Our Team
Publisher
Aleksandra Hill, Founder & Publisher
Aleksandra (Ola) is a Polish-Canadian writer of speculative fiction whose stories can be found in Analog Magazine, LeVar Burton Reads, and Writer’s Digest, among others. She earned a Ph.D. in computational biology from Columbia University and an MFA in fiction and nonfiction at the New School. She is also an alumna of the Odyssey Writers Workshop. You can find her on Twitter at @_aleksandrahill.
Editorial Team
Zhui Ning Chang, Editor-in-Chief
Zhui Ning Chang is a Malaysian editor, writer, and theatre maker based in London, UK. They are a co-editor on the Best of Malaysian Short Fiction in English 2010-2020 anthology, assistant editor on SFWA’s Publishing Taught Me essay series, and their essays and reviews have appeared in Strange Horizons, The BSFA Review, Library Journal, Fantasy/Animation, and more. Currently, Zhui Ning is pursuing a PhD in transnational Southeast Asian speculative literature at Birkbeck, University of London. You can find them on Twitter @witchywonderer.
Kanika Agrawal, Editor
Kanika Agrawal is a queer Indian writer and mad diasporic hybrid developed across six countries on four continents. As an (im)migrant and former scientist-in-training, she works between and across languages, geographies and disciplines. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Best American Experimental Writing 2020, Black Warrior Review, filling Station, FOLDER, Foglifter, Notre Dame Review, SAND, and various SF&F publications. She lives with her toy fox terrier in Denver, CO. You can also find her on Twitter @antiquarkic.
Danai Christopoulou, Editor
Danai Christopoulou is a queer Greek SFF author and editor. Danai’s nonfiction has appeared in publications such as Glamour and Marie Claire since 2004. They are an editor for Hugo-nominated khōréō magazine, a poetry editor for HavenSpec, and a literary agent in training at the Tobias Literary Agency. A SFWA and HWA member, Danai’s short fiction has been published in khōréō, Fusion Fragment and others, and featured in the official Nebula Reading List. Danai’s novels are represented by Lauren Bieker of FinePrint Literary.
Isabella Kestermann, Editor, Fiction
Isabella Kestermann is a writer and editor based in Los Angeles. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School and is a member of the LA Poets and Writers Collective–which is where she got her editing chops. She writes stories about vampires, family, and the Afro-diaspora. You can tweet @IKestermann to summon her carrier pigeon.
Audio
Lian Xia Rose, Audio Director
Jenelle DeCosta, Casting Director
Jenelle is a Filipino-American writer and night owl based in Queens, New York with a passion for science fiction and fantasy. She is an SFWA 2021 Nebula Conference scholarship recipient. When she’s not writing, you can find her playing her tenth run of Fire Emblem: Three Houses or rewatching Legend of the Galactic Heroes for the 20th time.
Melissa Ren, Audio Producer
Melissa Ren is a Chinese-Canadian writer whose narratives tend to explore the intersection between belonging and becoming. She is a prize recipient of Room Magazine‘s Fiction Contest, a two-time grant recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts, and an editor at Tales & Feathers. Her writing has appeared or forthcoming in Factor Four Magazine, Fusion Fragment, MetaStellar, and elsewhere. Find her online at linktr.ee/MelissaRen or follow @melisfluous on Twitter & Instagram.
Marketing
Megha Krishnan, Marketing Director
Megha Krishnan originally hails from the coastal shores of Tamil Nadu, India. She is a Communications Strategist and a Multidisciplinary Designer who has held marketing management positions in Higher Education, Nonprofits, and Community Arts Initiatives for almost a decade. She is a 2019 graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop, and her stories and essays have appeared, or is forthcoming in Paper Darts, Baffling Magazine, Sonora Review, Quarterly West, Zócalo Public Square and elsewhere. She currently lives and works in the Midwest. You can find her on Twitter @emelkrishnan.
Ysabella Maglanque, Social Media Manager
Ysabella Maglanque is a Filipino immigrant that has settled in Vancouver, Canada after many, many moves. When she’s not wrangling the stories stuck in her head into actual words, she can be found learning how to code to create the ultimate multimedia story.
Art
Ambi Sun, Art Director
Ambi Sun is a Malaysian artist based in Melbourne. She is known for her intricate and vibrant illustrations that draw inspiration from mythology, nature, and fantasy realms. Her art is characterized by meticulous detail and a kaleidoscope of colours, often featuring elements such as flora, fauna, and celestial motifs. Sun seamlessly blends traditional and contemporary techniques, creating a unique visual language that captivates and inspires. Her portfolio spans a diverse range of mediums, including digital art, traditional painting, and the design and publishing of tarot and oracle decks. Through her work, Ambi Sun invites viewers into a world where myth and reality coexist in harmony, offering a glimpse into the depths of her imagination.
Copy Editing & Proof Reading
Cyrus Chin, Copy Editor
Chris Chin is a Boston-based proofreader and copy editor who holds a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College. He enjoys vintage SFF art and collecting second hand paperbacks.
Jei D. Marcade, Copy Editor
A Korean-American hobgoblin who can be found haunting jeidmarcade.com or tweeting sporadically @JeiDMarcade.
Jeané D. Ridges, Copy Editor
Jeané D. Ridges (they/name) was born and bloomed in the southeast of the land the United States occupies, and it remains where they reside being nourished by soul-filling food and expansive tales. Besides human and a copyeditor at khōréō, they’re a Voodoonauts, Southern Esesu Endeavor, and Roots. Wounds. Words. fellow as well as a 2023 Analog Award for Emerging Black Voices finalist. You can discover their poetic storytelling and how to connect with them at jeanedridges.carrd.co.
Isaree Thatchaichawalit, Copy Editor
Isaree Thatchaichawalit (she/they) is a Thai-Chinese-American copy editor, TV and film researcher, and fledgling writer living in New York City. She currently works as an archival and story researcher for TV shows and documentaries, including films for PBS. As a reader and writer, she continues to explore the worlds of science fiction and fantasy, with an emphasis on stories written by and about people from historically excluded communities. When she’s not waxing lyrical about the serial comma or looking after her foster cats, you can find her tweeting her feelings at @isareetweets.
Nivair H. Gabriel, Proofreader
First Readers
Sanjna Bhartiya, First Reader
Sanjna Bhartiya is a queer Indian American software engineer and lover of all things speculative. You can usually find her curled up with a book and a cup of tea, working to bridge gaps in high school education, or playing tabletop RPGs.
E. Broderick, First Reader
E. Broderick is a pediatrician and speculative fiction enthusiast who runs the book blog BookishlyJewish. When not writing, she enjoys puzzles, epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in New York but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.
Adialyz Del Valle Berríos, First Reader
Adialyz Del Valle Berríos is a Queer Puerto Rican writer based in Central Florida. As an English teacher in training her teaching philosophy is centered on inclusive and accessible genre fiction for students of all ages. As a speculative writer, she hopes to connect with others as she explores topics like colonialism, rebellion, and hope within her work. You can find her on Twitter retweeting shark pictures @Adialyzwrites.
Kelsey Costa, First Reader
Kelsey Costa is a Rhode Island-based writer who focuses on speculative fiction and nonfiction. She has a BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College. She is a Programs Chair for the Women’s National Book Association-Boston Chapter, and volunteered for The Muse and the Marketplace for several years. Her flash nonfiction has been published in Ruminate Magazine and her personal essay Trapped Spirit placed as a semi-finalist in the 2021 Ruminate VanderMey Nonfiction Prize.
Merulai Femi, First Reader
Merulai is a queer writer from the Caribbean. With current ambitions to become a Developmental Editor, you may find them under a stone, monologuing about stylistics and craft.
Yuvashri Harish, First Reader
Yuvashri Harish writes speculative fiction for YA and adult audiences, featuring Tamil main characters in dramatic, magical, and often terrifying situations. Born on Tharawal land and now living on Gadigal land, she is deeply passionate about creating worlds where brown girls are not just represented but are the protagonists of their own narrative. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found eating pasta, watching Bob’s Burgers, and providing employment law advice and representation for disadvantaged and vulnerable people in New South Wales. You can find her on Twitter at @iamyuvashri or visit her at her website yuvashriharish.com.
Osahon Ize-Iyamu, First Reader
Osahon Ize-Iyamu is a Nigerian writer of speculative fiction. He is a graduate of the Alpha Writers Workshop. He has been published or has work forthcoming in Clarkesworld, Fantasy Magazine, and Strange Horizons. You can find him online @osahon4545.
Zohar Jacobs, First Reader
Zohar Jacobs is a Jewish and Greek-American writer of speculative fiction who grew up in New Hampshire and now lives in the UK. She has a PhD in Modern History from the University of Oxford and works in cultural policy. A graduate of Viable Paradise, she has work published or forthcoming in the Sunday Morning Transport, Asimov’s, Analog and Clarkesworld. You can find her on Twitter @zoharjacobs
Lynn D. Jung, First Reader
Lynn D. Jung enjoys speculative fiction in all shades of strange. Since obtaining her B.S. in Zoology, she has wrangled reptiles in Costa Rica, taught English in Thailand, and studied wildflowers across California. Her short fiction has appeared in Apparition Lit and The Icarus Writing Collective and was nominated for a 2024 Pushcart Prize. Aside from traveling, teaching, and writing, she enjoys making writing-related content on her eponymous YouTube channel, @lynndjung
Phoebe Low, First Reader
Phoebe (writing as P. H.) Low is a Locus- and Rhysling-nominated Malaysian American writer and poet whose debut novel, These Deathless Shores, is forthcoming from Orbit Books (US) and Angry Robot (UK/NZ/Australia) in 2024. Their shorter work is published or forthcoming in Strange Horizons, Fantasy Magazine, Tor.com, and Diabolical Plots, among others. P. H. is an alum of Viable Paradise and Pitch Wars, and can be found at ph-low.com, on Twitter and Instagram @_lowpH, and on Bluesky @lowph.
Katie McIvor, First Reader
Katie McIvor is a Scottish writer and library assistant. She studied at the University of Cambridge and now lives in England with her husband and two dogs. Her short fiction has recently appeared in Three-Lobed Burning Eye, The Antihumanist, and the Nashville Review, and is forthcoming in the anthology Mother: Tales of Love and Terror, from Weird Little Worlds Press. You can find her on Twitter at @_McKatie_ or on her website at https://katiemcivor.wordpress.
Adil Mian, First Reader
Adil Ghafoor Mian are a hivemind of scientific and artistic practices, currently attempting collaborative realities they cannot live without as a first-gen, Pakistani British, landlocked queer. In 2022, they are embroiled in education focusing on Earth physics and ethical climate science. They have produced work on scientific decoloniality in South Asia, ethics in AI, and particle physics. Their writing, sporadic as a caffeinated spider, has tried to pry shape from the enigmas of forced migration/depression/hope in dystopia/etc. At the moment, they are enjoying acquiring skills for a speculative audio-visual narrative for their nieces. They always welcome a chat (sci-fi or otherwise) through adil.gmian@gmail.com.
Alexandra Millatmal, First Reader
Alexandra Millatmal is a software engineer and writer based in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The Margins, What is Afghan Punk Rock, Anyway?, and Koukash Review. Alex’s work has been supported by the Lighthouse Writers Workshop, VONA/Voices, and the Afghan American Artists and Writers Association. When she’s not thinking about expressive programming patterns, Alex spends time thinking about narrative bias, mutual aid, poetic forms, and queerness as liberation. She lurks and retweets at @halfghaninNE.
Katarzyna Nowacka, First Reader
Katarzyna is studying media and communication in Cracow, Poland. She is translating manuals for a living, writing queer stories to survive, and advocating for diversity and inclusivity in fiction wherever she can.
Anselma Widha Prihandita, First Reader
Anselma Widha Prihandita is a college writing instructor and PhD candidate in rhetoric and composition, with scholarly (and personal) interests in decolonial and transnational writing. Her most favorite job, however, is writing speculative fiction with hints of heartbreak and the personal political. She splits her time between the US West Coast, where she currently teaches and studies, and Indonesia, where she grew up and where her home remains. She is a graduate of Odyssey workshop and the recipient of its 2023 Fresh Voices Scholarship. Her stories are published in khōréō magazine, Fusion Fragment, and Writer’s Playground.
Helena Ramsaroop, First Reader
Helena Ramsaroop is an Indo-Guyanese reviewer and freelance editor from the Greater Toronto Area. She is the recipient of the 2024 Claudette Upton Scholarship. Her reviews can be found on Instagram @HelenaReadsBooks and on her website helenaramsaroop.com.
Aditya Sundararajan, First Reader
Aditya Sundararajan is a speculative fiction writer from India living in East Tennessee, where he works as a power systems researcher and explores his native culture through writing. He is an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association, and he has published dark fantasy and grim sci-fi short stories with Tasavvur Nama, HyphenPunk, Water Dragon Publishing, and elsewhere. He has also been a first reader for Planet Scumm. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @adityaswrites, and know more about his projects at adityasundararajan.com.
Ashley Thompson, First Reader
Ashley Thompson is a Caribbean-American writer based in Amsterdam and Chicago. Her work has been featured in Common Ground Magazine, Alliance Magazine, Troubadour Literary Journal, and Seawanhaka Press. She studied at Stetson University and is a communications professional for social impact organizations, focusing on sustainability and culture. In her free time, she enjoys reading across various genres, particularly speculative fiction, literary horror, and contemporary fiction, and she has a soft spot for “weird fiction.”
Sophia Uy, First Reader
Sophia Uy is a Filipino writer and visual artist currently based out of Manila. She loves reading and writing speculative fiction with a soft spot for all things fantasy. When she isn’t writing or drawing, her free time is spent catching up on anime, playing TTRPGs, and spoiling her two dogs.
Madeleine Vigneron, First Reader
Madeleine Vigneron is a speculative fiction writer and editor from Ontario, Canada. She studies English literature at Queen’s University, where her short fiction has been published in Quilt.
Aaron Voigt, First Reader
Aaron Voigt is a biracial writer, podcaster, and tabletop RPG enthusiast. He writes about imperialism, big monsters, religion, and health policy. You can find him on Twitter @aaronsxl and see his other projects at aavoigt.com
K.S. Walker, First Reader
K.S. Walker is a speculative fiction writer. They like their sci-fi with some horror and their horror with some romance. You can often find them outside with their family or starting a craft project but not finishing it. K.S. Walker has previously been published at FIYAH, the flash-fiction anthology And if That Mockingbird Don’t Sing: Parenting Gone Speculative and the horror anthology The Book of Queer Saints. You can find them online at www.kswalker.net or on Twitter @kswalkerwrites and Instagram @kswalker_writes.
S.R. Westvik, First Reader
S.R. Westvik is a Singaporean Indian and Norwegian researcher, writer, editor, book blogger, and student of international war studies, currently based in Europe. They’ve worked in literary, educational, and conflict prevention non-profits, as well as at universities. They’re active in supporting inclusivity and intersectionality through volunteer work, which includes fan communities and podcasting within the Tolkien fandom, and uplifting women of colour in the peace and security field. You can find them at srwestvik.carrd.co or on Twitter at @srwestvik.
Akilah White, First Reader
Akilah White is a Jamaican freelance media critic, beta reader, and bookstagrammer living in the shark’s mouth. Her literary writing is in Strange Horizons, Bad Form Review, Intersect Antigua’s Caribbean Feminist Stories: Vol 1, Rebel Women Lit Magazine and other venues. Her film writing is in the anthology Divergent Terror: At the Crossroads of Queerness and Horror edited by W. Dale Jordan(Off Limits Press). Follow her on instagram at ifthisisparadise.
MJ Woods, First Reader
MJ Woods is a lifelong writer and reader of the speculative. He also wears the hats of a library worker, bookseller (at Morgenstern Books), Editor-in-Chief of the Kismet Magazine, and an armchair folklorist. His writing is speculative, fantastical and whimsical in nature, and centers on themes of family, food, Appalachia, queerness, belonging, and nostalgia.
Kelsea Yu, First Reader
Kelsea Yu is the Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of Bound Feet, It’s Only a Game, and Demon Song. She has over a dozen short stories and essays published in various magazines and anthologies, including Clarkesworld, Nightmare, Apex, Fantasy, and PseudoPod. Find her on Instagram as @anovelescape or visit her website kelseayu.com.
Tina Zhu, First Reader
Tina S. Zhu writes from her kitchen table in New York. Her work has appeared in Tor.com, Lightspeed, and Fireside. She is a book reviewer for Strange Horizons and a Fiction Reader for Split Lip Magazine. She has a weakness for any dessert with dark chocolate, red bean paste, or matcha. You can find her at https://www.tinaszhu.com.
Board of Directors
Aleksandra Hill serves as President of the Board of Directors.
Sanam Akhlagh, Director & Treasurer
Sanam Akhlagh is the founder/Executive Director of Pardis for Children. Prior to establishing Pardis for Children in 2011, Sanam served as a consultant for multiple for-profit, nonprofit, and governmental agencies. Sanam has been involved in various fundraising and philanthropic efforts over the years. In 2005, Sanam shot a documentary called “The Iron Cradle” in Iran which was screened at various international film festivals. After becoming a mother in 2009, she decided to pursue her love for early childhood education and community building. She received a certificate in Childcare Management and Early Childhood Education from New York University in the winter of 2011. Sanam earned her BA, cum laude, in Operations Research and received her MA in Engineering and Management Systems from Columbia University in 2003. She has served as the Executive Director of Pardis for Children since 2011 and is responsible for all strategic and operational duties. She is also the president of the board at Pardis for Children and serves on the board of trustees at Brooklyn Children’s museum. Sanam, her husband Morad, and their two sons reside in Brooklyn, New York.
Ploi Pirapokin, Director & Secretary
Ploi Pirapokin was born in Thailand and raised in Hong Kong. She is co-editor of The Greenest Gecko: An Anthology of New Asian Fantasy forthcoming from Wesleyan University Press in 2021. Her work is featured in Tor.com, Pleiades: Literature in Context, Apogee Journal, The Offing, The Bellingham Review and more. A graduate of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop, she also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, and is based in San Francisco.
Alums
Wonderful folks who have previously given their time and skills to khōréō.
Lauren Banka, Former First Reader
Lauren Banka is a queer Polish-American writer, artist, and parent living in the Rust Belt. She reviews for Publisher’s Weekly, reads for Aqueduct Press, and tweets at @laurenbanka.
Marie Croke, Former First Reader
Marie Croke is a fantasy and science-fiction writer whose work has been published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Daily Science Fiction, and DreamForge Magazine. She’s an Odyssey graduate and a Writers of the Future first place winner. She lives in Maryland with her family, all of whom like to scribble messages in her notebooks when she’s not looking. You can find her online at www.mariecroke.com and on twitter @marie_croke.
Lilivette Domínguez-Torres, Former Copy Editor
Lilivette is from Puerto Rico and she holds a MA in Publishing from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. When she’s not screaming about fantasy worlds or reviewing them on her blog, she can be found losing herself to the world of video-games.
Carla B. Estruch, Former First Reader
Carla B. Estruch is a freelancer translator by day and an editor by night at Asociación Cultural Crononauta. They have translated books by Nnedi Okorafor, Martha Wells, Poppy Z. Brite, Rivers Solomon and Brooke Bolander, among other still-secret-projects, and short stories by authors all around the world. They are always organizing or volunteering for a lot of literary-related non-profit causes. They live in Spain with their partner and two cats.
Nuha Fariha, Former First Reader
Nuha Fariha is a first generation Bangladeshi immigrant. She is currently attending the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing and dreaming of living in a world with open borders.
Prosper Ifeanyi, Former First Reader
Prosper Ifeanyi is a Nigerian writer. His works are featured/forthcoming in Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Afrocritik, Salamander Ink Magazine, Kalahari Review, Nantygreens, Bluepepper, Terror House Press, Aôthen Magazine and elsewhere. He is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of OneBlackBoyLikeThat Review, an independent literary magazine which curates works of art and literary oeuvres around the world. Reach him on Twitter and Instagram @prosperifeanyii.
Elaine Ho, Former Art Director
Elaine is a Singaporean-American illustrator. She holds a BA in Psychology, and nearly sent her application off to law school before pivoting into creating concept art for Universal Studios and Disney VR. Her work is influenced by Renaissance and Baroque mannerism, and she’s drawn to themes of the broken and the beautiful. She has been featured in American Illustration, Spectrum Fantastic Art and Infected by Art. View her work at www.artofelaineho.com, or follow her on Twitter @artofelaineho.
Patty Nicole Johnson, Former First Reader
Patty Nicole Johnson is a Black and Puerto Rican content marketer and science fiction writer. In her Chicago bungalow, she weaponizes time travel, holograms, multiverses and more to envision a more equitable society. Her work can be found, or is forthcoming, at New American Legends, On the Seawall, and Midnight and Indigo. Read her work at pattynjohnson.com, or find her on Twitter @pattynjohnson.
Loni Kim, Former Casting Director
Loni Kim is a creative producer and storyteller trained in the world of theater in New York and London. After roaming the Earth for decades, she is currently nestled between the mountains and waters of the Pacific Northwest. Her passion for speculative worlds and magical verses is rivaled only by her love of Korean temple cuisine.
Sara Messenger, Former First Reader
Sara S. Messenger is a writer and poet residing in Florida, where she likes writing about strangeness, speculative bodies, and teeth. When she’s not playing fetch with her cat, she reads poetry collections in the sun. Her short fiction has appeared in Fantasy Magazine and Diabolical Plots, and her poetry has appeared in Strange Horizons. In addition to her duties at khōréō, she is an associate editor at Podcastle. Her full portfolio and other musings can be found online at sarasmessenger.com.
Rowan Morrison, Former Editor, Fiction
Rowan Morrison is a writer and editor based in Cleveland, Ohio, where he thinks about trauma, trans identities, political wonkery, and storytelling. He tweets at @timesnew_rowan.
Sachiko Ragosta, Former Editor, Fiction
Sachiko Ragosta (they/them) is a Bay Area-based speculative fiction writer, sexual and reproductive health researcher, and sex educator. As a non-binary, mixed-race, 2nd generation Japanese-American writer, they use fiction to examine the resilience and resolve born out of non-belonging. Their work is forthcoming in It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror and the Intergalactic Gaysians speculative fiction anthology. You can find them on Twitter @v3rsachiko.
Justine Teu, Former First Reader
Justine is a Brooklyn-based writer working in advertising. She is currently pursuing her MFA in fiction at The New School. In writing, her interests include liminal spaces and identity. Off the page, however, she regularly prides herself on keeping her seven house plants alive and not flinching – even once! – at whatever horror movie you throw at her.
Katalina Watt, Former Audio Director
Katalina Watt’s writing was Longlisted for Penguin WriteNow 2020 and has been published in various anthologies and magazines including Haunted Voices, Unspeakable, and Extra Teeth. Katalina is Literature Officer at Creative Scotland and has been awarded Literature Alliance Scotland’s Next Level Award for career development. She previously worked in Audio and Digital for Canongate Books and Hachette, and in event programming for independent bookshops. She has a degree in English Literature from the University of Glasgow and an MSc in Publishing from Edinburgh Napier University. You can find her on Twitter @KatalinaWatt.