February 2012

Gabriel Cabrera

Gabriel Cabrera was born and raised in Queens Village. He started considering writing as more than a hobby while attending LaGuardia Community College and is now a MFA student at Queens College. He is currently working on a poetry chapbook and a novel. He hopes to one day help enable students to achieve their goals through their seen and hidden talents, by using art as a medium to connect to the world around them and to prove one day words, will again, reign supreme. 

Tim Fredrick

Tim Fredrick is an academic and creative writer.  His academic work has been published in journals in the United States and abroad; he is currently working on getting his creative work published. He has a Bachelors in Creative writing from The University of Missouri and a PhD in Applied Linguistics from NYU.  He coordinates the Queens Writers Group which offers workshops for writers of all types from all over Queens.  He is currently an elementary school reading and writing teacher in Long Island City, Queens and lives in Elmhurst, Queens. http://www.timfredrick.com

Amanda LaPergola

Amanda LaPergola is originally from New Jersey, and she is very sorry about that.  She studied Music Theatre at Shenandoah University where her performance as Brunhilde in an original children's theatre adaptation of Wagner's Die Walkure was praised by critics (Amanda's friends) as "distracting".  She now acts and writes in New York City far away from those that would try to stop her.  She is a contributing writer for The Mary Sue (www.themarysue.com) and blogs (infrequently) at vivalalala.blogspot.com.  

  

Sweta Srivastava Vikram

Sweta Srivastava Vikram (www.swetavikram.com) is an award-winning writer, poet, novelist, author, essayist, educator, and blogger whose musings have translated into four chapbooks of poetry, two collaborative collections of poetry, a novel, a nonfiction book of prose and poems (upcoming in 2012), and a full-length collection of poems (upcoming in 2013). Her scribbles have also appeared in several anthologies, literary journals, and online publications across six countries in three continents. Sweta has won two Pushcart Prize nominations, an International Poetry Award, Best of the Net Nomination, Nomination for Asian American Members’ Choice Awards 2011, writing fellowships, and was shortlisted for the Independent Literary Awards. Taj Mahal Review describes her as "A poet with hauntingly beautiful talent." Sweta has held several artist residencies in Europe and America and worked on collaborative projects with artists from Zimbabwe and Australia. A graduate of Columbia University, she reads her work, teaches creative writing workshops, and gives talks at universities and schools across the globe. Sweta lives in New York City with her husband. You can follow her on Twitter (@ssvik) or Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/Words.By.Sweta