Shayla Trautsch is a Junior at UW-Platteville going for a Bachelor's degree in Professional writing. They have many creative hobbies such as writing, painting, metalwork, sculpting, and singing. They are also planning on publishing their debut novel before graduation. 

Thomas Wertel is a Senior at UW-Platteville who is majoring in Professional Writing with a minor in Creative Writing. In his free time, he enjoys reading, writing, biking, and playing video games. This is his first year with Spirit Lake Review, and he looks forward to being a part of the team.

Kara Candito is the author of Spectator (University of Utah Press, 2014), winner of the Agha Shahid Ali Poetry Prize, and Taste of Cherry (University of Nebraska Press, 2009), winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry. Her work has been published in such journals as American Poetry Review, AGNI, The Kenyon Review, and Jubilat. She is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, and scholarships and awards from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Ragdale Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, and the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. Kara is an associate professor of English, Creative Writing on the UW-Platteville main campus.

Kelly Dwyer grew up in San Pedro, California, graduated from Oberlin College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and has spent much of the last twenty or so years in Baraboo, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband, Louis Wenzlow; their daughter Alice attends the University of Minnesota. Kelly has published two novels and is currently finishing her third, a psychological ghost story titled Ghost Mother. She taught at the University of Platteville, Baraboo/Sauk County for fifteen years, where she co-founded Spirit Lake Review, which began as a club in the cafeteria, and then became the vibrant class it is today. Kelly is currently teaching creative writing classes to adults online through the University of Iowa Summer Writing Festival, and working on her own writing. She is enjoying seeing the magazine flourish and loves keeping in touch with former students. www.KellyDwyerAuthor.com