Editors and Contributors
Rose Gorman, Editor
Rose received her MA in English and creative writing at SUNY Binghamton University, where she became especially interested in the epistolary novel, flash fiction, and memoir. She was the advice columnist and book reviewer for Buzz! Entertainment Guide, and her work has appeared in The Bridge, Paste Magazine, and Six Bricks Press’ Six Little Things online magazine. Rose lives in the ever-changing Bed Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, and currently leads NYWC workshops at New Alternatives, an organization that serves LGBT homeless youth. You can follow her on Twitter here: @roegoe
Rebecca McCray, Social Justice Editor
Rebecca has worked as an educator and researcher at the Iowa Correctional Institute for Women, the Iowa Juvenile Home, and Rikers Island, facilitating classes in creative writing, visual art, and debate. She works as a paralegal with the Criminal Law Reform Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, which seeks an end to excessively harsh crime policies that result in mass incarceration. She is a regular contributor to the blogs of the ACLU and Full Stop Magazine. An Iowa native, she lives and writes in Brooklyn. You can follow her on Twitter here: @rebeccakmccray
Tory Meringoff, Writing Prompts Editor
Tory is a new addition to the NYWC and is thrilled to be part of their unique mission. She currently has the pleasure of leading two workshops for NYC’s Seniors; one at the 14th St. YMCA and one at SAGE. Tory was born and raised in Manhattan, leaving only temporarily to major in English at Cornell University with a concentration in African American Literature. She has since proved unable to resist the artistic lure of NYC, where she currently writes and reads creative nonfiction. She particularly enjoys deconstructions of popular culture through a feminist lens and believes in the power of endless humor and wordplay–both in writing and in life.
Danielle Smith, Arts Editor
Danielle is a recent graduate of Queens College where she majored in English and Journalism. With a fondness for fiction and nonfiction writing she has decided to fulfill her Masters in creative writing, fiction. As she awaits her letters from her preferred universities she lends her time to leading workshops with the New York Writers Coalition, writing short stories and submitting her work to various writing mediums. This Queens native has recently relocated to the Hudson Valley where she lives, writes and blogs about the transition from a lifetime of borough dwelling to inhabiting the bottom of a mountain.
Kristina Villarini, Arts Editor
Kristina is a native New Yorker, book junkie and lover of all things creative. She is the Chief Creativity Enforcer at KristinaVillarini.com. Her writing has been featured all over the web, tackling subjects like music, fashion and art. She runs her own consulting firm, and when she’s not doing that, she’s at the dog park with her Shiba Inu, Brady. And tweeting a lot. Read them: @y2kristinaholic
Contributors
Ann Banks has reviewed children’s books for the New York Times and Parents Magazine and has published seven books for children. Her journalism has appeared in many national magazines and newspapers, some of which are still in existence. She serves on the boards of the Writers’ Room, City Lore, and the Coney Island History Project. Learn more about Ann here.
Joelle Blackstock was born and raised in Hollis, New York. She attended Temple University, where she majored in both Film and African-American Studies. She later pursued a Master’s Degree from New York University in Africana Studies. Thesis: “The Scourged Back of Hip Hop: the Commodification of the Wounded Black Body,” and exploration of how the black body in pain is made available for public consumption in hip-hop culture. She currently resides in Queens, New York and is a NYC Civic Corps Member serving at the New York Writers Coalition.
Colleen Breslin joined NYWC in November 2012 as a workshop leader. Having no concrete ideas about what community of writers will best suit her, she looks forward to what will open up. And to joining the Coalition’s movement to create space for new voices and new perspectives. When she is not acting like a lawyer in her gig with the National Labor Relations Board, Colleen is thinking about democracy in the workplace and watching the kids on her Clinton Hill block play sidewalk soccer. She hopes the ideas that come to her will find themselves in full written form one of these days.
Michael Charboneau is a sophomore at Fordham University in the Bronx, where he studies English and photography. He has contributed poetry and photography to Fordham’s literary magazine, The Ampersand, as well as serving as its secretary and copy editor. He has also written articles for Fordham’s student newspaper, The Ram. He hopes to find a career involving writing, taking photos, and experiencing all that the world has to offer.
Jessica Cohen is a senior at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, where she double-majors in political science and Spanish. Jessica is an avid writer, and her poetry and essays focus on examinations of the human condition, the intricacies of life, and the fulfillment of human happiness. Through her writing, hopes to evoke introspection and self-reflection. Read more of her writing at Who Knows When What.
Dara K. Fulton writes for Examiner.com covering news stories ranging from adult literacy/ESL to the MTA. She hosts her own blog called Dara’s Creative Corner where she writes poetry, short stories, and daily life’s happenings. Dara has been an ESL teacher for seven years teaching English to immigrant adults. She is passionate about adult education and continues to advocate for more funding of ESL programs. Dara is currently a NYC Civic Corps member and volunteers for several organizations including Time Banks NYC, NY Cares, and the American Red Cross. She is also a MSW student attending the University of Southern California School of Social Work. Her concentration is mental illness.
Michele Gilliam is a student at CUNY Hunter College, an assistant elementary school teacher and a Co-Chair of the Education Committee at the Queens County Young Democrats. As a former intern, she is grateful to have discovered NY Writers Coalition and consequently found herself as a writer. She is a member of two separate playwriting workshops- the UX play writing workshop at the Castillo Theater and the Black Playwrights Group at the Liberation Theater- where she has written her first play Displaced.
Lauren Hudson is a recent graduate from Sarah Lawrence College, where she concentrated in studio arts and political geography. Her interests include solidarity economics, feminist geography, and participatory action research. She is currently a NYC Civic Corps Member serving at the New York Writers Coalition and a studio assistant at the Gowanus Print Lab. She lives in Brooklyn.
Christopher Oklyn was born in Paris, France and grew up in Cardiff, Wales. He attended Northwestern University in Chicago, where he majored in communications and economics. He is a recent migrant to Brooklyn and currently works for a community development financial institution in Manhattan. Christopher is a playwright, a poet, and a blogger, with interests in improv, social activism, and travel.
Giovannah Phillipeaux is a writer, editor, artisan, and entrepreneur. Graduating with honors, she received her Bachelor’s degree in anthropology and is currently working as a freelancer and artisan. She creates unique and all natural soaps, scarves, and jewelry for her Etsy store, Gigi’s Little Shop. She hopes to one day expand her shop to include salty and sweet snacks.
Hilary Sortor is the acting director of the Writing Center at The City College of New York, where she also teaches composition. As a volunteer for the NY Writers Coalition, she led creative writing workshop for adults at St Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan and is a member of the organization’s Workshop Leader Board.
