VoiceCatcher is thrilled to announce our Fall 2019 submission period! From October 14 to November 15, 2019, send us work that will make us laugh. Cry. Think. We want you to push the envelope. We want you to move us with your words.
Our team of creative and passionate editors is ready to see your words and artistic visions. Let us introduce you to our editorial staff for the fall issue:
Managing Editors
Michele Ford is an editor who has called Oregon home for eight years. In 2018, she earned a master’s degree in book publishing from Portland State University. When she isn’t editing, she reads, writes, plays video games, and trains for her first 5K race. She and her husband live in Portland with their dog and cat, who get along much better than common knowledge says they should. Find her at michelepatriceford.com.
Julie Swearingen is an editor and marketing coordinator living in beautiful Bend, Oregon. She previously lived in Portland, where she completed a master’s degree in book publishing from Portland State University and worked for several publishers, including Overcup Press. She enjoys reading in all genres, with a particular love of memoir, young adult, and new adult fiction. In addition to her editing work, she is the events manager at an indie bookstore in Bend and would happily live in the bookstore if they would let her.
Poetry Editors
Susan Sweetland Garay is a writer and photographer who currently lives in the Willamette Valley with her husband and two children, where she works in the vineyard industry. Her first full-length poetry collection, Approximate Tuesday, was published in 2013, and she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2014. Her second collection, Strange Beauty from Aldrich Press, was published in 2015. Her third book, Ebb & Flow, was published by Boho Books in 2018. She is also a founding editor of Blue Hour Press, which began publishing in 2012. More of her work can be found at studiorainwater.org.
Dani Nicholson earned her BA in English and her BFA in creative and professional writing from Bemidji State University, a small but mighty university in northern Minnesota, in 2018. She moved to Portland from Minneapolis, Minnesota, in late 2018. She is currently a second-year student in Portland State University’s Book Publishing program and the manager of the Library Writers Project at Ooligan Press. Dani enjoys traveling, listening to true crime podcasts, hiking, and eating her way through Portland.
Camilla Kaplan is an editor and ebook designer based in Portland, Oregon. She completed her master’s degree in publishing in 2017. Though she specializes in sci-fi/fantasy editing, she’s had a soft spot for poetry ever since her third-grade obsession with writing haikus. In addition to editing, Camilla organizes dance events, makes pickles, and bangs away at the novel she’s had on the back burner for a few years. She lives with her girlfriend, whom she’s marrying next summer.
Prose Editors
Lindley McGuire is a writing professor based in Vancouver, Washington. She has been tutoring and teaching writing for the past six years. She enjoys collaborating with writers to make sure their voice shines through and they put their best piece forward. Lindley has a master’s degree in literary and textual studies from Bowling Green State University.
Marina Garcia moved to Portland three years ago, leaving behind the sun- and agriculture-soaked region of Merced, California. She currently works as an editor in the A/E/C industry and supplements her technical work with creativity by consuming vast amounts of literary and young adult fiction. She earned a BA from UC Santa Cruz and an MS in book publishing from Portland State University.
Katie Fairchild is an editor, digital marketer, and bear enthusiast who recently relocated to NYC from Portland, Oregon. She is a proud Pacific Northwest native and has worked for local Portland institutions such as Silk Road Review, Ooligan Press, and Write Around Portland. Her mission in the writing world is to amplify diverse voices to help intersectional storytellers reach the audiences they deserve. Most recently, she has earned her master’s degree in book publishing at Portland State University. You can find her yelling about book diversity and bear memes on Twitter at @ktfairchild or contact her at kaitlinfairchild.com.
Art Editor
Sarah Fagan has enjoyed working with Portland artists as VoiceCatcher’s art editor since 2014. She received a BA from Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts, in 2007, relocating to Portland, Oregon, shortly thereafter. Sarah became involved in the Northwest art scene as an artist and teacher, eventually receiving a postbaccalaureate certificate in painting and printmaking from the Oregon College of Art and Craft. She is represented by galleries across the US and is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Texas, Austin. More at sarahfagan.com.
Young Voices
Kate Ristau is an author and folklorist who writes young adult and middle grade fiction. Her novels, Clockbreakers and Shadow Girl, are now available from Indigo Sea Press, and her essays are available at The Washington Post and Literary Mama. In her ideal world, magic and myth combine to create memorable stories with unforgettable characters. Until she finds that world, she’ll live in a house in Oregon where she found a sword behind the water heater and fairies in the backyard. You can find her online at kateristau.com.