Staff | Superstition Review

Founding Editor

Patricia Colleen Murphy

Patricia Colleen Murphy founded Superstition Review at Arizona State University, where she teaches creative writing and magazine production. She won the 2019 Press 53 Award for her poetry collection Bully Love and the 2016 May Swenson Poetry Award for her poetry collection Hemming Flames. Her writing has appeared in many literary journals, including The Iowa Review, Quarterly West, and American Poetry Review, and most recently in Black Warrior Review, North American Review, Poetry Northwest, Third Coast, and Natural Bridge. A chapter from her memoir in progress was published by New Orleans Review. She has received awards from the Associated Writing Programs and the Academy of American Poets, The Madison Review, Glimmer Train Press, The GSU Review, and The Southern California Review. She reviews books on Goodreads.

Faculty Advisors

Becky Byrkit

Nonfiction Advisor Rebecca (Becky) Byrkit received her MFA in Poetry from the University of Arizona in 1992. Her poems, fiction, and nonfiction have appeared in Best American Poetry, Best of Exquisite Corpse, Crazyhorse, Ploughshares, Rolling Stone, Arizona Highways, the Sonora Review, and Black Warrior Review. She is a founding faculty member of the ASU Masters of Liberal Studies program, and teaches creative writing workshops with the ASU English department.

Betsy Schneider

Betsy Schneider is a photo-based artist and educator. Her artistic concerns range from trying to understand time, decay and the body, to exploring childhood, culture, and relationships and looking very closely at strange visceral things such as candy, placentas and the mouth. She uses a variety of photographic tools including APS, digital, medium format and view cameras and digital and computer generated video. Her work manifests itself through exhibitions of rectangles on the wall, video installations and books. Her work is in several private and public collections including that of actor Jamie Lee Curtis, Museet for Fotokunst in Denmark, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City. She has taught and lectured across the US, Scandinavia and the UK. She is a 2011 Guggenheim Fellow and an Associate Professor in the School of Art at Arizona State University.

Claire Lauer

Web Advisor Claire Lauer teaches courses in visual communication, multimedia composing, and technical communication as an assistant professor in the Multimedia Writing and Technical Communication program at Arizona State University Polytechnic. She is a certified Webmaster and has taught workshops in Web design and writing for the Web.

Kristin LaCroix

Fiction Advisor Kristin LaCroix teaches creative writing at Arizona State University. She is the recipient of the 2001 Katherine C. Turner Award in Poetry from the Academy of American Poets. Her community outreach projects include working with Alzheimers patients through poetry, and teaching in the Tempe Community Writers Project. She worked as an Education Specialist on the Fort McDowell Yavapai Reservation where she taught creative writing workshops and led the community children in producing a literary journal of their poems, stories, and artwork.

Mark Haunschild

Poetry Advisor Mark Haunschild teaches contemporary literature, creative writing, and composition at Arizona State University’s downtown Phoenix campus, where he also coordinates the F2F Writers’ Studio. His recent poetry appears in Waxwing, Watershed Review, and The Drunken Boat.

Valerie Bandura

Born in the former Soviet Union, Interview Advisor Valerie Bandura received degrees from Columbia University and the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College, where she served as the Joan Beebe Teaching Fellow. She was awarded a residency from the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference and the James Merrill Fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center. Her poems have appeared, among other publications, in Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, Crazyhorse, Alaska Quarterly, Third Coast, the Best New Poets anthology, and ZYZZVA. Her book Freak Show was published by Black Lawrence Press in 2013. She teaches writing at Arizona State University.

Student Editor-in-chief

Elizabeth Sheets

Elizabeth Sheets is the student editor-in-chief of Issue 15, blogger for Issue 12, and content coordinator for both Issue 13 and Issue 14. She is a copy editor and reader for Black Fox Literary Magazine. She is an undergraduate student at Arizona State University, majoring in English and creative writing. When Elizabeth is not writing or loitering in coffee shops, she works fulltime as an administrative assistant for an electrical contractor in Gilbert, Arizona. Her work appears in Kalliope – A Consortium of New Voices and in Black Fox Literary Magazine.

Student Editors

Ashley Hanson

Ashley Hanson is the blogger for Issue 14 and advertising exchanges editor for Issue 15. She is currently a junior at Arizona State University pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature. She hopes to find a career in a field such as publishing or editing. Ashley has two Associate’s Degrees in Business and Communications and plans to apply for a Master’s Degree program after graduation. In her spare time she enjoys traveling and freelance writing.

Bradly Brandt

Bradly Brandt is the advertising coordinator for both Issue 12 and Issue 13 as well as poetry editor for Issue 14 and Issue 15. He is an Arizona resident and currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in Creative Writing at Arizona State University. Bradly is a lover of the outdoors. When not writing, Bradly spends his time climbing and hiking the Arizona desert. Bradly aspires to one day obtain a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

Cara Pencak

Cara Pencak is the newsletter editor for Issue 15. She is in her last year at Arizona State University. In December, she will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in English and a Technical Communication certificate. After graduation, she looks forward to pursuing a career in writing and editing. In her free time, Cara likes to read, write, and travel around the state of Arizona.

Cass Murphy

Cass Murphy is the interview editor for Issue 15 and the podcast blogger for both Issue 16 and Issue 17. She is finishing her senior year at Arizona State. She has a degree in English Creative Writing, minors in Applied Biological Sciences, Parks and Protected Area Management, and Sustainability, and an Environmental Humanities certificate.

David Klose

David Klose is the student editor-in-chief of Issue 16, a blogger for Issue 13, the nonfiction editor for Issue 14, and the content coordinator for Issue 15. He is a Junior English Lit major at ASU. At Mesa Community College, he took Fiction and Poetry classes, placing in several Creative Writing Competitions. He also reviews literary magazines for The Review Review.

Elizabeth S. Hansen

Elizabeth S. Hansen is the student editor-in-chief of Issue 14, social networking editor for both Issue 12 and Issue 15, and poetry editor for Issue 13. She is a senior at Arizona State University Tempe pursuing degrees in creative writing and communication under Barrett, The Honors College, as well as a writing certificate. In addition to working as content coordinator at Superstition Review, she is also a student editor for Marooned. Her work has been published in Issue 8 of Miracle E-zine and Lux and is forthcoming in undergraduate creative review Marooned. Upon graduation, Elizabeth plans to pursue a master's in mass communication.

Jade Lougee

Jade Lougee is the advertising exchanges director for Issue 14 and poetry editor for Issue 15. She is a returning student in her senior year at ASU's Barrett Honors College as well as the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She will be graduating in spring of 2015 with a degree in English Literature. Her main interest this year is her internship with Superstition Review magazine, where she has gained a great appreciation of literature with a particular fondness for poetry. She hopes to begin a new career that will include editing, advertising or teaching. She plans to continue on to post-graduate studies.

Jillian Mason

Jillian Mason is the social media editor for both Issue 15, Issue 16, and Issue 17. She is a senior at Arizona State University studying English Literature and is graduating in May, 2015. After graduation, she is going to be teaching high school English full time while working on her masters degree.

Katherine Cook

Kate Cook is a social media editor for both Issue 14 and Issue 15. She is a senior at Arizona State University. She will acquire her BA in English Literature in the spring of 2015. Following graduation she wishes to travel before pursuing a career in the publishing field. Her many interests include reading, writing, and hiking.

Leah Newsom

Leah Newsom is the nonfiction editor for Issue 15 and interview editor for Issue 16. She is a student of creative writing at Arizona State University. She has a short story published in Four Chambers Press and has a chapbook of flash fiction forthcoming this summer. She is an active participant in the Phoenix literary community, and has hopes to help develop her city’s focus on the arts.

Michael Hardin

Michael Hardin Jr. is the art editor for Issue 13 and social media editor for both Issue 14 and Issue 15. He is a senior at Arizona State University who will earn his degree in English Literature in spring of 2015. Following graduation, he plans to enter the field of editing. He is also an aspiring writer who often has more ideas in his head than on paper.

Michael Wise

Michael Wise is the content coordinator for Issue 14 and the social media editor for Issue 15. He is a senior at ASU and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in English. He has an Associates of Art and a Creative Writing Certificate from Chandler-Gilbert Community College. He is currently a Testing Technician at Rio Salado College and hopes to work full-time for the Maricopa Community Colleges upon graduation. He is passionate about writing and has spent much of his time at CGCC and ASU working on his craft and hopes to one day have his work published.

Niki Johnson

Niki Johnson is a senior at Arizona State University pursuing a Bachelor's degree in English through the School of Letters and Sciences. She is expected to graduate summa cum laude in December 2015. At present, Niki is an Interview Editor at Superstition Review. Upon graduation, she plans to use her knowledge and skill to become a grant writer.

Regan Henley

Regan Henley is the art editor for Issue 14, Issue 15, Issue 16, and Issue 17. She is a photographer and artist at Arizona State University in Tempe. Her works are often concerned with issues of gender, sexuality, and representation. She is constantly seeking out means to keep what she produces relevant and poignant on a large scope.

Shanell Boyster

Shanell Boyster is the blogger for Issue 15. She is a senior at Arizona State University pursuing a degree in English with a concentration in literature. Shanell works as a blogger at Superstition Review. Upon graduation, Shanell plans to focus on writing and publishing her own works.

Stephanie Funk

Stephanie Funk is the content coordinator for Issue 15. She will graduate in May with a degree in creative writing from Arizona State University. Her poetry has won creative writing contests at Mesa Community College and Maricopa Community Colleges. She lives in Mesa with her husband and Yorkie pup.