Joseph Kerschbaum

Joseph Kerschbaum is the author of three books of poetry; the most recent being Dead Stars Have No Graves, published by Pathwise Press. He has also released two spoken word albums; the most recent being Our Voices Sound Like Silence (released in November, 2007).

Joseph Kerschbaum has performed at numerous venues around the country. He has been a featured performer at festivals such as the Bucktown Arts Fest; the Etheridge Knight Festival of the Arts; as well as Heartland Incantations, a reading series that celebrates Hoosier poets. Joseph has served as the captain of the Bloomington Pie Cutters; Bloomington’s Poetry Slam Team. Joseph has also been a featured guest on such radio shows as WFHB's "A Poet's Weave" as well NPR's "A Linen Weave of Poets."

In September, 2005 Joseph was awarded the Greer Foundation Fellowship for Creative Writing from the Bloomington Area Arts Council for completion of his book Dead Stars Have No Graves. Joseph was awarded an Individual Artistic Grant from The Indiana Arts Commission and The National Endowment for the Arts in June, 2006.

A number of his poems have appeared in journals and magazines around the country (Bathtub Gin, Arsenic Lobster, Stirring, Facets, Poetry Motel, Eclipse, Stray Dog, Tipton Poetry Journal, Red River Review, Ward 6 Review, Catalyzer and Failbetter). In 2005 Joseph was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Joseph is currently on faculty with the John Waldron Arts Center, and he serves as adjunct faculty for Ivy Tech Community College.

Joel Pierson

Joel Pierson has been a professional editor for twenty years, the last four of which were at Author Solutions, Inc., where he has edited manuscripts of all kinds, including many books of poetry. Before that, he taught English, including poetry, at the high school level in Illinois. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Knox College, where he studied with poets Robin Behn, Lisa Ress and Robin Metz.

Joel is also artistic director of Mind’s Ear Audio Productions in Bloomington, Ind., producers of the official audio guided tour of Arlington National Cemetery. He is the author of the successful audio dramas French Quarter and The Children’s Zoo, and the novelization of French Quarter. He is the author of the stage play Mourning Lori, and co-author of the play Hamlet Overheard: Bad Quarto, Bad!