Editor

Debby DeRosa holds a BA in English from the University of South Carolina-Columbia and an MFA in Creative Writing from Converse College.  In addition to being Editor-in-Chief of South85 Journal, she is the Marketing Manager of Five Star Plumbing Heating Cooling in Greer, SC, and she freelances as a copywriter and content developer.  She and her husband, Joe, live in Greenville, SC, with their two daughters, Aimee and Ruby.

Poetry Co-Editors

After realizing from an early age that he had no athletic ability whatsoever, David Colodney turned his attention to writing about sports instead, and has written for The Miami Herald and The Tampa Tribune. He currently studies poetry in the MFA program at Converse College, and serves as Assistant Poetry Editor of the 85South literary magazine. His poetry has appeared in Shot Glass Journal and Egg. David lives in Boynton Beach, Florida.

Melissa Sherrer

Fiction Co-Editors

Kathy Garvin studies fiction in her second semester of Converse College’s MFA Program.  Currently, she teaches adult reading and writing to ESOL students through the Greenville Literacy Association and is a grant writer for the Yvette W. Ferris Foundation.  She lives in Greenville, SC, with her husband Jonathan and their three children, three cats, and three chickens.

Shea Faulkner holds a Master’s of Education from Southern Wesleyan University and is pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing from Converse College. Shea’s primary literary interests include the Southern family as portrayed by Southern writers. She currently works as an adjunct English and Reading instructor at Spartanburg Community college and is an independent quality consultant. She and her husband, Campbell, reside in Upstate, SC, with their two children, Ian and Caroline.

Non-Fiction Editor

Jacob Allard graduated Converse College with his MFA in creative writing in 2014. When he’s not writing or editing he is usually found teaching, improvising, acting, or enjoying the outdoors or the City of Richmond, where he calls home.

Review Editor

Lisa Hase-Jackson

Blog Editor

Kristi Hébert was born near Buffalo, NY, but she now lives in a mosquito-ridden bayou jungle in Louisiana.  She works as a dog trainer, for which she didn’t need any of her three degrees.  She’s currently getting a fourth degree just for fun.  She likes to write about the end of the world, and she has been mistaken for Ariel, the Little Mermaid, at least once.

Artistic Director

Rebecca Landau received her MFA from Converse College in June 2014 and serves as Artistic Director of South85 Journal, selecting work for publication and redesigning the online site for the Converse College literary journal. She is also a communications assistant at the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville.

Social Media Director

Connie Thompson Vincent

Contributing Editor

Rick Mulkey is the author of five poetry collections: Ravenous, Toward Any Darkness, Before the Edge of Reason, and Bluefield Breakdown.  He has taught at universities and writing workshops across the United States and Europe, and he currently directs and teaches in the low residency MFA program at Converse College.

Webmaster

Stephen Gray