Bella Rotker is a proud Venezuelan and 305 local. A five-time YoungArts winner and Best of The Net nominee, her work appears in SoFloPoJo, Fifth Wheel Press, JAKE, Best American High School Writing (2022, 2023, & 2024/25), and others. Bella served as Youth Lieutenant Governor of Michigan and now sits on the national steering committee for Writers for Democratic Action, where she also chairs the youth branch. Her work has been translated into Spanish & Russian. When she's not writing or making shadow puppets, Bella’s thinking about cafecitos and bodies of water. Bella is currently studying political science on the political theory track and law, government, and public service at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's honors college. Go Tar Heels!