Johnmichael Simon	Codes	Johnmichael Simon was born in England, grew up in South Africa and has lived in Israel since 1963.  He has published two solo books of poems: ‘Sonatina’ –  largely on musical subjects and ‘Bordwinot’ – a mix of ballads balderdash and other strange ingredients, as well as two collections in collaboration with partner Helen Bar-Lev: ‘Cyclamens and Swords’ – poems and  illustrations about the land of Israel and ‘Silly Wishes’ – an illustrated collection of fun poems for children of all ages.  Johnmichael has been awarded several prizes in international poetry competitions: first and third places in the Reuben Rose, first place in the Margaret Reid, third place in the Tom Howard plus numerous honorable mentions in other contests.
Charles P. Ries	The River	Charles P. Ries lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His narrative poems, short stories, interviews and poetry reviews have appeared in over two hundred print and electronic publications. He has received four Pushcart Prize nominations for his writing.  He is the author of THE FATHERS WE FIND, a novel based on memory and five books of poetry. He is the poetry editor for Word Riot (www.wordriot.org). He is on the board of the Woodland Pattern Bookstore and a member of the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission. But most of all he is a founding member of the Lake Shore Surf Club, the oldest fresh water surfing club on the Great Lakes. You may find additional samples of his work by going to: http://www.literati.net/Ries/
Mindy Aber Barad	The Sixth Day	Ms. Barad moved to Israel in 1977, has a BA from Washington University (St. Louis), and an LLB from Hebrew University. She practiced law, but writing is her first career choice. In 1997 Ms. Barad won second prize in the Jewish Librarians' Choice competition for a children's story, Hannah's Succah (published in a Pitspopany anthology: Jewish Humor Stories for Kids). Her poetry, stories, book reviews and essays have been published in Wild Plum, Current Accounts, the Jerusalem Post, the Jewish Press and other publications both on and off line.
Clara Szalai	Merging	Philosopher, writer, and speaker, Clara Szalai was born in Hungary. She is the author of The God Maker – How God Became God (fiction). She is freelance writer for Maariv's NRG. Holophany is Clara Szalai's revolutionary philosophy, a consistent and complete worldview that is awakening growing interest among scientists and laymen. Clara Szalai is also the author of the book, Holophany, the Loop of Creation (non-fiction). She lives in Israel with her dear companion, 15 cats and 5 dogs. More information about Ms. Szalai's work is available from her web site, www.holophany.com and about The God Maker – How God Became God in Hebrew in www.tgm.co.il
L.V. Sadler	Fishing for Shekels	Former college president Dr. Lynn Veach Sadler has published widely in academics and creative writing.  Editor, poet, fiction/creative nonfiction writer, and playwright, she has a full-length poetry collection forthcoming and has published several chapbooks.  She has won The Pittsburgh Quarterly’s Hay Prize, the Poetry Society of America’s Hemley Award, and Asphodel’s Poetry Contest and tied for first place in Kalliope’s Elkind Contest.
Goldie Alexander	Chicken	Goldie Alexander has worked as a freelance writer/teacher for the last two decades. In that time she has written 60 prize-winning books for children of all ages and many short stories, articles, scripts and radio talks. She likes to delve into various forms of writing and is passionate about creating and fine-tuning her own work.  Her latest books for adults include 2 culinary murder mysteries: “UnJust Desserts”  + “UnKind Cut” and the historical fiction" Body and Soul" set in Melbourne 1938. Her latest books for children include "Bridging the Snowy” and the “Health and Understanding" maga-books series.The story picture book "Lame Duck Protest” and an anthology for older children, “My Horrible Cousins and other stories” will appear later this year. You can find out more about her on www.goldiealexander.com
Helen Bar-Lev	The Woman Who Had Four Names	Helen Bar-Lev was born in New York City in 1942.  She has lived in Israel for 36 years.  Since 1976 Helen has devoted herself to art: painting, teaching and writing poetry.  From 1989 - 2001 she was a member of the Safad Artists’ Colony where she had her own gallery.  To date Bar-Lev has had 80 exhibitions, including 30 one-person shows.  Her poems and paintings have appeared in numerous online journals and print anthologies.  ‘Cyclamens and Swords’ with poems of Israel by Helen and Johnmichael Simon and Helen’s paintings has been published by Ibbetson Press, Boston, Mass. Helen is Editor-in-Chief of the Voices Israel annual Anthology. Website www.helenbarlev.com
J.B. Mulligan	Digging Holes	J.B. Mulligan has had poems and stories in dozens of magazines, including recently, Tattoo Highway, Doorknobs & Bodypaint, The Chimaera, Numbat, Poetry Midwest and Blue Unicorn, and two chapbooks: The Stations of the Cross and THIS WAY TO THE EGRESS, and has appeared in the anthology Inside Out: A Gathering of Poets (http://www.geocities.com/anneyohn2003/index.htm)
Scott Baumgartner	Before	Scott Baumgarten graduated from the creative writing program at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, in 2007.  He splits his time between Washington, DC, where he teaches English at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School and his family's home in New Hampshire, where he grew up.  When he's not making lesson plans or grading papers, Scott is working on a memoir of his first year of teaching at a reform school in rural Massachusetts.
Magdalena Ball	The Slam of Car Brakes	Magdalena Ball's short stories, editorials, poetry, reviews and articles have appeared in a wide number of printed anthologies and journals, and have won local and international awards for poetry and fiction. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from CCNY (New York), an MBA from CharlesStuart University (Wagga), and has studied literature on a postgraduate level at Oxford University (UK). She also works as a manuscript assessor for Manuscripts Online, is a member of the BookConnector Advisory Board, an Evaluative Reader for Catchfire Press, and Information Manager for Orica. She is the author of a novel Sleep Before Evening, a non-fiction book, The Art of Assessment, and a poetry chapbook Quark Soup. Magdalena lives in on a rural property in New South Wales with her husband and three beautiful children.
Howard Goldenberg	Next Door to Paradise	Howard Goldenberg is an Australian writer, whose maiden book, My Father's Compass, a memoir of an unknown orthodox Jewish doctor who raised his observant family in the Australian outback has sold out its first edition. The story below forms one chapter in a new nonfiction work to be published in 2009 under the title 'RAFT'- the reactions of an Aussie Jewish writer to the devastation of outback Aboriginal life. The author, in his biographical note states: Howard Goldenberg was raised in a small country town in rural Australia. On his father's side, he is descended from the Gaon (Genius) of Vilna, and on his mother's from Cyril Coleman, pearl diver, polo player and one-stringed violinist, of Broome. His parents were exemplary citizens, devoted Jews in a gentile world, and admired by all who knew them. As a young man, Howard came naturally to the belief that life was good and that people were good, but now wonders whether this belief, like the dry soils of the Murrumbidgee riverina of his youth, had been artificially watered?  Howard has run thirty-six full marathons and completed sixty-two laps of the sun.