Bill Stadick has published poetry in various publications, including First Things, Wisconsin Academy Review, Christianity and Literature, and The Christian Century.He founded and writes for Page 17, Inc., which specializes in marketing and advertising communications.

Barbara Crooker's work has appeared in more than two dozen journals and anthologies. She won the 2003 Thomas Merton Poetry of the Sacred Award, judged by Stanley Kunitz. Her books include Radiance, winner of the Word Press First Book Award (2005) and finalist for the 2006 Paterson Poetry Prize; Line Dance (Word Press, 2008), winner of the 2009 Paterson Award for Literary Excellence; Small Rain (Purple Flag Press, 2014); and Les Fauves (C&R Press, 2017).

Chelsea Wagenaar is the author of Mercy Spurs the Bone (Anhinga Press, 2015), selected by Philip Levine to win the 2013 Philip Levine Prize in poetry. She has a Ph.D. in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of North Texas. Her poems have appeared in Crazyhorse, Image, The Southern Review, and 32 Poems. She teaches at Valparaiso University as a postdoctoral Lillyl Fellow.

Matthew Lippman is the author of four poetry collections: Salami Jew (Racing Form Press, 2014), American Chew, winner of the Burnside Review Book Prize (Burnside Press, 2013); Monkey Bars (Typecast Publishing, 2010); and The New Year of Yellow (Sarabande Books, 2007), winner of the Katheryn A. Morton Poetry Prize and finalist for the 2008 Paterson Poetry Prize.

Cameron Morse taught and studied in China. Diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2014, he is currently a third-year MFA candidate at UMKC and lives with his wife, Lili, in Blue Springs, Missouri. His poems have been or will be published in over forty magazines, including New Letters, pamplemousse, Two Words For, and TYPO.