Jessie's college roommate, post-grad-school roommate, and eternal roommate of her heart, as well as the owner of Ruth, the sister of Jessie and Miles's cats Ed and Bernard (and hundreds of well-kept plants).

First college friend and 6 year Minneapolis roommate. He's alright I guess.

Alaina and Jessie became friends in ninth grade shortly after the two of them realized that they were the only freshmen who had signed up for a rather senior-slide-y drama class. Alaina also performed at our festival Prairie Fyre as her alter ego, a charismatic Keith Raniere figure named Mr. Princess.

25 years later they're still lighting fires in the grove and talking loudly at each other. First friend on the prairie and long time good ol' boy.

Lisa and Jessie met at the University of Minnesota Morris in a women's bathroom, where they somehow, in the course of washing their hands, wound up talking about horses, a conversation that has continued for the 13 years since.

Journeyman chef and man of taste in any place. Will mow your lawn when you're losing your mind and always ready to haul some firewood. Hometown good ol' boy.

Eva and Jessie were friends at Morris, part of an elite circle of hard-partying women with good grades and the ability to talk both quickly and without end. Eva currently puts those skills to use as a lawyer for Education Minnesota (with the help of her fiance Graham and twins Arthur and Finnian).

Man of action, organized to the teeth and long time college friend.

Osaka bound programmer, drummer, and photographer. College friend and eternal brainstorming partner.

Dini and Jessie met in the fiction program at the Iowa Writers' Workshop and bonded over their love of long-form narrative / spicy gossip. She and her husband Prashant currently live in Austin, Texas, where she is working on a novel that will knock your socks off one day. (In this picture, Dini is on the right; in between her and Jessie stands their beloved roommate Jeri Marchan, poetess and burrito aficionado.)

David and Jessie were the only two people at Iowa who a) often drove up to Minneapolis on weekends and b) would happily walk many miles in order to sit at the lone picnic table atop Hickory Hill Park and drink beer. Though he holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, a Ph.D from UW Milwaukee, and is presently a law student at Northwestern, David is also talented at hourslong phone calls and sending Jessie horse-related memes.

Tastemaker extraordinaire and long time college friend. Always has your back even when you're hangry or down on your luck.

Co-philosopher and long lost good ol' boy. Ready to bartend, dog dote, and burrito chat at a moment's notice.

Junior bridesmaid Evie Uttley and Jessie have known each other especially well since the winter break in which Jessie's cousin Trina, Evie's mother, had her over to watch two-year-old Evie during the day. Currently an excellent teenager who attends Minnehaha Academy, Evie alas can no longer be amused for hours with a cardboard box.

Meg and Jessie met on a train in Munich, Germany, on the way to their study abroad program for the first time. Meg looked too cool to conceivably be with the group of German students, an impression that has not waned in the years since -- she is now a translator who lives in Reykjavik, Iceland with her two hairless sphinx cats.

Know it all nephew and son of brother. He's gonna leave us all in the dust someday, but for now he's still a little cutie.

Jessie and Anya met at the 2015 Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference at a reading by Kelly Link. Anya, a speculative fiction writer, worked at the ad agency where the reading took place; Jessie, who had recently seen a lot of Mad Men, tried to pick her brain. What initially began as a Networking Relationship soon transformed into what it is today: hanging out with Anya's twins Ally and Toby and various animals, dancing at clubs, and reading each other's fiction in their writers' group with Christine Utz, the Minnetonka Girls' Writing Club.

Late night confidant, hardworking carpenter, and synthesizer genius. Closing manager at Ed's Place.