Romaine Bennett is a first year student at UNF majoring in Psychology and English with a concentration in creative writing. She has been writing poetry since freshman year of high school. She was born and raised in Miami, Florida and her family hails from Jamaica. She has previously had one of her poems published in Poetry Out Loud Gets Original: 2023. She would like to become a published poetry and fiction author along with being a Forensic Psychologist.

Bennett will read at the Student Showcase in the Main Auditorium on Saturday, December 2nd at 3 PM.

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X, a celebration of Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville, will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 1, 2, and 3, 2023 at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL, 32205.

JaxbyJax is grateful to our generous sponsors: FSCJ, Alternate Roots, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, 904WARD, Chamblin’s Bookmine and Uptown Café, Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance, Bab’s Lab, JaxPsychoGeo, San Marco Books and More, Scribbles, and Brad Kuhn & Associates, LLC.

Michael G. O’Connell has always been a storyteller. While he is a native of the Sunshine State, much of his prose often takes a darker turn. He earned his first writing credit by participating in a Twitter experiment where he collaborated with Neil Gaiman and hundreds of others to write a novella. His short fiction and poetry has appeared in numerous publications including the Bacopa Literary Review, The Raven Review, Moss Gossamer, Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories, As It Ought To Be, Dracula Beyond Stoker, and Words & Sports. He is currently writing and illustrating on a middle-grade horror.

O’Connell will read on Saturday, December 2nd at 1:45 PM in Art Auditorium E-112-F.

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X, a celebration of Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville, will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 1, 2, and 3, 2023 at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL, 32205. JaxbyJax is grateful to our generous sponsors: FSCJ, Alternate Roots, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, 904WARD, Chamblin’s Bookmine and Uptown Café, Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance, Bab’s Lab, JaxPsychoGeo, San Marco Books and More, Scribbles, and Brad Kuhn & Associates, LLC.

Alexander Bowen is a senior creative writing major at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. He is a passionate nature lover and holds revolutionary and environmental beliefs, which is often portrayed in his writing. He dedicates a large sum of his time into philosophy and some of his favorite authors include Thoreau, Nietzsche, Kafka, and Stirner. He aspires to be a Botanist and get in the field of Ecological Science to understand the world and achieve a oneness with it.

Bowen will read in the Student Showcase to be held in the Kent Campus Main Auditorium F-128 at 3 PM on Saturday, December 2nd.

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X, a celebration of Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville, will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 1, 2, and 3, 2023 at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL, 32205.

JaxbyJax is grateful to our generous sponsors: FSCJ, Alternate Roots, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, 904WARD, Chamblin’s Bookmine and Uptown Café, Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance, Bab’s Lab, JaxPsychoGeo, San Marco Books and More, Scribbles, and Brad Kuhn & Associates, LLC.

Melissa Aiuppy has lived in Jacksonville most of her life. She is a musician and music educator, but has discovered her passion for memoir writing. Melissa has been published online at Herviewfromhome.com. Her story, “An Angel in Aldi” was displayed in the Makers Gallery during the 2019 Jax by Jax. She is in the process of finishing her first memoir, Scared Out of My Mind (and Loving It). She lives in Springfield with her husband and three children.

Aiuppy will read at 1:30 PM on Saturday, December 2nd in the Art Gallery Auditorium E-112-F.

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X, a celebration of Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville, will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 1, 2, and 3, 2023 at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL, 32205.

JaxbyJax is grateful to our generous sponsors: FSCJ, Alternate Roots, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, 904WARD, Chamblin’s Bookmine and Uptown Café, Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance, Bab’s Lab, JaxPsychoGeo, San Marco Books and More, Scribbles, and Brad Kuhn & Associates, LLC.