Masters of many genres, readers of many, many pages, the editors and readers at Exposition Review are all volunteers who dedicate their time, energy, and resources to bring this journal to life.
At the beginning of each reading period, the Issue Staff is selected from our editorial board and associate editors to lend their voices and visions to the next issue.
Issue Staff
Editors-in-Chief
Rebecca Luxton
Rebecca Luxton is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Exposition Review and worked on the Southern California Review while completing her Master of Professional Writing at the University of Southern California. Now she’s a marketing professional with a love for all things experimental. Favorite authors: a rotating cast that currently includes Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mary Gaitskill, Stephen King, and the late Joe Frank for his exceptional radio storytelling work. Follow her on Instagram at @what_even.jpg.
Laura Rensing
Laura Rensing is a writer and performer who occasionally has difficulty distinguishing fact from her pet fire-breathing dragon. In addition Co-Editor-in-Chief, She is Treasurer of Exposition Review and host of Expo’s podcast, Transposition. She is a Senior Project Manager at Submittable, and is passionate about the value of the arts and works with independent artists and small creative organizations. In her free time, she performs around Los Angeles and competes (and occasionally wins) aerial competitions.
Section Editors
Dave Gregory | Fiction Editor
Dave Gregory has been an associate editor with Exposition Review since 2018; he was elevated to fiction co-editor in 2023 and fiction editor in 2025. Dave is also the editor of Doric Literary. He has been writing for decades and his own fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. His interview for the Short Story Today podcast appeared in March 2024. He lives in Canada but sailed the world, from 2000 to 2017, while working on cruise ships. Dave is a gardener in his spare time. @Courtland Avenue is his handle for Bluesky, Twitter, and Substack.
Jessica June Rowe | Flash Fiction Editor
Jessica June Rowe is a writer, playwright, editor, and the Flash Editor of Exposition Review. Her fiction has appeared in Best Microfiction, Micro Podcast, The Citron Review, Flash Frog, Okay Donkey Magazine, and Gigantic Sequins, among others, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions, and the Best of the Net. Her short plays have been featured on multiple stages in Los Angeles and her full-length play “The Passing Storm” recently premiered at the Potrero Stage in San Francisco. One of her poems is stamped into a sidewalk in Valencia, CA. She has had afternoon tea on all seven continents.
Francesca Spiegel | Nonfiction Editor
Francesca Spiegel loves all nonfiction. She loves essays, especially those that try to understand, rather than prove, a point. Essays that get written the old-fashioned way, by asking yourself the question “What do I know?” As an ex-academic (Classics), she loves a deeply-researched piece. As a business writer (Finance), she appreciates crisp, short sentences. And of course: memoir. Francesca loves all memoir, especially when it’s building a counter-memory to an official record (of anything). Check out Francesca’s essay on Prozac Nation and the traditional memoir plot. Send Francesca your archival side-quests, inner-world wanderings, your dream transcripts, your stranger-than-fiction nonfiction, your embodied work, your literary trips. Send nonfiction.
Yuya Hattori | Poetry Editor 
Yuya Hattori is a writer and editor from Tokyo, Japan. He holds an MFA from Chapman University, and his fiction has appeared in Bellevue Literary Review.
Mellinda Hensley | Stage & Screen Editor
Mellinda Hensley is a screenwriter and director who has served as Exposition Review‘s co-Editor-in-Chief. She previously worked as a writer on CBS’ The Young and the Restless and still tells people at cocktail parties that she switched babies for a living. In 2020, she received a WGA Award, Emmy nomination, and several angry tweets for her work in daytime (follow along for yourself @MellindaK). In case of emergency, she can be used as a flotation device.
Lauren Gorski | Comics & Film Editor
Lauren Gorski is on the Editorial Board of Exposition Review, and has served as Stage & Screen Editor, Co-Editor-in-Chief, and Comics & Film Editor for the annual issue. She has a Master of Professional Writing from the University of Southern California, with emphasis in Stage & Screen. Her fiction and poetry have been featured in apt, Badlands, Jersey Devil Press, Underground Voices, and elsewhere. Her plays have been performed for The Hollywood Fringe Festival, PlayGround (including Best of Festival), PianoFight’s ShortLived series, NYC’s Spark, and more. She is a two-time playwright-in-residence with PlayGround, a writing incubator for new playwrights. She was also a finalist for Red Bull Theater’s 2023 Short Play Festival in New York City. Her full-length play The Bramford received a premiere presentation May–June 2023 in San Francisco, and was nominated for the Rella Lossy Award. Lauren serves on the National Board of Directors for Women and Youth Supporting Each Other (WYSE), a mentorship program that pairs college women with at-risk middle school girls.’
Ramona Pilar | Experimental Editor
Ramona Pilar is a story diviner. California-born and L.A.-raised, she produces prose, poetry, songs, plays, and amalgamations. She is the current Creative Nonfiction Editor at Exposition Review and a reader for Drunk Monkeys, and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles. Her favorite word is, “why?”
Brianna J.L. Smyk | Visual Art Editor
Brianna J.L. Smyk is on the editorial board of Exposition Review, and has served multiple roles within the journal including founding co-Editor-in-Chief, social media manager, and Visual Art, Comics, and Experimental Narratives Editor. She is an art and communication consultant who holds a Master of Professional Writing (MPW/MFA) degree from the University of Southern California and a Master of Arts in Art History from San Diego State University. Her short fiction has been published or is forthcoming in The Human Touch Journal, Drunk Monkeys, The Same and FORTH. Find out more about Brianna on X (formerly Twitter): @briannasmyk.
Managing Editor
Annlee Ellingson
Annlee Ellingson is co-Editor-in-Chief of Exposition Review. She is editor, digital cities, for American City Business Journals and writes a column about films directed by women. She’s a mentor and managing editor for WriteGirl, as well as treasurer of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. She holds a Master of Professional Writing degree from the University of Southern California and a BA in film studies from the University of Minnesota. She tweets and instagrams about books, movies, hiking, food, travel, and nephews at @annleee.
Editorial Assistant
Expo Staff
Editorial Board
Annlee Ellingson, CD Eskilson (Advisor), Lauren Gorski, Mellinda Hensley, Rebecca Luxton, Ramona Pilar, Jessica June Rowe, Brianna J.L. Smyk
Treasurer
Laura Rensing
Social Media Manager
Brianna J.L. Smyk
Intern Program Manager
Lauren Gorski
Podcast Staff
Mitchell Evenson, Lauren Gorski, Mellinda Hensley, Ramona Pilar, Laura Rensing
Flash 405 Editor
Jessica June Rowe
Staff Emeritus
Expo is a labor of love and we recognize the contributions of all our previous staff members.
Past Section Editors
Anya Johnson, Sam Burt, CD Eskilson, Kelly Esparza, Brian McGackin, Abigail Mitchell, Sarah Smith Narhi, Kes Nave, Jackson Reder, Channing Sargent, Kiana Shaley, Shze-Hui Tjoa, David L. Ulin, Heather Vaughan
Past Associate Editors
Jorge Abadin, Jessie Chang, Blaine Bolibol, Robyn Earhart, Mitchell Evenson, Sofia Isabella Flores, Madeline Grimm, Sawyer Henshaw, Olivia Kamer, Ashley Lanuza, Ashley Moon, Cayce J. Osborne, Dee Richards, Leslie Ridgeway, ‘Aolani Robinson, Lennie Roeber-Tsiongas, Conor Rowell, Channing Sargent, Ravneet Sandhu, Ravneet Sandhu, Ariel Smith, Leo Smith, Phylise Smith, Mercedes Solaberrieta, Ariana van Dyck, Katelyn Wright
Past Readers
Cansu Açıkgöz, Michael Ahn, Rayne Alarcio, Karina Alvarez, Alana Benson, Lily Caraballo, Celina Cooper, Devo Cutler-Rubenstein, Charlotte d’Huart, Tricia da Costa, April Davila, Alayna Doyal, Allison Doyle, Mina Elattar, Hyla Etame, Sophia Farooq, Gelya Frank, Shannon Gatewood, Dean Jamie Hill, Sydney Jason, Chloe Kasper, Joel Larin, Anna Lindwasser, Elan Maier, Sarah Mengel, Kimberly Nguyen, Kiera Nowacki, Kiana Perez Granados, Olivia Perrault, Larissa Puro, Madalyn Ramirez, Mylena Rodriguez, Bianca Roh, Lila Sangster, Kristen Skjonsby, Dylan Skudlarek, Shakeema Smalls, Thomas John Spadini, Casey Taylor, Ryan Taylor, Bryan Turley, Sandra Vahtel, Frankie Victoria, Alisha Westerman, Lauren Welch
Past Interns
Luz Aguirre, Michael Ahn, Rayne Alarcio, Brady Alexander, Alayna Doyal, Kiana Perez Granados, Mitchell Evenson, Abigail Jeon, Ashley Moon, Aneri Narayan, Kes Nave, Leo Smith, Lauren Welch