Become an Emerge Author

Writers and artists work in the loneliest of all professions, inside our heads. Those writers who are daring enough to create and reveal a small part of their souls, are to be lauded. The staff of eMerge, and the thousands of eMerge readers, salute your courage and thank you for your submissions.

Submissions are currently closed. Be on the lookout for next year's submission period at the end of the year.

Submissions will be considered for inclusion in next year's issues of eMerge and submitters will be notified prior to publication.

Currently Featured Authors


Bill McCloud
Bill McCloud is a poetry editor for the Right Hand Pointing literary journal and is the poetry reviewer for Vietnam Veterans of America. His poetry book, The Smell of the Light, reached #1 on The Oklahoman’s “Oklahoma Bestsellers List." His poems have appeared in Oklahoma Today and the Oklahoma English Journal. He is a faculty member of William Bernhardt’s annual WriterCon, presenting sessions on writing and publishing poetry.

Posts in this issue: 1

Barbara Siegel Carlson
Barbara Siegel Carlson's third collection of poems What Drifted Here was published by Cherry Grove Collections in 2023. Her previous books are Once in Every Language (Kelsay Books 2017) and Fire Road (Dream Horse Press 2013). A chapbook Between the Hours was published in 2022. She is the co-translator of Look Back, Look Ahead, Selected Poems of Srečko Kosovel and co-editor of A Bridge of Voices: Contemporary Slovene Poetry and Perspectives. Carlson is a Poetry in Translation Editor of Solstice. She teaches in Boston and lives in Carver, Massachusetts.

Posts in this issue: 1

Zhenya Yevtushenko
Zhenya Yevtushenko is one of the sons of the late poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko. He is a published translator, a former substitute teacher and funeral home consultant. Currently, Zhenya has resumed pursuing his undergraduate degrees in Political Science, History and English. Zhenya aspires to become a Foreign Service Officer and a literary translator. He resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma and owes his inspiration to his brothers, his mother, and to the love of his life, Olivia.

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Elaine Alarcon
I have graduate degrees in Creative Writing and 20th Century Literature. My work has appeared in Solo Nova, Salt, Spillway, Askew, Blue Light Press, Orbis, The Denver Quarterly, the TOPANGA Messenger, The Canyon Chronicle, Words Out Loud(UK)and eMerge! Five of my poems appeared in the recent issue of Solo Voyage and I have been nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize.

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Antonia Love
I am originally from Houston, Texas. I moved to NW Arkansas in 2003 for the pristine and challenging natural environment of the Ozark forests. Now, I am a retired teacher, and finally have time to work on my writing projects. I am a member of the Ozark Mountain Poets and Poet’s Roundtable of Arkansas. I have enjoyed reading my poetry at many open mic opportunities around NW Arkansas for many years.

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Linda Neal Reising
Linda Neal Reising is a native of Oklahoma and citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Her books include: Re-Writing Family History (Finishing Line), The Keeping (Finishing Line), Stone Roses (Kelsay Books), and VIVIA-The Legend of Vivia Thomas: A Novelette in Poems (Kelsay Books). Forthcoming are Perpetual Astonishment (Beyond Words) and Cigar Box of Loss: Stories from Route 66 (Belle Point).

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Annie Klier Newcomer
When Annie Newcomer lost her brother, John Klier, Jewish Scholar and Russian Historian who lived and taught in London to misdiagnosed cancer in 2007, she was bereft. Writing saved her. Now she teaches Poetry and Play Writing at Turning Point, a center for the chronically ill associated with the University of Kansas. She endeavors to share this joy of the written word with others.

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Kenneth Weene
Sometimes Ken Weene writes to exorcise demons. Sometimes characters in his head demand to be heard. Sometimes he writes hoping what he has to say might amuse or inform. Mostly, however, he writes because it is a cheaper addiction than drugs, an easier than going to the gym, and a more sociable outlet than sitting at McDonald's drinking coffee with other old farts: in brief it keeps him a bit younger and more alive. The result has been a lot of words.

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Hilka West-Irvin
Hilka is a Minnesota native, who made Eureka Springs her home in 2014. She is a self- taught artist that works in various mediums- oils, acrylics, watercolor – all reflective of her mindset. She also writes poetry and short stories to fulfill her creative soul. Her work has been described as eclectic because she tends to paint & write from instinct instead of expectation. She enjoys working outside of her comfort zone and expressing herself through art & writing , which is always evolving.

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Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, Ph.D., the 2009-13 Kansas Poet Laureate is the author of 24 books, including How Time Moves: New & Selected Poems; Miriam's Well, a novel; Needle in the Bone, a non-fiction book on the Holocaust; The Sky Begins At Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community, and Coming Home to the Body. Founder of Transformative Language Arts, she leads writing workshops widely, coaches people on writing and right livelihood, and consults on creativity.

Posts in this issue: 1

Anna Gall
Anna Gall with her husband, Dean live in historic St. Charles, Missouri. Anna travels, gardens, cooks, teaches culinary classes at the local community college, antiques, reads, and writes two blogs on topics she is most passionate about, organic gardening, kitchen creations, home life, and wholeness as a woman. During her summer 2021 residency at the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow, Anna started her first book, a series of short stories with a culinary theme.

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Lea Ann Crisp
Lea Ann Crisp is an award-winning writer who has always loved writing poetry and short stories. She first began writing children’s books when she was a young mother. She has published two children’s books, We Need the Dark and Ryan’s Pirates. Crisp received national recognition for her work in graphic design and advertising before transitioning to a second career in Human Resources and ultimately starting her own business. She resides in the Ozarks where she spends as much time as possible in nature and is an avid birder. Besides writing, she enjoys painting and cooking.

Posts in this issue: 1

Carol Willis
Carol Willis (she/her) received an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She also served as a reader for VCFA’s literary journal, Hunger Mountain. Many of her short stories have been published or are forthcoming in several anthologies and multiple online zines including Inlandia: A Literary Journey, Living Crue Magazine, and Valparaiso Fiction Review, and many others.

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Jessica Hannon
My parents were young, divorced, broken people who raised me to do better than them. They wanted me to go to college and make lots of money. Instead got married at 19, had 5 kids before 30 and never finished school because I'm a rebel for one, and people have always been more important than things to me. I feel deeply and write passionately and hope that someone can relate to my writing and know they aren't alone, therefore, I also have company in this madness we call life.

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Ray Shermer
Ray spent 21 years in radio broadcasting followed by 27 years as a real estate appraiser. He taught real estate appraisal at the University of Missouri, Ozarks Technical Community College and St. Charles Community College. Ray loves writing and always has. After Ray retired he attained the Certificate in Higher Education in Creative Writing from Oxford University. Writing short stories for the Certificate was exciting especially since he was in his seventies. Since then the genre has become his obsession and he loves to write them often. His email is [email protected]

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D. L. Lang
D.L. Lang served as Poet Laureate of Vallejo, California. She is published in over 60 anthologies worldwide. She is a co-founder of Vallejo Poetry Society and a member of the Revolutionary Poets Brigade. She received proclamations from the California State Senate, California Arts Council, and Vallejo City Council for her service as poet laureate. When she isn’t performing or writing poetry, she enjoys bird watching, listening to 60s/70s music, and attending live music events.

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Mia Marion
Mia Marion is a poet, writer, and citizen of a metropolis considered modern, currently residing in New York. She has been published in Thimble Literary Magazine.

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Ronda Del Boccio
Rev. Dr. Ronda Del Boccio is an international speaker and best-selling author who has won awards for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and memoir. Although Ronda is mostly blind, she doesn't let that stop her from doing what she wants to do. She has also won awards for her art, photography, and cooking. Ronda is the current president of the Ozarks Writers League.

Posts in this issue: 1

Ron Wallace
Ron Wallace is an Oklahoma native and currently an adjunct instructor of English at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, in Durant, Oklahoma. He is the author of ten books of poetry, five of which have been finalists in the Oklahoma Book Awards. He has just finished editing Bull Buffalo and Indian Paintbrush, a collection of Oklahoma Poetry, and his first novel, A Secret Lies in New Orleans was a finalist in the 2021 Oklahoma Book Awards for fiction.

Posts in this issue: 1

Zeek Taylor
Zeek Taylor is a recipient of the Arkansas Governor's Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement. Best known for his stylized watercolors, he is also a storyteller, and author of two books. He has appeared twice on the NPR Tales from the South. A StoryCorps interview with Taylor aired on NPR’s Morning Edition show. He is the author of two memoirs, Out of the Delta and Out of the Delta II. The memoirs were combined into one volume and published under the title “Out of the Delta, the Anthology” by Sandy Springs Press. Taylor lives and works in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Posts in this issue: 1

Claire Collins
Claire Collins is a queer poet, teaching artist, and co-founder of Poetic Justice, a program that teaches literacy and poetry to incarcerated people. They are of Mohawk, French, and Dutch descent. As a member of the Six Nations of the Grand River, they are working to reconnect with Kanien'kéha (Mohawk) Language and literacies. They are currently working on a forthcoming collection of poetry that will be released in April 2024.

Posts in this issue: 1

Chidera Solomon Anikpe
Chidera Solomon Anikpe is a queer Nigerian storyteller. He is a lover of abstract art, contemporary Literatures and pop music. He tweets at @Chidera_Anikpe

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Sarah Butkovic
My name is Sarah Butkovic and I received my BA in English from Dominican University in May of 2021 and recently received my MA in English from Loyola University Chicago. As a writer, I have published creative and journalistic work within and outside an academic setting, including a news piece in a local Chicago paper. Ray Bradbury is my most frequent literary muse as well as my favorite author.

Posts in this issue: 1

Holly Ellison
Born and raised in New York City. I have been lucky enough to live in various countries, including France, where I wrote lyrics for French up-and-coming singers and jingles for radio stations. I now enjoy retired life on a ranch in Northwest Montana.

Posts in this issue: 1

Sreekanth Kopuri
Sreekanth Kopuri Ph.D. is an Indian poet from Machilipatnam. He is the Current poetry editor for The AutoEthnographer Journal Florida. Field Guide Poetry Magazine nominated his poem “Coffeeying the Day into the Song of Solomon” for 2023 Pushcart Prize. His book Poems of the Void was the winner of Golden Book of the year 2022. Kopuri lives with his mother in Machilipatnam

Posts in this issue: 1

Sallie Crotty
Sallie Crotty has published many places, including The Dairy Hollow Echo; The Drabble; eMerge; and Resources to Recover. The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow awarded her a residency in 2018. Sallie holds a B.A. in English from Sewanee: The University of the South, an Ed.M. from Harvard, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte. She is working on a poetry collection, and her memoir Out of the Ashes: A Story of Recovery and Hope was published in 2022.

Posts in this issue: 1

Daniel P. Stokes
Daniel P. Stokes has published poetry widely in literary magazines in Ireland, Britain, the U.S.A. and Canada, and has won several poetry prizes. He has written three stage plays which have been professionally produced in Dublin, London and at the Edinburgh Festival.

Posts in this issue: 1

Nidhi Agrawal
Nidhi’s writings and digital art have been featured by distinctive journals including Laurel Review, Altadena Libraries, University of North Dakota, Project Muse sponsored by John Hopkins University, Hobart Books, Orange Blossom Review (Florida College English Association), Writing Center at Washtenaw Community College, University of Illinois at Chicago, BYU College of Humanities and the Department of English, etc.

Posts in this issue: 1

Silence Dogood
Silence Dogood began his writing career as a typesetter for the New England Courant. After a conflict with the Mather family of Boston over vaccinations, Silence was forced to flee to Philadelphia, where he began working for another newspaper the Pennsylvania Gazette which he later purchased. Silence later worked with Al Gore to invent the Aqua Net for water soluble computers. The technology they developed was later purchased for an undisclosed amount that has been estimated to be in the tens of dollars. Silence now resides in the Ozarks.

Posts in this issue: 1

Julie Hoffman
Julie Wasmund Hoffman is an educator with Springfield Public Schools in Illinois. She is also an adjunct professor in the Teacher Education Program at University of Illinois Springfield. Her research interests include urban education, social and emotional learning, children’s literature, and empathy. Her passion is to help students who have experienced trauma find healing, resilience, and empowerment through their own writing and the writing of others.

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Aubrey Green
Aubrey Green is a freelance editor, poet, and storyteller living just outside Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her work has appeared in The Talon Literary Journal and Brio magazine. She enjoys rewriting terrible movie plots and spent almost a year living in China. Coffee is her love language.

Posts in this issue: 1

Laura Shell
Laura Shell took up writing again because her mother told her to just before she died. Laura will be published in Calliope, Chiron Review, Literally Stories, and will have an anthology of horror stories published in 2024. When she isn't writing, she watches horror movies with her dog, Groot. And her mother.

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Jack Albert
Long time Eureka Springs resident, restaurateur, poet, justice junky, Jack Albert has appeared in many formats thoughout the decades. But most importantly, his culinary hotspots have been the scenes for artistic, holistic and political comradery from New York City to Northwest Arkansas.

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Stephen Mead
Stephen Mead is a retired Civil Servant, having worked two decades for three state agencies. Before that his more personally fulfilling career was fifteen years in healthcare. Throughout all these jobs he was able to find time for writing poetry/essays, and creating art. Occasionally he even got paid for this work. Currently he is resident artist/curator for The Chroma Museum, artistic renderings of LGBTQI historical figures, organizations and allies predominantly before Stonewall.

Posts in this issue: 1

David Summerfield
David Summerfield is a graduate of Frostburg State University, Maryland, and a veteran of the Iraq war. He has been an editor, columnist, and contributor to various publications within his home state of West Virginia.  

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A. Johnston
Allan Johnston earned his M.A. in Creative Writing and his Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Davis. His poems have appeared in over sixty journals, including Poetry, Poetry East, Rattle, and Rhino. He has published three full-length poetry collections (Tasks of Survival, 1996; In a Window, 2018; Sable and Selected Poems, 2022) and three chapbooks (Northport, 2010; Departures, 2013; Contingencies, 2015).

Posts in this issue: 1

John Ganshaw
After 31 years in banking, John (he/him) retired to follow his dream of owning a hotel in Southeast Asia. This led to many new experiences enabling John to see the world through a different lens, leading him to write his story through essays, poetry, and a yet unpublished memoir. John’s work has appeared in Native Skin, Runamok Books/Growerly, Post Roe Alternatives, Fleas on the Dog, OMQ, Disabled Tales, Unlikely Stories, and many others.

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Jeanean Doherty
Jeanean Doherty is a wannabe author who penned short stories and journals for fun but wasn’t sure what to do with them. She dreamed of creating an epic novel “someday”—or, at least, a book a few people would enjoy reading. She recently discovered writers’ groups, conferences, and contests and was encouraged to be a winner in every competition she entered. Finally, she is hard at work writing an extensively researched historical narrative while writing shorter pieces to improve her writing craft.

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Charles Templeton
Charles Templeton is the author of the best-selling, surreal historical novel, Boot: A Sorta Novel of Vietnam. When he is not singing at the Metropolitan Opera, you can find him in Eureka Springs, where he is currently an editor/publisher at eMerge, an online literary magazine. Charles wakes up daily and is thankful for the opportunity to offer creative literature to a diverse audience from emerging and established authors. He knows that whatever vicissitudes life throws at him, it will always be better than shovelin’ shit in the South China Sea.

Posts in this issue: 1

Former Contributors