Issue 160 Editors
Reed Magazine
Managing Editor
Liam Leslie
Liam Leslie is a writer, educator, and archivist originally from Wyoming. Before stepping into the role of managing editor, Liam served as lead poetry editor and archive director for Reed. For the 160th issue, he encourages contributors to submit works that expand and subvert literary paradigms and subsequently offer new forms of expression. He cannot wait to experience the talent and intensity sure to find its way into Reed 160! In the spare moments when Liam isn’t writing, reading, or teaching, he enjoys cooking and watching dreadful reality television shows.
Fiction Editor
Katherine Hamilton
Katherine Hamilton is a multidisciplinary artist whose creative nonfiction explores intersectional and multicultural experiences. As an MFA student at San José Student University, she is currently working on a memoir and a hybrid research project exploring Mexican-American history in Silicon Valley. She also served as the senior nonfiction editor for Issue 159. Katherine is interested in work that pushes the boundaries of form, genre, and readers, and which lingers in the mind long after the story ends. Work that forces us off the page and into reality, however harsh, tender, or unexpected. And work that uses the thoughtful craft of language to tell the story the way only each of us can. When not consumed by a book or story, Katherine can be found dancing salsa and bachata with SJSU's Spartan Mambo.
Nonfiction Editor
Dominic Dimapilis
Dominic Dimapilis is a memoirist from Murrieta, California. He is currently working toward an MFA in creative writing at San José State University. Dominic served as the Senior Emerging Voices Editor for Reed 159 and is absolutely thrilled to serve as Senior Nonfiction Editor for Reed 160. Dominic is looking for creative nonfiction that is unafraid to delve deep into the most brutal and most beautiful corners of the human condition. When he isn’t parsing the slush pile, Dominic can most likely be found at an overpriced cafe or a record store.
Poetry Editor
Antony Cucina
Antony Cucina is a genre-bending artist and writer from Santa Rosa, California. After completing an Associate degree in Art at Santa Rosa Junior College, he transferred to San José State University to continue his studies as a Graphic Design major and Creative Writing minor. They served on the poetry and design teams for Reed 159, and are excited to take on more poems for Reed 160. Antony hopes to find poetry with a spark that echoes in his mind and sends ripples out into the world. When not drowning in design work or engrossed in a book, Antony enjoys playing violin, doodling in their journal, and laughing at bad movies.
Art Editor
Alanah Hunsdorfer
Alanah Hunsdorfer is a poet and short story writer from Salinas, California. She holds a BA in Humanities and Communication from CSU Monterey Bay and is now working towards an MFA in creative writing at San José State University. Alanah served as Director of Design for Issue 158 of Reed Magazine, and she is ecstatic to be a part of the creation of Reed 160. Alanah is searching for art that takes up space, shatters expectations, and questions first perceptions: art that unsettles. In her ever-fleeting spare time, Alanah loves a good queer read, feminist poetics, and horror stories that leave a pit in her stomach.
Copyediting Director
Marilyn Copley Hilton
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.
Marketing Director
Sharmaine Sun
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.
Editor in Chief
Brook McClurg
Brook is assistant professor of nonfiction in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at San José State University. A Fulbright research fellow, his nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and translation work has appeared in several literary journals, and his essay “Geometry of Absence” was listed as a Notable Essay in The Best American Essays 2021. His first book, A Dictionary of Modern Consternation, won the Permafrost Prize in Nonfiction and was published in summer 2024. His editorial interests are informed by his own experience in the slush pile of a few literary journals while still a student. He has written for daily and monthly publications, domestic and foreign, in both print and web environments.