STAFF
Lizzy Petersen, Director, founded Outside Literary Magazine in 2016 to showcase the amazing talents of young people at Saint Louis Public Schools. At OLM, Lizzy oversees all day-to-day operations including curriculum development, fundraising, administration, and afterschool instruction. Before starting OLM, Lizzy served as Co-Poetry Editor for Sycamore Review at Purdue University, where she received her MFA in Poetry, and as Managing Editor and later Grants & Outreach Manager at River Styx Magazine. Lizzy’s poetry can be found in Beloit Poetry Journal, Carve, The Journal, LEON Literary Review, New South, Pinch, and Southern Humanities Review, among others. Today, Lizzy works in public media and serves as an editor at $: Poetry is Currency.
Britny Cordera, Editorial Assistant Instructor, joined the team in 2020 to support all editorial instruction for Outside Literary Magazine, including implementing students’ marketing ideas and event planning as well as outreach to schools. She is a Black writer and Creole poet, descending from African, Indigenous, and French/Spanish ancestors. She was a finalist for the 2020 Narrative 30 Below contest. Britny’s poetry can be found or is forthcoming in RHINO, Narrative, PANK, and Auburn Avenue. Currently, she is an MFA candidate at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, and poetry editor for The New Southern Fugitives.
Valeria Monroy, Alumni Design Fellow, started at Outside Literary Magazine as the student Art Editor until her graduation from Central VPA high school in 2020. As Art Editor, Valeria launched OLM’s first issue release event and art gallery show, created all marketing materials, and grew the magazine’s art submissions and talent pool. In 2020, Valeria joined the staff as an Alumni Design Fellow leading the redesign of the website, layout of Issue 4 for future printing, and consulting on all marketing materials. She is currently pursuing her BA in Visual Art from Fontbonne University.
Sarah Tisdale, St. Louis Poetry Center Writing Workshop Instructor, is a Black and Queer poet and teaching artist from St. Louis. They began working with Outside Literary Magazine in 2019 to develop curriculum, support evaluation, and lead workshop instruction through a teaching residency at St. Louis Poetry Center. Sarah has being teaching for over a decade and has received training through COCA’s Institute for Arts Integration, the Center for Art of Translation’s Poetry Inside Out teacher workshop, and the Regional Arts Commission’s Community Art Training Institute. She has attended Winter Tangerine’s Writers Workshop at Poets House, Tin House Summer Workshop, Pink Door Writing Retreat, and has been accepted to the SAFTA residency for Summer 2021.