J.A. Holm, Jenna Massey, Matt Schroeder, Aidan Doyle; Second Row: Mary Lane Taibl, Riley Lasher, Lauren Hall, Megan Hoehn, Natalie McEwan, Charles Meyer; Third Row: Joy Puckett, Bella LoBue, Rowan Weatherford, Katie Meeks; Fourth Row: Anna Leonard, Gray Adgate, Owen May, Charlotte Cooper, Jena Salem; Fifth Row: Rabeetah Hasnain, Channler Twyman, Carolyn Slingluff, Ellie Moonis; Sixth Row: Priscilla Loebenberg, Bhavya Bhagtani, Benedict Bean, Jessica Corrado, Max Le; Seventh Row: Janie Wright, Mia Antazana, k Russell, Rowan Thompson, Max Le, Hana Rehman, Gabriella Mangene, Caroline Richards, Jack Flannigan, Josh Galarza; Eighth Row: Jeanleshea Ellis, Maureen Morris, Sarp A. Demiral
Faculty Editors
Kathleen Graber
Kathleen Graber, faculty editor, is the author of three collections of poetry and a recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Jessica Hendry Nelson
Jessica Hendry Nelson, faculty editor, is the author of Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief (University of Georgia Press, 2023), a memoir-in-essays and the winner of the AWP Sue William Silverman Prize in Creative Nonfiction. She is the author of the memoir If Only You People Could Follow Directions (Counterpoint, 2014), which was selected as a best debut book by the Indies Introduce New Voices program, the Indies Next List by the American Booksellers’ Association, named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Review. She is also coauthor of the textbook and anthology Advanced Creative Nonfiction: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology along with the writer Sean Prentiss (Bloomsbury, 2021). Her work appears in the anthology Bending Genre, edited by Nicole Walker and Margot Singer (Bloomsbury, 2023), as well as the Threepenny Review, Prairie Schooner, Tin House, the Los Angeles Review of Books, North American Review, the Rumpus, the Carolina Quarterly, Columbia Journal, Painted Bride Quarterly, Crab Orchard Review, PANK, Drunken Boat, and elsewhere. She is assistant professor of creative writing at Virginia Commonwealth University and also teaches in the MFA program at the University of Nebraska in Omaha.
Senior Editorial Staff
Matt Schroeder
Managing Editor
Matt Schroeder, managing editor, is a poet, educator, and second-year MFA student in poetry at Virginia Commonwealth University. His poetry appears or is forthcoming in RHINO, Arts & Letters, Poet Lore, Grist, and elsewhere. In 2021, he organized and ran the first international writers’ conference for students in Shenzhen.
Caroline Richards
Managing Editor Emerita
Caroline Richards, managing editor emerita, is a graduate of Trinity College and a third-year MFA student in poetry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work has been published by the Academy of American Poets, Trinity Alumni Magazine, and is forthcoming in the Southeast Review.
Genre Editors
Priscilla Loebenber
Lead Copyeditor
Priscilla Loebenberg, lead copyeditor, is a first-year MFA student in fiction at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has worked as a reporter, editor, grant writer, and director of communications for various newspapers, magazines, and nonprofit organizations in Mississippi, Florida, Maryland, and Texas. She was part of the Biloxi Sun Herald newspaper team that won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service Reporting.
Josh Galarza
Art Editor
Josh Galarza, lead art editor, is a third-year MFA student in fiction and creative nonfiction at Virginia Commonwealth University. His debut novel, The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky (Henry Holt and Company, 2024), is a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. He holds a BFA in art and a BA in English from the University of Nevada, Reno, and is a multidisciplinary visual artist specializing in printmaking, book arts, and sculpture.
Sarp A. Demiral
Fiction Editor
Sarp A. Demiral, lead fiction editor, is a second-year MFA student in fiction at Virginia Commonwealth University. His fiction has appeared in Half and One and his poetry has won the 2024 Catherine & Joan Byrne Poetry Prize. He holds a BFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia.
Charles Meyer
Creative Nonfiction Editor
Charles Meyer, senior nonfiction editor, is a second-year MFA nonfiction and poetry student at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he earned his BA in English.
Trey Burnart Hall
Podcast Editor
Trey Burnart Hall, lead podcast editor, is a first-year MFA nonfiction and fiction student at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a Richmond-based multimedia artist, producer, educator, and community organizer. His music and collaborations have been shortlisted for the Newlin Music Prize and featured in NPR Live Sessions, Bandcamp Daily, Soul Bag Mag, American Blues Scene, and more. His archival photography work has been exhibited at the Alexander Heath Contemporary Art Gallery and Black Iris Social Club. His academic work has been published in the Journal of Inclusive Postsecondary Education.
Maureen Morris
Poetry Editor
Maureen Morris, lead poetry editor, is a second-year MFA student in poetry at Virginia Commonwealth University. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from Fairfield University. Her poetry has appeared in Foglifter and Frontier Poetry.
Hana
Media Editor
Hana Rehman, media editor, is a second-year MFA student in fiction at Virginia Commonwealth University. She holds BAs in English and comparative literature from the University of Georgia, where she interned for The Georgia Review.
Associate Editors
Anna Leonard, associate poetry and media editor, is a first-year MFA student studying poetry at Virginia Commonwealth University. She holds a BA in theatre performance with a minor in creative writing from Virginia Commonwealth University, and she is a reader for Yellow Arrow Publishing.
Sam Schieren, reviews and interviews editor, is a lecturer in Virginia Commonwealth University’s English Department. Winner of the Barry Hannah Prize in Fiction, his stories have been published in The Iowa Review, Bellevue Literary Review, Gulf Coast, and Southern Humanities Review, among other journals. He received his MFA from UC Davis.
J.A. Holm, associate copyeditor, is a first-year MFA student in poetry at Virginia Commonwealth University. He holds a BA in creative writing from Bucknell University where he was an editorial intern for West Branch Magazine. His work appears or is forthcoming in: Shenandoah, Bellevue Literary Review, Sonora Review, and other places. He is also the recipient of a Cadigan Prize for Younger Writers.
Jenna Massey, associate fiction editor, is a first-year MFA student in fiction at Virginia Commonwealth University. She earned her BA at The College of William and Mary, where she spent the second half of her education serving as co-Editor in Chief of The Gallery literary magazine.
Jessica Corrado, associate nonfiction editor, is a second-year MFA student in fiction and nonfiction at Virginia Commonwealth University. She holds an MA in English from Virginia Commonwealth University as well as a BA in English with minors in creative writing and Asian studies from SUNY New Paltz.
Rabeetah Hasnain, associate nonfiction editor, is a first-year MFA student in fiction and nonfiction at Virginia Commonwealth University. She holds an M.Ed from Johns Hopkins University and a BS in Political Science from Appalachian State University.
Bhavya Bhagtani, associate poetry editor, is a first-year MFA student in poetry at Virginia Commonwealth University. She holds a BA in journalism and filmmaking from Symbiosis Centre for Media & Communication, India. Her poems have appeared in Sundog Lit, The Hyacinth Review, The Alipore Post, and elsewhere. She previously served as poetry editor at Dust Poetry Magazine.
Channler Twyman, associate fiction editor, is a fiction writer and proud Georgia native. His works have appeared both in print and online on various websites and publishers such as LitHub, Shondaland, Siblini Journal, Anime Feminist, and Ohio’s Best Emerging Poets. He has received support for his upcoming works through Tin House as a YA Scholar in 2021, and most recently as a Kimbilio Fellow. He’s currently an MFA student at Virginia Commonwealth University where he’s working on several upcoming projects.
Interns
Natalie McEwan, creative nonfiction intern, is a junior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the fall of 2025 with a BA in English and a minor in creative writing.
Holly Koski, copyediting intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the fall of 2024 with a BA in English with a minor in professional writing and editing.
Gray Adgate, poetry intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the winter of 2025 with a BA in both English and cinema, as well as a minor in creative writing.
Joy Puckett, poetry intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She transferred to Virginia Commonwealth University from the College of William & Mary last year, and will graduate in the spring of 2025 with a BA in English.
Benedict Jayson Bean Jr., fiction intern, is a junior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University, studying English with a creative writing minor. He is a published poet found in The Awakenings Review (2023. Vol. 10, No. 2,) from the literary journal The Awakenings Project.
Carolyn Slingluff, copyediting intern, is a junior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in 2026 with a dual degree in English and psychology, with a minor in media studies.
Riley Lasher, poetry intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the spring of 2025 with a BA in English and a minor in education. She will graduate again in the spring of 2027 with a master of teaching degree in secondary English education.
Aidan Doyle, copyediting intern, is a senior undergraduate student studying English and creative writing at Virginia Commonwealth University. They are one of the cofounders of TuneStone, an independent Richmond based comic publisher. They also edit and illustrate for Emanata, a student-run comic anthology.
Charlotte Cooper, copyediting intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the fall of 2024 with a major in English and a minor in professional writing and editing.
Max Le, copyediting intern, is a senior undergraduate in the English department of Virginia Commonwealth University, and will graduate in the Spring of 2025 with a BA in English and a minor in professional writing and editing.
Jack Flanagan, fiction intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. He will graduate in 2025 with a BA in English and a minor in creative writing.
Owen May, fiction intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. He will graduate in the spring of 2025 with a BA in English and a minor in professional writing and editing.
Katie Meeker, a non-fiction intern, is a junior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University, studying English with a dual minor in professional writing and editing and gender, sexuality, and women’s studies. She also interns for The Upper New Review, a literary arts magazine that focuses on environmental advocacy and pedagogy. She will graduate in Spring of 2026 and plans to eventually pursue an MA in English.
Rowan Thompson, fiction intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. They will graduate in the Fall of 2025 with a BFA in communication arts and a dual minor in English and art history.
Mary Lane Taibl, fiction intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the fall of 2024 with a BA in English and a minor in creative writing.
Ellie Moonis, fiction intern, is a junior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the spring of 2026 with a BA in English and a dual minor in education and anthropology.
Bella LoBue, poetry intern, is a junior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the Fall of 2025 with a BA in English and a minor in psychology.
Jena Salem, copyediting intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the fall of 2025 with a BA in English and a minor in professional writing and editing.
Rowan Weatherford, fiction intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the spring of 2025 with a BA in English.
k Russell, poetry intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University pursuing dual degrees in dance and choreography and English. He will graduate in December 2024. k’s poetry has been published in Amendment, a student-run publication at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Furrow, a literary magazine run by students at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Gabriella Mangene, poetry intern, is a junior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in 2026 with a BS in psychology concentrating on addiction studies and a minor in creative writing.
Jeanleshea Ellis, media intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is an English major and creative arts minor. She is a spoken word artist around the Richmond area and will be graduating in 2025.
Megan Hoehn, social media intern, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the spring of 2025 with her major in English.
Lauren Hall, social media intern, is an undergraduate English major with a double minor in creative writing and history at Virginia Commonwealth University. She was lead copyeditor and personal relations coordinator for the Plain China National Literary Anthology, as well as the art editor for the Amendment art and literary journal at VCU during the spring 2024 semester, and is currently the literary editor of Amendment.
& Many Thanks
to all the editors, staff members, interns, and volunteers who made Blackbird’s first flight, volume twenty-three, number one possible.
Special thanks to Kathy Graber for her keen insights and mentorship. Her ability to see the vision within the vision allowed for this flight to accumulate in exciting and unexpected ways.
Special thanks to Jessica Hendry Nelson for her unwavering commitment to uplifting and supporting this team. Her endless energy, creativity, and positivity made this Flight a delight to create.
Thanks to Caroline Richards for her efforts as managing editor emerita, for her continuous support in all respects, her ongoing patience, and close attention to tradition and professionalism.
Thanks to Trey Burnart Hall for his work behind the scenes on the podcast, and for his creativity and ingenuity in all things media related and otherwise.
Special thanks once again to Ashley Brewer and Cody Whitby who helped us work out this new website, your patience and hard-work are beyond appreciated.
And to all others—Thom Didato, Alicia Bonilla, our contributors, our sincere appreciation. Your dedication, ingenuity, and good spirits make it all possible.
