Jessica A Kaisk Member Member since 2026

EOC & Writer of Literally Literary Publication

Fiction Poetry Nonfiction

Jess Aayla Kaisk has spent more than a decade helping writers find their readers. In 2013 she founded Literally Literary, a Medium publication that now reaches more than 28,000 readers with poetry, fiction, essays, and nonfiction from over 880 writers around the world. She leads its editorial team with a simple mission: amplify voices that deserve to be heard.
She holds a BA in European History and Cultural Anthropology and an MA in Cultural Anthropology, which is a fancy way of saying she has spent years studying why people tell the stories they tell, and what makes others listen.
Her debut poetry collection, Wild & Sacred: Poems of Earth and Spirit, comes out through Amazon KDP this fall. She lives in Northeast Ohio with her family.

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Social:: Blog/web
Instagram
Medium

Interview with Jessica A Kaisk

Where do you prefer to do your creative work?

I love being able to read and write outdoors, but the majority of my work always gets done in my cozy 'wolf cave' at home. I have a large chair I can fold my legs up in, and tons of blankets, candles, and of course, coffee.

Do you read literary journals and magazines regularly? If so, which are your favorites?

Yes, I stay up to date with many of the online journals and publications. Most of my work centers around Medium right now, as we transition LL from strictly online with one print anthology into a quarterly journal. Some of my favorites both on and off Medium are The Lark, New Earth Consciousness, Infinite Within, and The Narrative Arc just to name a few.

Who are your literary (or artistic) heroes?

This is a hard one, as I don't necessarily have heroes, but some of my absolute favorite authors have been Mary Oliver, E.E. Cummings, J.R.R. Tolkien, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Tamora Pierce, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Anne Rice, Edgar Allen Poe...I could go on forever.

If you could only take one book on a ten-year voyage, what book would you choose?

Probably Bushcraft 101 (A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival) by Dave Canterbury! You never really know what you will need until you need it, so better to be prepared and not need it, than need it and find yourself unprepared.

How much of a typical day (or week) are you able to dedicate to your creative work?

I can usually squeeze out an hour, maybe two, a day during the week. Then it is up to the child gods whether or not I will have enough space, and metal capacity, to focus on the weekends and evenings.

What makes you procrastinate when you could be doing your creative work? What are your strategies for finding focus?

Social media is the biggest time suck, and creative destroyer, of all. If I have to pick up my phone for any reason, I know I will probably lose at least 5 minutes unintentionally. I try to have it completely in another room when I am working.

Last Updated: 08 Oct 2026