RON A. AUSTIN‘s short stories have been placed in Boulevard, Pleiades, Story Quarterly, Ninth Letter, Black Warrior Review, and other journals. Avery Colt Is a Snake, a Thief, a Liar, his first collection of linked stories, has received several honors including: The 2017 Nilsen Prize, a 2019 Foreward INDIES GOLD Award, a 2020 Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award, a 2020 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize nomination, and a 2020 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award nomination. Austin’s work has been supported by grants from the Regional Arts Commission, including a 2016 Artist Fellowship. He, his wife Jennie, and son Elijah live in St. Louis.

As a commercial illustrator of over a decade, UK based artist IAN O’NEILL has worked on a multitude of different projects with a variety of clients. Working on commissions for everything from album cover art to product packaging, Ian has dabbled in a multitude of artistic approaches over the years. In recent years, his cartoon-influenced graphic style has led him to more narrative-based mediums, with his focus increasingly on drawing for comics and graphic novels. Find him online at https://ezjedi.co.uk/.