PEN America Chapter: Detroit, MI

Amber Ogden is a freelance writer from Detroit with a background in social work. Amber has dedicated her life’s purpose to the betterment of youth in her community while also writing and marketing for state and local government agencies focused on children and families for most of her career. She started in journalism and soon found her second love working with children in the child welfare system through residential and foster care programs in the State of Michigan. While currently working with families in human services for the Metro Detroit area, she continues to freelance for multiple publications across the country such as Chevy in the D, Model D, Rachel Ray Every Day and BASIC Magazine. She is also involved in building community working with local non-profits such as It Starts at Home cleaning the same neighborhood where she grew up. She has also moderated a panel discussion for PEN America covering Local Media and Immigrant Justice.

Jonah Mixon-Webster is a poet and conceptual/sound artist from Flint, MI. His debut poetry collection, Stereo(TYPE), received the 2017 Sawtooth Poetry Prize from Ahsahta Press, the 2019 PEN America/Joyce Osterweil Award, and was a finalist for the 2019 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. He is an Assistant Professor of English at Lansing Community College and is completing his Ph.D. at Illinois State University. He is the recipient of fellowships from Vermont Studio Center, Center for African American Poetry and Poetics, The Conversation Literary Festival, and ivoh. His poetry and hybrid works are featured in various publications including Callaloo, Pennsound, Best New Poets 2017, and Best American Experimental Writing 2018.