DIRTY LAUNDRY LIT: BAD SANTA



Darrel Alejandro Holnes is the Programs Director of the Poetry Society of America. A poet and playwright, he and his work have appeared in TIME Magazine, The Caribbean Writer, Oberon, NANOFiction, and in the Kennedy Center Annual College Theater Festival, among others. He holds degrees in Creative Writing from the University of Houston and the University of Michigan, and currently works, and resides in New York City.

Preston Witt holds a degree in fiction from University of Michigan, and now lives in Columbus, Ohio where he works toward an M.F.A. at The Ohio State University. His fiction has been recognized in issues of Black Warrior Review, Glimmer Train, and The New Guard. In his acting career he has performed lead roles for theaters both nationally and internationally, most notably at Burton Taylor Studios in the UK. Preston and Darrel have collaborated since 2009 and are currently developing their third piece Whiteberry, Blackberry for production in 2012. (www.darrelandpreston.com)

Jo Robbins is on the brink of something great. An MFA candidate at the University of California at Riverside, she has found where she belongs-- among the misfits and openhearted artists that strive to touch the noun in meaningful. She holds a BA in women's studies from Arizona State University, as well as the prestigious title of Mom, two times over, without the cumbersome ring. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her two daughters, two bunnies, and one goat and baby black sheep on the way. Her blog, “Not Your Mama's Mama,” can be found at www.tumblr.com/blog/notyourmamasmama.
 
Mecca Jamilah Sullivan is from Harlem, New York. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming internationally in publications including Callaloo, Best New Writing, American Fiction 2011: Best Unpublished Short Stories by Emerging Writers, Crab Orchard Review, Bloom, The Minnesota Review, Robert Olen Bulter Fiction Prize Stories 2010, Baobab: South African Journal of New Writing, and others. She is the winner of the Charles Johnson Fiction Award, the William Gunn Fiction Award, the James Baldwin Memorial Playwriting Award, and residencies and honors from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Hedgebrook Writers’ Retreat, the NY State Summer Writers’ Institute, Yaddo and others. Her short story collection, Blue Talk and Love, is forthcoming from Flipped Eye/ Lubin & Kleyner in 2012. She is a recipient of the 2011 Emerging Writer Fellowship from the Center for Fiction, and is currently completing her first novel. Reach her at meccajamilah@gmail.com.
 
Christopher Ross writes, edits, and DJs in Middlebury, Vermont. He is the founder and coordinator of the New England Review Vermont Reading Series. An excerpt from his novel appears in the current issue of, The Southern Review.
 
Richard Lee Warren is a writer/actor/comedian/director/artist/suffers from multiple slash disorder. Richard was born a bastard child in Dyresburg, Tennessee and raised in West Memphis, Arkansas (‘cuz that’s SO much better). Being the black sheep in the family, Richard decided to rebel and attend college. It was at Savannah College of Art and Design that his passion for writing and the arts was awakened. After graduating Summa Cum Laude with a B.F.A. in film, he set off for the “City of Angels” and soon found the true meaning of the word “oxymoron.” Since his arrival, he has written and co-written feature films, short films, graphic novels, as well as comedic pieces. As an actor, some of his film and television credits include Posideon, General Hospital and Wrong Turn at Tahoe. He has performed lead roles with two critically acclaimed Los Angeles theatre companies, The Actor’s Co-op and Poker Dogs. He is also a standup comedian, having performed in venues in Los Angeles as well as overseas. Currently, Richard is a lead writer and actor on a weekly internet news parody, NeedlessNews. Richard is thrilled to be a part of this event and looks forward to baring his soul and putting his Dirty Laundry out for the world to see.
 
Jeff Eyres has written jokes for Saturday Night Live and a number of late night television shows and has worked as a pundit/commentator on CNN Headline News. His sketch comedy group Mental Furniture had a sold-out run at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre in New York and appeared in HBO’s New Performers Series. He was a member of the legendary First Amendment Improvisation Troupe – whose roll included Bruce Willis, John Leguizamo, Kathy Kinney and many others. His plays “Hamlet: Satanic Sentinel of the Suburbs,” “Mountain Vampire Goth Chicks” and “Mrs. Copway’s Pony” have each run multiple times in New York. He wrote and appeared in the cult classic movie “Dick and Jane Drop Acid and Die.” He is a graduate of the Second City Writers Program and the University of California, Riverside MFA program.
 
THIS EVENT IS FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Co-presented by PEN Center USA and Dirty Laundry Lit