Meet The Team

Ọna Anosike is the Founder and Chief Editor of the TONIC. Her fiction and essays have appeared in literary journals, women's magazines, and publications, including The Offing. She has taught writing seminars and workshops and has served as a judge for national writing competitions, including the Association of Writers & Writing Programs undergraduate literary journal competition. Alongside her literary work, she is the founder of Inkwell Montessori, a school for young children in the Greater Boston area.

Kyoko Mori’s new nonfiction book, CAT & BIRD, was published in March 2024 by Belt Publishing. She is the author of 3 other nonfiction books (The Dream of Water; Polite Lies; Yarn) and 4 novels (Shizuko’s Daughter; One Bird; Stone Field, True Arrow; Barn Cat). Her essays and stories have appeared in The Best American Essays, Harvard Review, The American Scholar, Colorado Review, Conjunctions, and others. She teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at George Mason University and the Low-Residency MFA Program at Lesley University. Kyoko lives in Washington, DC with her cats, Miles and Jackson.

Sarah Kilgallon and Ọna Anosike.

(Someoneschild) is a self-taught Nigerian photographer and fine artist whose work challenges the boundaries of photographic form. His breakout piece, Scarred, debuted in a 2018 group show and was later exhibited at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Kamal’s images span portraiture, nature, and documentary, each inviting viewers to pause, look closer, and find beauty in overlooked places. Rooted in curiosity and experimentation, his evolving practice reflects a deep commitment to storytelling, transformation, and reimagining the familiar. Check out some of his work here: Kamal Obat