José Olivarez is the son of Mexican immigrants. His debut book of poems, Citizen Illegal, was a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Award and a winner of the 2018 Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize. It was named a top book of 2018 by The Adroit Journal, NPR, and the New York Public Library. Along with Felicia Chavez and Willie Perdomo, he co-edited the poetry anthology, The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNEXT. He is the co-host of the poetry podcast, The Poetry Gods.
In 2018, he was awarded the first annual Author and Artist in Justice Award from the Phillips Brooks House Association and named a Debut Poet of 2018 by Poets & Writers. In 2019, he was awarded a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Paris Review, and elsewhere.

Kaleb is a multi-disciplined documentarian, writer, scholar, cook, and organizer from the Westside of Chicago. His work has been published by the New York Times, Upfront Magazine, Injustice Watch, and Truthout. A blood memory and survivance worker, Kaleb situates his work on the worlds not yet born. He currently studies Sociology and Legal Studies as a First Wave Scholar. He’s an Eddie Adams Workshop Dietz Awardee and a HEX-U Fellow with the Center for the Humanities.

Diya is a first-generation Pakistani poet from the Midwest. They were named the 2022 George B. Hill Poetry Prize winner and the 2020 St.Louis Youth Poet Laureate. Her work is featured or forthcoming in Foglifter, Adroit, The Offing, BAHR Magazine, and Emerge Literary Journal. Diya is currently studying Creative Writing and South Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin Madison through the First Wave program.