2026 Northern Lights Journal Contributors

From the Co-Editors-in-Chief

Oh, hey — fancy meeting you here! We see you’ve taken an interest in the Northern Lights Literary & Arts Journal. No matter the reason you’ve picked up this beautiful issue, we’re incredibly glad to have you here.

We could have never pulled this publication off alone, so we want to express our thanks to those who have supported us endlessly: to UWGB’s Segregated University Fee Allocation Committee, who provides the funds to make this journal possible; to our staff, for your tireless dedication and unique, valuable perspectives; and to our professor, Tracy Fernandez Rysavy, for acting not only as our wonderful mentor, but as our friend — and, occasionally, our therapist. A special thank you to insomnia, for allowing us the time to get all of this done, and last but certainly not least, thank you, our readers — because with no audience, there would be no journal!

This year’s massive edition is jam-packed with creativity and hard work, all from the efforts of our amazing UWGB students, faculty, and alumni. We are tremendously proud to show it off, so please, dive right in! 

Payton Rhyner & Brooke Schoening
Northern Lights Co-Editors-in-Chief

View 2026 Issue 

Staff List

Meet the people who were hard at work selecting pieces, helping writers edit, compiling the journal and marketing the 2025 issue across campus.

Co-Editors-in-Chief

Payton Rhyner
Brooke Schoening

Marketing & Engagement Manager

Ginger Knauer

Editorial Staff

Jack Ebner
Katie Frank
Martha Heid
Tiffany Jablonowski
Brooke Janssen
Samantha Landvick
Kambria Mannel
Hannah McGovern
Ava Mesa
Grey Mielke
Neesa Peak
Abbey Powers
Kriz Randall
Jack Starzewski
Jeremy Thompson
Kelsey Vanderpool
Karly Wigand
Karrie Wortner
Olivia Younk

Proofreaders

Katie Frank • Abbey Powers • Kelsey Vanderpool • Karly Wigand • Karrie Wortner

Advisor/Graphic Design

Tracy Fernandez Rysavy

Cover Art

"Dreaming" by Jos Donohue

Back Cover Art

"Sunning" by Aspen M. Hirschberg

2026 Contributors

Kira Ashbeck (The Consciousness of the Back Country," "Disappearing Warmth") is a UWGB graduate from north-central Wisconsin. 

Jasmine Bertelson ("Gas Station Angel," "No Regrets, Coyote") is a sophomore at UWGB. 

Kassidy Paradowski Carne (Untitled Photo 1, Untitled Photo 2, Untitled Photo 3) is a freshman at UWGB. 

Mardee Castor ("Twisted in Orange") is a senior at UWGB. 

Bryanna Cavanaugh ("The Grief that Takes My Father's Shape," "The Ones Who Remain," "Release") writes, “I am a writer and artist who is currently majoring in art and minoring in education at UWGB. I have been working with the idea and feeling of different forms of loss and grief. That grief may be caused by the loss of family, friends, or a relationship. All of these works involve the idea of love or loss.” 

Paul Christopherson ("Feather," "Wandering Bear") is a Menominee writer born and raised in Green Bay who is currently working on a collection of stories that are inspired by Native American oral history/storytelling.

Lily Dihel ("Measured by Marks," "Ninety-Three Years") is a junior at UWGB. She writes, “I enjoy using poetry as an emotional outlet and writing about the things that mean the most to me.”

Jos Donohue (he/they) (front cover: "Dreaming," "Charcoal Self-Portrait," Untitled Art) is a 2D artist and designer from Menomonee Falls, WI, and is currently double majoring in graphic design and German. Many of Jos’s artworks explore themes of teenage and student exhaustion and mental health, personal identity, and societal norms and issues. Jos works primarily with acrylic paint, watercolor paint, and digital media with Procreate and Adobe Illustrator. He also has experience working with other mediums such as clay, charcoal, and graphite.

W. Tanner Forbes ("Bigs Carmichael and the Hybrid Heist," "Offer Penance") writes from his home in Missouri, where he constantly battles the distractions that are his two dogs and his lovely wife. He decided to start writing when it was no longer socially acceptable to run around pretending to be a superhero.

Katie Frank ("Cervidae," "Fruit Chart") is a senior at UWGB majoring in writing and applied arts. You can often find her playing video games, listening to audiobooks, or being out in nature.

Mike Fugate ("Seasons, Surges, and Syringas") is a former UW-Marinette student and past Northern Lights contributor. He writes, “All I can say is never stop living, and never give up. Go as hard as you can. Do all the things. We aren’t getting out of here alive.”

Lara Gates ("Round and Around") is a California-born, Wisconsin-raised artist working on her skills in photography, watercolor, and mixed media. She graduated from UWGB in 2025, majoring in arts management and minoring in communication. Since then, she’s been exhibiting her art while working at a local nonprofit. You can see more of her work on artbylaragates.com. 

Emily Goode ("Chemical Love," "Delicate Bloom") has a love for all kinds of literature and the process of creating said literature, which she wishes to share with those around her. She is also an amateur photographer who enjoys pursuing photography as a hobby in her free time. 

Julia Hahn ("Turmoil Within") is a junior at UWGB, majoring in Writing and Appiled Arts. She loves to create, especially creating fictional stories. Her goal in life is to create a graphic novel and own two cats. 

Megan Heisz ("Everything Starts with a Dot," Untitled Art) will graduate in 2026 as a human biology major with a studio arts minor. She has always loved nature and infusing it into her art and poetry. She prefers exploring personal feelings when writing short-form poetry to make sense of the world and using multiple forms of media such as watercolor and printing, as well as beadwork and ceramics in her art.

Aspen M. Hirschberg (back cover: "Sunning," "Chronic," "Hot Single Aliens in Your Area") is a Jewish writer and artist from Appalachiain love with stories about ghosts, haunted locations, and messy relationships. They are graduating from UWGB in May 2026.

Brady Hurst ("Mocha Latte") is an UWGB alumnus who hopes to one day write books and stories for the masses. When he isn't spending writing about his fantasy world of Istergard, you can bet he's daydreaming about it.

Abubakar Mohamad Ismail ("Shelves," "Stellar") is a sophomore at UWGB. 

Tiffany Jablonowski ("Radium Springs," "Who's Really Sentenced?") is currently counting down the days until graduation. In the meantime, she has taken to obsessing over old photography as a distraction until she is released to travel again.

Brooke Janssen ("An Ode to Change (and You)") is a student studying at UWGB, majoring in writing and applied arts. In the future, Brooke hopes to be an editor and, someday, an author as well.

Lauren Jarantowski-Bezjak ("Northern Lights Over the Bay") is a senior at UWGB who will be graduating May 2026. 

Natalie Johnson ("Climber's View," "Invitation," "Return Me") is currently in her third year at UWGB pursuing a degree in writing and applied arts. She enjoys writing poetry and abstract short stories, and is currently drafting several longer tales. Her favorite topics to write about are the human experience and exploring what we do with what we’re given.

Ginger Knauer ("Luna," "Redacted") was co-editor-in-chief of Northern Lights 2025 and is the marketing & social media manager of Northern Lights 2026. She is also the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the punk band Wasted Pretty, and a writer with a fierce love for loud riffs and raw words.

Samantha M. Landvick ("Breathless," "In This Little Black Dress," "Who is a Mother?") doesn’t call herself a writer but lives to find true authenticity. She is currently a fifth-year student at UWGB majoring in writing and applied arts with an editing and publishing emphasis. She secretly wants to write a book one day but is unsure what can be captured in one book as a finished piece of work; maybe someday.

Lilac Lee ("The Inability to Understand") writes, "I enjoy working with arts and crafts along with writing poetry and stories that involve my experiences/ memories. When I create things, I like them to be emotionally connecting and relatable."

Vic Lyons (Untitled Photo) writes, "I am a graduating senior with a degree in writing and applied arts. I am the Program Coordinator at a nonprofit that supports women and children in the area. My passion is to help other people find theirs!"

Hope Lundt ("The Chapter She Refuses,") is a writer drawn to the intersections of personal experience and universal themes. Their work transforms fleeting memories and everyday moments into reflections rich with lyricism and insight.

Grey Mielke ("Little Nightmares in Metal," "The Morrigan") writes, “I’m a 24-year-old student with a passion for amateur photography and metalwork. I’m inspired by nature, architecture, and anything else that catches my eye.”

Em Morrelle (Untitled Art) writes, “I adore all things relating to biology and human anatomy, as well as creating art and expressing what’s in my mind. When combining those two factors, I find myself spending days painting intricate details appreciating the human form, accompanied by abstract features to contrast the natural shapes of everything else.”

Alayna Neubert (Untitled Art 1, Untitled Art 2, Untitled Art 3, Untitled Art 4) is an artist from northern Wisconsin who has a love for illustration. Her visual art explores whimsical and somewhat surreal themes in varying mediums, mainly through digital painting and pen & ink. 

Heba Obaideen ("The Messenger," "Myth of a Hero") is a senior writer and artist attending UWGB. Her love for the creative world has led her to practice a variety of different genres and mediums, including art and writing in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. She has published work in the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 issues of Sheepshead Review, as well as The Cardiff Met 2024 Anthology.

Neesa Peak ("Compartmentalization") mysteriously only ever appears on a computer screen. None of us have seen her in person, and we’re not entirely sure if she ever sleeps. She reads with lightning speed and writes about fantasy book settings as if she’s been there. We don’t think we’ve seen her make a mistake. And occasionally, the computer glitches over her face, revealing only running streams of binary code. Is she Skynet? She seems too nice to be Skynet, but that’s how Skynet gets you. ...

Victoria Perez ("Demario Zayas Perez," "Drifters," "Free-bird," "The Light We Chase Within") is a student at UWGB. This art education major loves mixed-media art and loves to create new things!

A.D. Powers (p. 36) is a writer from California in her final semester at UWGB. She primarily writes in the horror genre. More of her work can be found on her Substack: @adpowers21.

Payton Rhyner ("Everything Will Bee Alright," "That Little Voice") writes, “I am a senior here at UWGB and wanted to submit to this lovely journal for the last time as a student. I usually only write and/or create for myself, so I figure submitting is a good way to push myself to grow and get out of my comfort zone.” 

Gianna Romano ("It's Hard to Hear the Rain, Isn't It?") is a current student at UWGB pursuing a Bachelor’s in business and a minor in English. Her hobbies include reading, writing, and drawing.

Taylor Rugh ("Continuity," "Limerence") is a photographer from Waterford, WI, whose work explores themes of self, identity, and the inexpressible. They shoot on film and digital, often using double exposures and layering techniques to express emotions and experiences beyond what is visible.

Jenn Russell ("Stay (Part 3)") writes, "We're back at it again with the ending and aftermath this time. We switched into nonfiction poetry for this one."

Grace Schiltz ("Past Pain") is a sophomore communications major and a sports/leisure photographer. She writes, “I am excited to share some of my favorite photos from the ‘25-’26 men’s and women’s basketball season here at UWGB. My instagram is @photos_by_gracie and just a follow would mean the world to me!”

Brooke Schoening ("Fruit of Extinction," "Oblivion Devouring") is a poet and aspiring editor whose work explores her experience of gender, sexuality, neurodivergence, and chronic illness. You can typically find her scouring an antique store for trinkets or with her nose buried in her poetry journal.

Brooke Senn (Untitled Photo) writes, "I’m a junior here and UWGB majoring in psychology with a minor in philosophy. I recently took up film photography in the last year and saw this as an opportunity to get some of the pictures I’ve taken out there!"

Chloe Smith ("Marbled," "Marionette") is a writing and applied arts major with an emphasis in editing and publishing at UWGB. Chloe is finally graduating in Spring 2026 while having some mixed emotions about being done and losing a formative part of their life. Chloe has been published in Northern Lights twice for poetry while working to fight against generative AI by writing about the human experience as only a human could experience it.

Noah Spellich ("Fire and Water," "In Memory of the Morning") is a UWGB alumnus who graduated with a creative writing major in 2025. He writes, “I appreciate art in all of its forms and spend most of my free time working on my novels or practicing photography.”

Jack Starzewski ("On the Clock") writes, “I’m currently majoring in writing and applied arts with an emphasis in game writing. I like video games and D&D, and enjoy hanging out with my friends.”

Victoria Urness ("I am a Rock") is a student at UWGB pursuing a BFA in writing and applied arts with an emphasis in editing and publishing and a minor in marketing. She is passionate about written storytelling and pulls inspiration from her family, friends, and her two dogs, Emmy and Elsie.

Kelsey Vanderpool ("Create," "Stop") enjoys telling horrible stories about people “accidentally” falling into the vinegar vats in Random Lake’s old pickle factory. When she’s not busy terrifying her classmates, she likes to sit in a shadowy corner of the room, carefully observing you until she clocks all of your weaknesses, while absentmindedly turning five paperclips and an unsharpened UWGB pencil into a shiv. She’s definitely not an assassin.  

Joseph D. Warner (Untitled Photo 1, Untitled Photo 2) is a senior at UWGB. They are pursuing an art major and are expected to graduate in May 2026.

Caden Wiles (he/they) ("A Conversation with Mark Feathers," "You, Me, Giinawind") is a queer Anishinaabe poet, game designer, and educator who graduated from UWGB in 2023 and is now living and writing in Chicago. He is currently an MFA candidate in creative writing at Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches first-year writing. They have been previously published by Allium, Sheepshead Review, Rising Phoenix Review, and more.

Karly Wigand ("Grandma's Secret Ingredient") is a senior at UWGB with a passion for editing and writing, blending heartfelt fiction, nonfiction, and poetry with strong symbolism and descriptive grammar that explores grief, mental health, and slice-of-life.

Vanessa Winter (Untitled Photo 1, Untitled Photo 2) is an environmental science major at UWGB. Her featured submission is from a collection of artwork displaying the ecology and landscapes of Yellowstone National Park. She is from Northfield, Minnesota.

Karrie Wortner ("The Box of the World," "Field of Fog," "Papier-Mâché Future") is a writer, editor, and photographer whose work blends emotional depth with playful irreverence, often pairing vivid language with evocativeimagery. She is a senior in writing and applied arts with an emphasis in editing and publishing. Her creative practice spans poetry, travel essays, and narrative nonfiction, exploring place, whimsy, and the quiet corners of human experience.