Through Rose-Colored Glasses - Donna Deegan

Striving for Justice - Nat Glover

Melissa Aiuppy

Melissa Aiuppy has lived in Jacksonville most of her life. She is a musician and music educator, but has discovered her passion for memoir writing. Melissa has been published online at Herviewfromhome.com. Her story, "An Angel in Aldi" was displayed in the Makers Gallery during the 2019 Jax by Jax. She is in the process of finishing her first memoir, Scared Out of My Mind (and Loving It). She lives in Springfield with her husband and three children.

Fati D Ashley

Fati D. is a Ghanaian-American literary & visual artist who resides in FL. Her poem “Cape Coast” was performed in Echoes of Us, a series of curated monologues, directed by Tony Award nominee Michele Shay in 2022. D is the Editor-in-Chief for The Banyan Review and is a 2023 Best of the Net nominee, published in The Midway Journal, The Lumiere Review, and The Talon Revie. She consults & facilitates workshops for Author's Roundtable of N FL & teaches writing at the Jacksonville Art & Music School.

Ben Atkinson

Ben Atkinson’s first poetry collection, Spider Lightning explores human nature ¬– with a deep reverence for all things wild. His work has appeared in A.C. PAPA, Cadence, Chelonian Conservation and Biology, Facets, FM Quarterly, Stockpot, and other outlets. A Flagler College assistant professor of natural sciences, his research focuses on the conservation ecology of tortoises and freshwater turtles. Ben has taught Ecopoetics workshops at MOCA and a class for Flagler's Honors Program.

Jen Belt

Jen Belt writes personal essays, short stories, and poetry. She has performed her work at BABS’ LAB, the Story Arts Workshop, and Theatre Jacksonville. Her most memorable performance was in a mac and cheese restaurant whose patrons didn’t know it was open mic night.

Romaine Bennett-Student-UNF

Romaine Bennett is a first year student at UNF majoring in Psychology and English with a concentration in creative writing. She has been writing poetry since freshman year of high school. She was born and raised in Miami, Florida and her family hails from Jamaica. She has previously had one of her poems published in Poetry Out Loud Gets Original: 2023. She would like to become a published poetry and fiction author along with being a Forensic Psychologist.

Ma Bones-6x6 Words & Sentences Workshop Leader

After graduating from UNF in 2014 with a double major in English and Criminal Justice, Ma Bones was hired by Douglas Anderson High School to teach ninth and tenth grade creative writing and developed a playwriting class curriculum she instructed. She is a Jacksonville native and writer.

Tricia Booker-Memoir/CNF-Workshop Leader-Room Host

Tricia Booker is an award-winning journalist who has written for Folio Weekly, Southern Living, Notre Dame Magazine, and other publications around the country. She currently teaches journalism at the University of North Florida and writes a popular blog about topics ranging from politics and literature to adoption and manners. Her first book is a memoir about how Tricia and her former husband adopted three children.

Alexander Bowen-Student-DA

Alexander Bowen is a senior creative writing major at DA. He is a passionate nature lover and holds revolutionary and environmental beliefs, which is often portrayed in his writing. He dedicates a large sum of his time into philosophy and some of his favorite authors include Thoreau, Nietzsche, Kafka, and Stirner. He aspires to be a Botanist and get in the field of Ecological Science to understand the world and achieve a oneness with it.

RaeJeana Brooks

RaeJeana Brooks is a Jacksonville-born poet, essayist, and movement artist. Her work has been featured in The Offing, Blood Tree Literature, undertone zine, and other esteemed journals, like the physical and digital mailboxes of her loved ones. She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction and poetry from Antioch University Los Angeles. She has been a Roots Wounds Words fellow, a Community Foundation for NE FL Art Ventures grantee, and will imminently be in residence at VA Center for Creative Arts.

Jenn Chase

Jennifer Chase is an American singer/songwriter, playwright/performer and producer. Her 30 years of experience creating and collaborating have taken her performances of origingal songs from Jax to NYC, to Nantes; France, to Dakar; Senegal and back. Her works include dramas, musicals, comedies, a one-woman show, six original albums of music, and a new memoir. She’s opened for The Doobie Brothers, The Rippingtons, and Lisa Loeb.

Barbara Colaciello

Barbara Colaciello brings a unique perspective and skill set to her teaching and writing utilizing her eclectic experiences and interests. Based on her extensive theater background, sales and marketing experience and on her artistic journey as an actress, director, playwright, and educator, she has developed a process that promotes success through authenticity, focus, improvisation and collaboration.

Jenna Cox-Student-UNF

Jenna Cox grew up in Jacksonville and attends UNF as a first-year grad student. After obtaining her B.A. in English, she decided to persue her master’s degree to watch Jacksonville adapt and the UNF writing program grow--and unlock the stories hidden on the home front. Jenna has been an avid reader and writer since childhood and credits her supportive English teachers and family for her success. In her free time, she can be found exploring various pockets of Jax with friends.

Dorsey Craft

Dorsey Craft is the author of Plunder, winner of the May Sarton Poetry Prize. She is also the author of two chapbooks: The Pirate Anne Bonny Dances the Tarantella and My Football Team is Winning. Her poems have appeared recently or are forthcoming in Blackbird, Copper Nickel, Pleiades, Ploughshares, and Poetry Northwest. She teaches composition and creative writing at UNF and serves as Assistant Poetry Editor for Agni. She also organizes the Dreamboat Poetry Series with Jessica Q. Stark.

Angelina Davis-Student-DA

Angelina Davis is a senior Creative Writer at DA. Her preferred genre is fiction and she greatly enjoys creating stories with an element of mystery and families of choice. She imbues her characters with relatable flaws so their narrative foils can create satisfying turn-arounds and often finds herself drawing inspiration from people around her. In the future she hopes to either finish and publish a detective novel or begin the process of scriptwriting for animated television.

Brooks Decker

Brooks Decker is a writer, artist and mental health professional in Jax. She may be found walking the St. Johns River, treasure hunting at various thrift stores, swinging through Starbucks with one or both of her teenagers, front porch sitting with her husband, and ceaselessly assessing her relentless faith despite the perpetual pecking of existential dread. Brooks has been featured in a few local anthologies, and recently published her first chapbook, Purge & Bloom.

Laura Dill

Laura Dill is an award-winning emerging artist and author in Jacksonville. Her Artivist soul is reflected in “The Resilience Project”, a collection of her paintings, photography, poetry, and writing on her journey to heal from PTSD and engage audiences on a wide range of topics including climate change, gun violence, sexual violence, acceptance of others and resilience. She has been published in 6 anthologies and reached international audiences online and in digital format.

Willie Evans, Jr.

Willie Evans Jr. is a multi-talented international artist, whose 25+ year long career has included touring the world with his hip-hop group, Asamov. As a creative force, Willie’s recent focuses channel his talents to progress societal conversations. His newest project “The Brown Wonder” is an interactive cultural installation that draws from influences including James Brown and Stevie Wonder, poviding rich commentary on the Black experience.

Arsun F!st

Though he was born in Panama City, Panama, Arsun F!st spent his formative years (from age eight on) in various places around the U.S., where he developed a love for hip-hop. After receiving degrees in both psychology and recording engineering, the emcee set out to pursue his musical career, becoming a member of the group Steam Mechanics along with Stillwater and Paten Locke (R.I.P.)

Michael Ray Fitzgerald, PhD

Michael Ray FitzGerald, PhD, is a musician, media scholar and former university instructor. He moved to Jax in 1968 and became an initiate of the city's thriving electric-guitar cult. He started writing music criticism in the mid-1980s for Jacksonville’s Southeast Entertainer and went on to write for more than 30 publications including the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. He is the author of 4 books including Jacksonville and the Roots of Southern Rock.

Michelle Lizet Flores

Michelle Lizet Flores is a graduate of FSU and NYU. A teacher, she co-hosts the What's in a Verse Poetry Open Mic. Publications include The NCTE English Journal, Salt Hill Journal, and The Talon Review. A finalist for the Juan Felipe Herrera Award for Poetry, she wrote the chapbooks Cuentos from the Swamp and Memoria, and the picture book, Carlito the Bat Learns to Trick or Treat. Her short fiction is in the anthology, Places We Build in the Universe, and Invasive Species is coming soon.

Sohrab Homi Fracis-Fiction Workshop Leader

Sohrab Homi Fracis’s book of stories, True Fiction, won the 2023 International Book Award. Ticket to Minto won the Iowa Short Fiction Award, described by the NY Times as "among the most prestigious literary prizes America offers." Stanford shortlisted his novel, Go Home, for the William Saroyan International Prize. He was Twin Cities Visiting Writer in Residence at Augsburg College and Artist in Residence at Yaddo. He received the South Asian Literary Assoc.'s Distinguished Achievement Award.

Tim Gilmore-JxJ Founder-Room Host

Tim Gilmore, Ph.D, writes about the haunted South as center of America’s cultural rifts. He’s the author of 22 books, most recently The Culture Wars of Warren Folks. He and his wife Jo Carlisle founded JaxbyJax in 2014. His website is a collection of more than 650 narratives through which he seeks to map Jacksonville, one story of one location at a time. Tim has written four works for the stage, each produced at FSCJ, where he teaches Writing.

Niveah Glover-Student-DA

Niveah Glover is a poet, playwright, and Jax native. Her imagination and understanding of the world around her create pieces that are expressive, thought-provoking, and personal. She’s been Jacksonville Youth Poet Laureate, one of Folio Weekly's 18 under 18, and a YoungArts winner. She’s working on a new play, Callas. She lives by James Baldwin’s quote, “You write in order to change the world. If you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it.”

James Greene

Iowa native James Greene's artistic journey began with high school comics. His college strip, The Riot Act, ran in the Northern Iowan newspaper. A versatile artist educator, Greene has worked in museums, art schools, universities, and libraries. A 5-time Gold Key Educator's Award recipient, his work has spanned the US and Poland, where he studied in 2004. In 2022, his comic Larry Loathman Snake Master was featured in "A Serious Look at the Funnies: 100 Years of Comics," curated by Denis Kitchen.

Matthew Griffin-Student-FSCJ

Matt Griffin is a professional photographer and writer. Originally from Newnan, GA, Matt moved to Jacksonville in 2019. Since then, he's overcome adversity to develop deep connections in and around Jax and now works in the freelance world as Matt Snaps. Ultimately, he wants to write his life memoir, among other personal development works, on how to achieve healing from generational abuse to lead others on their healing journeys.

Melissa Gopp-Warner-Memoir/CNF Workshop Leader

Melissa Gopp-Warner is a creative nonfiction writer focusing on human relationships and their intersection with sexual orientation and gender. Her writing has been published in HuffPost, Publishers Weekly, Salon, The Banyan Review, and elsewhere. She is working on a memoir and promotes the genre through twice monthly book reviews of diverse authors and life experiences.

Hailey Jacobsen-Student-UNF

Hailey Rose Jacobsen is a 19 year old poet originally from Parkland,FL. She studies political science and sociology at the UNF and has been writing poetry since she was 11. She enjoys writing, reading, and the performing arts, and hopes to encapsulate her love for a poetic outlook on life through her writing. Her spoken word includes slice-of-life themes such as religion, relationships, and family. Hailey Rose has performed her piece “You don't look Jewish” at Yad Vashem, in Israel.

Anna Jacobson-Storytelling Workshop Leader

Anna Jacobson teaches English, writes poetry and essays, and participates in Jacksonville's growing storytelling community. As a curriculum creator, Anna has worked with the Smithsonian Museum, the Reynolds Journalism Institute, the New York Times, and the National Scholastic Press Association. Her work has appeared in Moss Gossamer, Boned: a Skeletal Anthology, Roots and Branches, Word Revolt, and Brain Child. She currently sits on the board of the local chapter of Women Writing for (a) Change,

Eve Jones

Eve Jones is the author of the poetry collection Bird in the Machine (Turning Point, 2010). Her poetry and photographs have appeared in such journals as AGNI, Blackbird, Conduit, DIAGRAM, FIELD, Lydwine, Mid-American Review, Nimrod, and Vinyl. A native Midwesterner, she taught creative writing for many years in Lindenwood University's MFA in Writing program, and now lives and writes in Northeast Florida.

Wyne Karnath-Science Fiction Workshop Leader

WinLoseorDraw is interested in the near future, particularly 2048, the year in which he will reach the age of 100. He co-wrote “Travels in the Lands of Likemindedness – 2048” and many short stories. A second book, “Appointed Rounds,” is progressing nicely. His brand of fiction is speculative, but it is not fantasy.

Bob Kealing

Bob Kealing was a Five-time Emmy award-winning journalist with WESH-TV in Orlando from 1992 to 2017. He is Co-Founder of the Jack Kerouac Writer in Residence Project of Orlando and Consultant on the Gram Parsons Derry Down Project of Winter Haven. His books include: NEW Good Day Sunshine State, How the Beatles Rocked Florida, Life of the Party, Elvis Ignited, the Rise of an Icon in Florida. Calling Me Home: Gram Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock and Kerouacin Florida: Where the Road Ends.

Emma Klopfer-Student-DA

Emma Klopfer has been writing for as long as she can remember and writes primarily long-form novels and screenplays, as well as poetry. She attends Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and is 18 years old. Her work primarily discusses her connection to nature and the transition from girlhood to womanhood.

Jeff Knapp

Jeffery Knapp is a Humanities professor at FSCJ, a husband, a father, and a multilingual reader and writer. In his teaching, he tries to make sense of the intersections of language, time, and place, and connects his students to cultures across the globe from the Neolithic to the present. His poems attempt to encapsulate his experience in the world with both meaning and aesthetics.

Brad Kuhn - Moderator & Poster Designer

Brad Kuhn is a repeat Telly Award-winning Senior Correspondent for A World of Difference, and the author of "I Hate My Banker", "Three Houses", and "Dirty Work." He is a right-brain thinker with left-brain results. At JaxbyJax X in 2023, he'll moderate the Q&A session with Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan whose audio book he helped produce.

Darlyn Finch Kuhn - Co-Director

Andrea LeDew

A reformed lawyer and former homeschool mom, LeDew provides caregiving services to a person with autism when she is not writing. After three decades in Jax, she still probes its vacillating nuances with the curiosity of a stranger. Like our area’s climate, her writing can provoke irritation as well as provide comfort. Published in the anthologies Moss Gossamer, Border Beats, and Regency Reflections, her poem “Narrow” placed fourth in the FWA 2023 anthology Secrets.

Lawson Lewis-Student-DA

Lawson Lewis is a poet currently studying Creative Writing at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, where she is also the Marketing and Communications Editor of Élan Student Literary Magazine and the president of the Spoken Word Poetry Club. She has also been an intern for the Jacksonville chapter of Women Writing for a Change for three years. Her work revolves around themes of familial and personal relationships, shifting personal identity, and the dissection of ideals like freedom and girlhood.

Johnny Masiulewicz - Room Host

Johnny Masiulewicz is author of the poetry collections Keywords and Professional Cemetery, and founder of the artisan publishing house Happy Tapir Press. He has created the award-winning Happy Tapir zine series, and has published the work of such Jacksonville literary luminaries as Lynn Skapyak, Tim Gilmore, G.M Palmer, and Keri Foster. His work has appeared in Curbside Review, The Main Street Rag, Third Wednesday, and The Alembic. A Native Chicagoan, Johnny now lives and works in Murray Hill.

Cassie Monsalud

Cassie Monsalud DeGhetto is a mother, software developer, traveler, and Jax resident. Born and raised in Chicago, she moved to FL in 1995 and then to Jacksonville to attend UNF where she studied computing. She has explored the pyramids at Egypt, went up the Eiffel Tower at Paris, took a gondola ride through Venice, and strolled through the Acropolis at Athens. In addition to traveling, her passions include reading, being active, and pursuing creative endeavors.

Michael G. O'Connell

Michael G. O’Connell is a native of the Sunshine State, but his prose often takes a darker turn. He earned his first writing credit in a Twitter experiment collaborating with Neil Gaiman and others to write a novella. His short fiction and poetry has appeared in numerous publications including the Bacopa Literary Review, The Raven Review, Moss Gossamer, Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories, As It Ought To Be, Dracula Beyond Stoker, and Words & Sports. He writes middle-grade horror.

Tonn Pastore

Tonn Pastore has lived at the beach for 28 years because that is where they keep the ocean. This time has allowed him to witness many changes. The influx of culture and the migration people energized the slow pace of Jax. The ocean breezes thinned not just the air around him, but also the barriers around his heart. He married a third-generation native who showed him the joys of Jacksonville and he love of a new family. His poems pull from the pain and joy of life and loss.

Princess Simpson Rashid

Princess Simpson Rashid is an American poet, essayist and visual artist. Rashid is an active member of the Ancient City Poets and has been a featured reader for the JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival and the Sing Out Loud Festival in St. Augustine, FL. Her work has been previously published in AC Papa Literary Journal v.3, a Rivers Rising anthology, The CSP Journal 2022 -Metamorphosis and the Moss Gossamer anthology. She is working on a poetry collection entitled, “All Is Not What It Seems."

Franklin Ritch - Screenwriting Workshop Leader

Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Franklin Ritch has been pursuing a career in film since a very young age. During high school, he met Britt McTammany, who would become his longtime friend, mentor, and cinematographer. Together, they produced several short films and web-series, assembling a tight crew of talented local artists. In 2014, he founded Last Resort Ideas, an independent studio dedicated to producing unconventional and insightful narratives through the medium of film.

Andres Rojas-Poetry Workshop Leader-Cobb Student Award Sponsor

Andres Rojas was born in Cuba and came to the U.S. at age 13. He holds an MFA and a JD from the University of Florida; has served as poetry editor for Bridge Eight and Compose and as a poetry reader for New England Review and $ - Poetry Is Currency. Rojas sponsors the Dr. James R. Cobb Student Writer Awards, in memory of his professor/mentor at FSCJ.

Erica Susan Saffer, Co-Director

Erica Saffer is an accomplished writer, educator, storyteller, and literary arts advocate. Her written works have been published through anthologies and chapbooks, and online. She is currently finishing her debut novel, Love and Loss on the Lido Deck. She is an accomplished storyteller, having appeared on the Florida Theater stage at Untold Stories: Out of the Swamp, and appearing regularly as a storyteller at Babs’ Lab. She is Co-Director of the JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival.

Sharon Scholl

Sharon Scholl is a retired college teacher who convenes The Gathering, a 20 year association of poets in the north Florida area. She maintains a website of her music (freeprintmusic.com) for donation to small, liberal churches. Her poetry chapbooks, Seasons, Remains, Evensong, are available via Amazon Books. Her poems have been published this year in Gival Press, Gyroscope Review, Rockvale Review and six other literary magazines. She lives in Atlantic Beach.

Mary Lou Sutherlin

Mary Lou Sutherlin (Granny Lou) is a poet from North Manchester, Indiana who has lived in Jacksonville for forty years . She studied at Purdue University and worked at Vistakon, developing contact lenses, and also at Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. Her poetry chapbook is titled “Heartsongs.”

James (Jake) Tedder-Student-UNF

James (Jake) Tedder was born and raised in Jacksonville. His first time moving was into his dorm at UNF. He is a junior at UNF pursuing a major in English with a minor in Creative Writing. He is fond of Star Wars movies and novels, Japanese curry, and telling jokes only he'll get. He has no idea what else to put here.

Damon Thomas

Damon Thomas is a sixth-generation Floridian that grew up in Dixie County on the banks of the Suwannee River. Here he experienced a Southernness that included sea monsters, swamp cabbage, and makeshift graves. Damon has released 18 Spoken Word albums & 5 books on how the bookish might pass time in a Southern Gothic setting

Alahna Vallone-Student-DA

Alahna Vallone is a poet in her senior year of Creative Writing at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, Florida. She focuses on confessional poetry and poetic fiction. Alahna's an alumni of the Sewanee Young Writers' Conference. Her work discusses womanhood, lost youth, and the tragedies we witness, and has been recognized by Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and First Coast Young Voices.

Nylah Watkins-Student-DA

Nylah Watkins is an award-winning writer and senior attending Douglas Anderson School of the Arts for Creative Writing. She has been recognized by Élan Literary Magazine and Scholastic Art & Writing for her fiction. She engages in community service advocating for safe spaces in classrooms, literary arts, and preserving history.

Taryn "Love Reigns" Wharwood-Spoken Word Workshop Leader

"LoveReigns" is a multi-hyphenate creative who uses the arts to create change. Poet, writer, author, emcee, motivational speaker, entrepreneur and curator of dopeness, LoveReigns has been a staple in the Jacksonville community for over 15 years. She is the Owner and Chief Marketing Strategist of IAmLoveReigns Enterprises LLC; Co-Founder of the longest running open mic in Jacksonville history, The Cypher Open Mic Poetry & Soul; Founder of The Closet Jax, a speakeasy.

Jeff Whipple

Jeff Whipple has had many exhibitions of his art and has written dozens of plays and several books. He won 4 Florida state fellowships and 2 from Illinois. He’s had 18 play productions and won 5 Florida playwriting competitions. He won the 2001 Fulton Ross Artist Grant. He received artist grants from the Community Foundation of NE Florida in 2017 and 2021. In 2018, he won a Pollock-Krasner grant. He received an MFA from the University of South FL and has taught at FSU.

Jennifer Wolfe - WWFAC Anthology Launch & Workshop Leader

Executive Director Jennifer Wolfe established the Jacksonville affiliate of Women Writing for (a) Change® in 2013, adding a non-profit foundation in 2018. A writer, facilitator, business owner, and community leader, she’s helped facilitate change for people and organizations for the past 25 years. She is a journalist by training, a licensed affiliate owner for Women Writing for (a) Change®, and a certified instructor for The Center for Journal Therapy.

Still Water

Still Water is a recording artist, performer and writer originally from Philadelphia who has been involved with the elements of hip hop for more than 20 years. He creates from a space of documenting the culture with thought provoking content. As 1/3 of the group Steam Mechanics out of Jacksonville FL that also includes Arsun Fist and Paten Locke (RIP) he continues to represent the foundation of hip hop, pushing creative boundaries and collaborating with other artists locally and abroad.