Contributors

Derek Askey is an associate editor at The Sun. He lives in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife and very-brand-new son. If you like vast stretches of silence punctuated by second-rate wit, follow him on X: @derekaskey.

Joseph Bathanti grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He teaches at Appalachian State University and was inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame in 2024.

Elizabeth Miki Brina is still looking for where to call home, but wherever that is, she will live there with her literal road dog. She is the author of the memoir Speak, Okinawa.

Frederick Joseph once dreamed of being the next August Wilson. Nowadays, he fuels his creativity by giving his dog, Stokely, belly rubs in New York City parks. His latest book is We Alive, Beloved.

Mickie Kennedy is too afraid to read his horror comic book collection after dark. His first book of poetry, Worth Burning, will be published by Black Lawrence Press in February 2026. He lives in Baltimore County, Maryland.

Susan Neville is the author of several collections of fiction. Two of her stories have been awarded the Pushcart Prize. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Heather Sellers has never killed a plant. She is the author of the memoir You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know. She teaches at the University of South Florida and also offers private writing workshops.

Faith Shearin once dropped a message in a bottle into the ocean and received a reply. Her latest novel, Lost River, 1918, won the 2021 Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize. She lives in Vermont.

Andrea Carson has worked in both hair design and women’s reproductive health in Hawaii and New York City. She now raises children and chickens in Vermont.

Maria Dantas is a photographer, filmmaker, and art educator. Having worked in the UK, Brazil, Japan, and the US, she brings a global perspective to her teaching.

Georgiana Dobleagă is passionate about photography, languages (English and her native Romanian), and taking long walks. She hopes to help her young daughter find her own passions.

Gina Easley lives in Eugene, Oregon, with her husband, their dog, and a giant house spider in the basement named Webster.

Gloria Baker Feinstein has recently returned to blogging and tries to post every Monday morning. She fancies herself a photographer first, however. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Michael Galinsky lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and has contributed to The Sun for more than thirty-five years. He credits the magazine with his interest in all kinds of amazing things.

Julian Oliver Grant has lived with many cats and thinks it might be great to be one. He lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and enjoys storms, hiking, and foreign films. Follow him on Instagram: @julian.oliver.grant.photos.

Brody Hartman has turned his heart and lens toward the unhoused community in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina.

Sandra Hoover is working with her partner, Saul Bromberger, on a book about the LGBTQ community. She loves to take their dogs to the dog park and often makes delicious pies. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Mark Ivins has spent over thirty years in Longmont, Colorado, after growing up in New York City. His work is included in collections at the Longmont Museum and the Library of Congress.

Melina Meza is a yogi behind the lens and a tennis ace on the court. When not immersed in photography or serving aces, she’s dreaming up her next adventure or savoring a cup of dark-roast coffee. She lives in California.

Rabah Seffal grew up in Algeria, worked in Illinois as an engineer for twenty-five years, and now lives in North Africa, where he relishes fresh figs in the summer and olive-oil-soaked figs in the winter.

Marc Ward is a Florida-born artist who resides in the mountains of East Tennessee. Though he now lives on sloped ground, much of his work is still shaped by the expansive views of his home state’s flat land and water.

Mark Montgomery took this month’s cover photo in December 2023 outside a market in Dolores, Colorado, during a snowstorm. The dogs, Midge and Frank, are French mastiffs.