The Avalon Literary Review
Contributors Spring 2024
David Atkinson lives in Sydney, Australia. David's poems have been published widely in Australia, the USA and the UK. Among other awards, David is the winner of the Ros Spencer Poetry Prize and of the Jean Stone Poetry Award. Topics for poetic exploration include the human condition, the natural world and the rural life of the past.

L. A. Ballesteros Gentile is a multidisciplinary artist based currently in Brooklyn, NY. You can find his literary work in The Candid Review, The Amazine, Roi Fainéant, and The Acentos Review, among others.

Katie Joy Blake’s short fiction has appeared in Flora Fiction and The Blotter and her middle grade novel was recently longlisted for the Cheshire Novel Prize for Kids. While a New Englander at heart, she currently resides in Utah where the scenery is phenomenal but the coffee lacks flavor.

Les Bohem started out as a songwriter, and Emmylou Harris, Randy Travis, Alvin and the Chipmunks and some others recorded his songs. This led to prose and poetry, and his audible novel, Junk, read by John Waters, that somehow morphed into a career writing for the movies and for television, where he wrote Dante’s Peak and the mini -Series, Taken, for which he won an Emmy. But what he really loves is a well-turned phrase, and so here he is, back where he started lesbohemswonderfulworldoflesbohem.com

Allison Burris grew up in the Pacific Northwest and currently lives in Oakland, California. She received her MLIS from San Jose State University and her poetry appears or is forthcoming in After Happy Hour Review, Passionfruit, Opal Age Tribune, and elsewhere. You can find her on instagram @alliesinklings or on substack @allisonburris.

Carla Cloutier is a short story author, occasional poet, and Pushcart Prize nominee. Her work has been published by The Saturday Evening Post, Woman’s World, Yours (U.K.), Dark Horses, Night Picnic Journal, and San Antonio Review to name a few. 

Jesse Delauney is an emerging creative writer, living and working on Gadigal land, whose work has been published in Australian anthologies and on chain-link fences in Greater Western Sydney, and was a finalist in the 2019 Better Read Than Dead short story competition. He holds a Master of Creative Writing from the University of Sydney.  

Richard Dinges works on his homestead beside a pond, surrounded by trees and grassland, with his wife, two dogs, two cats, and six chickens.  Oddball Magazine, Sequoia Speaks, Poetry Pacific, Rundelania, and MockingHeart Review most recently accepted his poems for their publications.

George Freek's poem Enigmatic Variations was recently nominated for Best of the Net. His poem Night Thoughts was also nominated for a Pushcart Prize. 

Audrey Howitt lives and writes poetry in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Ms. Howitt has been published in: Academy of the Heart and Mind, Purely Lit: Poetry Anthology, Washington Square Review, Panoply, Muddy River Poetry Review, Total Eclipse Poetry and Prose, Chiaroscuro-Darkness and Light, dVerse Poets Anthology, With Painted Words, Algebra of Owls and Lost Towers Publications.  You can find more of her work at https://audreyhowittpoetry.blogspot.com/

Anthony Imm, a high school senior at Northern Valley Demarest, is a young man of diverse passions. Whether he's freezing moments in time through his camera lens or solving Rubik's Cubes, his inquisitiveness shines. Anthony's appetite for hour-long YouTube documentaries reveals his thirst for knowledge, while his fondness for vanilla ice cream showcases his simple pleasures. As graduation approaches, Anthony's multifaceted interests and vibrant personality foreshadow a future filled with creativity and impact.

Jill Jepson is the author of two books, including Writing as a Sacred Path: A Practical Guide to Writing with Passion and Purpose. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in Gordon Square Review, The Fiction Pool, and Tales from the Moonlit Path among other journals. She lives in Ravenna, Italy.

David Kim is a high school student at Seoul International School in South Korea who has a passion for writing. He is currently working hard to build his portfolio for university applications. When he is not writing, David can be found listening to music, playing video games, or exploring new places in the city. 

Ben Macnair is an award winning poet and playwright from Staffordshire in the United Kingdom. Follow him on Twitter@benmacnair

Dan Morrison is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, where he earned a B.A. in English and a Letter of Specialization in Creative Writing. He currently lives in Central Florida and works as a college football writer for On3. In the past, his work has been published in journals like Space City Underground, Flash Fiction Magazine, and The Wild Word. 

Thanks to the nomadic lifestyle that a military lifestyle affords, Danielle O’Neill had the opportunity to apply her education skills across the United States and in countries like Japan and Turkey. These experiences inform her writing and, together with her French-Basque heritage, create the characters and drama in her fictional stories. The Shield is a piece adapted from her current writing project. Author website: danielleyoneillauthor.com 

David Ricchiute is the author of two poetry collections, most recently Uncertain in the Worst Way (Main Street Rag Press, 2020). Fiction appears in NOON, The Massachusetts Review, Tampa Review, and The Louisville Review, among others. Born in Rhode Island, he lives in Granger, Indiana and Villa Hills, Kentucky.

John Riebow was born and raised in Philadelphia, where he attended the W. B. High School of Agriculture Sciences, majoring in Horticulture.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture from Temple University, is a LEED-Accredited Professional, and serves as Project Manager for a design-build contractor.  He has been writing fiction, poetry and radio drama scripts for over thirty years and his work has appeared in numerous publications.  John is currently working on a novel and a collection of short fiction.

Andy Roberts is the author of three chapbooks from Pudding House Publications and five from NightBallet Press. His work has appeared in American Life In Poetry, Atlanta Review, Fulcrum, Lake Effect, The Midwest Quarterly, Off The Coast, and The Roanoke Review. He lives in Columbus, Ohio where he handles finances for disabled veterans.

Russell Rowland writes from New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, where he has judged high-school Poetry Out Loud competitions.  His work appears in Except for Love: New England Poets Inspired by Donald Hall (Encircle Publications), and Covid Spring, Vol. 2 (Hobblebush Books). His latest poetry book, Magnificat, is available from Encircle Publications.

Julie Shulman is a writer and art director living near Boston with her husband and three boys. Her work has been featured in Third Wednesday, SWWIM Every Day, and Mass Poetry. She is a merit scholar recipient and MFA candidate at Pacific University.

Gillian Story is a Toronto-based award-winning writer, musician, and artist, whose publication credits include The Globe and Mail, Mythos Magazine, and others. With a BFA in music and psychology, and an MBA, Gillian is a passionate proponent of the arts as a connective pathway to empathy, self-discovery, and innovation. She believes in the pursuit of beauty, and that a good story can change the world.