Michelle Alfano is a co-organizer of the (Not So) Nice Italian Girls & Friends Reading Series and a Co-Editor with Descant. Her novella Made Up of Arias (Blaurock Press) won the 2010 Bressani Prize for Short Fiction. Her short story “Opera”, on which her novella Made Up Of Arias is based, was a finalist for a Journey Prize anthology. Her fiction and non-fiction work has been widely published in major literary publications. She will be featured in a forthcoming documentary on the passengers, and the children of the passengers, of the Saturnia which will be featured on OMNI-TV. She is currently at work at a new novel entitled Vita’s Prospects.
Patty Archer is a poet, editor and performer originally from Port Alberni, British Columbia. She has a Master's Degree in Creative Writing from Concordia University in Montreal and was previously a Descant co-editor for several years. She currently has two projects on the go-adapting her poetry chapbook The Whiskey-Haired Man for the stage, and a series of dramatic monologues entitled Fred and Elisabeth.
Samantha Bernstein is a PhD student in English at York University. She has recently completed a memoir, Here We Are Among the Living, and a poetry manuscript, Industrial Evolution. Her work has appeared in Exile, Books in Canada, Studio, The Fiddlehead, and the anthology TOK 3: Writing the New Toronto.
Nada Conic has had limited opportunity to act out her Latin literary tastes in her UofT Greek tragedy or myth classes or at her retreats and lectures on Christian mystics. Her translation of Bosnian war diaries wasn’t the place either. It was at her own recent wedding that she was finally discovered as a “Latin slam poet” and invited to this ideal venue by Giovanna Riccio.
Eufemia Fantetti recently returned to Ontario to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing at Guelph University. Her work has been published in the anthologies Contours, Contemporary Canada, eye wuz here and Beyond Crazy. As a playwright she wrote many shows that toured the Fringe Festival circuit including The Last Moon, The Waiting Room, It's All the Rage and My Own Private Etobicoke. She is currently working on a non-fiction collection.
Terry Nolan received his bachelor degree from the University of Toronto School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture in 1989. After working in the design field for half a decade, Terry switched gears and picked up his B.Ed. from Western University. Since 1994 Terry has been teaching Media Arts and Communications Technology to high school students. In recent years he has developed a passion for literature and is a newcomer to the poetry scene.
Giovanna Riccio was born in Calabria, Italy and grew up in Toronto where she studied philosophy at the University of Toronto. Her poems have appeared in journals, magazines and newspapers, including the Eyetalian, Poetry Canada Review, CV2, Tickleace, and Italian-Canadiana. Giovanna completed her first manuscript, Strong Bread, earlier this year and is in the process of getting it published. Her dramatic monologue, Vittorio, will be published by LyricalMyrical Press in the spring. She has recently retired from teaching and is working on a new book of poetry.
