Debra Slifkin Various Photography: Debra Slifkin is a 31 year old attorney living in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. She has been taking pictures as a hobby since 1993, mostly of nature scenes. At the present time, her photographs can also be seen on All Things Girl. Debra has yet to appear in any print publications, but she is hoping that will soon change.

Jennifer Cody Epstein, Reunion: Jennifer is a New York-based writer and journalist, formerly for Knight-Ridder and The Wall Street Journal but her articles have also appeared in Self, Parents, Tokyo Time Out and The Chicago Tribune. Jennifer has published short fiction in Thema and Terra magazines, and was a recent finalist in a Glimmer Train fiction contest. She is currently midway through Columbia University's MFA writing program in fiction. She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn, NY, and is working on a historical novel and short stories during nap-time (her daughter's, not her own).

Anne Burt, Two Perfect Children: Anne Burt received an MA in creative writing from New York University. Her essays and commentaries have appeared recently on National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation, and in Salon.com http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/tues/2000/12/05/fat/index.html,The Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/02/05/fp23s2-csm.shtml, The American Book Review, and elsewhere. She has received honors for her fiction from the Associated Writing Programs and Writers at Work competitions, and has just completed her first novel. She lives with her husband and their daughter in Montclair, New Jersey.

Renton Rathbun, Weight: Renton is a theater instructor at a small college in Southern Minnesota, while studying full-time for an MFA in Creative Writing at Minnesota State University. Renton is in the process of writing a book of poems that reflect his childhood, growing up in a poor family of six, one of which being his grandmother, who they all watched die of Alzheimer's Disease. His poetry is influenced greatly by people like Li-Young Lee and William Trowbridge. Renton's favorite TV show is Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Christine Hamm, The Bad Secretary: Christine has lived in New York City for the past twelve years. She received a MA in Creative Writing thirteen years ago, and has had her work published in New York Metropolis, Poetry Midwest, Diagram, the Babes in Toyland website, 3am Magazine, and Sniffy, among others. She has taught creative writing workshops at SUNY-Binghamton, and has run workshops in New York City. She is currently part of two reading series in NYC: Thesauraus Head and Speakeasy. Christine's webpage can be found at www.geocities.com/thefatladysinging/port.html. Her email address is bronzelizard@cs.com.

Krista Madsen, Migration: Krista is a girl of many gigs -- bartender, pottery-painter, freelance writer -- who is currently concluding her final semester in the MFA creative writing program at the New School in New York. She is also coproducer of www.readingdivas.com, site for women/words.

David Valade, Various Photography: David is an 29-year-old accountant living in Detroit. He spends most of his free time writing, taking pictures, drawing, and acting as proprietor to scattered.org.

Diane Payne, Forgetting: Diane has been published in over 100 magazines and teaches at a small university in a dry town.

John Sweet, an autumn sky, small portrait of b.n., storm approaching and sonnet for the dead and the dying: John has been writing for 20 years now, publishing in the small press for 14, living in rural upstate new york most of my life. married, have a 2 1/2 year-old son, and a pointless job, which at least gives me the opportunity to keep writing.

C.E. Chaffin, Odd Dream: C.E. edits The Melic Review, from which he also teaches an intensive one-on-one online poetry tutorial for a fee. Much free help is also available at the very popular Melic Roundtable Poetry Board. The homepage also offers the elegant perfect-bound paperback, The Best of Melic: Three Years Online, at cost. Widely published on the net and more narrowly in print, CE fears if remembered at all, it will likely be more for his criticism than his poetry. His first and only book of poems (Elementary, Edwin Mellen Press, 1997) is available through Amazon.com., where it ranks below over 650,000 titles in popularity: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0773428321/qid=922478834/002-7463149-5599462

Richard Hollins, Hay Fever Season: Richard's stories are mainly set in South West London, the area he lives. His fiction has been published in print magazines in the UK and in Eclectica on the web. Richard works in the City of London (the English equivalent of Wall Street).

Adithya R. Hassan, KODACHADRI (A Hill in South India): Adithya has completed his MBA and has been working on Socio Economic Development Projects in India. He lives in Hyderabad,India. He is not a fulltime writer but does try to write as regularly as possible. He only writes in free form, because it gives him the freedom to use words and explore possibilities as a writer. Presently, he has a small collection of poems and does hope to see it grow into a book. On a different note, he thoroughly enjoys Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Thomas Bernhard, Milan Kundera, Kafka to name a few.

Judy Clem, Silence and Shadows, Still Life: Judy was born and educated in Texas where she still lives with her husband of 30 years. She has been a teacher, an interior decorator, and a stay-at-home mother. Today she earns her living as a photographer but spends every moment she can spare writing poetry, a passion she rediscovered after many years of not writing through the wonder of the internet. Her poems are published online by Stirring, Melic Review and MiPo. She thinks her best poems are just slanted looks at everyday life.

Paul A. Toth, To the Editor of this Publication: Paul lives in Michigan. His fiction had appeared in The Barcelona Review, Diagram, Pif and The Blue Moon Review. His novel Fizz is currently in the submission process. Toth also produces the occasional radio piece for CBC Radio One and his nonfiction has appeared in Salon and Brutarian. He may be reached at tothnews@aol.com. Official Website for Netscape Users: http://www.angelfire.com/journal/writehelp/index.html

Official Website for All Others: http://www.angelfire.com/journal/writehelp/intro.html

Brandy Reed, Relic : Brandy is a digital artist and freelance web designer living in upstate New York. She believes in catharsis, realism, and surrealism, as is evidenced in her online work. Her recently opened online gallery can be found at mizdos.com.

John Amen, Osip Mandelstam’s Last Letter, The Pendulum :John Amen's poetry and fiction have appeared or are forthcoming in various publications, including Poetry Bay Magazine, Samsara Quarterly, The Southern Ocean Review, Three Candles, Branches Quarterly, The Adirondack Review, The Melic Review, Disquieting Muses, Thunder Sandwich, The Red River Review, 2River View, Poetry Magazine, Blue Fifth Review, The Ludlow Press Journal, Wilmington Blues, Stirring Magazine, and Twilight Times. Amen has toured extensively as a performing musician, both as a solo act and with a band, and has released three full-length recordings, Wild but Willing, Eat Mine, and Four Forty Four. He is editor in chief of the online literary bimonthly The Pedestal Magazine, URL www.thepedestalmagazine.com. His first collection of poems will be released in October 2002.

Janet Buck, Under the Porch, An Amaryllis in the Dark, Some Syllables Require Beer: Janet is the author of four collections of poetry. Her work has appeared in CrossConnect, Pif Magazine, The Melic Review, Big Bridge, Disquieting Muses, Stirring, Avatar Review, pith, Perihelion, Apples & Oranges, In Motion, OffCourse, and hundreds of journals world-wide. In the year 2000, Janet was of ten U.S. poets to be featured at the “One Heart, One World” Exhibit at the United Nations Exhibit Hall in New York City. Her poem “Acrylic Thighs” was translated into five languages and paired with original artwork. The tour traveled to France, Australia, Vietnam, Brazil, and Japan. In 2001-2002, Buck's poetry is scheduled to appear in PoetryBay, The Montserrat Review, Runes, The Pedestal Magazine, The Carriage House Review, Swagazine, PoetryRepairShop, Slow Trains, Kimera, Verse Libre Quarterly, Wicked Alice, Facets, Southern Ocean Review, Artemis, The American Muse, and The Pittsburgh Quarterly. Recent awards include First Place in Kimera's Poetry Contest 2001, Editor's Choice Award for Sol Magazine, and the 2001 Kota Press Anthology Prize. In 2001, Janet’s poem “The Teapoy” was nominated by The Pedestal Magazine for a Pushcart Prize.

Ramin Ganeshram, Paradise : Ramin is a New York born and raised freelance writer of Trinidadian and Iranian descent. She has written for the New York Times, Poets & Writers, and others. Ramin is a regular contributor to Newsday's food pages and has held senior level editorial positions at several magazines. She currently lives in Long Island.

Richard Foss, Watching My Father: Richard Foss is a Ph.D. candidate in the English Dept. at Western Michigan University where he teaches creative writing and literature. He has published poems in Cimmaron Review and Willow Review.

Nanette Rayman, Blue, Seething: Nanette has had fiction published in Onyx Journal, Attic, Comrades and Carve. Her poetry is published in NetAuthor's E2K, Circle Magazine, The Doomed City Journal, The American Muse, Comrades, Comrades anthology (Uno), and Disquieting Muses, Stirring, PoetryMagazine, Tyro's Pen, 5 Trope, Samsara Print Circles of Regret issue, Poetry SuperHighway as Poet of the Week twice. Upcoming publications are Octavo, The Concrete Wolf, Dakota House Journal, Wired Arts for Wired Hearts, and Poetry Motel. She has also received honorable mention in the Writer's Digest Fiction 2000 contest. Nanette has just been published in Three Candles and Remark, and Berkeley Fiction Review will publish one of her stories.

Ashley Shelby, Runaways: Ashley is currently a M.F.A. candidate in nonfiction writing at Columbia University. She was most recently published in Beacon Street Review, The Portland Review and Gastronomica: the journal of food and culture. Ashley has work forthcoming in Carve Magazine.

Zafar H. Anjum, The Rats: Zafar is a journalist based in New Delhi, India. He has a novel, Of Seminal Fluids, published to his credit. His articles and short stories have appeared in the Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Pioneer, Sulekha.com, Meghdutam.com, and Chowk.com, among others.

Ward Kelley, Faces Of Our Gods, Jettison: Ready To Let Go, The Rebellion Against Flesh: Ward Kelley has seen more than 1100 of his poems appear in journals world wide. A Pushcart Prize nominee, Kelley’s publication credits include such journals as: ACM Another Chicago Magazine, Rattle, Zuzu’s Petals, Ginger Hill, Sunstone, Spillway, Pif, 2River View, Melic Review, Thunder Sandwich, The Animist, Offcourse, Potpourri and Skylark. Recently he was the recipient of the Nassau Review Poetry Award for 2001. Kelley is the author of two paperbacks: “histories of souls,” a poetry collection, and “Divine Murder,” a novel; he also has an epic poem, “comedy incarnate” on CD and CD ROM.