Avotcja is an award-winning Poet/Playwright/Multi-Percussionist/Photographer/Teacher. She has been published in English and Spanish in the USA, Mexico and Europe. She has opened for Betty Carter in New York City and at Cuba’s Gema y Pavel, and has played with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Bobi and Luis Cespedes, and John Handy.

Venus Jones is the author of three poetry books and four spoken word albums. Her one-woman show, Poetic Soldier, was dubbed “Most Inspiring Solo Performance” at the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival. She is also a TEDx speaker and mentor.

Zakiyyah G.E. Capehart is a writer, poet, performance artist, storyteller, visual artist, radio producer and host. Her poetry is published in several anthologies. Her radio shows air on KPFA 94.1fm.

Bryant “The Singing Bard” Bolling has a Masters of Art in Musicology from Morgan State University. He is the founder and bandleader of the Bryant Bolling Quartet.

Shizue Seigel is the director of Write Now! SF Bay, which has produced writing workshops and anthologies by BIPOC Bay Area writers building multicultural solidarity since 2015. The most recent anthology, Uncommon Ground as well as Write Now! SF Bay’s previous anthologies are available at Bird & Beckett.

Heather Buchanan is the owner of Aquarius Press (founded 1999), for which Willow Books is its flagship imprint. A University of Michigan Difference-Maker Alumnus of the Year, Buchanan is a lecturer on the university circuit and a three-time fellow. She is the director of the LitFest national festivals. An Arts & Humanities consultant, Buchanan was a Poet-in-Residence for the Detroit Public Library, COO of the Wayne County Council for Arts, History & Humanities and received a Proclamation for her work in the arts. She was the 2019 Michigan Humanities Champion of the Year nominee and currently serves on the board of LATITUDE Chicago. A 2020 Career Pathways committee member for the Society for American Music, Buchanan is a violinist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Community Ensemble. She is the founder of AUXmedia, a Detroit-based studio.