Ed Krizek holds a BA and MS from University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA and MPH from Columbia University. For over twenty years Ed has been studying and writing poetry. Ed enjoys writing that comes from the heart and particularly likes the work of Billy Collins, Ted Kooser, Czeslaw Milosz, Adam Zagajewski, and Li-Young Lee among many others. Ed writes for the reader who is not necessarily an initiate into an exclusive poetry community. He likes to connect with his readers on a personal level.

Fereshteh Sholevar, the Iranian born poet and writer, immigrated to Germany and later to USA in 1978. Her new bilingual poetry book, Of Dust And Chocolate, (English-French) is out and Available @ Amazon.com. She got her Master’s degree in Creative writing at the University of Iowa and Rosemont College, Pa. Sholevar writes in four languages and has authored 6 books of poetry (two of which are bilingual: English–German and English–Spanish), a novel, and a children’s book. She won three prizes in Pennsylvania Poetry Society competitions in March 2019, two awards in contests sponsored by Philadelphia Poets, and a second prize from the Pennsylvania Poetry Society in 2004.

Peter Baroth, writer, artist, and musician, is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and Temple Law School. His novel is Long Green (iUniverse) and his book of poetry, Lost Autographs (Moonstone Press). He has been published in Philadelphia Poets, Schuylkill Valley Journal, Red Fez, Apiary, Legal Studies Forum, and elsewhere. He won the 2009 Amy Tritsch Needle Award, the 2016 Petracca Award, was a finalist for the Joie de Vivre book prize, has been nominated for Best of the Net, and is on Philadelphia Stories’ editorial board. He lives in Media, PA with poet and professor Courtney Bambrick.

Krista McKay is a writer and Philadelphia native living in Cheltenham, PA. She has a Masters degree in writing from Arcadia University and creates poetry, short fiction, essays with subjects ranging from the perils of online dating to childhood trips to bug museums. She’s been a long-time participant of the Philadelphia Wordshop Studio under poet Alison Hicks’ tutelage, as well as a member of the Manayunk Roxborough Art Center humanities group and writing workshops.