Fiction Staff

Aim Hanna (they/them) is a second-year fiction student currently writing their debut novel, AKA a cyberfantastical love letter to their (alternative) self. They completed undergrad in 2017 with two degrees in sociology and book arts. With a dear friend, they co-chaired the Queer Art Collective which generated space to create zines, handmade books and organize large-scale events for the community. Aim dreams to establish their own press that will center themes of queer futurism with priority for the Indigenous lens. 

Kate Bennion (she/they, settler) is a writer and full-spectrum doula. Kate is interested in questions of body, language, and inheritance, and is pursuing an MFA in Poetry at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Though her roots are in the Rocky Mountains, she lives in New York City. 

Justin Kertstetter (He/him, Wisconsin Oneida) is a second-year fiction writer who lives in Albuquerque, NM. His passion for speculative worlds drives his work, and is writing an indigenous futurist novel. In addition to writing, he also coaches track and country for both middle school and high school.

Nonfiction Staff

Joanne Aartman is enrolled in the Creative Nonfiction MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. She graduated from California State University, Long Beach with an MA in English and from the University of California, Davis with a BA in Political Science. She has worked as a teacher and a project manager. Now a mother of three teenagers, she has returned to her true love: writing. She is currently at work on a memoir of her nine years as a globe trekker. She lives in California. 

Katy (Katherine) Locke holds a Bachelor of Science in journalism and political science from Northern Arizona University, where she graduated summa cum laude in 2006. She began her journalism career at the Navajo-Hopi Observer in 2013 where she was recognized for her work in bringing Native American voices and stories to the forefront with awards for both writing and photography. Katherine was awarded the 2019 Associated Press Robert R. Eunson Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in Journalism, and she was named Journalist of the Year by Western News & Info for 2014-2015. She recently left working at the Navajo-Hopi Observer as she pursues an MFA in creative non-fiction writing at the Institute of American Indian Arts while teaching at Northern Arizona University.

Melissa Coyle Meinzer earned a BA in English Writing from the University of Pittsburgh in 2004 and has been working in journalism ever since. She's pursuing an MFA in Creative Nonfiction at IAIA in order to hone her craft and learn to tell stories in a more artistic and less deadline-driven manner. She currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri.

Michael Howling Wolf is a Native American writer. His published works include “Mother Corn’s Promise.” Focusing on his boarding school experience. Michael began his writing career after retiring from Shell Oil Company. Contextualizing on the gift of “oral tradition.” Michael graduated from Northwest College and is in his third semester at the Institute for American Indian Arts, Maters of Fine Arts Creative Writing – Non-Fiction. e. Michael is a master gardener and gathers traditional medicinal plants in the U.S. and Canada and leads ceremonial gatherings across Turtle Island.

Poetry Staff

Santana Shorty is a writer and poet from northern New Mexico. She received her BA from Stanford University and is currently pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her work focuses on New Mexican landscape and culture, and multiracial upbringing and love. She is currently working on her first novel. She is a member of the Navajo Nation and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Lenna Jawdat is an Arab-American writer and psychotherapist with a focus on trauma, identity, and relationships. Her poetry and flash-nonfiction have been published in Poet Lore, Passengers Journal, Rogue Agent, and others. She writes for the Southern Review of Books and is a reader for Electric Literature's Recommended Reading. Lenna lives in DC and is pursuing an MFA in Poetry at IAIA.

Savannah Romero is an Eastern Shoshone storyteller, writer, poet, and educator. She lives in Lenapahoking, also known as Brooklyn, New York. Her poems explore the confluences of colonialism, capitalism, land-body relations, and memory. She is working on a debut collection of fiction stories and is earning her Master of Fine Arts for Creative Writing at the Institute of American Indian Arts. 

Aimee Inglis is a member of the Osage Nation born and raised in Anaheim, California, and is active with the Northern and Southern California Osage diaspora groups. She has worked in social movement organizations for housing and climate justice for over a decade, and currently practices herbalism, tarot, songwriting, and poetry, and is an MFA student in Creative Writing, Poetry, at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Editor-in-chief

Claire E. Wilcox is originally from Minnesota, but the first time she saw mountains, she knew she wouldn’t stay there long. She has been living and writing in the Albuquerque area for 15 years. She’s worn many professional hats as a psychiatrist, researcher, teacher, and academic. She is currently pursuing an MFA at IAIA for fiction, and she also writes non-fiction. Her creative work has been featured in the Santa Fe Reporter, Psychology Today, Across the Margin, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, Your Tango, El Portal, and Fiction on the Web, among others.