Michael Alpiner
Michael Alpiner has been an English teacher in New York City for the past 23 years. He earned a BA in English from Queens College, an MA in education from Hofstra University, and a MFA in poetry at Queens College, where he also taught creative writing. From 2004–2009, he hosted an open mic and a poetry workshop at Barnes & Noble in Fresh Meadows, NY. Michael has published work in Jewish Currents, Soul Fountain, Light, New Works Review, theversemarauder.com, Cosmopsis, Freshet, Blood to Remember (an anthology of Holocaust-related poetry, Time Being Books), Names in a Jar (Hood Press), Pike Magazine, and Mobius. Michael attended the Vermont Studio Center in August of 2004, has been featured on Radio Hofstra University, and was interviewed on Queens Public Television. He served as Writer-in-Residence at the Louis Armstrong House Museum and co-organized an event for the Jackson Heights Poetry Festival in 2009. He is currently teaching writing at the College of New Rochelle.
Robyn Burland
Robyn Burland is a playwright. Her plays include: Postpartum (New Georges Performathon, Women’s Project, Newman Theatre), A Savior Needs a Nice Smile (Expanded Arts, Women’s Project) After Loyal (Moving Arts-L.A., New Georges), Walkmania (New Georges), Obit, Love Amy, and The Book of Jay (AndHow! Theater Co.), On the Rocks (BlondeBrunetteRedhead Productions), Piecework (Theater for the New City), and Greater Buffalo (Theater for the New City). She is also the author of the trilogy of plays, Marriage Special, which have received readings at many theatres. Robyn is in charge of the drama program at Bronx Performance Conservatory High School, and artistic director of the teen theatre group, Skipping Stones Stage Company, where she creates and stages original plays. She is a member of the Circle Rep East, the Dramatists Guild, and the New York State Theatre Education Association.
Audrey Dimola
Audrey Dimola is an editorial acrobat and lifelong lover of words whose mantra is: burn bright, never regret it. She writes, sings, reads, and dreams her way through life in her native Long Island City and Astoria, Queens, usually wearing leopard print and always rediscovering the magic of everyday. Audrey has helped to promote and support the arts and culture in this incredible borough for years, and doesn't plan on ever stopping. You can find her portfolio online at audreydimola.com, and the wild multimedia blog she edits at sugarnthunder.com.
Maddy Lederman
Maddy Lederman has an M.F.A. in Acting from Brooklyn College and an eclectic writing history that includes numerous articles for The Sun Runner, co-authoring an article forThe LA Times with Stephen Visakay and a position as Head Writer/Director of ABC Bakery, a TV show that taught English through sketch comedy and musical numbers. Produced by Cave Books in Taipei, Taiwan, it was nominated for three Golden Bells (the Taiwanese Emmy including Best Children's Show. Maddy's screenplay, The Little Fraulein was an Award Finalist at the IFP Market in NY and she's sold two short films to The Independent Film Channel. Edna In The Desert is her first novel and she is working on its sequel.
Richard Marx Weinraub
Related to the Marx Brothers through his mother, Richard Marx Weinraub was born in New York City in 1949; he was a Professor of English at the University of Puerto Rico from 1987 through 2010. A book of his poetry entitled Wonder Bread Hill was published in 2002 by the University of Puerto Rico Press. His poetry has appeared in many journals including The Paris Review, Asheville Poetry Review, South Carolina Review, The Hampden-Sydney Poetry Review, Green Mountains Review, North American Review, Measure, The Evansville Review, Slate, and River Styx. A Spanish translation of Wonder Bread Hill was recently published by Terranova Press.
