On Pub Day, Hope Lives In Our Words

For 27 years Nan worked at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY, teaching developmental writing, composition, and women’s literature. She then became Academic Director of the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies for nine years. After retiring, she was part-time Director of Special Projects at John Jay College and consultant for the City University of New York and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation documenting the development of The Stella and Charles Guttman Community College, CUNY. She volunteers at The Whitney Museum, and has edited or coedited seven books. Her family consists of four children and 12 grandchildren.

Annaya Baynes (she/they) is a Community Coordinator. They graduated from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts in English and French. As an undergraduate, she worked on Spelman’s social justice podcast, The Blue Record, and the reproductive justice-oriented podcast Black Feminist Rants. Annaya has interned at various publishing houses, including Penguin Random House, Macmillan, and The Feminist Press. They have a deep love for literature and film. She is a Master’s student at NYU’s Martin Scorsese Department of Cinema Studies.

Audrey is a grant writer in her professional life and enjoys writing fiction and poetry about causes she is passionate about, including animal welfare. She tends to write poetry and short stories with fantasy and/or horror elements. She graduated in May of 2024 as an English major with a minor in Creative writing. Some authors who have inspired her are Margaret Atwood, Ellen Hopkins, and Suzanne Collins.

Kaia Boyer (any pronouns) is a 17-year-old Chinese-American author born and raised in San Francisco, California, currently attending Galileo Academy of Science and Technology, with words in 826 Valencia, The Daily Drunk Mag and elsewhere. While she’s not reading and writing, she can be found on the softball field, listening to Taylor Swift, or trying (and failing) to manage their parakeets. They’re currently revising their second of three novels.

Anne (AN-ee) Caceres-Gonzalez is a first generation Caribbean Latina, born in New York and raised in the Bronx, whose intersectional lived experience has led her to advocate and create space for traditionally underrepresented communities in the workplace. Anne’s experience in people work extends across performance management, coaching, recruitment and learning and development, through the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion, connecting people, and advocating personal + professional growth. The love Anne holds for her own identity and deep, profound respect she has for others’, are constantly working together to create a space where underrepresented groups feel safe and seen. Anne’s life ambition is to continue to center the voices of underrepresented people, as it’s key in order to decolonize and redefine those narratives. Anne is currently the Director of People and Culture at Mischief, a creative advertising agency in Brooklyn, NY and has previously held roles at other creative agencies like BBDO, 72andSunny and FCB. Anne holds a Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communications with a minor in English from Baruch College, is a member and has served on the National Executive Board of Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority, Latinas Poderosas Unidas, Inc, where she has mentored and empowered young women to find their voice.

Luna Calvario Rojas is currently a student at Fordham University. She is majoring in English and minoring in marketing. She is interested in creating stories that can deeply connect with people and their emotions around the world. Her hope is to create a society where everyone feels welcomed and represented, whether this is in writing, film, the arts, and more. Luna believes that the power of stories can inspire empathy, build bridges across cultures, and create meaningful change in a constantly evolving world.

Andrea Cepeda is an English major with a concentration in Creative Writing. She reads and writes romance, but is open to exploring any and all genres; genres that she loves to read, besides romance, are historical fiction, fantasy, sci-fi/dystopian. In her free time, she reads and writes, rewatches her comfort shows, and romanticizes her life.

Martina Clark is a professor and the award-winning author and narrator of My Unexpected Life: An International Memoir of Two Pandemics, HIV and COVID-19. She writes memoir, personal essays, and travel narratives. Before teaching, she worked for the United Nations system (UNAIDS, UNICEF, Peacekeeping) for decades. She has been living with HIV for more than half her life – 31 years and counting – and survived COVID-19, original recipe. Martina has traveled to more than 90 countries and conducted condom demonstrations in at least 50 of them. She’s traveled by boat, bus, and plane, but never by elephant or camel.

Comly is a senior majoring in communication and media studies with a minor in English at Montclair University. She writes flash and middle grade. In her free time she loves being outdoors, baking, and running.

Shreya Darji is a senior high school student residing in Southern New Jersey. When she isn’t writing a poem or two, Shreya can be found drawing or reading a new book.