Richard Russo’s novel, Empire Falls, won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He has written five other novels: Mohawk, The Risk Pool, Nobody's Fool, Straight Man, and Bridge of Sighs, as well as a short story collection, The Whore's Child.

Cathy Day wrote the nonfiction book, Comeback Season: How I Learned to Play the Game of Love (Free Press) Her first book, The Circus in Winter, a short story collection by Harcourt in 2004, is a fictionalized history of her hometown, Peru, Indiana.

Lawrence Connolly’s work has appeared in Amazing Stories, Fantastic Stories, Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone Magazine, Year’s Best Horror Stories, as well as other science fiction/fantasy magazines and anthologies. He lives and writes in Western Pennsylvania.

Anthony Varallo’s book of stories, OUT LOUD, was selected by Scott Turow as winner of the 2008 Drue Heinz Literature Prize (University of Pittsburgh Press). His first collection, THIS DAY IN HISTORY, won the 2005 John Simmons Short Fiction Award.

Peter Oresick is coordinator of the Chatham University Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing. His books include Warhol-o-rama, Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2008; Definitions; An American Peace; Other Lives; The Story of Glass.

Ava C. Cipri has an MFA from Syracuse University, where she served on the staff of Salt Hill. She now teaches at Duquesne University. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in New Zoo Poetry Review, Whiskey Island Magazine, and Wild Violet.

Leslie Anne Mcilroy won the 2001 Word Press Poetry Prize for her full-length collection Rare Space and the 1997 Slipstream Poetry Chapbook Prize for her chapbook Gravel. Her second full-length book, Liquid Like This, was published by Word Press in July 2008

Kay Comini’s poetry has been published in the anthologies Dark Side of the Moon, Voices from the Parlor, and in the Sandburg-Livesay Anthology: No Choice But to Trust.

Jason Irwin’s new book, Watering the Dead, was published by Pavement Saw Press in 2008, and is the winner of the 2006/2007 Transcontinental Poetry Award. His chapbook, Some Days It's a Love Story, was published by Slipstream in 2005.

Judith Vollmer’s books include Reactor (2004, U. of Wisconsin Press); The Door Open to the Fire (1997 Cleveland State Poetry Prize); Black Butterfly (1997 Center for Book Arts Chapbook); Level Green (1990 Brittingham Prize, U. of Wisconsin Press)