The Avalon Literary Review
Contributors - Winter 2019
Author Biographies:
David Atkinson lives in Sydney, Australia. David's poems have been published widely in Australia and the USA and his collection The Ablation of Time is available through Ginninderra Press. Favoured areas for poetic exploration include the Australian rural life of the past.

Johnmichael Buchanan is a native of Mississippi. His work has been seen in Palo Alto, Coal City, Artisan, Kit Kat, Allegheny, Ancient Paths, and many other reviews. 

Llyn Clague is a poet based in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. His poems have been published widely, including Ibbetson Street, Atlanta Review, Wisconsin Review, California Quarterly, Main Street Rag, New York Quarterly, and other magazines. His seventh book, Hard-Edged and Childlike, was published by Main Street Rag in September, 2014. Visit www.llynclague.com

Alan Fleishman has previously published three novels, a novella, and nine short stories. An historical novel, A Fine September Morning, has been his most successful work to date. Prior to becoming an author, Fleishman was a senior corporate executive, a strategic marketing consultant, and an officer in the U.S. Army. Today he and his wife Ann live high on a hill overlooking San Francisco Bay. For more information, visit: www.alanfleishman.com.

Susie Gharib is a graduate of the University of Strathclyde with a Ph.D. on the work of D.H. Lawrence. Since 1996, she has been lecturing in Syria. Her writing has appeared in various magazines (https://www.facebook.com/susie.gharib). 

Farideh Hassanzadeh-Mostafavi is an Iranian poet, translator and freelance journalist. Her translations have introduced Iranian readers to great poets from all over the world. Her new books are: Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry and Footprints of Cats in Poetry, Stories, Paintings, Politics, Religion, Medicine, Cinema and Science.

Kimberly LaRocca lives in Clearwater, Florida and has an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Tampa. She has published three poetry collections and a book dedicated to her grandmother. She is currently working on several other projects to be released in 2019. 

Susan E Lloy has consistently published internationally since 2012. Her first short story collection, But When We Look Closer, was published the spring of 2017. Her forthcoming collection, Vita, will be released April 15, 2019. Susan is currently working on a third collection of offbeat tales. She lives in Montreal.

Thomas Mampalam is a board certified neurosurgeon who practices in Northern California. He writes poetry based on his medical, immigration, and family experiences.

Cecil Morris retired after 37 years of teaching English---mostly at Roseville High School in Roseville, California. Now he tries writing himself what he spent so many years teaching others to understand and enjoy. In his newly abundant spare time, he has been reading Sharon Olds, Megan Peak, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Morgan Parker. He enjoys ice cream too much and cruciferous vegetables too little. He has had a handful of poems published in English Journal, The Ekphrastic Review, Poem, Dime Show Review, The American Scholar, and other literary magazines. 

Gloria g. Murray’s poetry and short stories have been published in various literary journals. She is also the recipient of poetry awards from Poetica Magazine, the Writer's Digest poetry contest and The Paterson Review. Two of her one-act plays have been performed on Long Island and off-Broadway.  

Dawn Paul teaches writing and interdisciplinary studies at Montserrat College of Art. She is the author of two novels, The Country of Loneliness and Still River. 

Keith Perkins is a high school English teacher in New Jersey. His work has appeared in The Irish Post, Amsterdam Quarterly, Hackwriters.com, travelmag.co.uk, and myveronanj.com. A married father of twin toddlers, Keith enjoys travelling, writing, reading, hiking, skiing, and naps.

Cathy Porter’s poetry has appeared in Plainsongs, Homestead Review, California Quarterly, Hubbub, Cottonwood, Comstock Review, and various other journals. She has two chapbooks available from Finishing Line Press: A Life In The Day (2012), and Dust And Angels (2014). Her latest chapbook, Exit Songs, was published in 2016 from Dancing Girl Press, based in Chicago. Her newest collection, 16 Days, is forthcoming from Dancing Girl Press in 2019. Cathy is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and serves as a special editor for the journal Fine Lines in Omaha, NE.

Will Radke is from Oak Park, IL. His fiction has appeared in Hypertext Magazine, Pithead Chapel, and elsewhere.

Janet Reed is guest editor of I-70 Review, author of Blue Exhaust (FLP, 2019), and a multi-year Pushcart Prize nominee. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Sow’s Ear Review, The Nassau Review, Tipton Poetry Journal, and others. She began writing knock-off Nancy Drew stories on wide-lined notebook paper at age 11 and now teaches writing and literature for Crowder College in Missouri. You can find her at janetlynnreed.com. 

Jenna Rickless is a writer and former English teacher who lives in Saint Louis Missouri. She is currently earning an MFA from UMSL University and can be found at www.jennarickless.com.

Seven-time Pushcart Prize nominee Russell Rowland has two chapbooks with Finishing Line Press. A full-length collection, We’re All Home Now, is available from Beech River Books. He writes from New Hampshire’s Lakes Region.

Jeremy Sauer lives a canine-centric life with his wife, Tracey, their four dogs, Fulci, Clayborn, Hagar and Brindy; as well as two guinea pigs, Cobain and Garcia. The Sauers foster at any time, any number of loving tail-waggers awaiting their forever homes. Home is in Gowanda, NY, where there is absolutely nothing to do but groove on Pink Floyd and write. 

Mary B. Schwartz is a graduate of Northeastern University where she earned a B.A. degree in English literature. She is a published poet and recently finished penning her second novel, Free Safety. She and her husband, Bob, live on the North Shore of Boston.

Diana Sher has been published in over eighty commercial and literary magazines including Wordrunner Press, Foliate Oak Magazine, and New Delta Review. Her chapbook, After I Cut the Cord, was released in 2003 by Finishing Line Press. She is currently retired from the English department of Metropolitan University of Denver.

Carmi Soifer is a poet and writing teacher who lives in Suquamish, Washington where she can see Mt. Rainier from her mailbox. Her poems have appeared in anthologies and journals, most recently (or forthcoming) in The Healing Muse, Poetry South, Tule Review, Passager, and Main Street Rag. She has won a Francine Porad award for haiku and was Artist in Residence at Rocky Mountain National Park. 

Matthew J. Spireng of Kingston, N.Y., is an eight-time Pushcart Prize nominee and winner of The MacGuffin’s 23rd Annual Poet Hunt in 2018. His full-length books are What Focus Is and Out of Body, winner of the 2004 Bluestem Poetry Award and published by Bluestem Press. 

Shawn D. Stewart is a relapsed IT “professional” and published author, Honorably Mentioned twice in Writer’s Digest contests. Read more of his second-best work at www.shawndstewart.com. He lives in Georgia with his wife and kids, mows the lawn on Saturday, goes to church on Sunday and writes when not recovering from his day job. 

Francine Witte is the author of four poetry chapbooks and two flash fiction chapbooks. Her full-length poetry collection, Café Crazy, was published by Kelsay Books. Her play, Love is a Bad Neighborhood, was produced in NYC this past December. She is a former English teacher. She lives in NYC.