Founding Editors
Editor-In-Chief: Sara Cutaia
Sara Cutaia was born and raised in Texas, but lives in Chicago now after receiving her MFA in Fiction from Columbia College Chicago. She is the Programs Director at the nonprofit literary center StoryStudio Chicago—whose goal is to build a community of writers—and an Editor-at-Large at the Chicago Review of Books. She has taught writing classes at Roosevelt University and Columbia College. Her work has appeared in South 85 Journal, 805 Lit, Punctuate., Chicago Review of Books, and others. You can follow her on IG @sncutaia.
Poetry Director: Chrissy Martin
Chrissy Martin is the author of Whole, Holy, Hot (Write Bloody Publishing, April 2026). She is an Assistant Professor of English at Centenary College of Louisiana. She holds a PhD in poetry from Oklahoma State and an MFA in Poetry from Columbia College Chicago. She is the Poetry Director and a founding editor for Arcturus. Her work has appeared in Harpur Palate, Cherry Tree, Cream City Review, and the minnesota review. Find her at chrissymartinpoetry.com and on Instagram at @chrissympoet.
Fiction Director: Rachel León
Rachel León (she/they) is a writer, editor, and social worker. She serves as Managing Director for Chicago Review of Books. Their debut novel is How We See the Gray (Curbstone Books, 2026).
Creative Nonfiction Director: Sophie Amado
Sophie Amado graduated with an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago, where she taught undergraduate writing and rhetoric, and has a BA in English and Spanish from the University of Iowa. In 2014, she received a Fulbright grant to Madrid, Spain to teach English to high school students. Sophie writes content for her 9-5 and also runs a recurring reading series in Chicago called Read Some Shit. You may read her creative and professional work on sophieamado.com.
Poetry Editors
Bellee Jones-Pierce
Bellee Jones-Pierce is an Assistant Professor of English at Centenary College of Louisiana. She holds a PhD in English from Emory, an MA from the Strode Program in Renaissance Studies at the University of Alabama, and an MFA in Poetry from Georgia College & State University. Her work has appeared in Wordgathering, The Journal, and Doubleback Review. Find her at on Instagram at @hey_dr_jp.
Sara Verstynen
Sara Verstynen is a poet, essayist, & book reviewer. Born in Busan, South Korea, she was raised in Rockford, IL but has lived in Colorado, New York, and Maine. She currently resides in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood. Her work has appeared in Copper Nickel, Fugue, Reed Magazine, Cleaver, and elsewhere. She received an MFA in creative nonfiction from Northwestern University. Find her on Instagram at @thefinalnestingdoll.
Prose Editors
Senior Editor
Christopher Bigelow
Christopher Bigelow is a trans writer, former teacher, and metadata manager living in Chicago. He writes about the intersections of queerness, trans identity, the public school system, the full range of human emotion, and sometimes outer space. His work has appeared in such outlets as Tension Literary, Collider, and the Chicago Review of Books.
Temiloluwa (Temmy) Ala
Temiloluwa Ala is a writer and editor with a deep love for books, art, creativity, and well-told stories. Her journey began with a lifelong dedication to reading, which evolved into years of experience across creative storytelling and editing. She is passionate about helping writers nurture their craft and tell stories with clarity and purpose. She is also drawn to stories told in the most unusual, uncommon ways. She co-authored Paradox, a novella published in March 2026.
Coryn Connelly-Cabreros
Coryn Connelly-Cabreros is a new prose editor with Arcturus, currently working on a short story collection. A Chicago native, she works in the technology industry and lives in Andersonville with her husband and French Bulldog, Belly. Coryn studied Communications at DePaul University and received her MA in Journalism from American University.
Jason Adler
Jason Adler is a writer and attorney. Originally from central New York, he lives and works in Chicago. His writing most recently appeared in Little Fiction.
Digital Editor
Angie Raney
Angie Raney is a graduate of DePaul University where she studied Creative Writing, Anthropology, and Spanish. She currently works as the Events Manager at StoryStudio Chicago. Her work has appeared in Crook and Folly, Fleas on the Dog, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, Silver Birch Press, and the Chicago Review of Books. A native of the Twin Cities, she has been fortunate enough to call Chicago home for seven years.
Readers
Shaun Bernier
Shaun Bernier’s (she/her) fiction has appeared in Creation Magazine, Flash Fiction Magazine, and Off Topic Publishing. She has a BA in Journalism from Indiana University and an MPA from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. Shaun is based in Singapore, where she is working on a novel.
Harry Burgan
Harry Burgan is a Chicago-born writer and teacher currently working on his debut short story collection. Through experimentation and language play, he hopes to make sense of what Philip Roth once called the “blizzard of details that constitute the confusion of a human biography.” He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from DePauw University with a BA in Creative Writing.
Ashlee Kingery
Ashlee Kingery (she/her) is a reader, writer, and dog mom living in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago. She has a degree in Communication that has been utilized in journalism, marketing, and most recently the nonprofit sphere. When she is not advising women entrepreneurs from 9-5, she is most likely working on a short story, reading the latest horror novel, or finding joy in dance cardio.
Sheila McBain
Sheila McBain is a reader and writer based in Chicago. She’s currently at work on several creative projects. When she’s not reviewing submissions, she can be found reading widely, walking in the early morning light, or lingering over a matcha latte and a thoughtful line.
Eva McNamara
Eva McNamara is a writer based in the Chicago suburbs. She has spent nearly two decades working in communications, first as a journalist, then in corporate communications. Eva lives in a century-old house with her husband, three children, and at least one ghost. She can usually be found with a book in her hand and a baby in her lap.
Mary Sisk
Mary Sisk is a first-year M.A. at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying literature and social media/PR. She hopes to focus her research on 19th-century Gothic literature, specifically applying a feminist and queer theoretical lens to classics like Emily Brönte’s Wuthering Heights. Originally from Illinois, she enjoys visiting her friends in Chicago when she has time off from school. Her hobbies include thrift-shopping, baking, reading, and writing. After graduation, she hopes to spend some time working in the publishing and/or marketing industry before returning to school for her Ph.D. This is her first time serving as a reader for a literary magazine, and she’s greatly enjoying it!
Joe Tatum
Joe Tatum is a reader, writer, and novice bookbinder living in Philadelphia, PA. By day he is a Volunteer Manager at Habitat for Humanity, while by night he collects hobbies and interests. When he’s not engaging with film or literature, you can find him at his local coffee shop, bar, or restaurant in search of his next favorite conversation. He is excited to join the Arcturus team to continue learning and growing as a writer, thinker, and human.
Eileen Zampa
Eileen Zampa is a new reader at Arcturus. She is graduate student pursuing an MFA in Prose and Poetry at Northwestern University and a submission reader at TriQuarterly Magazine. She writes fiction about family secrets, grief, fragmented memory, and haunted pasts.
Thanks to the following students of Centenary College of Louisiana ENGL/COMM 312: Creative Nonfiction for being readers during this submission period: Hannah Addison, Caroline Armagost, Sarah Baquedano, Rhys Deupree, Julianna Malloy, Megan McHugh, Ty Nelson, Kaylee Roberts, Arionna Thomas, Aaliyah Vines, Mary Catherine Wellman, Jude Williams
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