Angel Simmons is a Chicago south-sider who was raised in Englewood. As a Columbia College alumna, she does it all as a speaker, mentor, coach, runway and print model, president and CEO of The Message, Inc., and the current Ms....  read

Michael Fischer is currently earning an MFA in Creative Writing from Sierra Nevada College. He is co-editor of Sierra Nevada Review, an assistant nonfiction editor of Profane, and a Moth Chicago StorySlam winner. His work has been supported by fellowships...  read

Lily Be is a Chicago native, born and raised in Humboldt Park. A momma, a nanny, and storyteller. Lily Be is the creator and cohost of the bimonthly storytelling series, The Stoop, which takes place second and last Thursday of...  read

Evan W. Stoner is the author of this bio and the novel Birthday Suits, a book that asks the question: if you inherit a disease from your parents, can you hold them legally responsible? While not a courtroom drama, the...  read

Mary Winn Heider writes for kids, but has also worked as a public radio reporter, a high school teacher, and a bartender on a train in Alaska. She teaches writing to kids in Chicago Public Schools with the theater company...  read

Jonathan Winston Jones has struggled more to come out as a writer than he did when coming out as gay. Whenever he hits his stride with his writing, he hears the voice of his deceased grandfather who raised him saying,...  read

In 2000, Edward Moses's diverse musical upbringing began to suddenly make a lot of sense, as the whirlwinds of albums his parents had at home merged with his sudden discovery of Hip-Hop and Slam Poetry, all in a single summer....  read

Alicia Swiz is a professor, performer, and professional feminist. Drawing from her personal experience and her academic training, Alicia Swiz facilitates conversations about gender, sex and pop culture. She is the host of the monthly showcase, Feminist Happy Hour, and...  read

Tiffany Gholar is a lifelong Chicago resident. She is the author of three art books: Post-Consumerism, Imperfect Things, and The Doll Project. A Bitter Pill to Swallow is her first novel, which started out as a short story she wrote...  read

Hannah Gamble is a poet, essayist, editor, performer,and educator. Her first book, Your Invitation to a Modest Breakfast, won the National Poetry Series in 2011. In 2014 she received a Ruth Lilly/Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg fellowship from The Poetry Foundation. You...  read