Sunset over a mountain range with grassy hills in the foreground.

Meet the Team

  • Jeffrey Levine

    Publisher & Artistic Director

  • Kristina Marie Darling

    Editor-in-Chief of Tupelo Press
    & Editor-in-Chief of Tupelo Quarterly

  • David Rossitter

    Managing Editor

  • Cutter Streeby

    Director of Marketing

  • Kirsten Miles

    National Director of the 30/30 Project at Tupelo Press & Regional Director for Tupelo Press Conferences

  • Allison O'Keefe

    Associate Managing Editor

  • Cassandra Cleghorn

    Poetry Editor

  • Wendy Chen

    Prose Editor

  • Tiffany Troy

    Associate Editor

  • Hasanthika Siresena

    Prose Editor

  • Xu Xi

    Fiction Editor

  • Elizabeth J. Colen

    Non-Fiction Editor

  • Gail Upchurch

    Assistant Nonfiction Editor

  • Kate Bolton Bonnici

    Assistant Nonfiction Editor

  • Erica Buist

    Director of Social Media

  • Nancy Naomi Carlson

    Associate Editor

  • Alan Berolzheimer

    Consulting Editor

  • Nicholas Skaldetvind

    Preliminary Reader

  • Preeti Kaur Rajpal

    Preliminary Reader

  • Iliana Rocha

    Preliminary Reader

  • Kyle McCord

    Preliminary Reader

  • Javiera Hasnain

    Preliminary Reader

  • Xiao Yue Shan

    Preliminary Reader

  • Beth McDermott

    Preliminary Reader

  • Ariel Francisco

    Translation Editor

  • Ming Di

    Translation Editor

  • Abigail Ardelle Zammit

    Translation Editor

  • CMarie Fuhrman

    Faculty

  • Lise Goett

    Faculty

  • Veronica Golos

    Faculty

Wooden bookshelf filled with a variety of books of different sizes, colors, and subjects arranged on multiple shelves.

about tupelo press

Tupelo Press, Inc., which released its first five books in fall 2001, is an independent, literary press devoted to discovering and publishing works of poetry, literary fiction, and creative nonfiction by emerging and established writers. Tupelo Press is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit company.

What we look for is a blend of urgency of language, imagination, distinctiveness, and craft. What we produce and how we produce it — from design to printing to paper quality — honors the writing in books which boast the uniquely sensual look and feel of a Tupelo Press book.

Readers and writers alike have already come to recognize both the aesthetic appeal and unique literary merit of Tupelo publications. No other press in America approaches the production standards of Tupelo Press. Tupelo has quickly established itself as the new standard among independent literary presses.

Volunteer Staff & Interns

  • Julie Ascarrunz

    Course Adoption Intern

    Julie Ascarrunz lives in Lafayette, Colorado and currently teaches Language Arts and Pedagogy at Centaurus High School where she also advises a feminist reading group. She is bilingual and has two Mas — in Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity, and Creative Writing from The University of Colorado. She recently completed her MFA in Poetry through the low residency program at NYU. Julie is a member of The Gamuts, a longstanding workshop group in East Boulder County, sings with The Colorado Repertory Singers, and is training for her first ½ marathon. She lives with two cats, two dogs, and the ghost of a box turtle named Galapago. Her work has appeared in Main Street Rag, Calliope, Camroc Press Review, Niche, aaduna, and Streetlight Magazine.

  • John Darr

    Course Adoption Intern

    John Darr is a poet, music critic and educator from Richmond, VA. He has work published and upcoming in SOFTBLOW, Virga, and Anti-Heroin Chic. He is currently an MFA candidate at Wichita State University where he teaches English Composition.

  • Ana Barbara Hernandez

    Web Design Intern, Tupelo Quarterly

    Ana Barbara Hernandez is a native of Abilene, TX, where she enjoys spending time with her family and shih tzu, Winnie. She is currently  working on her BA in marketing at Wichita State University in Wichita, KS and strives to obtain her MA in publishing one day. She is also a dedicated member of Kappa Delta Chi Sorority Inc. and a campus organization called Phenomenal Women. Both organizations aim to strengthen women of color on a predominantly white campus, and encourage their members to pave the way for future generations.

  • Mariah Perkins

    Course Adoption Intern

    Mariah Perkins is a poetry MFA candidate at Wichita State University where she is also the non-fiction editor of mojo/Mikrokosmos. Her work has appeared in Fugue, Crack the Spine, and can be heard on WYCE’s Electric Poetry.

  • Aaron Bristow-Rodriguez

    Web Design Intern, Tupelo Quarterly

    Aaron Bristow-Rodriguez was born in Wisconsin. He received his BA from the University of Minnesota. He is a third-year MFA poetry candidate at the Wichita State University and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Mikrokosmos.

  • Ian Thomas

    Marketing Intern

    Since getting his MA in literature from the University of Tennessee, Ian Thomas has worked as a content writer and account manager for companies in Chicago’s growing tech scene. In his spare time, he enjoys following new book releases, playing music, and spending time with friends and family.

  • Mackenzie Pierce

    Development Intern

    Mackenzie graduated this spring from Boston University with a MA/BA in English and BA in Economics. She aims to maintain a career in publishing, the nonprofit sector specifically. She is currently writing freelance for local nonprofit news and works as a Beta Reader for Dark Harbor Magazine. Eventually, Mackenzie hopes to put out her own speculative fiction novel and poetry collections. Some of her hobbies outside of reading and writing include rock climbing, antiquing, jewelry making, traveling and collaging. Mackenzie is so excited to be working with Tupelo, especially through book publicity and demographic research! Mackenzie is spearheading a development project in 2025.