Get to know our Alumni Leaders
We’re incredibly grateful for all the work these Alumni do to make the PocketMFA community a lifelong home for every one of our writers.
Snehal Amembal
Recruitment Ambassador
Snehal Amembal is a freelance writer and poet based in Surrey (UK). Her writing primarily reflects her motherhood journey, memories of her own childhood and the essence of everyday moments which she tries to document on her blog ,‘ Notes On The Go www.notesonthego.co.uk She has authored three poetry chapbooks, ‘Pause’, ‘I Am’ and ‘In Between Love’. Snehal’s latest poetry collection, ‘Magical Mundane’ was published in July 2025 and her debut memoir ‘PapaMa’s Portrait’ will be published in December 2025. Her poetry and creative non fiction has appeared in anthologies as well as in literary zines. Snehal has also worked as an Editor with Daily Life Magazine for 1.5 y 2020 – 2021). Snehal is also a Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease (YOPD) warrior and creates awareness about the condition through her writing. You can find her on Instagram: @notessonthego
Rebecca Carlyle
Community Events Manager
Rebecca Carlyle is based in Santa Cruz, CA. Her love for storytelling has always been a passion for her, but has grown stronger throughout her college years and since graduating. She spends her time exploring the outdoors with her chocolate Labrador, Scout. Her work is influenced by the Romantic and Gothic styles (minus the damsels in distress) and fueled by copious amounts of coffee. In 2020, she published her first novel, “Finding Alice,” as well as short stories in Spectre Literary Review, Mythos, and Indie IT Press.
CJ Julisch
Recruitment Ambassador & Community Events Host
CJ Julisch is a writer based in Zürich, Switzerland. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Boston University. Her work has been published in Vestal Review and Craft Literary. She has also been shortlisted for Craft Literary Dialogue Challenge 2025.
Ira David Socol
Peer Feedback Programmer
Dyslexic, dysgraphic, ADHDer who has always hated school. Ex-NYPD, ex-art student, ex-architecture student, retired K-12 educational administrator, single dad, New York (including Brooklyn), Michigan’s West Coast, Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Self-published novel-in-stories (The Drool Room) and flash/micro collection (A Certain Place of Dreams). Published educational books as well: Timeless Learning and Education Reimagined with co-authors with traditional publishers, and in late 2024, Designed to Fail. His fiction tends toward the harsh “real-life” literary/autofiction.
Cindy Trost
Recruitment Ambassador
Cindy Trost is an actor, producer, writer, and the creative director of the Meisner Institute. She also works as a teaching artist at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, CA. Her acting class, ACT-3, is part of the Wallis’ Creative Aging Program, which supports adults aged 55 and older. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she found solace in prose and poetry, using these forms to process and express her experiences with family dysfunction, generational trauma, suicide, the joys and challenges of raising an autistic son, caregiving for her 81-year-old mother, and navigating the transition to an empty nest. She has now reached a point where studying the craft of writing has offered her fresh insights into creative expression, and she’s excited to continue learning more.
Ennis Rook Bashe
Recruitment Ambassador
Ennis Rook Bashe is a two-time Elgin Award finalist, Rhysling Award finalist, TAP New York Writers’ Institute Poetry Prize winner, and Lesfic Bard Award-winning poet/novelist/game designer. Their speculative fiction and poetry has appeared in Strange Horizons, Cricket, and Liminality Magazine, and their chapbook Beautiful Malady (Interstellar Flight Press) includes work nominated for the Pushcart Prize. They received the 2024 HWA Dark Poetry Scholarship. In addition to serving as a judge for the Scholastic Art and Writing awards in the Poetry and Flash Fiction categories, Ennis Rook has volunteered as a first reader for Palette Poetry and Interstellar Flight Magazine. Outside the literary world, Ennis Rook works as a dog walker and mental health professional. They coexist with an incorrigibly orange boy cat. Find more writing and information at https://linktr.ee/
Cristina Chira
Peer Feedback Programmer
Romanian by birth, architect by training. Cristina has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London, and she writes in Romanian and English. She has lived in the UK and Spain, now she’s back in Romania. After a collection of odd jobs, she currently works in the soft side of built heritage (heritage interpretation, community building projects).
Shelley Lloyd
Writer Athletics
Shelley Lloyd is a queer, disabled writer from Florida whose work blends intimacy, glitch, and cultural detritus. They write about queer survival, digital decay, memory, and the mess of embodiment—with a particular love for Southern nightscapes, pop culture, and broken things. Their work appears in Wordgathering, Flare, APROSEXIA, Alternate Routes, and Fruitslice, and their chapbook A Reading was published by Bottlecap Press. When not overthinking, Shelley is probably making a mess, ignoring notifications, or hanging out with their emotionally advanced cat.
Lydia Stroud
Writer Celebrator
Lydia Stroud (they/them) is a New Mexico-based graphic designer and writer. They studied creative writing at the University of Texas at Arlington and are a Fall 2025 graduate of PocketMFA. Their work frequently explores grief, neurodivergence, and gender. When they’re not working on a new story, they can be found headbanging at metal shows and falling down new research topic rabbit holes.
Jeremy R. Verwey
Recruitment Ambassador & Community Events Host
Jeremy R. Verwey is a husband, a father of six, a grandfather of two, an instructional designer/technical writer, currently with Johnson & Johnson. He’s a big nerd and a gamer, and he’s been writing all his life, but has been working on my series in earnest since 2013.
Kenneth Baker
Writer Athletics
Hi! Here’s a list of things Kenneth has done in no particular order: landlord/property manager, stay at home dad, homeless, IT security professional, composer, group fitness teacher, world builder, life coach. He likes to go left when most others go right. He like to think big and translate it into the everyday.
Rachel Drouillard
Book Club Manager & Writer Celebrator
Rachel Drouillard is a fiction writer originally from Michigan. Her work explores themes of trauma, resilience, dysfunctional family structures, religious deconstruction, and the bittersweet space between hope and acceptance. She has an MFA in Creative Writing—Fiction from Oklahoma State University and is currently pursuing her M.S. in Pure Mathematics from the same institution. Her work has appeared in American Book Review, JMWW, and Nerve to Write. She lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma with her husband Brodie.
Tara OSH
Recruitment Ambassador
Tara OSH lives in Italy with her husband and two cats in their dream home. As an adoptee from South Korea, Tara OSH found comfort in the written word after experiencing three adoptions and as many foster placements in Oregon, USA. Writing for her is an expression of her internal and external navigations of finding her place in the world. As a former English language educator, now a yoga and meditation instructor, and a writer/poet, she has developed an international persona not only in name but also as a global citizen. You may often find her in a cafe somewhere observing the world go by with her writing notebook and pen in hand.
Dr. Aneeta Sundararaj
Recruitment Ambassador
Dr. Aneeta Sundararaj is the recipient of the Trisha Ashley Award in 2022 and the 2022 H.E. Bates Short Story Prize. She trained as a lawyer and practised for five years before she decided to pursue her dream of writing. Her writing has appeared in many magazines, ezines and journals and, to date, she’s worked on various books projects such as Knowledge of Life: Tales of an Ayurveda Practitioner in Malaysia, Ladoo Dog: Tales of a Sweet Dachshund, The Banana Leaf Men and Mad Heaven: Biography of Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. M. Mahadevan. Aneeta has contributed more than 250 feature articles to a national newspaper. Her most recent and bestselling novel, The Age of Smiling Secrets was shortlisted for the Anugerah Buku 2020 organised by the National Library of Malaysia and was translated into Bahasa Indonesia (‘Rahasia di Balik Senyuman’). Incidentally, The Legend of Nagakanna (an edited version of Chapter 9 in this novel) is published in an anthology called We Mark Your Memory: Writings from the Descendants of Indenture, School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with Commonwealth Writers, 2018. Her latest short story collection is called ‘Tapestry of the Mind and Other Stories’ (Penguin Random House SEA, 2024). Throughout, Aneeta continued to pursue her academic interests and, in 2021, successfully completed a doctoral thesis entitled ‘Management of Prosperity Among Artistes in Malaysia’. Aneeta also accepted the role of Jury Chair for ‘The Asian Prize for Short Story 2026’. To know more about her work, visit her websites: http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com and http://aneetasundararaj.com.
Recent Alumni in their own words:
Anna Roorda — Summer Workshop 2026
“I have had such a memorable experience with PocketMFA. I am so grateful for this external “push” to write more, send more of my writing out to the world, and keep persisting towards my writing goals. The peer workshops were so valuable to me because I was given a lot of valuable feedback on my writing. It was all done in a very honest way. And I also got to practice giving feedback to others, which has been really helpful for me. I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn from Cynthia Cruz and Saul Hernandez! They have both taught me so much.”
Moses Sukumaran — Summer Workshop 2026
“I think, for many, as we discussed in our final sessions, the peer review workshops were amazing. Not only because they were fun, but also the engagement, and I think of greatest importance was the Mentor’s participation. As a writer, I’ve gained confidence. I always stressed that this was all new for me, but everyone engaged with my work and people encouraged me sincerely. It’s a shame that it’s ended honestly, but the 12 weeks have given me enough to focus on for the next few months.”
Arlo Arctia — Summer Workshop 2026
“PocketMFA has been a wonderful experience. I am grateful for the mentors and peers I have met since beginning the program. Cynthia and Saul were amazing mentors that have given me insight on how to experiment with structure and find new ways to approach creation. Likewise, my peers have taught me much about perspective and potential… When our workshops officially concluded, I was saddened. I had gotten use to being surrounded by my PocketMFA community and our weekly meetings. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone looking for community and creative expansion.”
A selection of recent Alumni publication news:
- Karen “Rennie” Watson’s short story “Auntie Z’s Ruby Reds and Pawpaws” appears in the June issue of Halfway Down the Stairs magazine, and her short story “B 11” has been published in the San Antonio Review.
- Barbara Krasner’s new ekphrastic poetry collection The Wanderers is now available for purchase!
- Moses Sukumaran’s short story “Death of a Clockwork Priest” has been accepted for publication in the Strange Aeons 2026 anthology.
- Alice de Hubp’s haiku “oh disguised lover” was the second place winner for Frontier’s 2026 (Not) in Love Haiku Challenge. Additionally, her poem “blue light” has been published by Northern Spy Journal, and her poems “Dear Mother, I,” “And now i will tear You limb from limb,” and “In This Country” have all been published in Spirit Lake Review.
- Joshua Barnes’s poem “Queen Anne’s Lace” was published in the South Florida Poetry Journal. Additionally, he was selected for this year’s Bread Loaf writer’s conference.
- Sonja Tomic’s poem “Rainbow” was accepted for publication by MWPA in their anthology Universe, Vast Universe, to be published this fall.
- Amrita Skye Blaine’s manuscript Bird Rising has been accepted by Aldrich Press! Additionally, her poems “the shape of things” and “peeling wave” were accepted and published on Feed the Holy.
- Marius Grose had three poems published by The Poetry Lighthouse.
- Brad Barkley received a starred review from Kirkus on his forthcoming YA novel The Reel Life of Zara Kegg. (It releases June 16th, so you’ve still got time to pre-order!)
- Shelley Lloyd has released a new edition of their chapbook, A Reading as A Reading: A DIY Resurrection.
- Erin Williamson’s short story “Litany” was published with Broad Ripple Review.
- CJ Julisch’s piece “Forty-Nine Roses” has been accepted by Craft and will be published on August 14.
- Kelli Logan Rush’s poem “Brothers” won first-place in the 2026 Poole American Heritage contest from the North Carolina Poetry Society and will appear in the society’s annual journal, Pinesong. She was also accepted into the Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference in Brevard, N.C. alongside 11 other poets.
- Hal Bogotch’s poem “True or False” was published in <Remembering Hal Sirowitz> — an anthology by Moonstone Arts Center / Moonstone Press.
- Our very own Lauren T. Davila launched a Substack where she’s talking about craft, writing, and acquisitions. She also revealed the cover of her upcoming short story collection, available for preorder here.
- Alice de Hubp’s piece “I Want to Be a Kaiju When I Grow Up” was a finalist in Blue Crystal Lit’s Halloween Poetry, Short Story & Photography Challenge and is available for purchase here. Additionally, her poem “red, white, & blue” was accepted in the Spring 2026 issue of Reading Into Culture magazine, and she was interviewed by the editors for their podcast.
- Jason Kahler has a new prose poem “The pills wear off in Munising” that was published in the inaugural online issue of Bayou Magazine. Additionally, his prose poem “Nailbiter” was published at Stone Circle Review.
- Elizabeth Ambos served as the Poetry Editor for the premier issue of Pergola Literary Magazine.
- Simoa Barros published a review of the short film Champagne in The Chino Valley Champion.
- Amrita Skye Blaine had four poems accepted for the February issue of Soul Forte, three poems in the March issue of Verse-Virtual, and three poems + a painting accepted in the forthcoming May issue of Soul Poetry, Prose, & Arts Magazine.
- Barbara Krasner continues a prolific acceptance streak in 2026! February is summarized in this post and March is summarized in this post.
- Rachel Drouillard finished her MFA thesis and successfully defended it—congrats, Rachel! Additionally, her short story “Seven” was published in the inaugural issue of Nerve to Write.
- Grant Chemidlin celebrated the launch of his poetry book In The Middle of a Better World: Poems which can be purchased here or anywhere you buy books.
- Kelli Logan Rush’s poem “Tomato Trionfale” was accepted for publication by America: The Jesuit Review (forthcoming later this year).
- Trevor Tingle received awards for his poetry in Poetry Society of Virginia’s annual contest; “A Pair of Wayward Drifters in Manitowoc” got 2nd place in the Edgar Allen Poe Contest and will be published in their anthology, and “As if by Some Mistake” won the Joanne Scott Kennedy prize for new voices.
- Ja’net Danielo found a home for her debut poetry collection ECLIPSE with JackLeg Press; it will be published sometime next year.
- Nicole Allensworth published a folio of three poems in Tupelo Quarterly (shoutout to mentor Kirstina Marie Darling).
- Ennis Rook Bashe sold the poem “The Mind-Mage’s Daughter” to the online SFF magazine Lorelei Signal.
- Frank Desiderio found a home for his poem “Scotch” (written fifteen years ago!) in the upcoming anthology about grain from Bainbridge Island Press.
- Martha Elizabeth Shenton won First Place in the 2025 Dreamers Flash Contest with the piece “First Snow.”
- Jordan Nishkian’s short story “In the Void” was reprinted in Issue 4 of Tabula Rasa Review.
- Christopher Tarbi’s short story “I’ll Be Seeing You” was selected as a finalist in Narrative Magazine’s Fall Story Contest.
- Jonathan Cohen’s second poetry collection, Coffee for Meg, is available to purchase.
- Karen “Rennie” Watson’s short story “Better Than TV” has been accepted for spring publication by The Avenue Journal, and her short story “Ocean Drift” was published in the January issue of Pen in Hand.
- Alivia Varvel’s short story “Dandelions and Diet Coke” was published in Interweaved Vol. 1 Issue III. It’s her first publication!
- Maria Nilad’s poem “Philippinitis, Three Movements” was published by Cordite.
- Barbara Krasner had a very successful January; check out this post. She also tallied her 2025 publication results here.
- Navneet Bhullar’s essay “The Mourners” is a semi-finalist in The Blossoms contest of table/Feast magazine. Additionally, her essay “A California Summer” was published in Saranac Review.
- Alice de Hubp’s short story “Women’s Work” was published in Lunae Lit Review (pgs 11-14); her poem “oh my god you’re my first foreign friend say something in Portuguese” was published in The B’K Magazine, Vol. 17 Issue 1; her flash piece “I Want to Be a Kaiji When I Grow Up” was published in The Morgue Mag, Issue 3.
- Ennis Rook Bashe’s narrative poem “The Healer’s Tale” will be appearing in the “Total Party Kill” anthology from Nat 1 Publishing, and the poem “forest god as named by a girl buried alive” will be published in Issue 12 of Suburban Witchcraft.
- Elizabeth Ambos’s poem “Star Fruit Augury” was named a finalist in Naugatuck River Review’s 17th annual narrative poetry contest.
- Bonnie Day’s story “The World Soul” will be published in the February issue of The Windhover, and her story “Cycles” is available to read at Press Pause Press.
(Special thanks to alumni Lydia Stroud for her regular collection of PocketMFA writer publication news. Last updated July 2026.)