Location: New York City
Bio: Lisk Feng is an award winning illustrator who is originally from China, and now become a New York based freelance illustrator. She graduated from MFA Illustration Practice from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2014, and at the same time received some awards such as 3X3 Student Award Silver Medal, 3X3 Children's Book Honorable mentioned, American Illustration Archive selected winner, Adobe Design Award Semi–final, AOI Illustration Awards(UK) shortlist etc.
Links: liskfeng.com | instagram.com/liskfeng
Name: Jonathan Aldridge
Contribution: Author of "Metroland" poem in Issue 4
Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne
Bio: Jonny is a novelist, short story writer, journalist and PR man. He studied English Literature at Cambridge University and has been published by The Writer, Cent, Liars' League, Bookslut, Frogmore Papers, and many more. His debut novel, Banes Of Boys And Girls, is out now on Kindle and Nook. He lives in Newcastle with his girlfriend and cat.
Links: jonathan-aldridge.com | @jonnyaldridge
Name: Josephine Kyhn
Contribution: Artist for "Metroland" in Issue 4
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Bio: I'm 28 years old, and I live, work and study in Copenhagen, Denmark. I live with my boyfriend and 2 cats in an apartment, where I currently also have my studio. Right now I am writing and illustrating a children's book as my final master project at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. I work with editorial illustration, such as magazines and newspapers, and more personal projects as books, exhibitions and random stuff.
Links: josephinekyhn.dk | facebook.com/josephinekyhnillustration
Name: Mansour Chow
Contribution: Author of "The Zookeeper & The Matador" story in Issue 4
Location: London
Bio: Mansour Chow writes essays, short stories, prose and poetry. Recent essays are published in Alquimie and FourFourTwo. Recent prose and poetry can be found at Johnny America and in Belleville Park Pages. He co-edits literary and art magazine, The Alarmist.
Links: doubtitwillbeusedmuch.tumblr.com | alarmistmagazine.co.uk
Name: Holly Horn
Contribution: Artist for "The Zookeeper & The Matador" in Issue 4
Location: Norwich, UK
Bio: Holly is an illustrator currently based in Norwich, hailing from the heart of Cornwall. Drawing inspiration from her rural upbringing and the objects that punctuate daily life, she creates imagery rich in metaphor and symbolism. A collector of trinkets, she finds inspiration in the quaint and enjoys exploring juxtapositions in her work.
Links: hollyhorn.co.uk | @holpots
