WHO WE ARE
wind-up mice is a volunteer-run art & literary journal founded by two friends who met in berlin. we want to publish distinct voices, unforgettable imagery, your experiments. we love blending forms until they are unrecognizable. we seek the intimate, the mystical within mundanity. give us your thoughts on the evening train. your daydreams, lying half-awake on a sunbeam. give us the surreal—twisting the commonplace into a haunting haziness. the ephemeral. sunday afternoons in the kitchen, listening to the rain tap on your window. we believe music & writing go hand-in-hand & curate themed playlists for you to seek inspiration during each submission period. our sunday nibbles feature intertwines music with the intimate. we aim to continue printing tangible copies for you to hold in your hands!
MEET THE TEAM
art credit: chieko kato
ashley d. escobar collects memories and curates dreams. she'd like to think of herself as a walking curiosity shop. SOMETIMES (invisible hand press) is her debut poetry chapbook. she's getting an mfa in lying at columbia university. people watching is her favorite hobby, along with taking trains with no destination. the s-bahn platform in ostkreuz right before sunrise is where she'd like to be, overlooking the city with a notebook in hand. gulls & orange skies occupy her mind. find her on twitter @quinoa_cowboy. recent publications include the london magazine & hobart. avid user of the love letter emoji; she'll typewrite you one any day. suburban light by the clientele holds a special place in her heart. orchestrating a lit mag is the closest thing to being in a band—for now. quinoacowboys.com
megan loreto is a poetry editor. the influence of sweltering wildfire summers growing up in northern california and amber evenings coasting los angeles highways is imbued in the life she leads as she travels to other coasts. currently studying english as a master’s student at new york university she often thinks and writes about the larger questions: rising oceans, the legacy of wars and colonialism, and navigating the world outside of traditional narratives. most days, though, her own life is filled with cappuccinos, art galleries, conversations with friends, and fresh fruit. her world can be found on instagram @lvmegan and the soundtrack of her life has, most recently, been jubilee by japanese breakfast.
kia heryadi is a prose editor. she is a friend, lover, daughter, dreamer, and teddy bear enthusiast. some of her favorite labels include too pure, k Records, slumberland, and sarah records. when she’s feeling whimsical, she likes to listen to rocketship’s “here comes… rocketship” and chocolate usa's “smoke machine.” she would cut off any number of appendages to have been in attendance at the international pop underground convention.
co-editors-in-chief ashley d. escobar & penelope bernal
penelope bernal is also our artist in residence. she prides herself on having the best amarticana pasta recipe. eccentric, inquisitive. as a global and international studies major at bard college, penelope bernal's world is deeply influenced by anthropological studies and priceless stories of biological ingenuity. she floated through rome and tripped on stairways—molding glittering pasta with flour-coated hands. and just as she did years ago, she hums to church bells and buon viaggio by cesare cremonini—using her pen to create and mold artistic destinies. her art can be found on her instagram @pbartla, while her personal website showcases moments of observation beyond the steps of saint peters and the beer-laden streets of trastevere.
tyler lee serves as visual arts editor. he is a jack of all trades with a tiny little heart inside his thumb and an extra lung in his chest for spare luggage. he likes chess, piano, and little text-based puzzle games, but most of all enjoys spending far too much time cutting and carving and twisting the junk that's lying around his house into hands and feet, and spooning his thoughts out of his head and onto sheets of paper. he’s displayed some such creations in his zine, dream zine, and been published in the front porch review. his ambitions include successfully baking an easter lamb cake and transforming himself into a hermit crab. his favorite album at the moment is probably hatful of hollow.
lauren caldwell is a poetry reader. she is a nineteen-year-old poet from san francisco and attends lewis & clark college in portland, oregon. she hopes to use her work to inspire introspection and healing for all. she is brought comfort by simple things—a good cup of coffee, an outdoor table, or an overweight cat. her favorite album at the moment is deathconsciousness by have a nice life.
elise lesage is a social media manager. since leveling up from adolescence, she’s lived in two countries, six cities/towns, and eight somewhat dubiously managed apartments. all of which is to say: she feels most at home when she’s in a new place. when elise isn’t exploring or talking to strangers, she likes writing fiction, singing karaoke, and painting sad clowns. although liz phair and patsy cline are her main muses, she’s recently been bumping ‘70s movie soundtracks. you can find her on instagram @lofiliterary.