Workshop Staff
AJ Lucy is a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, where she studies the eggs of tiny fish. Someday she hopes to teach scientific researchers to write up their findings in a way that is pleasant to read. Her fiction can be found in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Daily Science Fiction, and Strange Horizons.
Rachel Halpern is a graduate of Alpha (’07/’08) and the Stonecoast MFA program. She writes children’s books for work and sci-fi/fantasy in her free time. Her short fiction has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Daily Science Fiction, and Liminal Stories. She likes strange magic, smart monsters, and satisfying stories.
Patrick J. Ropp is an alumnus of the Clarion UCSD workshop, has a Master of Science in computational biology from Carnegie Mellon University, and works as a cybersecurity engineer in Pittsburgh. He likes cactuses, cats, and the things dredged up from the lightless depths.
Steph Grossman‘s fiction has appeared in Joyland, Hobart, and CRAFT (where her story, “Girl in the Forest of Fear,” was a finalist for the 2020 CRAFT Elements: Conflict contest). Her narrative nonfiction has appeared in Paste Magazine and in The Masters Review. Recently, a standalone excerpt of her novel-in-progress was a finalist for The Masters Review’s 2020 Flash Fiction Contest. She’s worked in NYC publishing at places like Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, and JSTOR, but now lives in the Austin area where she’s pursuing her MFA at Texas State University, teaching College Writing, and serving as the PR Manager for Porter House Review. A devotee of horror and the gothic, she co-hosts the Basement Girls Horror and Whatnot podcast with poet Bianca Pérez.
Sarah Hollowell is a graduate of Alpha (2009/2010). Her debut YA contemporary fantasy novel, A Dark and Starless Forest, releases 9/4/21. Her work has appeared on The NoSleep Podcast, Fireside Magazine, Huffington Post, and in The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat and the Fierce. She has two cats, listens to too many podcasts, and repeatedly makes the mistake of watching horror movies alone at night.
Morgan Suity is a Librarian in Pittsburgh, PA with a decade of experience offering engaging programming and enthusiastic reader’s advisory to teens. She has presented at the YALSA Young Adult Services Symposium, and written articles and book reviews for VOYA Magazine and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. She has also been active in visual media and literary fandom communities for over 15 years. She writes original stories and fanfiction about finding love, family, and self-acceptance. Her favorite AO3 tags are “Arranged Marriage,” “Accidental Baby Acquisition,” and “Amnesia.”
Kilson Roque is a born-and-raised New Yorker, hailing from Queens. He’s a fan of folklore, mythology, urban fantasy, and dark fairy tales. These and other influences–like manga, anime, video games, and TCGs–help fuel his writing. After acquiring his MFA in Speculative Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College, Kilson accepted an Editorial Assistant position in Children’s Publishing. He is currently working on an adult novel that incorporates mythology and superstitions from the Dominican Republic.
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