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.

Sarah Viren

Interview Advisor Sarah Viren is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and author of two books of narrative nonfiction. Her essay collection Mine won the River Teeth Nonfiction Book Prize and the Great Lakes College Association New Writers Award, was longlisted for the Pen Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay and was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award (as well as being named one of LitHub’s favorite books of 2018). Her second book, To Name the Bigger Lie: A Memoir in Two Stories, out from Scribner in June 2023, was called "a book for our times" by the New York Times. Sarah is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Fulbright Student Grant to Colombia. She teaches in the creative writing program at Arizona State University.

Turner Davis

Art Advisor Turner G. Davis received his BFA from the University of Arizona and a Master’s Degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art under the tutelage of Grace Hartigan. He displays his work at Gebert Contemporary in Scottsdale, AZ and Etherton Gallery in Tucson, AZ. He has had several museum exhibitions including at the University of Arizona Art Museum. He is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Arizona State University School of Art having developed courses such as Storyboarding and Narrative Sequencing, Illustration, and Concept Art.

Student Editor-in-chief

Zoë Soderquist

Zoë Soderquist is the student editor-in-chief for issue 33 and was the blog editor for issue 32. She is a senior at Arizona State University graduating with a double major in English (Writing, Rhetorics and Literacies) and Communication. She works as an Editorial Aide at ASU and has overseen the production of magazines like Arizona Foothills Magazine and Green Living Magazine. She plans to attend graduate school and pursue a career in instructional design or technical writing, while pursuing her passion for writing.

Student Editors

Annika Miyata

Annika Miyata is the Social Media Manager for Issue 33. She is a sophomore at Arizona State University double-majoring in English (Writing, Rhetorics, and Literacies) and Journalism & Mass Communication. She is also the secretary for the Vietnamese Student Association at ASU. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in editing.

Bryan Lurito

Bryan Lurito is a Non-Fiction Content Editor for issues 32 and 33. He is a Senior at Arizona State University. He is majoring in English Literature. After graduation, he plans to pursue a career in editing for a publication company.

Charlise Bar-Shai

Charlise Bar-Shai is the Art Section Editor for issues 32 and 33. She is a sophomore at Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University. She is majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication, and minoring in English, Digital Audiences, and Criminology. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in writing and achieve her dream of publishing a novel.

Claire Kelly

Claire Kelly is an Art Section Editor for Issue 33. She is a senior at Arizona State University. She’s majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. After graduation she plans on pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing to continue growing as a writer.

Daniel Gernant

Daniel Gernant is a Poetry Editor for issues 32 and 33. He is a senior at Arizona State University. He is studying Creative Writing. After graduation, Daniel plans on becoming an editor and writer of young adult novels.

Eden Smith

Eden Smith is a Blog Editor for Issue 33 and was a Fiction Editor for Issue 32. She is graduating in May 2024 from Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University. She is double-majoring in Creative Writing and Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, and working on a novella for her honors thesis. She plans to pursue a career in writing and publishing after graduation.

Eliza Kent

Eliza Kent is a Fiction Editor for Issue 33. She is a senior in the Creative Writing (Fiction) degree. She also works as an event coordinator for ASU’s Worldbuilding Initiative, part of the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, which aims to teach students about the significance and craft of Science Fiction and Fantasy studies. After graduation, Eliza plans on continuing to publish novels with her publisher, GenZ Publishing, while pursuing a role as an editor at a publishing house.

Fae Jules Valentine

Fae Jules Valentine is the Nonficiton Editor for Issue 33. They are a Sophomore at Arizona State University. They are majoring in English Literature. After graduation, they plan to pursue a career in editing at a publishing house, in hopes of aiding authors in achieving artistic greatness.

Gracyn Duncan

Gracyn Duncan is the Blog Editor for Issue 33. She is a Junior at Arizona State University double majoring in English Literature and Justice Studies. After graduation, she plans to pursue her passion for social justice as well as a career in publishing.

Ismael Hernandez

Ismael Hernandez is the Poetry Editor for Issue 33. He is a senior at Arizona State University and is majoring in English Literature. After Graduation, he plans to purse his enjoyment of writing, wherever that may lead.

Madelynn Paz

Madelynn Paz is an Interview Editor for Issue 33. After several years in nonprofit administration, she is currently a Business Operations Specialist with Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions at Arizona State University. Madelynn is also completing a post-baccalaureate from ASU in Creative Writing. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in publishing and editing and continue with her own creative work.

Maya Young

Maya Young is the Content Coordinator for Issue 33. She is a Senior at Arizona State University while working towards her Master's in English. She is pursuing a bachelor's in English, minoring in Media Analysis, and working towards her certificate in Writing. Maya is the Activity Coordinator for America Reads at Arizona State University. After graduation, she plans to pursue her passion for writing and pursue a career in editing and publishing.

Noah Jay

Noah Jay is one of the Advertising Coordinators for issue 33 of Superstition Review. He is a fourth-year student at Arizona State University majoring in English (Writing, Rhetoric, and Literacies) and minoring in Spanish. After graduation, he plans to pursue a career in editing and publishing.

Phoebe Nguyen

Phoebe Nguyen is an Interview Editor for issues 32 and 33. She is a senior studying at Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University. She is majoring in Psychology and English Literature. After graduation, she plans to pursue her passion for traveling and writing.

Quinlyn Shaughnessy

Quinlyn Shaughnessy is the Managing Editor for Issue 33. She is a narrative studies student at Arizona State University with a focus in the health humanities. Additionally, she works for the university as a digital communications associate. After graduation, she has plans to publish her novel-in-progress and pursue employment in academia.

Rich Duhamell

Riqué “Rich” Duhamell Escobedo is a Fiction Editor for Issue 33. They also served as the Student Editor-In-Chief for Issue 32 and the Interview Editor for Issue 30 and Issue 31. They are a senior in Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University. They are double-majoring in English with a concentration in fiction writing and Spanish with a focus on literature, along with a minor in transborder Chicane and Latine studies and a certificate in and queer studies. Their spoken word pieces have been commissioned by the nonprofit Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona. After graduation, they plan on pursuing their MLIS and becoming a librarian in the U.S. Southwest.