Alumni Reading: Annie Nickoloff, Brad Ricca, Michelle Smith

Annie Nickoloff is the senior editor of Cleveland Magazine. She has written for a variety of publications, including The Plain Dealer, Alternative Press Magazine, Belt Magazine, USA Today and Paste Magazine, and she hosts a weekly indie radio show called “Sunny Day” on WRUW FM 91.1, Case Western Reserve University’s radio station. In 2024, she was named Best Reporter in Ohio by the Society of Professional Journalists' Ohio chapter, in the small circulation print category. In 2025, she was a finalist for Writer of the Year by the City and Regional Magazine Association. A lifelong Northeast Ohioan, she enjoys frequenting Cleveland's music venues, hiking trails and pinball arcades.

Brad Ricca is the award-winning author of seven books, including Mrs. Sherlock Holmes, Super Boys, and the forthcoming Lincoln's Ghost. He wrote the Eisner-nominated graphic novel adaptation of Ten Days in a Mad-House with artist Courtney Sieh. He has written for The Washington Post, The Beat, Belt, Book Riot, Narratively, and the official Star Wars website. He has a PhD in English from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where he lives with Caroline and their three boys.

Michelle R. Smith is a poet, educator, cultural facilitator, and native Clevelander. She is the Program Director for Literary Cleveland and 2025-2027 Poet Laureate for Cleveland Heights and University Heights. She is the author of the poetry collections Ariel in Black (2015) and The Vagina Analogues (2020). She has been published in The Normal School, The Gasconade Review, New Note Poetry, Merge Magazine, io Literary Magazine,and more. She received her BA and MA in English Literature & Language from Case Western Reserve University in 1998 and 2000.

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