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.

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.

Sara Sams

Interview Advisor Sara Sams is a poet, translator, and editor from Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She has taught English in Granada, Spain, and creative writing at the National University of Singapore; she currently teaches composition for multilingual writers here at ASU. Her poems and translations have been featured in Blackbird, Hinchas de Poesía, …and love… from Jacar Press, and The Drunken Boat. She is the Translations Editor for Waxwing Magazine, and has previously served as a contributing editor for both Hayden’s Ferry Review and Parnassus: Poetry in Review.

Student Editor-in-chief

Lian Ammerman

Lian Ammerman is the student editor-in-chief of Issue 23. She is a senior at Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University. She's majoring in creative writing, minoring in film and media studies, and working on a certificate in marketing. After graduation, she plans to pursue her passion for writing as well a career in editing and publishing.

Student Editors

Alyssa Lindsey

Alyssa Lindsey is the poetry editor for Issue 22 and 23. She is a junior at Arizona State University. She is majoring in both creative writing and global health with a pre-health emphasis. After graduation, she plans to attend medical school and go on to work in pediatrics.

Amelia Barbee

Amelia Barbee is a blogger for Issue 22 and 23. She is a junior at ASU studying creative writing with a minor in film studies at Barret, the Honors College. She hopes to pursue a career in the literary world, and loves writing of all kinds.

Brynn Kowalski

Brynn Kowalski is the current social media manager for Issue 24, where she fosters continual community engagement and interaction on S[r]'s social media. During Issue 23 she worked alongside fellow interns to promote the AWP19 and DNRS events, and in previous work as a Fiction Editor helped compile the work published in Issue 22. Brynn is a senior with Arizona State University, having her major in Creative Writing and is in the process of completing a minor in French. After receiving her Bachelor’s, Brynn plans to pursue an MFA, continuing her passion for writing and pursuing a career in editing and publishing.

Cassidy Horan

Cassidy Horan is the Authors Talk blogger for Issue 23 and blog editor for Issue 24. She is a senior at ASU in Barrett, the Honors College who is majoring in English Literature. She is currently part of the 4+1 Accelerated Masters Program, anticipating a Master’s degree in English Literature in 2021. After graduation, she hopes to join the publishing and editing field.

Ellen O’Brien

Ellen O’Brien is the nonfiction editor for Issue 23. She’s a senior at Arizona State University pursuing a double major in journalism and philosophy with a minor in Arabic. She’s passionate about photography, literature, foreign policy and epistemology. After graduation, she plans to pursue a job in photojournalism or news editing and to attend law school.

Isabel Lineberry

Isabel Lineberry is a blogger for Issue 23. She is a sophomore in Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University majoring in Business Entrepreneurship and English Literature. After graduation, she hopes to work for a classic publishing house.

Kalista McKeever

Kalista McKeever is the interview editor for Issue 23. She is in her junior year at Arizona State University and is working towards a TESOL certificate and BA in Creative Writing. She plans to teach English abroad while working on her writing, hoping to eventually become a published author.

Kylee Hayes

Kylee Hayes is a blogger for Issue 23. She is an undergraduate student at Arizona State University pursuing a degree in English. She has been a flash writer for over a decade, and is pursuing a career in the editorial field. She is a copy-editor for Sun Devil Fitness and an intern editor for the literary journal publication, Write On, Downtown. She works at Superstition Review as a guest blogger, and she is eager to learn more about the publishing field.

Michael Tavernier

Michael Tavernier is the social media manager for Issue 22 and 23. He is an English (creative writing) student at Arizona State University. Having held positions in marketing, sales, and customer service, Michael understands the concepts behind teamwork, creative thinking, and developing business relationships. He emulates hard work, promptness, drive, and dedication in all his work. Now venturing into digital media promoting as one of social media managers, he applies creativity, analysis, and popular trends to guide the pages toward audience growth.

Nicole Floda

Nicole Floda is an interview editor for Issue 23. She is a senior at Arizona State University majoring in Business (Global Politics) and English Literature. She works as an English and writing tutor and her stories have been featured in Canyon Voices. When she's not reading, she enjoys listening to music and going to concerts. After graduation, she plans to attend law school and work in the field of international arbitration.

Rachel Hagerman

Rachel Hagerman is the content coordinator for Issue 23 and 24 and the blogger for the summer of 2019. She is studying English (Writing, Rhetorics and Literacies) at Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University. She currently works as a freelance writer, teaching assistant, tutor, and ASU Senior Writing Mentor. She is the founding editor of the ASU student-run book blog, The Spellbinding Shelf. Passionate about literature, she plans to pursue a career in editing and publishing after graduation.

Samantha Barraza

Samantha Barraza is the advertiting coordinator for Issue 23 and blogger for Issue 20, Issue 21, and Issue 22. She is a junior at Arizona State University majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in Spanish. Upon graduation, she hopes to chase her love for writing by either entering an MFA program or pursuing a career in book editing and publishing.

Savannah Yates

Savannah Yates is an interview editor for Issue 23 and the poetry editor for Issue 24. She is a senior at Arizona State University, majoring in English Literature with a minor in French. After graduating she hopes to pursue a career in editing and publishing.

Shalanndra Benally

Shalanndra Benally is the art editor for Issue 22 and Issue 23. She is currently in her first semester of her senior year at Arizona State University studying digital culture with a concentration in design. She currently also holds a full time photographer position with The State Press. Before graduating she hopes to have at least a handful of installations and creative works exhibited.

Spencer Litman

Spencer Litman is the fiction editor for Issue 23. He is a fiction writer and essayist living in Phoenix with his wife, Kristine, and his two children, Jayden and Aubrey. He is finishing his undergraduate degree in English with a creative writing concentration and hopes to attend an MFA program somewhere cold, with pine needles and snow.