Contributors

Ann Angel is the contributing editor for Such A Pretty Face: Short Stories About Beauty. Her biography Under The Influence: The Life and Times of Janis Joplin will be released by Abrams/Amulet in 2009.

Elisabeth Aron is an Ob-Gyn and the author of Pregnancy Dos and Don’ts: the Smart Woman’s A-Z Pocket Companion for a Safe and Sound Pregnancy.

Sarah Briggs teaches violin at Amherst and Smith Colleges and is a member of the Florence Piano Trio. Her son, Stone, came as a late-in-life delight.

Tina Cassidy is a journalist and author of Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born. She lives in Boston with her husband and two sons.

Kelley Cunningham is a part-time fine artist and illustrator, a weekend humor writer, a full-time art director in children’s publishing, and the proud mom of three wonderful boys. She lives in Pennsylvania with her family.

Ashini J. Desai earned her BA in English and an MS in Information Science, balancing poetry, project management, and motherhood. She writes for South Asian websites, as well as her own website, Philadelphia Poets, and Theme. She and her family live in Pennsylvania.

Martin Edwards is a creative journeyman, making a living as a photographer, filmmaker, and writer. He lives in Berkeley with his wife and sons.

Ariel Gore is the editor-publisher of Hip Mama and the author of several books, including her latest, How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead: Your Words in Print and Your Name in Lights.

Joan Labbe lives near Boston with her husband, her daughter, and her son. Her son Nickey was born with midwives in attendance and came out way too fast for his mama to think he could possibly get stuck. Joan continues to work on Opening to Life.

Pierre Laroche teaches English and Communication at Dona Ana Community College in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where he lives with his wife and sons.

Erin Lassiter lives in San Diego, California, with her partner and two children. She works as a freelance writer, creating curriculum materials for teachers and elementary school students, and as a mosaic artist.

Annalysa Lovos’s articles have appeared in Mothering, The Sun, and New Mobility, and she is currently working on her first book. She and her husband Dave, a musician and luthier, and Sage, make their home in northwestern Montana’s Flathead Valley.

Noemi Martinez is a community activist, poet, writer and single mother. She has been writing the zine Hermana, Resist for seven years and is the unofficial “zine queen.”

Frederica Mathewes-Green is the author of eight books, including Facing East: A Pilgrim’s Journey into the Mysteries of Orthodoxy. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland with her husband, the Reverend Gregory Mathewes-Green.

Jennifer Mattern is a playwright and freelance writer based in western Massachusetts. She is the author of the award winning blog on parenting, Breed ‘Em and Weep.

Jeanette Monsivais teaches French, Spanish, and Speech at Loretto Academy in El Paso, where she lives with her daughter Caroline.

Amy Parker lives in Maryland in the Washington D.C. suburbs. She and her hsuband Craig live with their 7-year-old twins and a 2 1/2 year old son, whom she actually got to carry. Being able to get pregnant was a dream come true. Amy continues to live each day as a stay-at-home mom, learning new lessons, and hopefully teaching some lessons along the way.

William Pierce’s fiction and essays have appeared in American LIterary Review, The Writer’s Chronicle, The CIncinnati Review, and elsewhere. He also writes a series of essays for AGNI entitled “Crucibles.”

Sabrina Porterfield is the 40-something mother of twins and lives with her wife in Finland. When she isn’t chasing the twins around, she systematically attempts to brainwash a select group of women online to trade warm weather for positive social policies, decent health care, and naked firemen.

Jessica Powers, editor of Labor Pains and Birth Stories, writes for young adults under the name J.L. Powers. Her novel, The Confessional, was published by Knopf in 2007. Catalyst Book Press is her company, which she started in 2008.

Tania Pryputniewicz is a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop. Her cover art, “Invisible Helpers,” was drawn, carved and rolled out three weeks before the birth of her first child. She lives in the California redwoods with her husband and three children, where she writes on Fridays and attempts to keep her blog (www.poetrymom.blogspot.com) current while caring for her family.

Diana M. Raab, R.N., MFA, is widely published in national magazines. She teaches writing at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. Her book, Your High-Risk Pregnancy: A Practical and Supportive Guide, is forthcoming in 2009. The book is newly updated and celebrates its 25th anniversary. For more information on her other books, visit her website: www.dianaraab.com.

Michelle Richards is a freelance writer and Assistant Professor of English in South Florida.

Jamaica Ritcher’s creative nonfiction has appeared in the online journal Literary Mama, on National Public Radio’s Day to Day, and in This I Believe: the Personal Philosphies of Remarkable Men and Women (Henry Holt, 2006). She lives in Moscow, Idaho, with her husband and two children.

Melissa Shook was a documentary photographjer, but is now concentrating on video and writing. She has recently retired from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Her website is www.MelissaShook.com.

Kiersten Foraste Shue met her husband while living in Taiwan. She works as a Pilates instructor, freelance writer, and mom in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Carmen Gimenez Smith teaches Creative Writing at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico and is the publisher of Noemi Press.

Georgia TIffany’s recent chapbook, Cut From the Score, was published by Night Owl Press. She teaches and writes in Moscow, Idaho.

Anne Winterich has taught high-school English and ESL, but currently volunteers in her daughters’ schools. Her poetry has been published in several anthologies, including Words-Myth.