Editor-in-chief

Liza Flum (she/her) is the author of Hover (Omnidawn, 2025), a finalist for a 2026 Lambda Award in Bi Poetry. Her poetry has appeared in journals including AGNI, Narrative, Meridian, Washington Square Review, and Zócalo Public Square. She is a recipient of a Barbara Deming artist grant, and her writing has been supported by fellowships from the Saltonstall Foundation, the Vermont Studio Center, Aspen Summer Words, and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center. She holds an MFA in poetry from Cornell and a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Utah. An Assistant Professor of English at Finger Lakes Community College, she loves tart and crisp apples, and her favorite varietal is the Granny Smith.

Editors

Akira Coats (she/her) is a 22-year-old college student at FLCC. She has worked as an intern for FLCC’s creative writing program, where she helped organize events for visiting authors. She has also assisted in editing works for FLCC’s creative writing capstone students. Akira has a passion for writing and reading. She enjoys poetry and fiction. She can be very detail-oriented and likes to dabble in the visual arts as well. The best apple is Red Delicious, and Akira will take no inquiries at this time about her apple opinions. 

Adia Harriott is a 23-year-old creative writing student at FLCC, hoping to publish her own work  in the future. No matter the place, she writes whenever there is time to spare. She enjoys editing and reading other people’s work. She hates apples. She wishes to use this experience to inspire fresh ideas for her writing and experience new perspectives.

J.R. Harrington (it/its) is conceptually in love with the Black Diamond apple. It’s largely inspired by nature, particularly the reclamation of manmade structures. It is studying Creative Writing with the aspiration of becoming a published author, though it has been published in various indie literary magazines online, as well as being a staff writer for several publications, including Studio Moone and Tea Stained Literary. It’s excited to read submissions that explore nature, humanity, mental health, and politics. It can be found on Instagram @j.r.harrington_author or @fosterweird, which is its own magazine.

Bella Hickman (she/her) is currently studying Liberal Arts and Sciences at FLCC, with a dream of getting a degree in Forensic Psychology. She has gained experience in English and literature through her courses at FLCC and her passion for reading. Through this journal, she hopes to gain insight on unique lives and help everyone’s voices be heard and valued. Her favorite apple is also the Honeycrisp.

Kimmy Larson is an emerging autistic writer living near Antwerp, Belgium, where she enjoys eating local Magic Star apples with her husband and their bunnies. Her work has been featured in The No Sleep Podcast and The Piker Press, with a forthcoming honorable mention for the CRAFT Flash Prose Prize. Kimmy is also a watercolor and gouache artist with an AA in Illustration. When she isn’t writing or painting, Kimmy volunteers as a wildlife rehabilitator, providing care for a variety of animals, from owls to hedgehogs. Baby doves are her favorite. View her artwork or say hi on Instagram @kimmy.creatures.

Aaron M. (he/they) is a 25-year-old trans-masc artist and aspiring poet. Much of their passion is dug up from the marshes of the Finger Lakes. His favorite literary pieces include discussions of gender, nature, metaphysics, philosophy, and ethics, and he hopes to someday inspire this same curiosity in others through his own writing. If you don’t see him roaming the local library, you’ll find him on the ice embracing his new-found love for ice hockey. Aaron’s favorite apple is a classic Honeycrisp. They can be reached on most platforms as @coffeeajames.

Patrick Owens is an author of many facets, including poetry, fantasy, and sci-fi. He has written poetry for 43 years with one poem published. He branched out into fantasy for Dungeons and Dragons adventures, which reignited a passion for writing that he thought had died out long ago. Embracing his love for writing, he decided to get his Creative Writing degree at FLCC. He is currently working on more poetry and his memoir. He hopes to publish a new collection of poetry in 2027. He planted a Granny Smith as the first tree on his property, so it has been decided that he likes the Granny Smith apple best.

Editor Emeritus

Albert Abonado is a poet and essayist based in Rochester, NY. He is the author of JAW (Sundress Publications 2020) and Field Guide for Accidents (Beacon 2024), a National Poetry Series selection. He holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars. He has received fellowships for poetry from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Albert teaches at SUNY Oswego and Finger Lakes Community College, where he served as the Managing Editor of the Bare Hill Review. He is the former Director of Adult Programs at Writers & Books. His work has appeared in numerous journals including Boston Review, Colorado Review, The Laurel Review, The Margins, Triquarterly, Waxwing, Zone 3, and others. His favorite apple is the Honeycrisp.