Write of Passage 2024

Fernanda Coutinho Teixeira is a fiction writer who deals in the fantastical, the scary, and the weird. Born in Rio de Janeiro, she is a Brazilian writer exploring themes of change, transformation, the reasons we leave and the reasons we stay. Her work has been featured in Strange Horizons, The Ex-Puritan and The Deadlands.

Kristi Dao is a creative nonfiction writer exploring the psychological differences between Eastern and Western Cultures. Her essays question gender roles and sexual relationships, consider the impact of society on perspective, and evaluate the components of true happiness.

Colleen Dieckmann’s upcoming collection is based on her hunt for heritage, healing, and the twists of DNA in poetic and hybrid forms. Originally from Chicago and Kentucky, Colleen has read across the country, co-hosted Nashville’s Pub of Love, and performed with the Nashville Poetry Slam Team. Colleen works in Orlando as an editor and college writing instructor.

Kianna Greene, raised simultaneously between Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia, is a poet and writer. Nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize, her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Coachella Review, Maudlin House, 3Elements Review, and Ruminate Magazine. Kianna is an alumna of The Kenyon Review’s Writers Workshop and currently serves as an Associate Poetry Editor for The Florida Review.

Michelle Munoz is a Provost Fellow and teaches in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric. She has been published in Hash Journal, Levitate, and Variant Lit. Michelle lives in Orlando with her three-legged cat, Levi.

Spencer Reynolds is a writer and teaches multi-genre creative writing. Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Spencer completed his BA at the University of DC. Spencer draws comics, writes songs, and runs a horror roleplaying game for his friends. He is Senior Associate Editor of The Florida Review.

Jessa Santiago is an aspiring teacher and writer who was born in the Philippines. She’s an avid bibliophile who enjoys expanding her reading list through her experiences as a freelance editor and as a former assistant editor from The Florida Review. She enjoys visiting local gardens, novelty bars, and accidentally scaring her friends.

Dani Sarta writes about her experiences as a queer, Hispanic transracial adoptee through experiments in hybridity across poetry and creative nonfiction. The goal of her thesis is to give a voice to a currently unrepresented demographic and create a platform for others like her to share their stories. Her work can be found in Beyond Queer Words and Honey Literary.