October 2012

Daniel Damiano

DANIEL DAMIANO is an Award-Winning Playwright, Award-nominated Actor and published Poet based in Astoria. His plays have been produced and/or workshopped throughout the U.S. and Australia.  In 2013, he is slated to have two World Premiers of his plays; DAY OF THE DOG with  St. Louis Actors' Studio in March and THE GOLDEN YEAR, which will premier with the WorkShop Theater Company in NYC in June.  His poems have thus far been published in Hotmetal Press and Cloudbank  and, this fall, 4 of his poems will appear in the inaugural edition of the Newtown Literary Journal; the first Queens-based  journal exclusively dedicated to Poetry and Prose. 

Website:  http://www.danieldamiano.com/

Eric Jones

Eric J Jones is a graduate of Binghamton University. Currently he is working on a collection of short stories that examines the duality of identity, principally African American identity and how or if either can be reconciled. He teaches Literature throughout the CUNY system. He was raised in Conklin and now lives in Queens, NY. 

Julius Constantine Motal

Julius Constantine Motal is a writer, photographer, and New Yorker who enjoys Haruki Murakami, bacon, and stouts (they're the best kind of beer).  This past May, he graduated from Adelphi University with a Bachelor's in English - Creative Writing.  Currently, he is a barista with dreams that lay beyond the apron.  When he's not at work, you can find him climbing at Brooklyn Boulders or reading and writing at The Queens Kickshaw or a café in the Lower East Side.  In the short term, he is pursuing programs that will allow him to teach English abroad.

Rita Plush

Rita Plush is an interior designer, writer and teacher. Her writing practice includes fiction and non-fiction and her stories and essays have appeared in many literary journals including The Alaska Quarterly Review, The Iconoclast, The MacGuffin and Passager. Rita’s articles on interior design have been published in Times Ledger Newspapers, distributed throughout Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens. As an interior designer, she has lectured on the decorative arts at libraries throughout Long Island, at Hofstra University and CW Post-Hutton House. She is Coordinator of the Interior Design/Certificate Program in Continuing Education at Queensborough Community College. Lily Steps Out (Penumbra Publishing, May 2012) is her first novel. "Lily Steps Out" (Penumbra Publishing May 2012) is her first novel, the story of a middle-aged empty-nester who decides there's more to life than making beds and cooking dinners. A lot more she discovers, when she decides she needs something of her very own--a job. Visit her website http://www.ritaplush.com to learn more about her.

Rebecca White

Rebecca White is an Astoria-based poet and journalist. She grew up in Morningside Heights and is a Hunter College graduate. She is a Contributing Editor to Narratively (http://narrative.ly/), a new digital publication devoted to original, true and in-depth stories about New York. Her journalism has also appeared in The New York Times.