Noëlle is an interdisciplinary storyteller living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds BAs in theatre and dance from UC San Diego and is as happy as an off-leash dog to be entering her fourth year in the MFA program in creative writing at San José State University, where she writes nonfiction, plays, and poems. Noëlle served as marketing director and poetry editor for Reed Magazine 157 and as lead nonfiction editor for Reed 158. She loves writing that makes her sit up, lean in, hold her breath, laugh unexpectedly, or move her body in the subtlest of ways. When not bent over a page, she can be found squeezing fresh juice, hiking in the redwoods, or strumming a ukulele.

Raised in San José, California, Rye completed their BA in English at San José State University and is now heading into their second year in the MFA program in creative writing, focusing in fiction and nonfiction. Between classes and coursework, Rye manages the Poets and Writers Coalition Club at SJSU as its president, directing, coordinating, and designing its student-led, biannual zine project, which is going into its ninth issue in fall 2025. For Reed Magazine 159, Rye is looking for a piece that they can fall into and get lost in and then still be thinking about days later. In whatever spare moment they have left, Rye reads, writes, plays video games, and photographs their cats.

Katherine Hamilton is a multidisciplinary artist whose creative nonfiction explores intersectional and multicultural experiences. She holds a BA in English and theatre directing from UC Santa Barbara, and is pursuing an MFA in creative writing at San José State University. Katherine is interested in bold work that pushes boundaries, lends language to the unspoken, and lingers long after the story ends. Let's go to the unexplored corners of the mind, however dark or joyful, heartbreaking or hopeful. When not consumed by a book or story, Katherine can be found dancing and performing salsa and bachata. 

Liam Leslie is an educator, archivist, and writer originally from Wyoming. He is inspired by works that expand and subvert literary paradigms and subsequently offer new forms of expression. For Reed Magazine 159, he is looking for pieces that take the question “What is poetry?” as an invitation to honor tradition with a twist, as a challenge to usher in a new form, and/or as a call to engage each shape and edge that makes us human. He cannot wait to experience the talent and intensity sure to find its way into Reed 159! In the spare moments when Liam isn’t writing, reading, or teaching, he enjoys cooking and watching dreadful reality television shows. 

As a creative writer, cartoonist, and animator with a visual arts academic background, Michael Muszynski is searching for stories that exist beyond words. What truth lies in the strokes and pixels of your composition—past its aesthetics—and what does your piece honestly illustrate, courageously challenge, or passionately create? Born and raised in Sacramento, California, Michael currently studies creative writing at San José State University. When not reading, writing, or drawing, he is usually playing video games or screaming at the TV while watching football.

After a career in technical editing and writing in the software industry, Marilyn is now a fourth-year MFA student at San José State University, where she writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry–sometimes all at once. She holds a BA in Japanese and an MA in English, and has authored the award-winning novels Found Things and Full Cicada Moon, several short stories, and Pushcart Prize-nominated poems. Marilyn enjoyed reading poetry submissions for Reed Magazine 157 and nonfiction submissions for Reed 158, and now at the 159 copy desk she polishes the jots and tittles while ensuring that each author's unique voice, style, and intentions are preserved. At home she explores family history and marvels at hummingbirds in her backyard.

Sharmaine is a writer and marketer based in San José, California, who is always looking for creative work of inquiry—writing as an attempt to understand the world around us. She holds BAs in international relations and linguistics from Boston University and an MA in linguistics from San José State University. She’s now in the second year of her MFA program. Sharmaine has worked in marketing across tech, government, higher education, and nonprofit industries and is thrilled to be leading the marketing team for Reed Magazine 159, after serving on the design team for Reed 158. When she’s not reading or writing, Sharmaine loves to make things with her hands, whether that’s food, garments, or music.

Angel was born and raised in San Jose, California. He is an undergraduate student in the Technical and Professional Writing Program at San José State University. When not mulling over visual rhetoric, Angel extends his bemusement to apostrophe in Literature. There, he attends to this device in his poetry and essays on language and spirituality. In his free time, Angel can be found Ginga-ing at the beach or scrolling through TikTok.