Teachers

Melanie Figg is a poet and essayist, currently working on a hybrid memoir. Her award-winning poetry collection, Trace, was named one of the year’s "Best Indie Books" by Kirkus Reviews. She's received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maryland State Arts Council, and others, and has had work published in dozens of literary journals, including The Iowa Review, Nimrod, The Rumpus, Hippocampus, and the American Journal of Poetry. As a certified professional coach, Melanie offers women’s writing retreats and works remotely with writers on their manuscripts as well as their creative process.

Website: melaniefigg.net

J.D. Finnegan is a queer writer from Pennsylvania. They mainly write prose, and they most enjoy writing on an informal and interpersonal level about people and places that are extraordinary for no reason other than the fact that they exist. J.D. likes wizards, playing the harmonica, and the concept of public transportation. They have also seen probably three to four ghosts, if ghosts are real. If you want to contact them for any reason, feel free to imagine them in your head, then imagine them responding to your inquiry wisely and gracefully!

Karen Finneyfrock is a poet and novelist. She is the author of two young adult novels: The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door and Starbird Murphy and the World Outside, both published by Viking Children’s Books. She is one of the editors of the anthology Courage: Daring Poems for Gutsy Girls, and the author of Ceremony for the Choking Ghost, both released on Write Bloody press. She is a former Writer-in Residence at Hugo House. Learn more on her website: http://www.karenfinneyfrock.com.

Maple Valley-raised singer/songwriter Zan Fiskum uses her haunting and beautifully controlled singing to craft ethereal and brooding folk/pop songs. 

Being raised in a family that is deeply connected to music and theater led Zan to discover her transcendence on the stage at the age of 6 and explore her natural connection to songwriting and musical expression by the time she was 8 years old. Zan wrote and released her first single in 2018 followed by 5 more songs and achieved over 2.8 million streams on Spotify alone. Just 2 years later, she made her national debut on NBC’s The Voice as a top 9 finalist and received recognition for her dynamic performing and voice from Billboard magazine, Maggie Rogers, Camila Cabello and the Indigo Girls. This opened the door for Zan to join John Legend on his Bigger Love Tour of 2021 and just a few months later share the stage with Dave Mathews, Portugal The Man, Sera Cahoone and many more. Zan released her debut album “Sleeping Problems” with much success in April of 2021 as she built her reputation for her incredibly powerful and moving performances in iconic PNW venues such as The Moore Theater, The Triple Door, Sasquatch and more, leaving her audience awe struck each time.

Amber Flame is an artist and performer, whose work has garnered artistic merit residencies with Hedgebrook, The Watering Hole, Wa Na Wari, Vermont Studio Center, and Yefe Nof. Flame served as the 2017-2019 poetry Writer-in-Residence at Hugo House in Seattle, and is a queer Black dandy mama who falls hard for a jumpsuit and some fresh kicks. 

Marissa Flaxbart is a writer, filmmaker, and podcaster based in Los Angeles. She holds a BA in Cinema and Media Studies from the University of Chicago and an MFA in Screenwriting from Chapman University. Early in her professional life, she produced and directed a feature-length documentary, SHOW/CHOIR, while leading a team of technology lecturers at one of the first flagship Apple stores. Since relocating to Los Angeles, she has worked as a writer and developer for film and television. She is the host of the culture podcast Sweet Valley Diaries and a writer/producer for Twenty Thousand Hertz. Her first narrative feature will be released in 2021.

Miz Portiontè Floes was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. As a youth residing in the urban richness of a “concrete jungle”, she was no stranger to poverty. Miz has always been fascinated with cultural history as well as literature. Despite Miz’s profound fondness for music, it was through poetry that Miz found her escape from the madness that surrounded her, as an at-risk youth in a large city. What began as escape soon transformed into passion. Miz’s first manuscript, I’m Still Growing Vol. 1, was self-published in 2005. Miz has delved even further into the world of poetic verse; authoring five additional poetic manuscripts, and three spoken word theater productions! Her artistry continues to evolve.

Originally from Buffalo, and currently living in Seattle, Stacy D. Flood’s work has been published nationally and performed on stages nationwide as well as in the Puget Sound Area. He has been an artist-in-residence at DISQUIET in Lisbon, as well as Millay Arts in New York, and he is the recipient of a Getty Fellowship to the Community of Writers. Published by Lanternfish Press, The Salt Fields is his first novella.

Lucia Flores-Wiseman is an up-and-coming singer/songwriter from Maple Valley, Washington, who blends Americana coffee house, indie, folk, and jazz vocals to create a sound that is distinctively her own. At 20 years old, Lucia has already sung with Brandi Carlile, sang on American Idol two seasons, performed at the Moore Theatre and Paramount stage! At her gigs, Lucia combines cover songs and original songs to entertain any kind of person! Outside of singing, Lucia is a current student at the University of Washington, studying Communication and Spanish.

Gail Folkins often writes about her deep roots in the American West. She is the author of two creative nonfiction books from Texas Tech University Press: a Pacific Northwest memoir titled Light in the Trees (2016), and Texas Dance Halls: A Two-Step Circuit (2007), which was a popular culture finalist in ForeWord Review’s 2007 Book of the Year Awards. Folkins’ essay “A Palouse Horse” was a Notable Essay in The Best American Essays 2010. Her essays and poetry have appeared in publications such as River Teeth Journal – Beautiful Things, North Dakota Quarterly, Wisconsin Life, Texas Highways, and Wildflower Magazine. She has taught at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, St. Edward’s University (Austin), and Austin Community College. Teaching philosophy: My goal is to further understanding of craft while also encouraging expression of students’ unique voices. Students have praised my workshop format and student-centered approach. Students learn to not only share a narrative, but to also explore their experiences and discoveries. I encourage students to read as writers, meaning focusing on elements of craft in addition to literary themes. Writers I return to: Edward Abbey, Julia Alvarez, Margaret Atwood, Kim Barnes, Rick Bass, Dennis Covington, Louise Erdrich, Ernest Hemingway, Pico Iyer, and Jhumpa Lahiri. Favorite writing advice: Find the extraordinary in the everyday.