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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Evan Burkin, Co-Editor-in-Chief

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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Nathalie Franco, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Nathalie Franco is a queer, Mexican American writer whose work aims at exploring and blurring the borders of non-fiction through hybrid and cross-genre writing. Their 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 their MFA at San Francisco State University.

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Jack Darrow, Managing Editor

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

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Sarah Fariash, Creative Nonfiction Editor

Sarah Fariash (they/them) is a queer writer of speculative fiction, as well as a parent and Buffy the Vampire Slayer aficionado. Born in Idaho, they've lived in most regions of the US, but are glad to now be anchored in the Bay Area. They received a BA in Philosophy from Kenyon College, an MDiv from the Jesuit School of Theology and are currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. They contributed a chapter to the anthology Creating Spaces for Women in the Catholic Church and hope to continue creating things that push the boundaries of gender, sexuality, and possible worlds.

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Christopher Jones, Hybrid/Cross-Genre Editor

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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​Akasha Neely, 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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Judas Ātman, Assistant Fiction Editor

Judas Ātman (they/them) is a queer, transgender, butch, mixed-race, South/Southeast Asian diasporic artist born and raised in San Francisco and now based in Oakland. Their artistic practice is based in hybrid, multi-media archiving, including but not limited to: writing, theatre, film, photography, and performance. Their primary interest is in queer liminality, transformation, and perpetual arrival. They are a currently pursuing their MFA in Creative Writing at SFSU. They have had their work published in Capsule Stories, Transfer Magazine, and the Arles Project. You can find them on Instagram @judas_atman.

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Katrina Benedicto, Assistant Fiction Editor

Katrina Benedicto (they/she) is a writer and educator from the Bay Area and the Philippines. Their short fiction has been featured in Marrow, The Ana and Transfer Magazine. They hold an MFA in creative writing from San Francisco State University.

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Chino Chung, Assistant Fiction Editor

Chino Lee Chung is a queer Chinese Mexican personal essay writer, grassroots activist, and is currently working on a collection of essays that integrate his social activism with his intersectional identities. He holds an MFA from the California College of Arts and is finishing up an MA from San Francisco State University. His work appears in Gender Queer: voices from beyond the sexual binary, Our Family Coalition Newsletter, and is an Assistant Fiction Editor at 14 Hills Literary Magazine. He is a recipient of the 2024-2025 San Jose State Steinbeck Fellowship.

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John Cordaro, Assistant Fiction Editor

John Cordaro is a queer writer of fiction—spinning tales of then, now, and could be. He is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at SFSU. He lives with his husband and a canine of strong opinions on a foggy hill in San Francisco.

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​Ha Kiet Chau, Co-Poetry Editor & PR/Social Media Editor

Ha Kiet Chau is a Chinese-Vietnamese American writer. She is the author of two poetry collections, Eleven Miles to June (Green Writers Press 2021) and Woman Come Undone (Mouthfeel Press 2014). Recent poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Ploughshares, Asia Literary Review, great weather for MEDIA, Mulberry Literary, and Glassworks Magazine. Ha is inspired by cinematic storytelling & performance art. Her name means summer in Cantonese.

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Clara Sperow, Co-Poetry Editor

Clara Sperow is a Pisces writer, multimedia artist, baker, and educator currently earning her MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. Their work can be found in Berkeley Poetry Review, BULLSHIT, The Ana, and Silver Operation.

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Marina Lee, Assistant Poetry Editor

Marina Lee is a playwright-poet pursuing their MFA in creative writing at SFSU. their work centers blood and magic and screaming and plants. they hold a BS in Cognitive & Behavioral Neuroscience and a BA in Literature/Writing from UCSD.

 

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Pretty Maggam, Assistant Poetry Editor

Pretty S. Maggam was born and raised in a coastal town in the South of India. With a seamless passion for writing, she dreamt of pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing when no such thing existed according to people around her. She holds a Master’s in Computer Sciences and worked in the Tech industry for some time. She also has a Minor in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley. Like a stream finds its way, she found her way towards Creative Writing. She worked as a full-time Content Developer for several years. Her published work includes feature articles and poetry on equality, feminism, suppression, racism, women’s minds and bodies, and more things that often reflect a small-town girl’s background. She is currently working as an AI Content Writer and studying MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University.​​​​​​

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Charlie Oldhan, Assistant Poetry Editor

C.E. Oldham is full of curiosity and a love for poetry, speculative fiction, and fantasy. They graduated from Long Beach State in 2023 with a BA in English Creative Writing. Oldham currently lives in the Bay Area, and is a creative writing MA student at San Francisco State. You can follow their misadventures on Instagram @c.e.oldham

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Amy de Rouvray, Assistant Poetry Editor

Born and raised in Paris, France, Amy moved to San Francisco 10 years ago. When she’s not doing mom stuff with her 3 children, you might find her plunging in cold ocean water, camping among the redwoods, or walking her 2-year old rescue mutt. Amy’s poetry is inspired by moments of stillness and her fabulous peers in the SFSU Creative Writing MFA. A recipient of the SFSU William Dickey Fellowship in Poetry, her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in North American Review, Empty House Press, and Transfer.

 

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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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