Ferris Gilli (born Ferris Maureen Paulk, April 13, 1943, Tifton, Georgia, U.S.A.), poet, critic, and editor publishing haiku since 1996 and winning competitions since 1998. Active in various educational projects of the World Haiku Club and editor of Treetops, a haiku column in its World Haiku Review in the early 2000s. Published a haiku collection, Shaped by the Wind (2006) and coedited a collection of the haiku of Peggy Willis Lyles (2022). Formerly an Associate Editor and now Consulting Editor of The Heron’s Nest. Resides in Marietta, Georgia.

Francine Banwarth (born Francine Ninette Buda, June 29, 1947, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.), freelance proofreader and copy editor. Has work featured in dozens of competitions and anthologies; named The Heron’s Nest Poet of the Year in 2015. Served as second vice president of the HSA and as editor of Frogpond; currently a member of the Red Moon Anthology editorial staff. Resides in Dubuque, Iowa.

Frank Higgins (born March 6, 1953, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A.), American playwright, poet, and haiku poet. Taught playwriting for many years at the University of Missouri–Kansas City and worked as performing poet-in-the-schools residencies throughout Missouri and Kansas. He is the author of two books of poetry, and two books of haiku. Productions of his plays took him to all parts of the United States, which often resulted in haiku written about the places where he lived. His permanent residence is Kansas City, Missouri.

Frank Hooven (born Frank Thomas Hooven, July 2, 1956, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.), retired information technology developer and manager, and active haiku poet. Publishing in leading print and online journals. Won honors in dozens of international competitions, including those of the Kaji Aso Studio, the Haiku Poets of Northern California the Irish Haiku Society, Haiku Northwest, Akita International, the New Zealand Poetry Society, Modern Haiku, and Presence. Anthologized in the HNA 2019 anthology, and A New Resonance 13. His collection, Magic Carpet, appeared in 2025. Member of the HSA and the Inkstone Poetry Forum; resides in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Garry Gay (born Garry Gene Gay, March 28, 1951, Glendale, California, U.S.A.) professional photographer and haiku poet and organizer. He was a leading member of the Leanfrog haiku group in Oakland, Calif., in the late 1970s and early 80s and was a cofounder and first president of the Haiku Poets of Northern California, 1989–90 (and president again in 2001–2011, and current president). In 1991 he was elected president of the Haiku Society of America, the first not to hail from the East Coast. He was also a cofounder of the Haiku North America series of haiku conferences and chairs the advisory board for the American Haiku Archives in Sacramento, Calif. Gay has published several chapbooks and edited a number of haiku anthologies. He is credited with the invention of rengay, a popular linked-verse form. He lives in Santa Rosa, California.