Charlene is a literary arts nonprofit leader, poet, teaching artist, and founder of the Nebraska Poetry Society, where she has built statewide programming dedicated to accessibility, equity, and community in the literary arts. Through her work with the organization, she has developed workshops, readings, outreach initiatives, and partnerships that connect writers across Nebraska and beyond.

She earned an MFA from Pacific University, where she was a Merit Scholar, and is a former Poetry Foundation Forms & Features instructor. Her writing has appeared in the Poetry Foundation, The Good Life Review, 805 Lit + Art, Whale Road Review, and several anthologies. She has been recognized as a Pushcart Prize nominee and Best of the Net finalist. Her work as a writer, educator, and arts organizer is guided by the belief that poetry can create belonging, deepen connection, and help people return to themselves and to one another.

Brandy is the author of "Forbidden Fruit: Poems of Love, Loss, Hope, and Regret". A professional jack-of-all-trades, she earned a Bachelor in Business Administration and has spent the last decade (maybe it’s longer, but let’s not make this awkward) writing poetry that explores the dark emotions we face when confronted by our own morality and mortality. Brandy lives in Papillion, Nebraska, and like to spend her spare time traveling the world with her trusty four-legged sidekick Mary Puppins. Most days she can be found drinking a large latte at her desk, frantically writing her thoughts down in verse before they disappear.

Julie is a freelance editor and writer and the Business and Publishing Manager for The Writer’s Ally, an editing and self-publishing services company. Julie has published in various Nebraska anthologies and The First Line as well as self-published a guide for narrative writers called Tips & Tricks for Great (Narrative) Writing. Julie is also the Publications Chair for the Nebraska Writers Guild. She lives in Omaha and is a proud cat mama.

Amy Haddad is a poet, nurse and educator who taught in the health sciences at Creighton University where she is now a Professor Emerita. Her poetry and short stories have been published in Janus Head, Journal of Medical Humanities, Touch, Bellevue Literary Review, Pulse, Persimmon Tree, Annals of Internal Medicine, Aji Magazine, DASH, Oberon Poetry Magazine, and Rogue Agent. Her chapbook, The Geography of Kitchens, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2021. Her poetry collection, An Otherwise Healthy Woman, was published by Backwaters Press, in March,  2022. The collection won first place in the Creative Works category of the American Journal of Nursing 2022 Books of the Year Awards.