OUR TEAM
Piper Gourley is Editor-in-Chief of The Institutionalized Review. Gourley is a creative prose writer and a professional ghostwriter, crafting articles about everything from David Bowie to housing loans. They started TIR as a way to return the power of narrative to those who have had their story altered or silenced by institutionalization/hospitalization. They have written about their own experiences with institutionalization in The Rumpus, Michigan Quarterly Review: Mixtape, Quarterly West, TIMBER, and elsewhere. They have a goofy orange cat named Poe. They currently reside in California where, after receiving their MFA in Creative Writing from Chapman University, they are working in the publishing sphere.
Ximena Delgado is a Prose Editor for The Institutionalized Review. Ximena was born and raised in Mexico City and moved to San Antonio, Texas at the age of 15.
She graduated from Emerson College with a B.F.A. in Creative Writing focused on Fiction and a double minor in Publishing and Latin American Studies, and is currently getting her MFA in Creative Writing at Chapman University. In the future she hopes to work alongside immigrants, creating a safe space for them to share their life experiences and bring their stories to life. This year Ximena published her first collection of short stories, Para Curarte.
Truth Thomas is a Prose Editor for the Institutionalized Review. Truth was born and raised in the Houston, Texas area. She graduated from the University of Houston with a B.A. in English with a concentration in Creative Writing Fiction and minored in Studio Art. In her spare time, Truth enjoys reading short stories and drawing. Sometimes she also toys with various instruments. Her favorite thing to write is literary fiction and short stories.
Andrea Day is the Poetry Editor for The Institutionalized Review. Day resides in Fort Collins, Colorado where they are finishing up their BFA for Creative Writing and Media Studies. They work as a bookseller at Old Firehouse Books (and as a cookie seller at their local cookie shop). When they find time to do anything else, they're probably making a costume from scratch, figure skating, or annoying their cat to death. Not at the same time though, they're not magic. Unfortunately.
Mel Jay is the Art Editor of The Institutionalized Review. Jay is a writer, poet, digital and traditional artist. You'll never catch them without a notebook on hand. Much of their art and writing is published on their website. When Piper asked them to join TIR, they immediately said yes. They want to see more stories and art from those who have been institutionalized/hospitalized. Jay lives in the Midwest, working on their novel and a million other creative projects.
The staff of our publication includes (but is not limited to) individuals who have experienced institutionalization, hospitalization, and the troubled teen industry.