Joana Santos
Associate Poetry Editor
Autumn 2026 – present
Joana Santos is a nonfiction writer originally from Portugal, currently completing her undergraduate degree in Creative and Professional Writing at the University of the West of England. She has contributed to HUB Magazine, Bristol 24/7 and the zine No More Silence. Her creative work explores identity, existentialism, femininity and the human experience, often experimenting with form and structure. She’s drawn to real-life stories and deep thinking, finding inspiration in the searching intellect of Jean-Paul Sartre, the creative structures of Charlie Kaufman, the quiet observations of Annie Dillard, the honest poetry of Anne Sexton, and Fernando Pessoa’s exploration of identity. She has worked in a community bookshop, where she witnessed literature bring people together, and in a library serving vulnerable people, where she helped readers connect with books and, in turn, with themselves.