Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of Sirs & Madams (Aldrich Press, 2014), The Gods Are Dead (Deadly Chaps Press, 2015), Marys of the Sea (2016, ELJ Publications) & Xenos (2016, Agape Editions). She received her MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She is also the founder of Yes, Poetry, as well as the managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine. Some of her writing has appeared in Prelude, The Atlas Review, The Huffington Post, Columbia Journal, and elsewhere. She has lead workshops at Brooklyn Poets. joannavalente.com / Twitter: @joannasaid / IG: joannacvalente

Christopher Soto aka Loma (b. 1991, Los Angeles) is a poet based in Brooklyn, New York. He was named one of “10 Up and Coming Latinx Poets You Need to Know” by Remezcla. He was named one of “30 Poets You Should Be Reading” by The Literary Hub. He was named one of “7 Trans & Gender Non-Conforming Artist Doing the Work” by the Offing. Poets & Writers honored Christopher Soto with the “Barnes & Nobles Writer for Writers Award” in 2016. Christopher Soto’s first chapbook “Sad Girl Poems” was published by Sibling Rivalry Press. His work has been translated into Spanish and Portuguese. He is currently working on a full-length poetry manuscript about police violence and mass incarceration. He founded Nepantla: A Journal Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color with the Lambda Literary Foundation and cofounded The Undocupoets Campaign. He interned at the Poetry Society of America and  received an MFA in poetry from NYU.

Megan Falley is the queer femme author of two full-length collections of poetry on Write Bloody Publishing. Her chapbook, Bad Girls Honey (Poems About Lana Del Rey), was the winner of the 2015 Tired Hearts Competition. A Woman of the World and National Poetry Slam Finalist as well as a Pushcart Prize Nominee, Falley's work is vibrant in both books and theaters. She has been featured twice on TV One's Verses and Flow, is the co-founder of the touring group SPEAK LIKE A GIRL, as well as the creator of the online writing course Poems That Don’t Suck. Her YouTube videos have garnered over one million views and she has toured over one-hundred colleges nationwide. Her work focuses on LGBTQ issues, sex and body positivity, combating sexism and homophobia, and love.