Hi! I’m Justina and I go by she/her pronouns. I’m a senior in Seoul, South Korea who loves to dabble in various genres of creative writing, although currently I am more focused on writing poetry than anything else. Fine art and digital art is also something that I love to do in my free time, although writing is more of my strong suit. I'm more than grateful to be part of Peiskos’ editing team, and I couldn’t be happier to be surrounded by such brilliant executive members. I am also an alum of Kenyon Young Writers’ Studio as well as Sewanee Young Writers Conference, where I was able to meet some of the most amazing and creative people I’ve ever met (everyone was so insanely talented, where have you guys been all my life?). I started writing approximately a year and a half ago and since, I’ve had my works published in various online magazines and have received multiple Gold Keys from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. But I’m constantly growing and learning, I’m nowhere halfway near my writing journey; I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

I’m a massive nerd when it comes to the things I love; I can become obsessed with certain video games or movies for a long period of time. I’m not afraid to let people know what I’m into, because everyone has a little bit of weird in them, right? Hobbies include karaoke or just writing something while listening to Spotify playlists carefully crafted for very specific situations.

Hi! I’m Aigerim (she/her) and I’m a high school senior from the DC area. I’m thrilled to be part of the editing team at Peiskos! I’m also a Genre Managing Editor for Polyphony Lit and Editor-in-Chief of my school newspaper, Horizon. In 2023, I co-founded The Fountain Pen, my school’s (soon to be international!) creative writing publication. I think it’s so important to have spaces where teens can share their voice, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to help young writers achieve their goals and publish their work.

I recently fell in love with poetry, and my work has since been recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, The Pulitzer Center, and Roanoke Review, among others. Some of my favorite writers include Ocean Vuong, Richard Siken, Ada Limón, Margaret Atwood, and Jhumpa Lahiri. I also love reading YA fiction and fantasy. If I’m not reading or writing, I’m probably singing along to Taylor Swift, binge-watching Gilmore Girls, and drinking copious amounts of coffee.

Hey! I’m Ashton Palmer (He/Him), I’m from Ireland and I’m currently studying for my A-Levels. I’m honoured to be an editor for Peiskos!

My favoured writing form is poetry. Enjambed lines, metaphor and imagery are what drive my work, as I love using metaphor to connect humans with animalism (especially butterflies, which I actually collect.) Most of my inspiration stems from Ocean Vuong, particularly On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and Time Is A Mother, and other poets such as Richard Siken, Danez Smith, Fiona Benson and Mahmoud Darwish. I’ve been publishing my poetry for a while now, and discovered youth publishing in late 2023. You can find me in magazines and blogs, such as The Encephalon Journal, The Empty Inkwell, Adolescence Magazine, The Acedia Journal, Gypsophila Zine, The Elysian Chronicles, Ink & Marrow, The Diamond Gazette, Mosaic Lit Journal, The Malu Zine, The Dawn Review, The Spiritus Mundi Review, Transient Magazine, Pastel Serenity Zine, and The Thicket by Fawn Press.

When it comes to reading novels, I tend to stray to the weird side of fiction. I first discovered authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, which only sparked my interest in the macabre in modern fiction. I particularly like Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, Boy Parts by Eliza Clark, and Dirty Heads by Aaron Dries. I’m also an artist, and I enjoy creating graphite portraits, which I usually post on my Instagram under the username @ash_t0nes. My favourite film media has got to be Jibaro from Love Death + Robots, along with movies such as Saltburn, The Craft, Dead Poets Society, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Little Miss Sunshine, Detachment, Kill Your Darlings, White Noise, The Banshees of Inisherin, Leave the World Behind etc. When it comes to music I can go from listening to Andrianna Lenker, Alex G and Fontaines D.C to Fleshwater, Gorgoroth and Slipknot.

Hey all, my name's Justin! I'm a senior student from Seoul, South Korea. Peiskos Lit is my first time ever working in collaboration with other talented writers, so I'm extremely grateful to be working as an editing officer! While I've always had interest in speaking and debating about various topics, I recently fell in love with poetry and am now more interested in writing than ever. While I mostly write short, silly poems due to difficulties with long-term projects, I'm trying to cook up a dystopian novel by the end of 11th grade! My hobbies include playing video games, writing random commentaries and poems, solving the Rubik's cube, and getting abnormally emotional while listening to music (totally songs that aren't all by Radiohead). Overall, I'm just here to have fun and be productive! And shoutout to Justina for introducing me to Peiskos :)

Hey there! I’m Angel (she/her), one of the Executive Editing Officers here at Peiskos Lit.

Since recently receiving my BA in Creative Writing, I have been looking for work, experience, and connections in the entertainment industry; in between the more harrowing parts of professionalism, I like to read and get involved with lit mags, so I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work among the amazing creatives behind Peiskos! (Other fantastic lit mags I recommend are The New Absurdist, Bracken, Strange Horizons, Prismatica Magazine, and Exposition Review.)

When reading and writing, I often favor absurdist fiction, poetry, and screenplays; in the rest of my free time, I’m a drummer and have been doing digital art and animation for about eight years.

My current projects are none of your business (yet), but the people I presently look to for thematic and stylistic inspiration include Daniel Handler, Wes Anderson, Kurt Vonnegut, Neil Gaiman, Madeleine L’Engle, and Albert Camus. My reading list for this year also holds titles from Fuminori Nakamura, Juliana Lamy, Isabel Waidner, Sara Koffi, Franny Choi, and Calvin Gimpelevich.

Hope to see your work in our inbox! Otherwise, thank you for visiting Peiskos. :)

Hi! I’m Rhiannon (she/her), and I’m currently studying Creative Writing at university in Manchester, England. I’m working as an editing officer alongside the wonderful team at Peiskos Lit – I’m really glad to be part of such an uplifting community of writers! I mainly write prose and poetry; I am currently working on a few short stories and a first draft of a potential novel, whilst also dabbling in making a narrative-driven game using Twine. I’m also a poetry editor for the literary magazine, Diamond Gazette!

My favourite books of all time would probably have to be Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield and The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides; I tend to enjoy most kinds of contemporary literary fiction, especially if it has a focus on beautiful prose. I also enjoy the dystopian genre and any work that tackles deep emotional subjects, especially if the work features anything gross/uncanny/disturbing.

Outside of writing, I play a lot of video games, from Resident Evil to Stardew Valley, and spend far too much time listening to music! I have two cats, Prince and Roo, and my love for cats often leads to them being featured in my own work!

My website is https://rhiannonlane.space, where you can read my writing/blog and find social media links.

Hey, my name is Rosie Hong, and I’m a senior from Houston, Texas. I’ve always been an avid writer, crafting stories in untitled google docs or trying new forms of writing. I am a staff writer and editor for my school’s newspaper and various other magazines. I believe one of the most important parts of writing is the community–building my personal voice has been one of the most challenging and exciting parts when crafting my pieces! I usually write fiction/creative-nonfiction, but I’m currently experimenting with poetry. I’m a Gold Medalist in the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, and I’m super excited to be part of the Peiskos team–I love reading and learning from other people’s work! I’m also an alumni of Kenyon Young Writers’ Studio, and I’ve studied fiction at Iowa’s Young Writers’ Studio!

Besides writing, I love dancing (especially contemporary), debating, and watching Studio Ghibli films!

Hey! My name is Duo, and I am a grade 12 student living in Toronto, Canada. My pronouns are she/her, and I am delighted to be part of the editing team here at Peiskos. I have a love for exploring different types of literature, and writing for different types of media. I’ve always enjoyed reading and writing, so joining Peiskos is the perfect way for me to do more of what I love.

In my life, I enjoy theatre, playing music, and exercising. In terms of literature, some of my favourite writers include Margaret Atwood, Haruki Murakami, and Keigo Higashino. I’m also a huge fan of podcasts and lengthy video essays, which I’ve attempted creating myself multiple times in the past (with varying levels of success.) It is a dream of mine to produce a full podcast series of my own someday.

Dia daoibh, I am Casey, a blind writer from the mountains and deserts of the American Southwest currently living on the shores of Lake Superior. I have a Master’s Degree in English Studies where I specialized in disability studies which encompasses most of my academic writing. I also write novels and short stories that I would like to think are good enough to be widely read eventually. I am heavily influenced by Louise Erdrich, Terry Pratchett, and Kazuo Ishiguro. I am thrilled to be an editor and on the executive team here at Peiskos lit as I firmly believe literary presses like this one are the thriving future of the publishing and literary world.