The Lodge Editors 2025
The Lodge Editors 2025
Jaylon Handley (he/him) is a senior with a double major in computer science and creative writing. He spends much of his time working in game development and fishing with friends.
Jonathan Baker (he/him) is a second year creative writing major who currently works in the Writer's Block in Lumpkin. He primarily writes fiction stories in the fantasy or science fiction genres, and is particularly fond of worldbuilding. His other passions include hobbies such as music, theatre, and painting.
Charles J. Gaither (he/she) is an LGBTQ+ writer in his first year as a creative writing major. He loves to play Dungeons & Dragons in her free time and has been writing since he could string words together.
Elio Thompson (they/them) is a junior graphic design major, with a double minor in business communications and art history. When they graduate they plan on pursuing a master's degree in library sciences, with a career path of being either a museum librarian or a higher education librarian. They enjoy playing video games, making art, reading, and taking .5 photos of their cat in their free time.
Rylee Lovelace (she/her) is a sophomore at Blackburn College studying Business Marketing. She enjoys being an editor of the Lodge because it allows her to be creative and get some page layout and editing experience. She hopes everyone enjoys this year's issue of The Lodge!
John Bray (he/him) is an editor for The Lodge. He is a freshman graphic design major and is minoring in creative writing. He loves cars and wants to pursue a career building them after graduation.
The Lodge Illustrators 2025
Elio Thompson (they/them) is a junior graphic design major, with a double minor in business communications and art history. They have worked on The Lodge for two years.
Ashley Hickerson (she/her) is a senior Cyber Security major with a Graphic Design minor. She is the Student Life Department Manager, the Resident Director of Graham Hall, and an At-Large Representative on Student Senate.
Damien Kulash (he/him) is a senior cyber security major with a minor in graphic design. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, dogs, and creating video games. After graduation, Damien plans on entering the UI/UX Software Development field.
Landon Snyder (he/him) is a sophomore computer science major and graphic design minor. He enjoys playing soccer and hanging out with friends in his free time.
A.Ward (he/they) is a junior majoring in graphic design who thinks about writing more than actually doing it.
The Lodge Editors 2024
The Lodge Editors 2024
K. Hardt (she/her) is a senior double majoring in English literature and creative writing. She enjoys photography, traveling, and horror movies. Her favorite genres of writing are poetry and nonfiction, and her favorite book is Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison.
Belle Lansaw (they/them) is a sophomore and a graphic design major. They hope to further their education after Blackburn and aim for a career that is based around art. They love snakes, frogs, birds, and their lovely pampered cats. They enjoy listening to a variety of music but their favorite genres are hyperpop, indie, K-pop, Japanese city pop, and 80’s classic rock.
Liv Leemon (she/her) is an Art/tentative Music double major and Creative Writing minor. She is involved in the art program, choir, theater, Style and Fashion club, and cross country. She’s delighted by poetry, singing, plants, thrifting, and her dogs, Reggie and Gizmo
Kameron Tharp (he/him) is a sophomore creative writer at Blackburn College with a minor in justice administration. He enjoys watching and studying films. He also enjoys nature, hiking, and mountain climbing. He’s also visited over a dozen lighthouses across the country!
Nicky Valverde (they/them) is a senior majoring in creative writing specializing in speculative fiction and double minoring in communications and gender & sexuality. They are currently finishing their short collection of monster stories with a twist. In their free time, they enjoy reading disturbing horror and watching analysis videos on all sort of weird topics.
Anderson A. Tavares-Garcia (he/him) is from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is currently in his Junior year and majoring in communications. Initially, he was majoring in creative writing, theater, and graphic design. Still, as a result of the years he would spend in school if he tripled majored, he instead decided to major in communications, a major that encompasses all of the three majors above. While in high school, he developed an interest in film and graphic novels, hence why he was triple majoring. His goal is to one day be able to write, direct, or participate in the creation of a major motion picture.
Elio (they/them) is a sophomore graphic design major, with a double minor in business communications and art history. When they graduate they plan on pursuing a master’s degree in library sciences, with a career path of being either a museum librarian or a higher education librarian. They are a huge fan of horror, the whimsical, and weirdcore genres. They enjoy playing video games, making art, reading, and taking .5 photos of their cat in their free time.
A. Ward (he/they) is a graphic design major, minoring in psychology and creative writing. He is a photographer, primarily of things that can’t run out of frame, and is caught in a vicious, never-ending cycle of writing, burnout, then writing again.
Sydney Bray (she/they) is a graphic design major with a double minor in gender & sexuality studies and studio art. She enjoys making art, consuming art, and learning about art history. She loves dogs and has two corgis.
The Lodge Illustrators 2024
Mark Richardson (he/him) is a senior computer science major, with a minor in graphic design. After graduating he plans to try to get a job in the games industry. He likes doing collage art in Photoshop about weird/creepy things or stuff with animals.
Brooke Naumann (she/her) is a sophomore at Blackburn College studying art and minoring in graphic design and marketing communications. She loves drawing, especially with her dog by her side, and plans on becoming an Orton-Gillingham Dyslexia Specialist while pursuing a career in children's book illustration.
Zachary Knox is a senior graphic design major with a minor in business administration. When they are not working and putting together ideas, they are on the baseball field. When they graduate, they plan on to coach a high school baseball team and plan on to dive deeper into the graphic design side of the world.
Janelle Naumann (She/Her) Janelle Naumann is a sophomore majoring in Studio Art and a passionate soccer player. Beyond the field and the canvas, she finds joy in renovating houses, with plans to continue this pursuit post-college. Her creativity extends to crafting whimsical robot sculptures from found objects, turning what others discard into art.
The Lodge Editors 2023
The Lodge Editors 2023: Founding Editors
Sam Cox (she/her) is a senior theater major and creative writing/ graphic design minor who loves to write, act, draw, and sing.
Wesley McMillen (he/him) is a senior creative writing major who is also the general manager. He wishes he had more time to write things.
Morgan Parsons (she/her) is a junior creative writing major and the Vice President of Psi Chi Club.
K. Hardt (she/her) is a junior English major and creative writing minor. She enjoys reading and photography.
Myra'Nesha McNeil (she/her) is a senior at Blackburn College majoring in creative writing and minoring in business management. She is proud to be from East St. Louis and wants to spread her love towards others.
Nicky Valverde (they/them) is a junior creative writer who likes fashion, teeth, analysis videos on horror, and anything that is mildly strange. Currently they are working on their seminar project of creating a short collection of sympathetic monster stories.
The Lodge Illustrators 2023
Alexis Drury (she/her) is a sophomore graphic design major who enjoys music of all kinds, fiction, cartoons, and comedy.
Rayne Heise (they/them) is a sophomore artist who likes any kind of art, videogames, tattoos, photography, and animals, but mainly rabbits. Currently they are working on photography as their part time hobby so they can learn many artistic ways for their future career. They are also fixing up their social media so they can share their tattoo designs and will eventually want to draw for many people who likes or want A LOT of tattoos just like Rayne.
William Kaminski (he/him) is a senior game designer who likes playing and creating video games, drawing random things, and coming up with ideas to pursue. Currently, he is working on his senior seminar project creating a 2D Souls-like video game where he hopes to challenge the player.
Cameron Shinall (he/him) is a senior graphic design major who likes fantasy stories, cosmic horror, and board games. Currently he is working on a board game heavily inspired by old mythologies.
Olivia (Liv) Leemon (she/her) is a sophomore art major and creative writing minor who adores plants, trinkets, funky patterns, and anything sappy or heart-wrenching. She loves writing poetry and painting with acrylic paints.
Anastasia Wigger (she/her) is a senior graphic designer who likes drawing, watching horror movies, and animals. Currently she is working on building her portfolio she will show for her senior seminar.
The Lodge Faculty Advisor
Elliott Wines (they/he) is the designer of The Lodge’s logo and watermark. He is a senior graphic design major and triple minor in studio art, art history, and theatre. After he graduates, he plans on pursuing a master's in art history. He also looks forward to expanding into animation at some point in his career.
Dr. Annah Browning (she/her) is a Professor of English and Communications at Blackburn College, where she teaches creative writing, composition, literary publishing, and literature, specializing in British and speculative literature. She is the author of the poetry collection Witch Doctrine (University of Akron Press, 2020) and the co-editor of the literary magazine Grimoire. When she isn’t working, you can find her walking her dog Roscoe or lurking around the weirdest items in the antique mall.
Special thanks is extended to Professor Craig Newsom, who guided our graphic designers and illustrators in his courses to produce our visual assets, and to Dr. Mark Benedetti, Dr. Naomi Crummey, and Dr. Karen Dillon for their copyediting of the pieces published here. Additional thanks is owed to Dr. Laura Wiedlocher for her assistance with coding on the site.
Masthead
The Lodge
Est. 2023