Patricia J. Flores Yrarrázaval is a Cuyuteca trans femme/two-spirit writer, activist, and scholar raised in Santa Ana, California, with roots in Tecolotlán, México, and is an MFA candidate in fiction. As a storyteller, Patricia weaves together genres such as magical realism, speculative/science fiction, and historical fiction. Her thesis is a novel taking place in a future, dystopic Fresno, centering trans femmes and two-spirit people in the fight for liberation and Indigenous sovereignty. In all her work, Patricia is dedicated to building bridges between Indigenous communities and communities of color in defense of the water, land, and air that we all call home.

Amanda Silva is an MFA candidate in creative nonfiction originally from Phoenix, Arizona. She earned her bachelor’s degree in creative writing at Fresno State. When not writing, she is a high school English teacher who has learned quite a bit from her students over the years. Recognizing a pure joy for writing has helped her to grow and open up, by relating to readers about the same topics that once made her feel isolated. She’d like to thank her husband for his love and support and family/friends for their encouragement through this writing adventure she never thought possible.

Isaac Weil is an MFA candidate in creative nonfiction. He writes about growing up as a sheltered Jewish kid in the multi-ethnic, multi-racial San Joaquin Valley; the self-stigma of mental and physical disability; and our societal adoration of “smartness.” He has published essays in Subconscious: A New Mental Health Magazine, and had a hybrid narrative anthologized in Mutilations on a Theme, published by Jaded Ibis Press. He has competed nationally in Taekwondo. Most importantly, he has newly become a parent to Lucy Wren Weil Casteneda.

Gaoyong Yang-Vang is a Hmong American wife, daughter-in-law, auntie, sister-in-law, and poet. Her writings have been published in Flies, Cockroaches and Poets, Small Press Traffic, and hais: a literary journal. Her poetry explores what constructs and destructs a person, defining and redefining what it means to be herself. She is trying to answer a hard question with her poetic art: How do you heal from dysfunction?

All participants are welcome; if you need special accommodations please email bsaito@csufresno.edu or call 559.278.1569.