Kyce Bello is a poet, herbalist, and nurse. She is the author of two collections of poetry, Refugia, winner of the Test Site Poetry Prize and recipient of a New Mexico Book Award, and Far Country, both published by University of Nevada Press. She also edited the anthology The Return of the River: Writers, Scholars, and Citizens Speak on Behalf of the Santa Fe River, a work of literary activism.

Richard Chess is the author of four books of poetry, including Love Nailed to the Doorpost (University of Tampa Press 2017). His fifth book, The Loneliest Monk, will be published by Orison Books in July 2026. His work has been included in Best American Spiritual Writing 2005 and The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary American Jewish Poetry. He is a regular contributor to “Close Reading,” the blog hosted by SLANT Books. He was a founding member of the board of Yetzirah: A Hearth for Jewish Poetry. In recent years, he also served on the board of Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center. He is professor emeritus from the UNC Asheville, where, for 30 years, he directed UNC Asheville’s Center for Jewish Studies. You can find out more about him at his website: www.richardchess.com

Emily Hyland’s newest collection of poetry, My Wise Little Ghost, is forthcoming with Trio House Press in July 2026. Hyland is the author of Divorced Business Partners: A Love Story (Howling Bird Press, 2024) & EMILY: The Cookbook, (Ballantine Books, 2018). Her third collection, BREASTS, will be published by Cornerstone Press in 2027. Hyland is the eponymous co-founder of the international restaurant groups Pizza Loves Emily + Emmy Squared Pizza. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she writes & teaches at Yogasource, a beloved local studio that she co-owns & directs. emilyhyland.com / emmysquaredpizza.com / pizzalovesemily.com

Priyanka Kumar is the award-winning author of CONVERSATIONS WITH BIRDS and THE LIGHT BETWEEN APPLE TREES. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The

Washington Post, Los Angeles Review of Books, Orion, and Sierra. An internationally acclaimed naturalist and filmmaker, she has taught at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of Southern California and serves on the Advisory Council of the Leopold Writing Program. Her new book is THE GRASSLAND QUEEN.

Santana Shorty is a writer and poet from northern New Mexico. She received her BA from Stanford University and her MFA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Her work focuses on New Mexican landscape and culture, and multiracial upbringing and love. Her writing has been published in New Mexico Magazine, El Palacio Magazine, and in the anthology Water Bodies: Love Letters to the Most Abundant Substance on Earth from Torrey House Press. Currently, she is working on her first novel. She is a member of the Navajo Nation and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.