Jessica King (she/her) is a self-taught writer of ten years whose publications can be found in over ten literary journals, including Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society’s Nota Bene. She’s received invitations from multiple journals to serve on the masthead as an editor, writer, and other positions. She’s currently enrolled in a dual-bachelor program in creative writing and comparative world literature at Long Beach State University to become a community college professor. She occasionally posts on Instagram (@thewhitedovepoet) and is developing a literary journal for new writers in Southern California (@scs_literary). All her publications, credentials, and activities can be found on her LinkTree.

Daphne Littig enjoys dancing, writing, hiking, and playing the piano. A fun fact about her is that she has 4 cats, and her favorite dish is Pad Thai. She hopes you enjoyed her submission.

Deyanira Vielma (she/hers) writes fiction and poetry that walks the fine line between glamour and gore through a feminist lens. When not writing, she fancies herself an artist–painting portraits, cutting metal, molding clay–she does it all. Is it great? Probably not, but it’s fun. You can find her on Instagram.

Lethe River (they/them) achieves their first publication! They mostly write poetry and narrative fiction while attending Cypress College to study English with a creative writing focus. Having taken several classes in fantasy, scifi in fiction, and anthropology of witchcraft – it has helped them create their depiction of magic while writing. Their current creative projects have been long term: accumulating a collection of poems to eventually publish an anthology as well as making a videogame based on a world they’ve been building for a decade (solo game development is slow going so it won’t be done for a while).

Isaac Peralta (he/him) is an independent, self-taught writer who has been perfecting his poems in the recent two years. He is from the city of Fullerton, is currently enrolled in completing an associate degree pathway for English at Cypress College, and holds a Puente Program Best Paper achievement as a milestone of his writing. At his leisure, he writes short stories, poems, and draws artwork of scenic landscapes along with portraits of others.

Mikayla Petullo (they/she) is a Studio Art major at Cypress College who is passionate about illustration and character design. She is currently experimenting with different art mediums and styles in various art classes, and plans to transfer to CSULB to continue on her art journey. They are taking their time enjoying their college experience, building up their skills to become more professional and experienced in the art field.

Sandra “Sans” Ramirez (she/her) is a Mechanical Engineering student at Cypress College where she is part of the STEM program in which she has taken a leadership role as a Family Group Leader. During the summer breaks she spends time outdoors taking pictures of nature and people. When she’s not studying, she can usually be found watching anime, running, painting and spending time with her bunny. You can see more of her photography on Instagram.

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Shulin Raja (he/him) is a senior at Brea Olinda High School in Brea, California. He graduated from Fullerton College with an A.A. in Philosophy and is currently studying marketing at Cypress. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with his dog and writing about himself in the third person. He is currently working on opening a Galapagos turtle themed dive bar and can be contacted through Instagram.

Mariajose Santana (she/her) is an 18-year-old Mexican-American artist and graduate of Montebello High School. Having never taken an art class in her four years of high school, she enrolled in the “AP 2-D Art and Design” course. Mariajose, the only student in her art class to pass the AP portfolio, found her passion for self-portrait photography. She uploads her projects on TikTok and continues to explore her photography style with creative ambition.

Norman Untal (he/him) is a father of two boys from Lakewood/Mira Mesa and a jack-of-all-trades in his journey thru life, with tragedy and triumph as the keywords to describe his life. From excelling in his duties as a Rifleman and Armored Crew-Chief in two Marine Combat OIF War-Tours (2005 & 2008) with Operational Achievement medals awarded for exceptional military service saving operations and lives, to being discriminated, harassed, assaulted from superior civilian-military management for advocating for himself with said Service-Connected Disabilities acquired during combat. These tragedies having occurred while Norm’s family depended him and being present while the aforementioned tragedies occurred- has posed life-changing events in Norm’s path that altered his path from an original Engineering-Design Scope to an Artistic Human-Expression scope. Having earned an Associate’s of Fine arts Degree in Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design at Argosy University, The Art Institute; Norman’s life trajectory has maintained a human-expression output exhibiting mental triumph and is actively gathering more tools in college for a more robust art-skills toolbox. BOLO (Be On the Look Out).