issue two.

Leiz (she/her) hails from Des Moines, Iowa, majoring in English and creative writing (publishing) with a minor in communication studies. She is currently a fiction reader for Zenith's sister publication, Patchwork Lit Mag. On the side, Leiz is a sousaphone player for the Hawkeye Marching Band, a student security officer for the Department of Public Safety, and in her spare time enjoys video games, weightlifting, cooking, making excessive to-do lists, and listening to indie rock music.

Amanda Pendley is a queer twenty-one-year-old writer from Kansas City, who is currently studying creative writing and publishing at the University of Iowa. Her recent and forthcoming publications include Homology Lit, Vagabond City Lit, Savant Garde Literary Magazine, and JUKED. She is a 2020 Best of the Net nominee for her poem “afterword on movement song” published by Savant Garde Literary Magazine. She often finds inspiration in Lorde songs, contemporary dance, and Harry Styles’ suit collection.

Patrick Schiefen (he/him) is from Upstate New York but is currently writing and performing in Koh Phangan, Thailand. He is an editor for a Shanghai-based poetry zine and his work has been published by High Shelf Press, From Whispers to Roars, Ample Remains, Literary Shanghai, and Unravel. His first book of poetry, If You Know, You Know, was published in 2019.

Ashley Sapp (she/her) resides in Columbia, South Carolina, with her dog, Barkley. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of South Carolina in 2010, and her work has previously appeared in Indie Chick, Variant Lit, Emerge Literary Journal, Common Ground Review, and elsewhere. Ashley has written two poetry collections: Wild Becomes You and Silence Is A Ballad. She can be found on Twitter @ashthesapp and Instagram @ashsappley.

Madisyn Meek is currently a University of Iowa student, studying English and creative writing on the publishing track. When she is not writing or working on her multiple projects, she can be found gaming on Twitch.

Georgia Sampson is a senior who is currently trying her best to vibe and get hired somewhere. So... if y'all know anyone. Call her.

Mario Aliberto III is a novelist living in Tampa Bay with his wife and daughters, and they all answer to the dog's bidding.

Parker is a student at Skidmore College. He likes ghosts and robots.

Eli Huckabee lives in Portland, Oregon and plans on making his fortune from the library sciences.

Olivia Tonelli is a writer studying English and creative writing on the publishing track at the University of Iowa. She vehemently believes in the intrinsic power of hope and often draws inspiration from Dave Malloy and Anaïs Mitchell musicals.

Carmela Furio studies publishing and Italian at the University of Iowa. She enjoys exploring difficult, if not uncommunicatable, emotions in her work, from blind rage to fearful love to woeful acceptance. In her spare time, you can find her hunched over Adobe InDesign or scouring a local convenience store for caffeine bars.

Emma Sofia Scintu is a senior at the University of Iowa studying English and creative writing on the publishing track with a minor in communications. Her poetry is fixated on relationships with sexuality, consumerism, and multiculturalism. In 2018, she was awarded a scholarship to attend the New York Summer Writers' Institute writers' residency. Following graduation, she intends to pursue an MFA in poetics.

Iz Horgan is an artist and writer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her practices explore cyclical relationships and interactions with the landscape and animals, often through the lens of her own upbringing on a sheep farm in rural Western Pennsylvania. She primarily works in painting, durational performance, and writing.

Cassidy Pekarek is a third-year student at the University of Iowa, currently double majoring in English/creative writing and art history (although she's also tempted to add a minor in art to her list). She enjoys artistically experimenting in a variety of mediums and forms, but favors short stories and poetry in her writing, and painting and wood-burning when practicing her art. She hopes to one day publish her stories as an author and illustrator, achieving the dreams she's had since elementary school by creating works that highlight queer characters to make up for the lack of LGBTQ+ inclusive stories she experienced growing up.

Lorelei Bacht is a European poet living in Asia. When she is not carrying little children around or encouraging them to discover the paintings of Edvard Munch, she can be found collecting bones and failing scientific experiments. Her recent work can be found and/or is forthcoming in OpenDoor Poetry, Litehouse, Visitant, Quail Bell and The Wondrous Real. She is also on Instagram: @lorelei.bacht.writer

Amanda Pendley is a queer twenty-one-year-old writer from Kansas City, who is currently studying creative writing and publishing at the University of Iowa. Her recent and forthcoming publications include Homology Lit, Vagabond City Lit, Savant Garde Literary Magazine, and JUKED. She is a 2020 Best of the Net nominee for her poem “afterword on movement song” published by Savant Garde Literary Magazine. She often finds inspiration in Lorde songs, contemporary dance, and Harry Styles’ suit collection.

Amanda Pendley is a queer twenty-one-year-old writer from Kansas City, who is currently studying creative writing and publishing at the University of Iowa. Her recent and forthcoming publications include Homology Lit, Vagabond City Lit, Savant Garde Literary Magazine, and JUKED. She is a 2020 Best of the Net nominee for her poem “afterword on movement song” published by Savant Garde Literary Magazine. She often finds inspiration in Lorde songs, contemporary dance, and Harry Styles’ suit collection.

Nicholas Runyon is a junior studying English and creative writing at the University of Iowa. He is the editor-in-chief of New Moon Magazine and a fiction editor at earthwords: the undergraduate literary review. He grew up in Martinsville, New Jersey, but he possesses an accent that people have a hard time pinning down no matter where he goes.

Lady J is Queer, Lebanese, a Creative Technologist & a Business Strategist.

Evie Dohm is majoring in English and creative writing at the University of Iowa with a minor in communication studies. Fantasy literature has always captured their interest and she aspires to one day ascend to hobbit level. When not writing or reading, you can find Evie looking for her next travel destination, hiking, or listening to sea shanties.

David Marquez is a senior at the University of Iowa studying English and creative writing. He has worked on many literary magazines over the last few years and enjoys reading and writing poetry and creative nonfiction. He loves his dog, Rose, and pine trees.

David Marquez is a senior at the University of Iowa studying English and creative writing. He has worked on many literary magazines over the last few years and enjoys reading and writing poetry and creative nonfiction. He loves his dog, Rose, and pine trees.