Kate Peterson earned her MFA from Eastern Washington University in Spokane, where she now works as Director of Get Lit! Programs. Her poetry and prose has been published in many literary magazines including Crab Creek Review, Rattle, Sugar House Review, Hawai’i Pacific Review, Packingtown Review, and elsewhere. Her chapbook Grist won the Floating Bridge Chapbook Prize and was published in 2016. Contact Kate via kpeterson4@ewu.edu or 509-828-1435.
Elizabeth Graves is the Assistant Coordinator for Get Lit! Programs. She is also a second-year poetry MFA candidate at Eastern Washington University. Elizabeth grew up in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and earned her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She’d rather be outside than inside, and her favorite place to write is her deck that overlooks the Spokane River. Elizabeth can be reached at getlit@ewu.edu.
Aimee Brooks is a second-year fiction student at Eastern Washington University’s MFA program. She earned her BFA in Three-Dimensional Studio Art from Wayland Baptist University where she studied ceramics, sculpture, and jewelry making. When she’s not writing, she spends her time hiking, creating linocut prints, and trying out new coffee shops.
Avery Knochel is a first-year fiction student in Eastern Washington University’s MFA program. She is from rural Kentucky, and obtained her B.A. in English at the University of Louisville. When she’s not writing, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and spending time both in and on the water
After a very short career as a pro beach volleyball player and a long career in private equity, a stunning fall from grace forced Bruce Asper to leave that life behind and start over clean. Always an observer and reader, he endeavored to become a writer. He called upon his decades observing the cast of characters in his hometown of Newport Beach and the people he met on his journey of recovery to write Local Summer, his first manuscript. During Covid, he ran beach camps and worked as a Sober Companion so he could write daily. He applied to MFA programs, eventually landing at Eastern Washington. Bruce resides in Spokane, where he can be found observing Lilac City on his vintage Schwinn while listening to profane hip hop.
Siya Jahn is a student at Eastern Washington University and a design intern with the Get Lit! Program. Anticipated to graduate this spring, she will earn a Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication and a Certificate in User Experience. Beyond her academic and professional endeavors in design, Siya harbors a deep passion for health and fitness. Certified as a personal trainer, she embraces her roles as a wife and dog mom with enthusiasm, cherishing moments spent with family and friends.
Tricia Kiehn is a second-year poet in Eastern’s MFA program, where she recently graduated with her bachelor’s degree. While at Eastern, she has interned with Get Lit!, Willow Springs Magazine (as a web-editor), and Willow Springs Books. Currently, she is the organizer for the Get Lit! Book Club hosted at Auntie’s Bookstore on the last Sunday of every month. Four of her poems have been published with Eastern’s undergrad magazine Northwest Boulevard. Tricia was born and raised in Spokane and spent some time in Lincoln City, OR. She has one dog, one cat, and one axolotl.
Sarah Rooney created Speak Easy Open Mic at Bijou on the South Hill March of 2022. She has performed her poetry at Emerge (2022) and Terrain in (2022 and 2023). She has just finalize publishing her first collection of poetry “Mother Media” available for purchase October 2023. She is pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at Eastern Washington University with hope to hone her craft. Publishing a chapbook of her poetry has been a long-held dream that is now coming to fruition. She loves being in a creative community that supports and inspires people to collaborate and grow.
Katy Shedlock is a third year poet in the MFA at EWU. Once upon a time, before Covid, she went to the National Poetry Slam with Spokane Poetry Slam. Her poems have been published in Geez Magazine, Plainsongs Journal, and I Sing the Salmon Home: Poems from Washington State. You can find her on Sundays at the West Central Abbey, where she pastors the weirdest, best congregation in town.
Get Lit! Programs employs one full-time staff member, and one graduate student assistant from The MFA at EWU. The program relies heavily on student interns and volunteers from The MFA at EWU as well as other local colleges and universities. Get Lit! strives to create an interactive learning environment that connects students with members of the community. Special thanks to all of our interns! If you are interested in becoming a Get Lit! intern or in volunteering for the festival, please contact us: getlit@ewu.edu.
