Joan Barasovska lives in Chapel Hill, NC. Joan is an academic therapist in private practice, working with children with learning disabilities and psychological challenges. She cohosts a poetry series at Flyleaf Books and serves on the Board of the North Carolina Poetry Society. Joan has poems published or forthcoming in Kakalak, San Pedro River Review, Madness Muse Press, Red Fez, and Main Street Rag. Birthing Age (Finishing Line Press) is her first book of poetry.

Sam Barbee poems appeared Poetry South, The NC Literary Review, Crucible, Asheville Poetry Review, Main Street Rag, The Southern Poetry Anthology VII: North Carolina; plus on-line journals Vox Poetica, Courtland Review, and New Verse News. His second poetry collection, That Rain We Needed (2016, Press 53), was a nominee for the Roanoke-Chowan Award as one of North Carolina’s best poetry collections of 2016; and is a Pushcart nominee.

Marcia Hawley Barnes is a Georgia writer and poet. Publishing credits include "Popcorn Overlook" published in 2020, Old Mountain Press. The author has written three children’s books and is a free-lance writer for the Clay County Progress. Barnes lives in Towns County, GA.

Frederick W. Bassett is a retired academic who turned to creative writing late in life. His poems have been widely published in journals and anthologies. He also has five books of poetry. His revised and expanded edition of The Old Stoic Faces the Mirror: A Life in Poems was published in November, 2019. He has two published novels—South Wind Rising and Honey from a Lion—and is editing the third novel of this trilogy—The Winter is Past. Widowed, Bassett currently live in Greenwood, SC, near his son Jonathan and family.

Glenda C. Beall lives in Hayesville, NC where she works as program coordinator for NCWN-West. Her publications include a family history book, Tom Council and his Descendants, Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers and Fins, a collection of short stores and poems, Now Might as Well be Then, a poetry chapbook, published by Finishing Line Press. Her poetry has been published in numerous literary magazines, online and in slick publications for over twenty years.

Kerri Habben Bosman is a writer in Chapel Hill, NC. She is a graduate of Peace College and North Carolina State University. Her work has been included in the News and Observer and regularly appears in publications throughout the United States and Canada. After allowing it to linger, she is returning to her manuscript of personal essays and poetry.

Harry Brown holds degrees in English from Davidson College, Appalachian State University, and Ohio University; and taught English at Eastern Kentucky University for some forty-three years.

Harry has published six poetry collections, and co-edited an anthology of Kentucky writing. His two latest collections are Felt Along the Blood: New and Selected Poems and In Some Households the King Is Soul (Wind Publications). He lives with his wife Alice in Burlington, NC.

Kenneth Chamlee (Mills River, NC) is Professor Emeritus of English at Brevard College in North Carolina. His poems have appeared in The North Carolina Literary Review, Cold Mountain Review, Ekphrasis, and many others. He won ByLine Magazine’s National Poetry Chapbook Competition (Absolute Faith), and the Longleaf Press Poetry Chapbook Competition (Logic of the Lost). His poems have appeared in six editions of Kakalak: An Anthology of Carolina Poets. Learn more at www.kennethchamlee.com .

Steve Cushman has published three novels and the poetry collection, How Birds Fly. He lives with his family in Greensboro, NC.

Polly Davis, Ed.D, is retired from the NC Community College System where she served as an English department chair and an administrator. She served as a trustee for the Cumberland County Library and Information Center. She is the editor of Daddy Pa’s Diary, and Growing Up Southern in Baconton Georgia. She has written and published her memoir: Stumbling toward Enlightenment. She is an avid reader and supporter of the arts in North Carolina. Polly lives in Webster, NC.

Tom Davis’ publishing credits include Poets Forum, The Carolina Runner, Triathlon Today, Georgia Athlete, The Fayetteville Observer’s Saturday Extra, A Loving Voice Vol. I and II, Special Warfare., and Winston-Salem Writers’ POETRY IN PLAIN SIGHT program for May 2013 & 2021 (poetry month). He’s authored several books. Tom has recently completed his memoir, The Most Fun I ever Had With My Clothes On A March from Private to Colonel. He lives in Webster, NC.

Suzanne Delaney is a Retired RN who now enjoys creating Mixed Media, writing and taking inspiration from Nature. Her work has been published in several Old Mountain Press Anthologies and her current book, "Poems of Nature Enchantment and Mystery is available on Amazon. Born in Australia she now enjoys living in Asheville, NC.

Nancy Dillingham is associate editor of the on-line poetry journal Speckled Trout Review. Her latest work is Like Headlines: New and Selected Poems and the chapbook Revelation. Her collection of poems Home was nominated for a 2010 Southeastern Independent Booksellers Alliance award (SIBA). She lives in Asheville, NC.

Dena M. Ferrari is aregular contributor to OMP, Dena’s poetry are featured in Westchester Community College of NY Phoenix (1975), Writers Alliance Poets World-Wide anthologies has many of her published works. Dena’s own books, Poems From the Hearth (2010) Come Closer My Dearies (2013), Charmed Times Three (2015), and her newest book Wyld Earth Magick (2018) shows diversified writing styles, leaving a Living Legacy for her grandchildren. She and her husband, Peter live in Vass, NC.

Joanne Kennedy Frazer is a retired peace and justice director and educator for faith-based organizations. Her work has appeared in over 25 anthologies, on-line zines and magazines, most recently in New Verse News. Five poems have been turned into a song cycle, titled Resistance, by composer Steven Luksan, and performed in Seattle and Durham. Her chapbook Being Kin (CreationRising) was published in June 2019. She lives in Durham, NC.

Peggy Dugan French is a California girl with Minnesota roots. She has been the editor of the small print zine Shemom since 1997. Her work has appeared in Lilliput, bear creek haiku, Shemom and Whispers. She has worn many hats over the years, but raising her children has been one of her greatest pleasures. Peggy lives in Cardiff, CA, with her husband, cat and wild garden and blogs at www.peggyduganfrench.com 

Michael Gaspeny’s third chapbook, The Tyranny of Questions, a novella in verse, is available now from Unicorn Press. His previous works are Re-Write Men and Vocation. He has won the Randall Jarrell Poetry Competition and the O. Henry Festival Fiction Contest. Living in Greensboro, NC, he has received the Governor’s Award for Volunteer Excellence in recognition of his hospice service.

James Gibson, Northville, Michigan, featured Native American culture in the five novels in his "Anasazi Quest" series. His eighth novel, To Live or Die in Taiwan was published in 2018. He is presently working on a sequel, To Live or Die in Panama. Review all his books at www.PentacleSPresS.com . Anasazi Princess and Anasazi Journey are now available in Kindle format on Amazon.com.

Marian Gowan is author of Notes from the Trunk, published by Old Mountain Press. Her work has appeared in many Old Mountain Press anthologies and southern regional publications. She retired to the NC mountains from western NY in 2001, but in 2017, returned to western NY to be near family. (mariangowan1@bellsouth.net)

Grayson Jones lives in Young Harris, GA, and teaches biology at Young Harris College there in the north Georgia mountains. Her poems have appeared in Appalachian Heritage, Corn Creek Review, Poetry South, Slant and The Healing Muse and in anthologies by Old Mountain Press.

K. D. Kennedy, Jr. has published Eight Books (8) books of poetry, short stories, and essays: Our Place On Time, Waiting Out In The Yard, For Rhyme Or Reason, Progenitors: A Kennedy Genealogy, The Works Of K. D. Kennedy, Jr., Poems Worth Remembering, Family...Forever’s Lovesong, and Truth Instead. He has also published works in over forty anthologies and periodicals.

Jo Koster and her cat Max live in Rock Hill, where she teaches at Winthrop University and waits for the pandemic to end. A new collection of her poems is forthcoming in summer 2021.

Patsy Kennedy Lain continues to reside in Hubert, North Carolina. She writes and paints mostly inspired by her imagination, surroundings and life’s quirkiness. Patsy’s works have appeared in local papers several magazines and many anthologies over the years. She has won multiple awards and honors for her works through her local senior center.

Cindy Larson, a native of Fargo, North Dakota, lived with her husband, Jerry, in southeastern Connecticut for 33 years. They built their retirement home on Glassy Mountain, Landrum, South Carolina, and it was their favorite location for 17 years. Currently they are residents of The Woodlands, a senior living facility on the edge of beautiful Furman University, Greenville, SC.

Blanche L. Ledford is a native of Clay County, NC. Her work has appeared in many Old Mountain Press anthologies and journals. She writes about her Southern Appalachian heritage and received the Paul Green Multimedia Award for her book, Planting by the Signs.

Brenda Kay Ledford is a native of Clay County, NC. Her work has appeared in 43 Old Mountain Press anthologies. She won two gold medals for her essay and short story in the Clay/Cherokee Senior Games Silver Arts Literary Contest for 2020. She’s an award-winning writer and published in many journals.

K. A. Lewis graduated from the Corcoran School of Art in 1986 with little idea of how to make a living. Her work experience includes cake decoration, jewelry sales, hypnosis certification, being robbed at gunpoint, and 32 years as a custom picture framer. Since 2014, her poetry and genre fiction have been published in several anthologies. Katy and her husband live with five demanding cats in a small book-stuffed house in Falls Church, VA.

Preston Martin has published poems, or has forthcoming, in New Ohio Review, Iodine, Tar River Poetry, Chaffin Journal, Kakalak, Snapdragon, Appalachian Heritage, Pine Mountain Sand and Gravel, and other journals and anthologies. He lives in Chapel Hill, NC.

Celia Hooper Miles is a native of Jackson County and now lives and writes from Asheville. A retired community college instructor, she has recently published her tenth novel, the third in a series of "cozy and clean" mysteries all set in western NC: The Skeleton at the Old Painted Mill: A Marcy Dehanne Gist Mill Mystery. www.celiamiles.com 

Mona Miracle, born in a Kentucky mountain valley, has lived in California, Michigan, Florida; and for thirty years, Asheville, N.C. Mona was a featured presenter at South Florida Poetry Society, and a four-category winner in Florida Freelance Writers Annual Competition. Readers can sample her publications, including the novel Wesley’s Gift at Monaraemiracle.com; Amazon provides her ebooks and print formats. Currently developing a non-fiction book, she is researching technology and attitudes for successful aging.

Bev Ohler has been involved in theater, art and creative writing all of her life, much of it working and teaching at Warren Wilson College. Her early life in the Northeast appears in many of her books, and published material, although she loves living in NC. She contributes regularly to OMP, and lives in Black Mountain.

Karen O’Leary is a writer and editor from West Fargo, ND. She has published poetry, short stories, and articles in a variety of venues including, Frogpond, Setu, A Hundred Gourds, bear creek haiku, Shemom, Creative Inspirations and NeverEnding Story. Karen feels blessed to be a part of many Old Mountain Press Anthologies. She edited an international online journal called Whispers:

http://whispersinthewind333.blogspot.com/ for 5 ½ years. She enjoys sharing the gift of words.

Penny Olson loves to write. She currently lives in Weaverville NC with her wonderful husband Scott of 49 years and three rambunctious dogs. Her heart is divided between Weaverville and Tampa, Florida where her son and his lovely family live. She is blessed by many wonderful nurturing friends

Martha O’Quinn’s work has appeared in 39 previous OMP anthologies. She and her husband lived in WNC for 22 years and in 2018 moved to Georgia to be near family and former friends. Her poetry and non-fiction reflect her southern heritage, born in NC and living in four other southern states. Martha has four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, all subject to starring in poetry or prose.

Carol Passmore attended UNC-G, married and had three children, all born in Boulder, CO. In 1980 the family moved to Durham,NC where Carol worked at the reference desk at the Durham County Library. Since retirement she enjoys reading, gardening, yoga and writing poetry. She contributed to and co-edited a book of Quaker children stories which was translated into Russian.

Michael Potts authored the novels, End of Summer, Unpardonable Sin and Obedience as well as the poetry anthologies From Field to Thicket and Hiding from the Reaper. He lives with his wife, Karen, and ten cats in Coats, North Carolina.

Mary Ricketson lives in the Appalachian Mountains and works as a mental health counselor. Her poems often reflect the healing power of nature, surrounding mountains as midwife for her words. Her

recent published collections are Hanging Dog Creek, Shade and Shelter, and Mississippi: The Story of Luke and Marian.

Dwight Roth is a retired elementary school teacher of 29 years, who grew up in the mountains of Southwestern Pennsylvania. He enjoys writing poetry, painting, and music. He had his work in several OMP anthologies. He has self-published four memoirs and four books of poetry and three children’s books. He has nine books or booklets on Amazon Kindle. He and his wife Ruth live near Monroe, NC. He writes daily on his blog: https://rothpoetry.wordpress.com

Dr. Lynn Veach Sadler, writer/editor, lives in Burlington, NC. A former college president, she has 5 books and 72 articles and has edited 23 books/proceedings and 3 national journals and published 3 newspaper columns. Her creative writings are 11 poetry chapbooks and 4 full-length collections, 125+ short stories, 4 novels, a novella, 3 short story collections, 2 nonfiction collections, and 2 volumes of

plays (another in press). She was Central Region Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet 2013-2015.

Paul Sherman lives on the side of Mt. Mitchell outside of Burnsville, NC. His poems have appeared in several anthologies of Old Mountain Press as well as Silver Blade, and On the Inside of Outhouse Walls. He would like to wish a Merry Christmas to each and every writer who ever attended the WA Writers Retreat.

Rishan Singh has been instrumental in recognizing and promoting upcoming talent in South Africa, with events such as the World Scholars Cup being initiated at the Playhouse Theater. Through a record of outputs, he has attained commercial success, as well as, critical acclaim. He was recognized by the eThekwini Municipality in 2014, and the Golden International Honor Society in 2006. Apart from being published in the sciences, he is immensely involved in the arts. He can be contacted at rshnsingh@webmail.co.za.

Shelby Stephenson is the author of Family Matters: Homage to July, the Slave Girl, Bellday Books, winner of Bellday Prize. His most recent book is More. He lives near Benson, North Carolina, where he was born and raised.

Elaina Sarah Stone’s publishing history includes poetry in Shemom, The Jewish Press, and Mountain Places. Her professional

works, involving children with Autism and literacy needs, have been published in Building Blocks magazine. Ms. Stone is a second-year, 5th grade, special education teacher. She lives in Pittsford, NY.

Lois Greene Stone, writer and poet, has been syndicated worldwide. Poetry and personal essays have been included in hard & softcover book anthologies. Collections of her personal items/ photos/memorabilia are in major museums including twelve different divisions of The Smithsonian. The Smithsonian selected her photo to represent all teens from the 1940's-50's. She has been nominated for Best of the Net, and twice for Pushcart Prize.

Barbara Tate is an award winning artist and writer. Past President of the Tri-County Society of Fine arts in Cuyahoga Falls, OH she is a member of the British Haiku Society, the Haiku Society of America and Haiku Canada. Her work as been published in Storyteller, Santa Fe Literary Review, Modern Haiku, Contemporary Haibun Online and Akitsu Quarterly, as well as dozens of anthologies. She has a son, Duane Booth, 3 grandchildren, Justin, Brandon & Kaitlin, and great granddaughter Aubrianna in Akron, OH. "Even at my age, I’m still a work in progress".

Rebekah Timms lives in Greenwood, SC with her cat. She has four sons, seven grandchildren and three great-granddaughters. She has published a memoir of her mother and a collection of poems. She is currently working on a collection of poems, prose and short stories. Rebekah enjoys writing and feels that her work is an expression of her gratitude and joy of life.

Elizabeth Watson, in these trying times of the pandemic, finds writing her stories like soul food for her. It nourishes her as does the happy memories of that Christmas when the Watsons shared the joy of creating Goodwill. (Like a snowman’s melt down, may this virus disappear soon.) She and her husband look forward to celebrating in person with family and friends in Greenville SC and horizons beyond. Recently, she tallied up 22 of her short works published in Old Mountain Press and is pleased to have longer pieces accepted in other anthologies as well.

Glenda S. Wilkins grew up on a North Carolina tobacco farm, and believed she’d never live beyond the county line. Decades later, she moved with her husband to Europe for a dozen years. Her poems have been published in Europe, Great Britain, & North America. Thus far, she appreciates several poetry awards. She lives on an air strip, Winterville, NC.

Barbara Ledford Wright’s inspiration to write stories about her life and ancestors comes through many hours of family history research. Her work has appeared in many online entries, journals and anthologies, and almost all of the Old Mountain Press Anthologies series. Barbara resides in Shelby, NC.