Our Team

A starship cannot soar through the galaxy without an accomplished team of cosmonauts to guide the ship’s progress. Our cosmonauts here at Orion’s Belt are savvy, bold writers, poets, and editors who embody the magazine’s vision for literary speculative fiction.

They appreciate the emphasis literary fiction places on sharp, lucid writing and intimate personal stakes, and they also appreciate the cosmic wonder and ethereal strangeness that can only be unleashed by speculative fiction. Perhaps I’m biased, but this is as forward-thinking and emotionally intelligent an editorial team as you’ll find anywhere.

-Joshua Fagan, Founder and Editor in Chief

  • Joshua Fagan

    Founder and Editor-in-Chief

    Joshua Fagan is a writer and critic splitting time between New York City and Colorado Springs. His work has previously been published in venues including Daily Science Fiction, Columbia’s Quarto, and 365 Tomorrows. He founded Orion’s Belt in 2021, wanting to build a place where experimental and literary pieces of speculative fiction could prosper. His YouTube channel has received over 1.6 million views.

  • Lindsey Ragsdale

    Fiction Editor

    Lindsey Ragsdale (she/her) is a writer from Chicago, Illinois. Two of her stories appear in the anthologies Howls from Hell and Howls From The Dark Ages. She loves reading, writing, cooking, and long walks by the lake. On Twitter, find her @Leviathan15.

  • Elise Le Bihan

    Fiction Editor

    French/American writer and violinist from Maine, Elise Le Bihan has a BA in Creative Writing and Violin Performance from Sarah Lawrence College along with a MsC in Creative Writing from University of Edinburgh. Her work has been published in the 2021 Anthology of From Arthur’s Seat and The Dark Side of Purity from Band of Bards. When she isn’t writing or reading, Elise is fond of traveling, baking and playing chamber music. She currently lives in London with her tuxedo cat, Barnaby. You can find her on Twitter @EliseLeBihan.

  • December Cuccaro

    Fiction Editor

    December Cuccaro is a south Floridian living in the high desert of Nevada with her spouse, cat, and two goblinesque chihuahuas. In 2021, she received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Nevada, Reno, and attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop on George RR Martin’s Worldbuilder Scholarship. Her chapbook The Price of a Feather was published by Sword & Kettle Press in 2021. Her short stories can be found in Three Crows Magazine, Apparition Lit, and Baffling Magazine, among others.

  • Gessica Sakamoto Martini

    Fiction Editor

    Gessica Sakamoto Martini is a writer from Italy. She holds a PhD in Evolutionary Anthropology from Durham University (UK). Her research involved the study of the evolutionary history of Cinderella. Her work has appeared in Corvid Queen and Alternative Stories podcast. She tweets weekly about folklore and fairytale symbolism at @GJMartini.

  • Sara Omer

    Associate Fiction Editor

    Sara Omer (she/her) is a SWANA-American writer with prose and poetry published/forthcoming in PodCastle, The Dark, Apparition Lit, Small Wonders, and others. She received her BA in English from Kennesaw State University in 2018. Sara currently lives in the woods outside of Atlanta with an old cat and will soon be on submission with a dark fantasy novel. In her spare time, she bakes and plays video games. You can find her on twitter as @omersarae or at sara-omer.blogspot.com.

  • Jenna Hanchey

    Poetry Editor, Audio Editor

    Jenna Hanchey has been an actress, particle physicist, Peace Corps volunteer, and afterschool-space-program teacher. She is currently a professor of critical/cultural studies whose research looks at how speculative fiction can imagine decolonization and bring it into being. Her own writing tries to support this project of creating better futures for us all. Her stories appear in Nature:Futures, Daily Science Fiction, Medusa Tales, Wyngraf, and Martian Magazine, among other venues. Having once been called a "badass fairy," she attempts to live up to the title. Follow her adventures on Twitter (@jennahanchey) or at www.jennahanchey.com.

  • Emma Cole

    Poetry Editor

    Emma Cole (she/her) is Editor for Harlequin Intrigue and Notes and Queries Editor for the Journal of Popular Romance Studies. Previously, she was a freelance copyeditor for many years. Emma loves horror, sci-fi, and speculative fiction, and her TBR stack never seems to shrink because she is forever buying more books. When she’s not reading, she’s watching classic films or crafting (or both), and doing a bit of writing, mostly nonfiction. You can find her most places on the internet as @EditrixEmma.

First Readers

To neglect the help provided by First Readers would be the height of arrogance. They are the backbone of our magazine. Their patience, passion, and thoughtfulness will not be underestimated or underappreciated. Without them, Orion’s Belt would be only a shadow of what it is.

Our current First Readers are:

Ruth Fishman

Ruth Fishman is an undergrad studying creative writing. She loves reading and attempting to write unusual fiction. She currently lives with two cats she is mildly allergic to.

Jesse Anderson

Jesse Anderson is an undergraduate studying creative writing from Virginia. They love stories generally, but especially the ones that grab them and make them feel like they are traversing an uncannily familiar yet distant place.

Vivian Chou

Vivian is a science advocate by day and a science fiction/slipstream writer by night. She has work published in riddlebird, Fusion Fragment, and The Bookends Review, among others. Find her online at vivianchouwriter.com or on Twitter at @vivianhchou

Elaine Omwango

Elaine (she/her) is a writer who has spent the last few years reading and writing speculative fiction stories. She is a lover of hot tea, sunny days, and dancing. When not battling mystical creatures and journeying across mythical lands, Elaine enjoys travelling off the beaten path, paints very badly, and occasionally dusts off her violin only to put it back in its case without playing a single note.

Philip Clapper

Philip Clapper is an administrative professional from Charleston, South Carolina. He received his BA in history and modern languages with a minor in sociology from Winthrop University. His literary criticism can be found in Heavy Feather Review. The abstract of his research on medieval medical practices was published in Winthrop’s 2021 Undergraduate Scholarship and Creative Activity. When not dipping his toes into creative hobbies, you can probably catch him walking nature trails, kayaking creeks, or relaxing on the beach.




 

Past Cosmonauts

Though cosmonauts leave our team, their efforts are not forgotten. They are thus memorialized here.

Our past Editors are:

Tom Kelly

Poetry Editor, 2024

Tom Kelly's fiction and poetry appear in Electric Literature, The Pinch, Ninth Letter, Redivider, and other magazines. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida. Instagram: tomkellyyyyy

Jenelle DeCosta

Fiction Editor, 2023

Jenelle DeCosta is a writer and freelance editor from New York. When she’s not writing or editing, she’s playing video games, watching anime, or chasing down mentorships and workshops to join. You can find her @xjenuine on Twitter.

Noah Codega

First Reader, 2022 ; Associate Fiction Editor, 2023

Noah Codega is a writer, gardener, musician, and amateurish sailor from Maine. His fiction has appeared in The Masters Review, Dark Matter Magazine, Hexagon, and elsewhere. He tweets occasionally at https://twitter.com/noahcodega

JD Harlock

Poetry Editor, 2022

J.D. Harlock is a Lebanese writer based in Beirut. His short stories have been featured in The Deadlands, Sciencefictionary, Defenestration, Wyldblood Press, and the Decoded Pride Anthology, his poetry has been featured in Penumbric, Future Fire, Mobius and Black Cat Magazine, and his articles/reviews have been featured in NewMyths.com, Mermaids Monthly, Interstellar Flight Press, Blood Knife and on the SFWA Blog.

You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @JD_Harlock.

Rhonda Schlumpberger

Fiction Editor, 2022

ed·i·tor | \ ˈe-də-tər \ n: 1: deeply interested in story structures, clarity, and the reader’s experience. 2: Likes experimentation with time, language, and intersections of reality such as the absurd or bizarre 3. also: former editor at Flash Fiction Magazine

ed·u·ca·tion | \ ˌe-jə-ˈkā-shən \ n: 1: MA in English and Creative Writing, Southern New Hampshire University 2: Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction, Seton Hill University 3: Key Coursework: Professional Editing, Genre Studies, Publishing, Linguistics, Story

lo·ca·tions | \ lō-ˈkā-shəns \ n: 1: current: Southern California 2: formerly: US and global supporting national defense and biotechnology sales/sales team management careers

wərds \ n: 1: #speculativefiction #flashfiction author 2: published in New Flash Fiction Review | Pulp Modern Flash | The Chamber Magazine and more 3: Anthologies All Worlds Wayfarer | Like Sunshine After Rain | When the World Stopped and others | 4. A Longform Fiction “Fiction Pick of the Week.” 5. www.storychops.com 6. Twitter @rhondaschlumpb1 Let’s connect!

Ai Jiang

Fiction Editor, 2022

Ai Jiang is a Chinese-Canadian writer, an immigrant from Fujian, and an active member of HWA. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in F&SF, The Dark, Dark Matter, PseudoPod, Jellyfish Review, Hobart Pulp, among others. Find her on Twitter (@AiJiang_) and online (http://aijiang.ca).

Our past First Readers are:

Megan Mealor

Megan Denese Mealor is a double Pushcart Prize nominee whose work has been featured in literary journals worldwide. She has authored two poetry collections: Bipolar Lexicon (Unsolicited Press) and Blatherskite (Clare Songbirds). She is studying English at the University of North Florida. Megan lives with her family in Jacksonville, Florida.

Susan Wu

Susan Wu is a student studying computer science who also likes indie games. Not a gardener. Willing to read anything if you send it to her. Trying to write in her free time, but Thoth doesn't like her.

Jacob Laba

Jacob Laba is a young writer currently living in El Cerrito, California. His focus is chiefly that of short stories which tend to settle in the realms of fabulation and the literary allegory.

S.A. Cole

S.A. Cole lives in New Orleans. When not working, writing or changing a diaper, he can be found arbitraging tubes of glitter during parades. His stories are forthcoming in Zooscape and scattered anthologies. No relation to Emma.

Dan Peacock

Dan Peacock is a science fiction and fantasy writer from the UK, with short stories forthcoming in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Kaleidotrope. He tweets at @DanPeacock92.

Rick Danford

Rick Danforth is a BSFA award shortlisted author from Yorkshire, England, where he works as a Systems Architect to fund his writing habit. When not working valiantly in the plot mines, he can be found doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a type of involuntary yoga with uncomfortable pyjamas. 

His short fiction can be found in Hexagon, Translunar Traveller's Lounge, and many other places