Thursday January 22nd 7:00 to 8:00 pm

Mark Novak is a writer who works primarily from the San Francisco/Bay Area. He holds an M.A. in Creative Writing and Poetry from San Francisco State University. His work has been featured in the “Monterey Poetry Review,” “Miserere Review,” “Lothlorien Journal of Poetry,” and “Bards West,“ His work, ‘The Vagabond Quothe Shakespeare’ was the 6th place finalist in the Writer’s Digest National Poetry Awards (2017). He is both a voice talent for readings and a contributing writer for the poetry database, Voetica.com. His chapbook, ‘Sonnets For Agnodice’ was recently picked up by Finishing Line Press in their annual 2025 Open Chapbook Contest, and is due to be published by their publishing house in May of 2026.

Barry Vitcov lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife and exceptionally brilliant standard poodle. His poetry and short stories have appeared in a variety of publications, including: “EAP: The Magazine,” “Literary Yard,” “The Scarlet Review,” “Fiction on the Web,” “Labyrinth,” “Mobius Blvd.,” “Black Sheep,” “Dark Horses,” “Jefferson Review,” and “The Rapids: An Art & Literature Journal of Southern Oregon.” He has had four books published by Finishing Line Press, a collection of poetry, “Where I Live Some of the Time” (2021); a collection of short stories, “The Wilbur Stories & More” (2022); a chapbook collection of poems “Structures” (2024); and a novella “The Boy with Six Fingers” (2025). In addition to his chapbook “Boychik Poems,” FLP will be publishing a collection of short stories “Unknown & Other Stories” in early 2026.