Canbolat, Zeynep
Bio: My name is Zeynep Canbolat. I was born in 1998 in İzmir, Turkey. I am currently attending Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University as an English Language and Literature student. This is my fourth semester at university and I started to write my short stories for a writing committee which is in my department and planning to publish a school magazine.
Statement: I discovered my writing style there and what kind of characters I want to bring out. The characters I write are the aspects that I do not have the opportunity to reveal in real life. Writing or concentrating on characters helps me get through quarantine days by making it less boring..
Domino, B
Bio: B. Domino graduated with an MFA from the University of New Orleans but lives in the desert, painting, writing, reading books with family. Additional publications may be found in the upcoming issue of The Iowa Review, The Account Literary Magazine, and in Corbeau Media’s 2017 horror anthology, The Stranger.
Statement: In the time COVID-19 and the accompanying fear and change, one truth remains across our populations and history: We turn to art for comfort. As we isolate, we need narratives and mediums that make us feel human and alive while we grab for normalcy. We read, and watch, and paint. We fill our basic needs through cathartic release and the memories of shared experiences. And though this is a time when people feel more overwhelmed than creative, those who can continue to create, should. We are living in a strange moment. And while I usually write to humanize my sex worker sisters and brothers and folx, now I just write about sex work to make sure those populations don't disappear--even from the margins of society. Sex workers have been hit particularly hard during this pandemic. I never want the world to forget them, their humanity, their magic, and of course, the ways they help the world feel human.
Jackson, Cameron
Bio: Cameron Jackson is an artist and storyteller living in Southern California, and the author of the short story "Crash." When not writing or performing, he can be found at home with his wife, and their excessive pets
Lafleche, Andrew
Bio: Andrew Lafleche is an award-winning poet and author of No Diplomacy; Shameless; Ashes; A Pardonable Offence; One Hundred Little Victories; On Writing; Merica, Merica on the Wall; and After I Turn into Alcohol. His work uses a spoken style of language to blend social criticism, philosophical reflection, explicit prose, and black comedy. Lafleche is the editor of Gravitas Poetry. He was awarded an MA in Creative and Critical Writing from the University of Gloucestershire in 2019. Follow him on Twitter: @AndrewLafleche or visit AndrewLafleche.com for more information.
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