Masthead 2026 | Spirit Lake Review

Illustration of ghosts hiding behind sign that says "The Spirit Lake Review" with a lake, trees, and a sun behind clouds in the background.

A golden retriever. The angle is from its head, while its lying down.

Alex Jansen

Submissions Management Team and Copy Editing Team

Alex is a Junior at UW-Platteville majoring in English with a Creative Writing minor. This is their second year working on Spirit Lake Review. They love to sew, write, crochet, and the only photos they possess are of their pets.

An illustration of an orange ghost with a fishing pole hovering above water.

Aubryn Owen

Web Design Team and Social Media Team

Aubryn Owen is a Junior at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville who is majoring in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing and a certificate in Linguistics. In her free time, she enjoys reading and writing (of course), as well as playing video games and Dungeons and Dragons.

Smiling woman in orange cross country uniform.

Ava Garrard

Social Media Team and Launch Party Planning Team

Ava Garrard is a Senior at UW-Platteville majoring in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing. Outside of class, Ava is a captain of the cross country and track teams on campus.

An illustration of a dark brown ghost holding a fishing pole hovering above water.

Bryce Aide

Web Design Team

Bryce Aide is a Senior at UW-Platteville, majoring in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing. Bryce spends his downtime reading, playing video games, and baking. This is Bryce's second year with the Spirit Lake Review team.

An illustration of a blue ghost holding a fishing pole hovering above water.

Chance Lange

Social Media Team

Chance Lange is a Junior at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, majoring in Political Science and English with a minor in Criminal Justice. When she is not at school, Chance enjoys hiking with her dog, Timber, and listening to music.

Exie

Web Design Team and Social Media Team

Exie is a Junior at UW-Platteville majoring in Business Communication. Exie is from Chicago, Illinois, home of the Bears. Exie enjoys coloring, binge-watching series, baking, and spending time with her son and three-legged dog, Puppy.

An illustration of an orange ghost holding a fishing pole hovering above water.

Gretta Droessler

Submissions Management Team and Copy Editing Team

Gretta Droessler is currently a Sophomore and majoring in English with a minor in Creative Writing. She exemplifies in poetry writing and loves to make art in her spare time.

Hunter Sheffer

Web Design Team

Hunter Sheffer is a Senior at UW-Platteville majoring in English Literature. He enjoys reading, writing, and playing video games. He is excited to work with the web design team for the 2026 Spirit Lake Review.

Smiling young woman with long blonde hair.

Isabel Peterson

Social Media Manager and Submissions Co-Manager

Isabel Peterson is a Senior English major in Professional Writing with a Creative Writing minor. She runs on the UW-Platteville women's track and field team. Her favorite type of writing is poetry and in her free time she likes to write songs. She is a big matcha lover.

Jaiden McCauley

Social Media Team

Jaiden McCauley is a Sophomore at UW-Platteville, Baraboo campus, pursuing a major in Criminal Justice with a minor in English. Combining her interest in legal systems with a passion for communication, Jaiden serves on the social media team, where she focuses on creating engaging, high-impact content. She is dedicated to bridging the gap between information and community outreach.

An illustration of a purple ghost holding a fishing pole hovering above water.

Julie Patzlaff

Submissions Management Team and Copy Editing Team

Julie Patzlaff is Senior at UW-Platteville majoring in English with and Emphasis in Technical Writing and a Minor in Creative Writing. In her free time she enjoys writing and reading poetry and playing Magic The Gathering. This is her 2nd year with Spirit Lake Review.

Smiling young man sitting outside with wavy brown hair.

Kevin Dunse

Submissions Management Team and Copy Editing Team

Kevin Dunse is from Reedsburg, Wisconsin, and is a Senior at UW-Platteville. He is looking forward to working with the submissions management and copyediting teams for the third time.

Young woman with dark hair smiling, sitting on wooden bridge.

Maria Streif

Submissions Management Team and Copyediting Team

Maria Streif is a Junior at UW-Platteville majoring in Biology with a Health Sciences emphasis and plans to become a physician assistant. She is also pursuing an English minor and a Professional Writing Certificate. In her free time, she enjoys writing, reading, singing, painting, baking, and line dancing!

Young woman on pier overlooking city skyline.

Michele Eaches

Web Design Manager

Michele Eaches is a Senior at UW-Platteville majoring in English with a Professional Writing emphasis and minoring in Creative Writing. In her free time she enjoys playing the guitar, singing, reading, and watching movies. She is excited to be a part of the web design team and looks forward to collaborating with her peers.

Young woman in floral dress looking right

Scout Dodds

Submissions Management Team and Copyediting Team

Scout Dodds, hailing from Frederic, Wisconsin is a Senior at UW-Platteville majoring in Agricultural Education with a General Agriculture emphasis and minoring in Animal Science, while also earning certificates in Professional Writing and Integrated Liberal Arts. In her free time Scout enjoys writing, cooking, and traveling to new destinations.

Person with short brown hair, glasses, and dark lipstick

Shayla Trautsch

Editor-in-Chief

Shayla Trautsch is a Senior at UW-Platteville and is the Editor-in-Chief for the 2026 Spirit Lake issue. She's a double major of Professional Technical Writing and Literature. Her favorite literature genre is obsurdist fiction, and she's currently writing a collection of short horror stories.

Woman with brown hair, glasses, and multicolored necklace

Kara Candito

Faculty Advisor

Kara Candito is the author of Spectator (University of Utah Press, 2014), winner of the Agha Shahid Ali Poetry Prize, and Taste of Cherry (University of Nebraska Press, 2009), winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry. Her work has been published in such journals as American Poetry Review, AGNI, The Kenyon Review, and Jubilat. She is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, and scholarships and awards from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Ragdale Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, and the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. Kara is an associate professor of English, Creative Writing on the UW-Platteville main campus.

Smiling woman in green coat with autumn foliage

Kelly Dwyer

Founder

Kelly Dwyer grew up in San Pedro, California, graduated from Oberlin College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and has spent much of the last twenty or so years in Baraboo, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband, Louis Wenzlow; their daughter Alice attends the University of Minnesota. Kelly has published two novels and is currently finishing her third, a psychological ghost story titled Ghost Mother. She taught at the University of Platteville, Baraboo/Sauk County for fifteen years, where she co-founded Spirit Lake Review, which began as a club in the cafeteria, and then became the vibrant class it is today. Kelly is currently teaching creative writing classes to adults online through the University of Iowa Summer Writing Festival, and working on her own writing. She is enjoying seeing the magazine flourish and loves keeping in touch with former students. www.KellyDwyerAuthor.com