Meet Unleash!
Jen Knox
Founder / Director
A widely-published writer of short fiction and essays, Jen has work in such journals as Room Magazine, CutBank, Chicago Tribune, McSweeney’s Internet Quarterly, Saturday Evening Post, New Winning Writers, The Best Small Fictions, and elsewhere. Winner of the Montana Prize for the Essay, The San Miguel Essay Prize, The Press American Award for Prose, and the Steel Toe Books Award, other honors include residencies and grants from the Ohio Arts Council, The Greater Columbus Arts Council, Vermont Studio Center, and The Ou Gallery. Jen holds an MFA from Bennington and is at work on a collection of essays. Her first historical novel, Radicals, will be published by Library Tales/Simon & Schuster late 2026. Jen writes The Resilient Creative where she posts meditations and prompts and invites writers to join monthly creativity circles.
Ashley Holloway
Editorial Director
Self-proclaimed logophile and devourer of books, Ashley Holloway teaches writing classes and healthcare leadership in Calgary, AB, Canada. She writes in a variety of genres, including fiction, creative nonfiction, essays, and poetry, with work appearing across Canada and the US. Ashley has co-authored three books (with Jen Knox!) and her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Her debut children's book will be released in 2026.
Chris Shanahan
Artistic Director
Chris Shanahan is an economist and artist who specializes in portraits, murals, infographics, data visualization, multimedia painting, typography (or *legal* graffiti), acrylic, oil, and illustrations for children's books as well as book cover design.
Chris's customized portraits range from amusing to realistic. He is also an Excel wizard.
See Chris's artwork here. Connect with him about business graphics or custom illustrations here.
Laura Esther Sciortino
Poetry Editor
Laura Esther Sciortino is a writing coach/consultant, copywriter, and typewriter poet offering on-the-spot bespoke poetry for people at events and celebrations. Laura writes and performs poetry, fiction, and essays. Her work has been published by Great Weather for Media, The Comstock Review, Unleash Lit, The Chestnut Review, Dadakuku, The Flying Dodo, among others. Laura's slender book of poems, Remote Control, was published by The Poetry Box. To learn more and get in touch, please visit TheTypewriterPoet.org, Swivel.Consulting, and follow @thetypewriterpoetPDX.
Carol Fischbach
Publications Co-Chair
Carol Fischbach is a writer with an MFA in Creative Nonfiction, a retired RN, Reiki master, and a student archetype with several other degrees, but her favorite classroom is everyday life and listening to and reading others’ stories. Writing is the portal through which she enters her life, seeks insight, reframes it, forgives it. Her essay Butterflies, Berries, and Beef won 2nd place in the WBNA 2020 Creative Nonfiction Contest. She has been published in Khora, Propeller, Nailed Magazine, Oregon East, Tide Pools, and the Port Townsend Leader. She has written and performed several monologues with Beth Dunnington Bornstein’s Performing the Story groups. She has also performed at ROAR, a platform for fierce feminine storytelling. She is currently working on a memoir.
Felix Ramos
Reader
Meet Felix. He has his Bachelor's Degree in Creative Writing from Stockton University. His writing is full of magic, fantasy, and passion. He enjoys writing young adult, magical realism, sci-fi, and fantasy fiction. When he is not writing he is finding new hobbies to keep his creative mind running. These days those hobbies are collecting gemstones, meditating, herbology, and learning to draw. His adaptability and curiosity is found in the various genres he reads and also writes about. His most recent story, "Monsters aren’t Real," can be found in Stockton’s journal, Stockpot 2022.
Christina Valentine Larsen
Publications Co-Chair
Christina Valentine Larsen lives in Vancouver WA. Tina loves to be in nature walking and hugging trees, spending time with family and friends and reading. She is a teacher, retired nurse, Reiki master and author. Her first book My Own Darling: A Love Story for the Ages from the Greatest Generation was published in 2017. She is currently working on a memoir An Uneven Life: Grief and Other Shenanigans.
Richard C McPherson
Special Projects
Richard C. McPherson provided management and communication consulting to nonprofit boards and executives including NPR, PBS, the NY Public Library, Catholic Charities, Cornell University, the Center for Investigative Reporting, many children’s hospitals, and women’s rights organizations in the US, Europe, and Hong Kong. He taught at Columbia, New York University, and UCLA. Click here to learn more about McPherson.
Tyler Bolich
Editor
Tyler Bolich, author of "The Monkey in my Room," is a writer hailing from South Jersey who specializes in Flash Fiction, though he dabbles in Novels, short stories, and poetry as well. Tyler studied creative writing, literature, and editing at Stockton University. Keep an eye out, because he is a pretty chill dude.
Tyler Bolich
Editor
Tyler Bolich, author of "The Monkey in my Room," is a writer hailing from South Jersey who specializes in Flash Fiction, though he dabbles in Novels, short stories, and poetry as well. Tyler studied creative writing, literature, and editing at Stockton University. Keep an eye out, because he is a pretty chill dude.
Tiffany Sciacca
Reader, Editor
Tiffany Sciacca was born in a small town, fled her small town, and is back again. She is a poet new to the Flash Fiction genre, whose work has appeared in SmokeLong Quarterly, MER, Pidgeonholes, and Blink-Ink. When not writing, she watches horror movies and haunts thrift stores.