Born Arthur Clayton McWilliams IV, “Artie” is an artist and aspiring storyteller in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 2013, he graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in English Literature, having minored in Art and Ethnic Studies. Amassing over forty-thousand followers on his TikTok channel after profiling black, deaf educator, Andrew Foster, Mack uses his social media to push conversations about monoculture, disability justice, and deaf and hard of hearing experiences. These conversations fueled Mack’s inspiration behind his imaginary, hand drawn comic book covers as he explored the potentials of black deaf fantasy, and he debuted these book covers during his third art exhibition, “VIS,” at the Lux Center For the Arts in February of 2023. From interacting with the local Girl Scouts to selling out of baked goods at the Made Here Market in the South Everett neighborhoods of Lincoln, Mack uses his various platforms to spread deaf awareness by sharing his lived experiences and promoting Sign Language visibility through his t-shirts “Learn ASL for Someone You Love.”

Learn more about Artie here.

Wendy Jones is a poet and copy editor currently residing in Durham, North Carolina. She is the Slam Coordinator for the Bull City Slam Team based at the Hayti Heritage Center in Durham, North Carolina, the President of the Black on Black Rhyme Carolina chapter, assistant tournament director for Exit 36 Poetry Festival in Pompano Beach, Florida and most recently she has been appointed to the South Carolina arts council poetry fellowship panel. She is an artistic curator, workshop facilitator and event planner who has been an integral part of the planning and development of numerous Spoken Word projects and Slams along the southeast corridor over the past 15 years on a local and regional level, including Southern Fried Poetry Slam and Duo Slam. She has edited numerous collections of poetry and short story books for Southern based authors and is looking to expand into publishing in 2024.

Brad Aaron Modlin wrote Everyone at This Party Has Two Names and Surviving in Drought His poems appear on Poetry Unbound; The Slowdown with U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. His work has been the basis for a Brooklyn art exhibit, two orchestral scores, and some TikTok viralness. He is The Reynolds Endowed Chair in Creative Writing at University of Nebraska in Kearney, where he teaches undergrads and graduates. In the fall, he’s leading a study abroad trip full of poetry, long-distance walking, and best attempts at French.

Learn more about Brad here.

Sri Lankan artist and activist Sharmila Seyyid’s unwavering support for women’s rights began in 2006 and intensified after the Sri Lankan civil war, where she focused on empowering minority women. Due to her fearless writing and activism, Sharmila was forced to leave her homeland, but her importance was recognized by the IIE – Artist Protection Fund Fellowship. This led her to find refuge and collaborate with the renowned Leonard and Shirley Goldstien Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and the influential Sam and Frances Fried Academy Holocaust and Genocide Academy at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She was a visiting research fellow at the UNO in 2021–2022, and she is now a political science department teaching assistant.

As an accomplished author, Sharmila Seyyid has made valuable contributions to literature through her fiction, non-fiction, short stories, poetry and research. Her book Ummath was awarded the Best Novel of the Year 2014 and is available in English through HarperCollins.

Vic(tory) Klafter grew up in Norfolk, Nebraska and has claimed Lincoln as his chosen hometown. He participated in Nebraska Writer’s Collective’s high school poetry program, which connected them with folks and ideas that shepherded them through college. He was a founding member of Slam Poetry at UNL and competed at the national collegiate slam poetry competition. His current writing leans toward micro nonfiction (so small sometimes even he can’t see it). He has worked in community organizing and has played a role in various Trans rights, housing rights, and economic justice campaigns and demonstrations. Vic values young people’s insight and audacity to tell necessary truths about our world and believes in the power of poetry to amplify their voices.

Matt Mason is the Nebraska State Poet and has run poetry workshops in Botswana, Romania, Nepal, and Belarus for the U.S. State Department. His poetry has appeared in The New York Times and Matt has received a Pushcart Prize as well as fellowships from the Academy of American Poets and the Nebraska Arts Council. His work can be found in Rattle, Poet Lore, Prairie Schooner, and in hundreds of other publications. Mason's 5th book, Rock Stars, was published by Button Poetry in September of this year.

Find more about Matt here.

Rachel Olsen joined the Willa Cather Foundation as a tour guide in October 2017 and has since worked in a variety of educational roles before becoming the Director of Education and Engagement in 2022. A former college English teacher, she enjoys developing activities and content designed to preserve Cather’s rich literary history. In addition to supervising a team of programming and visitor services staff, Rachel organizes the Teacher Institute and Author Series programs, oversees Opera House seasons of events, plans conferences and seminars, and fosters relationships with educators from area schools, colleges, and universities. Rachel has a Master's degree in English from Kansas State University with a certificate in Women’s Studies and was a full-time faculty member and writing center director at Oklahoma City Community College before moving to Red Cloud. When she is not getting to know visitors or working on educator resources, Rachel serves on The Valley Child Development Center Board of Directors as secretary. Rachel loves cooking and going to the movies, but she is happiest spending time with her husband and daughter.