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Lunch Ticket is a production of the Antioch University Los Angeles MFA in Creative Writing program.

Masthead

Issue 26: Winter/Spring 2025

Editor-in-Chief: Jessica Ballen

Managing Editor / Content Production: Mahru Elahi

Managing Editor / Submission Review: KJ McCoy

Two people in pink and blue with balloons and a brick wall, pink daisies

Annabell and Xavier, Uvalde, Texas by Jo-Ann Morgan

Staff Advisor:
Natalie Truhan

Faculty Advisors:
Alistair McCartney and Lisa Locascio Nighthawk

Web Designer & Consultant:
Sky Esser / GoodWebWorks


Blog Lead Editor:
Kait Leonard

Blog Editors: d. allen, Reid Delehanty, Meghan McGuire, Genevieve Munsey

Blog Contributors: Jessica Ballen, Annisa Hale, Valerie Nyberg, Emery Pearson


Interview Lead Editor:
Mahru Elahi

Interview Editors: Paula Williamson

Interview Contributors: Jessica Ballen, Lauren Howard, Scott LaMascus


Midnight Snack Lead Editor:
Sunee Lyn Foley

Midnight Snack Contributors: Reid Delehanty


Marketing and Communications Lead Editor:
Mary Elis Tharin

Marketing and Communications Team: d. allen, Kelly Baker, Griffin Deary


Web Team Lead Editor:
Bebhinn McIlroy-Hawley

Web Editors: Michelle Hampton, KJ McCoy, paparouna


Proof Team Lead Editor:
Gale Naylor

Proofreaders: d. allen, Jessica Chisum, , Casady McEvoy, Caroline Friedman


Genre Lead Editors:

  • Amuse-Bouche: Miriam Parrotto
  • Creative Nonfiction and Diana Woods Memorial Award: Paula Williamson
  • Fiction: Tyler Boehm
  • Flash Prose: KJ McCoy
  • Translation and Gabo Prize: paparouna
  • Poetry: Michel O’Hara
  • Visual Art: Lisa Caroline Friedman
  • YA/Young Adult: Sam Howard

Reading Teams:

  • Amuse-Bouche: Ian Rodriguez, Suzann Cohen, Kait Leonard
  • Creative Nonfiction and Diana Woods Memorial Award: Karen Gaul Shulman, Angela Franklin, Kelly Baker, Casady McEvoy
  • Fiction: Michelle Hampton, Prajakta Dengwekar, Bobby Bangert
  • Flash Prose: Karen Gaul Shulman, Valerie Nyberg, Genevieve Munsey, Griffin Deary
  • Poetry:  Tina Foster, Aissa Perico
  • Translation and Gabo Prize: Prajakta Dengwekar, Miriam Parrotto, Tina Foster
  • Visual Art:  Tina Foster, Angela Franklin, Scott LaMascus
  • YA/Young Adult: Gail Vanneli, Valerie Nyberg, Bob Kirwin


MFA Program Chair:
Lisa Locascio Nighthawk

MFA Faculty and Staff: Colleen Bradley, Cathy Linh Che, Colette Freedman, Alistair McCartney, Daisy Salas, Natalie Truhan, Max Delsohn, Nic Wells

Lunch Ticket Staff

  • Issue 27: Summer/Fall 2025
  • Issue 26: Winter/Spring 2025
  • Issue 25: Summer/Fall 2024
  • Issue 24: Winter/Spring 2024
  • Issue 23: Summer/Fall 2023
  • Issue 22: Winter/Spring 2023
  • Issue 21: Summer/Fall 2022
  • Issue 20: Winter/Spring 2022
  • Issue 19: Summer/Fall 2021
  • Issue 18: Winter/Spring 2021
  • Issue 17: Summer/Fall 2020
  • Issue 16: Winter/Spring 2020
  • Issue 15: Summer/Fall 2019
  • Issue 14: Winter/Spring 2019
  • Issue 13: Summer/Fall 2018
  • Issue 12: Winter/Spring 2018
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  • Issue 9: Summer/Fall 2016
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  • Issue 1: Spring 2012

Issue Archive

  • Issue 27: Summer/Fall 2025
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  • Issue 25: Summer/Fall 2024
  • Issue 24: Winter/Spring 2024
  • Issue 23: Summer/Fall 2023
  • Issue 22: Winter/Spring 2023
  • Issue 21: Summer/Fall 2022
  • Issue 20: Winter/Spring 2022
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  • Issue 5: Summer/Fall 2014
  • Issue 4: Winter/Spring 2014
  • Issue 3: Summer/Fall 2013
  • Issue 2: Winter/Spring 2013
  • Issue 1: Spring 2012

Genre Archive

  • Creative Nonfiction
  • Essays
  • Fiction
  • Flash Prose
  • Lunch Specials
  • Poetry
  • Interviews
  • Translation
  • Visual Art
  • Young Adult

Friday Lunch Blog

Friday Lunch! A serving of contemporary essays published the second Friday of every month.

Today’s course:

Diagnosis: Persisted or Silent Inheritance

November 7, 2025/in Blog / Paula Williamson
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Headshot_Paula-Williamson_1467x2000.jpg 2000 1467 Paula Williamson https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Paula Williamson2025-11-07 11:00:072025-11-02 09:48:04Diagnosis: Persisted or Silent Inheritance

The Queer Ultimatum Made Me Give My Own Ultimatum

September 26, 2025/in Blog / Lex Garcia
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Garcia_Headshot.jpg 1088 960 Lex Garcia https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Lex Garcia2025-09-26 11:00:112025-09-24 11:22:02The Queer Ultimatum Made Me Give My Own Ultimatum

The Family Eulogist

September 5, 2025/in Blog / Claudia Vaughan
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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Headshot_Claudia-Vaughan.jpg 1641 1440 Claudia Vaughan https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Claudia Vaughan2025-09-05 11:55:242025-09-16 11:17:59The Family Eulogist

More Friday Lunch Blog »

Midnight Snack

Take a bite out of these late night obsessions.

Tonight’s bites:

The Lilac and The Housefly: A Tale of Tortured Romanticism

October 24, 2025/in Midnight Snack / Nikki Mae Howard
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Headshot_Nikki-Howard_1770x2000.jpg 2000 1770 Nikki Mae Howard https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Nikki Mae Howard2025-10-24 23:55:032025-10-20 10:59:03The Lilac and The Housefly: A Tale of Tortured Romanticism

Dig Into Genre

May 23, 2025/in Midnight Snack / Lauren Howard
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Lauren-Howard-credit-Terril-Neely-scaled-773x1030-1.jpg 1030 773 Lauren Howard https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Lauren Howard2025-05-23 23:59:492025-06-17 18:29:02Dig Into Genre

The dreams in which I’m (not) dying

April 25, 2025/in Midnight Snack / paparouna
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/paparouna-photo.jpeg 960 720 paparouna https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png paparouna2025-04-25 23:55:312025-08-14 16:18:41The dreams in which I’m (not) dying

More Midnight Snacks »

Amuse-Bouche

Little bites every third Friday to whet your appetite!

Today’s plate:

My Town

October 31, 2025/in Amuse-Bouche / Shoshauna Shy
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Shy_headshot-2.jpg 1091 862 Shoshauna Shy https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Shoshauna Shy2025-10-31 11:00:372025-10-29 09:09:44My Town

Acts of Attention: An Abecedarian

October 17, 2025/in Amuse-Bouche / Rhienna Guedry
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guedry_headshot.jpg 959 734 Rhienna Guedry https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Rhienna Guedry2025-10-17 11:00:472025-10-29 11:35:10Acts of Attention: An Abecedarian

The Cartoonist

October 10, 2025/in Amuse-Bouche / Ric Nudell
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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Nudell_headshot.jpg 400 300 Ric Nudell https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Ric Nudell2025-10-10 11:00:302025-10-02 08:44:31The Cartoonist

More Amuse-Bouche »

School Lunch

An occasional Wednesday series dishing up today’s best youth writers.

Today’s slice:

I’ve Stayed in the Front Yard

May 12, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Brendan Nurczyk
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/SL-Insta-Brendan-Nurczyk-2.png 1500 1500 Brendan Nurczyk https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Brendan Nurczyk2021-05-12 10:18:392022-02-01 13:24:05I’ve Stayed in the Front Yard

A Communal Announcement

April 28, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Isabella Dail
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SL-FB-Isabella-Dail.png 788 940 Isabella Dail https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Isabella Dail2021-04-28 11:34:132021-04-28 11:34:13A Communal Announcement

Seventeen

April 14, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Abigail E. Calimaran
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SL-Insta-Abigail-E.-Calimaran.png 1080 1080 Abigail E. Calimaran https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Abigail E. Calimaran2021-04-14 11:22:062021-04-14 11:22:06Seventeen

More School Lunch »

Word From the Editor

The state of the world breaks my heart every day. Broken hearted, I stay online. I can’t log off. Because my career and schooling are all done remotely, I tend to struggle with boundaries regarding screen time, with knowing when to break away.

Like many of you, I have been spilling my guts online to the world because the guts of the world keep spilling. None of it is pretty. But it’s one of the things that, having searched for basically my entire life, I found that tempers the chaos that lives rent free inside my head.

More from the current editor »
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