Aidan Forster is a queer poet and writer from Greenville, South Carolina. He is the author of the chapbooks Exit Pastoral (YesYes Books, 2019) and Wrong June (Honeysuckle Press, 2020). His work appears in or is forthcoming from The Adroit Journal, Best New Poets 2017, BOAAT, Columbia Poetry Review, Copper Nickel, DIAGRAM, Ninth Letter, Teen Vogue, and Tin House, among others. He reads poetry for Muzzle and serves as an Associate Editor at Sibling Rivalry Press. A graduate of the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities’ creative writing program, he studies Literary Arts and Public Health at Brown University.
Brett Barest
Brett Barest is a freelance writer covering beer, music, food, and entertainment for a number of publications including USA Today, iOnGreenville, Fete Magazine, and Southern Brew News. He most enjoys writing self-deprecating (and hopefully humorous) personal essays on his website, brettbarest.com.
Angie Thompson
Angie Toole Thompson writes copy, poems, and all manner of other things from her home in the South. With clients ranging from tech start-ups to local businesses, her copywriting aims to shoot straight and clear. She is a contributing writer for TOWN Magazine, Barista Magazine Online, and published her first book of poems, Where Heaven Was, in 2019. You can find her work online here >> www.heythereangie.com
Abby Moore Keith
Abby Moore Keith is an editor and writer based in Greenville, South Carolina. Though she’s occupied a wide variety of spaces, Abby was raised in the American South, where she finds creative inspiration. She holds a bachelor’s in journalism and global studies from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and her work has appeared in TOWN magazine, Darling Magazine, and Greenville, SC, Visitor’s Guide. Abby currently works as a managing editor for TOWN, and is a recent Hub City Press & Emrys Journal first place winner for her nonfiction essay “Resurrection Plant.”
Lauren Maxwell
Lauren Maxwell is a writer and communications consultant with a decade of experience helping others refine and amplify their voices. She has been praised for her ability to create clear, compelling storylines around personal experiences, products, and services. Lauren's zine, how to uncover SELF in chaotic times, is available for sale in shops across the world. She also writes WE'RE ALL FRIENDS HERE, a weekly newsletter celebrating writing for writing’s sake and reading for reading’s sake, while asking what it means to be alive.
[Newsletter URL: https://laurenmaxwell.substack.com]
John Jeter
Journalist, novelist, playwright, academic and entrepreneur, John Jeter is best known in the Upstate as co-owner of The Handlebar, a now-legendary concert venue in Greenville, S.C. Most recently, he signed with a literary agent to represent his latest novel, SPENT: THE LAST DAYS OF SEX & ROCK ‘N’ ROLL. For 20 years, he and his wife, Kathy Laughlin, ran the live-music club where he bought talent for some 2,500 shows, presenting the likes of John Mayer, Sugarland, Zac Brown Band, Joan Baez, John Hiatt, Jason Isbell and many more. He leveraged his experience to create a position as adjunct professor in the Music Business & Technology Certificate program at Converse College, where he won the Above & Beyond Award in 2017. He’s a nationally published author: ROCKIN’ A HARD PLACE, a Hub City Press memoir based on his experience as the Greenville club’s talent buyer; THE PLUNDER ROOM, his debut novel from St. Martin’s Press; and THE LUCIFER GENOME, a co-authored thriller from Brigid’s Fire Press. While currently at work on a musical, he’s also a contract stringer for The New York Times. His work has also appeared in USA Today. In 2019, he won a writing residency in Italy to work on his stage play, THE LAST LYNCHING. He has traveled to Europe, China, Vietnam, Cuba, Central America, Mexico and Canada, the Caribbean, southern Africa, the Middle East and throughout the United States. He has appeared on Oprah! and on TV, in newspapers and radio, as a contributor and a subject.
Lindsey DeLoach Jones
Lindsey DeLoach Jones is a professional writer, editor, and teacher in Greenville. She earned a BA and an MA in English and an MFA in nonfiction from Seattle Pacific University. She has taught literature and fiction writing at Clemson University and served as Editor-in-Chief of Emrys Journal and Edible Upcountry. Her essays have been published in Paste, South Carolina Review, Literary Mama, Relief, and Ruminate. She was awarded the VanderMey Nonfiction Prize and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. The prize-winning essay has since become her first memoir-in-progress.
Kathleen Nalley
Kathleen Nalley is a poet, teacher, freelance writer, and bookseller. She’s the author of the poetry collections Written in Dirt, Gutterflower, American Sycamore, and Nesting Doll, and has published poetry, essays, and book reviews in literary journals across the country. She holds an MFA from Converse College, teaches literature and writing at Clemson University, finds books their forever homes at M. Judson Booksellers, is a frequent contributor to several regional magazines, and serves on the Emrys Foundation Board. www.kathleennalley.com
M. Linda Lee
A Virginia native, M. Linda Lee moved to Greenville, South Carolina, to take a job as an editor for Michelin Travel Publications, a post she held for 17 years. She whetted her appetite for food writing when she worked on the acclaimed Michelin Guide. Now a freelance writer/editor, she enjoys keeping tabs on the local food scene and writing about food, travel and interesting people as a regular contributor to TOWN magazine. When she’s not chained to her PC, Linda indulges her passion by serving on the board of Slow Food Upstate and is a board member emeritus for Euphoria, Greenville’s premiere food, wine and music festival.
Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter is the author of the cocktail book Are You Afraid of the Dark Rum: and Other Cocktails for 90s Kids in addition to two collections of short fiction. He received his BA from Elon University and his MA from Stetson University. His work has been published in a variety of places, from The Bitter Southerner and Maxim to literary outlets such as McSweeney's Online Tendency and Midwestern Gothic.
Ashley Warlick
Ashley Warlick is a novelist, food and freelance writer living in Greenville. She is the winner of the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship, and an NEA Fellowship in Literature. She teaches fiction in the MFA program at Queens University in Charlotte, and works as the buyer at M. Judson Booksellers.
