Lynn Schmeidler is the author of Half-Lives, which was selected by Matt Ball as the winner of the 2023 Autumn House Rising Writer Prize in Fiction. Her fiction has appeared in Conjunctions, Georgia Review, KR Online, the Southern Review, and other publications, and she won the 2023 BOMB Fiction Contest for her short story "InventEd." Lynn has been awarded residencies at Vermont Studio Center and Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She is also the author of the poetry book History of Gone and two poetry chapbooks, Wrack Lines and Curiouser & Curiouser. She lives in the Hudson Valley.

Dave Derby began his professional career as the lead singer/bassist of The Dambuilders, a Boston-based band that released six full-length albums along with 7-inch singles and EPs all over the world from 1989-‘96. Next, Derby joined Lloyd Cole and the Negatives, and continues to write and produce with him today. Derby was the musical director and composer for Sarah Silverman’s Jesus is Magic off-broadway show and film as well as her Comedy Central TV program. Derby’s current project, Gramercy Arms, is a revolving New York-based collective of musicians and artists. The group’s fourth and latest album, "The Making of the Making of” was was just released on Magic Door Records.

*photo by Debora Francis

Catherine Newman is the author of the memoirs Catastrophic Happiness and Waiting for Birdy, the middle-grade novel One Mixed-Up Night, the kids’ craft book Stitch Camp, the best-selling how-to books for kids How to Be a Person and What Can I Say?, and the novels We All Want Impossible Things, and Sandwich. She has been a regular contributor to the New York Times, Real Simple, O, The Oprah Magazine, Cup of Jo, and many other publications. She writes Crone Sandwich on Substack and lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

*photo by Lyndsay Hannah

Hilken Mancini co-fronted the seminal ‘90’s band Fuzzy which was signed to Atlantic Records and featured in Rolling Stone for writing one of the top 50 songs of the '90s. Since, she has been part of the bands Shepherdess, Andy California, and The Monsieurs. Always the entrepreneur, Hilken is the cofounder of Punk Rock Aerobics (PRA), the original DIY workout, and Girls Rock Camp Boston, introducing her self-empowerment exercises now used in youth rock camp nonprofits worldwide. The current Hilken Mancini Band includes Melissa Gibbs on vocals and guitar (Heavy Stud/Gymnasium/Gibbs x Gillis), Winston Braman on bass (Fuzzy/Thalia Zedek/Consonant), and Luther Grey on drums (Tsunami/Fully Celebrated Orchestra) . Their new record comes out in November on Girlsville Records with guest appearances by J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Thalia Zedek/Chris Brokaw (Come), and Chris Colbourn/Tom Maginnis (Buffalo Tom).

*photo by Mark Kates