Contributors | Zaum 28

Writers

Adam Amjadi

Is a fourth-year student of Creative Writing at Sonoma State University. He writes poetry, prose fiction, and essays, and also creates music under the name “Sound Spiral.”

K. C. Anderson

Is a Northern California creative writer & playwright currently finishing their bachelor’s in Creative Writing & Theater Studies.

Courtney Nicole Bowen

Is an English Literature student whose work has appeared in the podcast Fanachu!’s zine Voices of the Diaspora. After leaving Guam in 2015, Bowen began searching for CHamoru literature and considering the lasting tradition of CHamoru storytelling

Amillia Brown

Instagram: amillia_brown

Lilly Clausen

Is a 2nd year MFA student at the University of San Francisco. When they’re not writing fiction or studying critical theory, they connect with their community through mutual aid, music, and language.

Veeda Khan

Is a student at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Her work has appeared in SAND, Zone 3, Portland Review, and elsewhere.

Dhayana Lamb

Is an Afro-Latinx Dominican poet, speaker, and writing mentor. Her writing is deeply infused with the vibrant culture of the Caribbean and the mindful approach with which she navigates this life journey. Through her essays, poems, and prose, she strives to contribute to the literary world and celebrate the diverse voices of our community. Dhayana published her debut collection of prose and poetry, Agridulce, in 2021.

Barbara Lawhorn

Is a teacher at Western Illinois University. She’s into community literacy work, walking her amazing dog Banjo, running, eating pie, and finding the wild places within herself and outside in the world. Her most recent poetry and fiction can be found at Sand Hill Literary Review, Poetry South, Flash Fiction Magazine, Dunes Review Literary Journal, and White Wall Review. She lives joyfully in the Midwest with her favorite creative endeavors ever–sons, Mars and Jack. She is completing her final course for a Mindfulness in Education Certification at Antioch University.

Niko Magnussen

Is an Asian American poet, writer, and undergraduate English major. They are found most often behind the counter at a fast food restaurant dreaming up metaphors or roaming the earth, book in hand (Toni Morrison preferred).

Lizzy Means

Is in their last year at the SRJC. Creative writing has been their passion since childhood, and is excited to share some of their work with more than just their family, friends, and classmates. Their favorite genres to write are fantasy and creative nonfiction.

Debasish Mishra

Is a doctoral student at National Institute of Science Education and Research, HBNI, India. His recent poems have appeared in Arkana, Apricity, Hawaii Pacific Review, York Literary Review, and elsewhere. His first book Lost in Obscurity and Other Stories was published by Book Street Publications, India, in 2022.

Shannon Morehead

Is in her first semester of the English Literature graduate studies program at Sonoma State University. She has aspirations of becoming a high school English teacher and enjoys writing poetry for fun in her free time as an emotional outlet.

Katie Ondris

Is a 20-year old sophomore at SUNY New Paltz. They have been writing since childhood and consider it their number one passion. They are a journalism major, chemistry minor, and barista at Starbucks. They live in New Jersey with their family.

Emma Paris

Is a 17-year-old poet hailing from Putney, Vermont. She has been writing poetry intensively for over 6 years, some of her most recent publications and accomplishments include: receiving 5 Silver Keys and 7 Gold Keys, including an American Voices Nomination from Scholastic Art and Writing Awards 2023; poetry published in Chautauqua “Close Encounters’’ 2023; attending the Governors Institute of the Arts 2022 in Castleton Vermont. She is an alumnus of the Ruth Stone House Next Galaxy Retreat 2021. Emma has been published in The Brattleboro Reformer and VTDigger through the Young Writers Project, her poetry has been featured in Poems Around Town and Poem City programs across the state.

Courtney Pazin

Grew up on the Northern California coast. She is a writer, poet, and teacher. When she isn’t spending time with words, you can find her at a beach with her dog, Huckleberry. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, CA.

Fiora Selvaggia

Has completed an Associate of Arts Degree from Central Piedmont CC and is currently pursuing a BS in Professional Studies from UNC-Greensboro. She lives on a small homestead in Penrose, NC, where she writes poetry and works as a Middle School Library Assistant.

Vivek Sharma

Is a first-generation immigrant-settler and BIPOC poet from Nepal, and is also an MFA student at the University of British Columbia. As a South Asian poet now residing in the unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan peoples, they passionately explore themes of culture, identity, and immigrant experience through their poetry. One day they hope to write something that will buy them a few cups of grande chai-tea latte at their favourite Starbucks.

Riley Smith

Has freckles, a dead father, and a knack for writing. She recently graduated Sonoma State with a degree in English Literature, and plans to pursue a career in publishing.

Ryan Steel

Is a current MFA in Creative Writing student at San Jose State University. They are the managing editor of Reed Magazine, the literary magazine of SJSU.

Jenna Taylor

An experimental and abstract writer focused on the human psyche and emotional perception. They are a current SSU student in the English major, with a Creative Writing concentration. When not diving into books they like to study psychology, which helps with writing about the internal self.

Jan Tilley

Is an aspiring fantasy author and Professional and Creative Writing Major at CWU. Their quick story is based on a dream they had a few years back that’s managed to haunt me them to this day.

June Vivenzi

Is a Pomo tribal member who has pursued a career in floral design and an education in Death & Grief support, a passion found after the loss of her brother to police violence in 2010. Her writing has previously been published in Effable Press, Inr Circle, and other Bay Area print magazines.

Meg Vlaun

Meg Vlaun has an MA in English Literature and currently attends Regis University’s Mile-High MFA program. She writes creative nonfiction, fiction, book reviews, and poetry, and has published pieces in Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Meat for Tea, Limina UNM Nonfiction Review, CC&D Magazine, Blue Mesa Review’s Blog, and Leonardo Magazine (both print and online). Meg instructs writing at Central New Mexico Community College.

Chlo Connaughton

Chlo Connaughton is a current graduate student of English Literature at SSU. Her work has appeared in Zaum Literary Magazine and Salty Magazine. When Chlo isn't being a scholar studying old tomes, you can find her playing drums in her band Bad Thoughts. She loves Medieval literature, Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf, swords, and her basset hound Bert.

Artists

Kira Ashbeck

Kira began digital photography at the age of six. Since then she has expanded her medium to include film. She has been published five times.

Chlo Connaughton

Court Ludwick

Court Ludwick is an artist, writer, teacher, and PhD student currently studying at USD. She is the author of THESE STRANGE BODIES (ELJ Editions, 2024), and the founding editor-in-chief of Broken Antler Magazine. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in West Trade Review, Archetype, Stone Circle Review, Sweet Tooth, Jet Fuel Review, Full House Literary, Oxford Magazine, and elsewhere.

Gabe Narciso

Gabe Narciso is an illustrator living in Vallejo, California. He graduated from Sonoma State in 2022 with a degree in studio arts and was featured in the de Young Open in San Fransisco.

Donald Patten

Donald Patten is an artist and cartoonist from Belfast, Maine, who creates a unique range of artworks that are both visually striking and entertaining. He produces oil paintings, illustrations, ceramic sculptures and graphic novels. His art has been exhibited in galleries across Maine.

Liam Paull-Dining

Liam Paull-Dining is a recent graduate of the English Creative Writing program at Sonoma State University after receiving Associates in English for Transfer and Language Arts from Laney College. He has published poetry, creative nonfiction, and visual art in Zaum and Open Ceilings magazines. If you need him, he is probably up at an ungodly hour reworking some unwieldy piece of writing.

Rachel Sculley

Rachel Sculley is an interdisciplinary studio artist/musician who works in her home studio based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received a BFA degree from Sonoma State University. Sculley loves designing experimental digital graphics, textiles, music.

Vivian Stegura

My name is Vivian Stegura, and I'm a future author and illustrator who will soon have a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When I’m not writing, I’m dancing, painting, laughing, running in the mountains, and finding inspiration within the people in my life. I’ll be a teacher too, one day.

Tara Thiel

Tara Thiel is a visual artist and writer who describes her work as recontextualized nonfiction. Her projects examine the temporality of man-made objects through juxtaposition and focus and create stories that breathe new life into outlived realities.

Maddy Welsome

Maddy Welsome is an Art History major completing their bachelor's degree and working on their Art Minor. In their spare time, they like to paint, draw, write stories, and exploring other art forms.