OUR EDITORS
KARAN KAPOOR
Editor-in-Chief
Karan Kapoor is the Editor-in-chief of ONLY POEMS and Strange Pilgrims. His poems have appeared in Best New Poets, AGNI, Shenandoah, North American Review, and elsewhere, fiction in JOYLAND and the other side of hope, and translations in The Offing and The Los Angeles Review. He also serves on the editorial board of Alice James Books.
EMAIL KARAN
SHANNAN MANN
Creative Director
Shannan Mann is the Creative Director of ONLY POEMS and the Nonfiction Editor of Strange Pilgrims. Her upcoming poetry collection God Has Nothing To Do With This was a finalist for the Michael Waters Poetry Prize. Awarded the Emily Morrison Short Story Award, Irene Adler Essay Prize, and Palette Poetry Love & Eros Prize, she’s also placed for the Rattle Poetry Prize, Auburn Witness Prize, and the Foster Poetry Prize. Her poems appear in Poetry Daily, Black Warrior Review, Missouri Review, Poet Lore, Gulf Coast, The Literary Review of Canada, & elsewhere. She also runs Sub Club.
EMAIL SHANNAN
SVETLANA LITVINCHUK
Managing Editor
Svetlana Litvinchuk is anticipating the release of her debut poetry collection, Navigating the Hallways by Starlight (Fernwood Press, May 2026). Nominated for Pushcart, Best of the Net, her poetry appears in Pleiades, swamp pink, Moon City Review, Iron Horse Literary Review, and elsewhere. She is the Events Manager with Chill Subs, and Columnist at Sub Club. Originally from Ukraine, she now tends her garden in Missouri.
EMAIL SVETLANA
ANDREEA CEPLINSCHI
Associate Editor
Andreea Ceplinschi is a Romanian immigrant writer, graphic designer, waitress, and kitchen worker, living and creating on the tip of Cape Cod. Her poetry, fiction, and CNF appears in One Art, Liminal Spaces Magazine, Anti-Heroin Chic, Oxford Public Philosophy, Women on Writing, and elsewhere. You can learn more about her on her Instagram.
EMAIL ANDREEA
EMMA MOTT
Reviews Editor
Emma Mott graduated from the University of South Florida with a creative writing degree, taught art at the Jacksonville Public Library, and then spent two years between Spain and the San Juan Islands. She loves writing that pinpoints the intersection between accessibility and complex thought. The Floridian has now settled in Wisconsin. If she hasn’t frozen yet, you can find her trawling the thrift stores. If she has frozen, send help!
EMAIL EMMA
MAIRA ASAAD
Assistant Editor
Maira Asaad is a writer and teacher from Lahore, Pakistan. She is a Fulbright Scholar and recent MFA Creative Writing graduate from Emerson College in Boston, MA. She has been a poetry editor for Redivider and SUNHOUSE Literary. She has also worked as an organizer for the LUMS Young Writer’s Workshop residency.
JACOB ANAVISCA
Assistant Editor
Jacob was raised in northern Massachusetts by his Dominican mother and Guatemalan-American father. His work appears in HNDL MAG. He tends to think about food (a lot), family, masculinity, and generational trauma when writing poems. In his spare time he has staring contests with American Robins and binge watches anime.
OUR ARTISTS
MARIAM CHAGELISHVILI
Illustrator
Mariam Chagelishvili is a Georgian visual development artist who works in a wide range of styles, creating cartoons, comics, storyboards, character designs, and editorial illustrations. As a founding member of the Georgian comic anthology MECOMICSE, she helps shape the local indie comics scene. Mariam is also passionate about animation, reading, and languages. She shares her work online under the handle @lokokinart.
TIM RAYMOND
Comic Artist
Tim Raymond lives in Seoul, South Korea, where he works as a barista. His fiction has appeared recently or will appear in Boulevard, Conjunctions, and Chicago Quarterly Review, among other publications. Find his comics about autism and gender on Instagram at @iamsitting.
OUR EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS
Our editorial assistants keep the whole chaotic, wonderful world of our indie lit mag from collapsing. They help with our socials, website, and inbox, contribute regularly, and occasionally talk us out of bad ideas. We’re very lucky they’re here.
OUR READERS
Our readers are an integral part of the editorial process. They help us sift through the long queues of submissions, offer thoughtful feedback, and join our longlist discussions with care and curiosity. Many have been with us for years, shaping the voice of the magazine behind the scenes. We couldn’t do this without them.
