Women Who Write, Inc.
Since 1988
ELIZABETH BARRETT
INDEPENDENT EDITOR
Elizabeth Barrett began her career in New York, where she was an editor with three major publishing houses. Most of her time was spent with Bantam Books, working on their Loveswept romance series and general list women’s fiction. For the past fourteen years, she has had her own freelance editorial business. Her services run from assisting with the earliest stages of crafting a book to proofreading and helping with query letters. Her clients write a wide variety of fiction, as well as nonfiction and memoir. She has also sat on the
other side of the desk, and is the author of several published novels. Elizabeth is an editor for WWW member Doris Parmett, an award-winning and best-selling American author of romance, mystery, and contemporary women’s fiction. Elizabeth is a non-acquiring editor, but has a wealth of knowledge and information having worked in the publishing industry for more than thirty years.
MARIA DEWAIK
AUTHOR, MEMBER OF WOMEN WHO WRITE
Maria M. Dewaik is a former real estate broker and administrative professional, who's passion has always been writing. To that end, she has been writing short stories aimed at middle graders and young adults. Maria loves to write historical fiction with the hope of not only entertaining and educating, but also to give young people an insight to the differences and similarities of their ancestral counterparts.
Maria's first published book was a children's non-fiction picture book about how her little dog, Goliath, who wouldn't go into the swimming pool, overcame his fear. The story is very close to her heart because prior to him joining her family, Maria herself, had a life-long fear of dogs. Through lots of love and patience, she not only overcame her terrible fear, but is now an avid dog lover.
Maria is currently working on several historical fiction books, a young adult mystery and is working on turning one of her published short stories into a screenplay which will hopefully be made into a short video.
ANN FROMMER, RN
AUTHOR, PHOTOGRAPHER, MEMBER OF WOMEN WHO WRITE
From an early age, Ann wanted to become a writer or an artist; however, it was put on hold while she pursued a healthcare career instead.
An RN with successful healthcare management background wrote and published multiple medical articles. During the same time, she became editor of The Alert, a healthcare quality newsmagazine that won national recognition. It was for The Alert, that she resumed her love affair with the lens resulting in photography that hangs in several NJ galleries
and private collections.
Ann studied liberal arts at Columbia University, art at NYU and completed bachelor's and master's degrees at Fairleigh Dickinson University in NJ.
She is the coauthor of 2 books: Tailgunner and Tailgunner R3 and author of a cookbook, Annie Cooks. Her photography is displayed throughout her cookbook.
Ann Frommer holds membership in several NJ art associations and sits on the Board for the Art League of Chathams.
DR. ALICE LAZZARINI
CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR in NEUROLOGY, AUTHOR, MEMBER OF WOMEN WHO WRITE
In her memoir, Both Sides Now: A Journey From Researcher to Patient, Dr. Alice Lazzarini tells the story of having been named one of the twenty top authors in Parkinson disease (PD) research from 1996 through 2006, only to realize she was developing the very same disease that she had spent years studying.
She uses her story to advocate on behalf of Parkinson’s at both local support groups and large conferences (most recently an invited talk at the 2016 World Parkinson Congress in Portland, Oregon). She
has her own website and has blogged for Psychology Today and the Foxfeed blog, as well as for the American Parkinson Disease Association, which receives 20% of all book sales. Visit Dr. Lazzarini's wiki page to learn more about her.
In May, Dr. Lazzarini was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni for 2017.
DORIS PARMETT
AUTHOR, MEMBER OF WOMEN WHO WRITE
Doris Parmett is an award-winning, national best-selling American author. Her work includes contemporary and romance novels, mysteries, short stories, magazine articles, and poetry.
Her short story Audition of a Lifetime (2016) appeared in Romantic Times Vegas Volume One. The Next Chapter (November 2017) will be published in The Christmas Spirit anthology.
Agented, Doris recently completed Journey to Forever, a science fiction contemporary novel, No Guarantees, Never Wake up in a Morgue, and Game Over, the first in a mystery series. She is currently working on Game On, the second book in the series.
As a reading specialist she served on the Somerset County Executive Board of the International Reading Association. In that capacity, she was instrumental in bringing the Young Author’s Program to this state. To encourage students she wrote Litterocious Lou the Lopsided Dragon, plus the Marbella series.
Doris was also a Publishers Weekly reviewer.
In addition she has lectured at various colleges. She began her teaching career in Los Angeles, where her students were the first to have their writing displayed at the Los Angeles Airport. Doris is honored by the New Jersey State Department of Education.
She holds a Masters Degree in Science from the University of Southern California.
Awards include: Holt Medallion, New Jersey Writers Conference, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice, RWA nominee of LIES for Book of the Year.
DR. ANN M. DeVENEZIA
POETRY INSTRUCTOR, RETIRED ENGLISH TEACHER
Dr. Ann M. DeVenezia, a retired high school English teacher turned poet, received her Bachelor of Arts from the College of Saint Elizabeth. Her graduate degrees are the Master of Letters in Humanities and the Doctor of Letters in Creative Writing from Drew University. She is the recipient of the Michael Ellis Award for her thesis "Dostoevsky’s Debt to Dickens" and a Dodge Grant for a study of the interrelationship of the arts. DeVenezia has traveled widely in Europe, Russia, and China.
The award-winning Grave Rubbings: New and Selected Poems was followed by Riding My Tricycle: Poetry of Dreams and Visions and next Telling Abuse: New Poems. Her work appears in Caduceus, Connecticut River Review, Edison Literary Review, Italian Americana, Lips, Louisiana Literature, Paterson Literary Review, Poet Lore, Rattle, Red River Review, Tar River Poetry, and The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop, among several other print and non-print publications. An article about her ancestors and Madison, New Jersey, "Rose City Roots and Blooms," appears in The Italian Tribune. She reads regularly at venues in Conn., NY, and NJ.
Dr. DeVenezia has been a poetry instructor for groups such as Great Horizons and The International Women’s Writing Guild.
DR. SARAH SMITH DUCKSWORTH
AUTHOR, MEMBER OF WOMEN WHO WRITE
In 1988, Sarah received an Ed. D. degree with honors. Her 400-page book received a coveted "Outstanding Dissertation" award from the Rutgers Alumni Association. That same year she attained a tenure-track position at Kean College, where she was a tenured professor of English Literature for 27 years.
Sarah has published over a dozen academic and human interest articles in venues such as the Black Chronicle of Education, Sage, Masterplots, and The New York Times. In 1995, she published a chapter in
The Stowe Debate: Rhetorics in Uncle Tom's Cabin. In the early 2000’s, she produced a video on the Underground Railroad in Union County, New Jersey. In 2005, she wrote the foreword to the 5th edition of William Still's Underground Railroad. In the summer that year she did extensive work on the Underground Railroad throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania as the research coordinator for the Center for Anti-Slavery Studies under the aegis of The National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2012, she appeared as a commentator in a PBS Black History Month documentary on William Still.
Now, at the end of a nearly forty-year career in academia she finds new directions and a deeper appreciation for the gift of life. This new outlook permeates her new book of poetry, "Chimes of Time" formerly entitled "No Crystal Stair" and her completed memoir, TROUBLE IN THE AIR is in the final stage of editing.
DR. DEBORAH GERRISH
POET, INSTRUCTOR, MEMBER OF WOMEN WHO WRITE
Deborah Gerrish is the author of the collection of poems, The Language of Paisley (2012), and the chapbook, The Language of Rain (2008). Her poems have appeared in Adanna, Exit 13, Lips, Journal of New Jersey Poets, The Paterson Literary Review, The Stillwater Review, other magazines and various anthologies. She was awarded an Edward Fry Fellowship for scholarship research work at Rutger’s University where she received her Ed. D. in Literacy Education, and in 2015, was the recipient of an MFA in Poetry from Drew University. She taught English
for over thirty years in the NJ public schools. As a facilitator, she organizes readings for Visiting Poets and teaches a poetry workshop at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She served as VP of Programs for Women Who Write, Inc. Her collection of poems, Light in Light, is forthcoming in 2017.
CHRISTY NAIDA LINSON
YOGA INSTRUCTOR, AUTHOR
Christy Naida Linson is a lifetime journaler and avid learner, an E-RYT 500 Yoga Instructor and a licensed massage therapist (LMT). She began practicing yoga in 1999 while attending massage school in Maui, HI. Her interest in the miracle of the human body, travel, and beautiful places led her to receive her bachelors in Contemplative Psychology and somatic (mind-body) psychology from Naropa University (the home of the Jack Kerouac School for Disembodied Poetics) in Boulder, CO.
She is blessed to be the owner of Prana Yoga Center, direct the Aligned Flow® 200 hour teacher training program, lead retreats in beautiful places, and to offer deep tissue massage to athletes including being one of the yoga instructors and massage therapists for the NY Jets. She is a SUP (Stand Up Paddle) yoga and paddle instructor and owner of the Aligned Flow® Floating Studio.
Christy uses writing to create and live her dreams and continues to offer journaling on her yoga retreats as a way to encourage others to explore more deeply and live the possibilities.
ALEXA PASTOR
ASSISTANT EDITOR, SIMON AND SCHUSTER BFYR
Alexa joined Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, and Margaret K. McElderry Books in August of 2014. Prior to landing her dream job, Alexa interned at both Bloomsbury Children's Books and Running Press Kids, was a bookseller at Barnes and Noble, and graduated summa cum laude from Villanova University. She completed her master's degree in Children's and Young Adult Publishing at Rosemont College in 2015. She is the lucky editor of the ANNA, BANANA chapter book series by Anica Mrose Rissi
and debut middle grade novel ONE SHADOW ON THE WALL by Leah Henderson. She is acquiring picture books, middle grade, and YA with fresh, honest voices, unique story structure, and pitch perfect emotional heart. You can follow Alexa on Twitter @Alexa_Pastor926.
AMY STERN
AGENT ASSISTANT, SHELDON FOGELMAN AGENY
Amy Stern started at the Sheldon Fogelman Agency in 2010 as an agent assistant and has spent the past five years taking on additional responsibilities while not quite believing that she gets to work with children's books as her job. After receiving degrees in English and creative writing at Bryn Mawr College and masters degrees in children's literature and library science at Simmons College, she interned at a literary agency and fell in love with the industry. In her copious spare time, she mentors writing students at Simmons's Center for the Study of
Children's Literature. She is currently accepting picturebook, middle grade, and young adult submissions from authors and illustrators, particularly if the work explores underrepresented identities. She's not your best bet for a heterosexual romance or historical fiction, but is open to pretty much anything else. She has probably looked at your Tumblr.
CAROL VAN DEN HENDE
MARKETING EXPERT & STRATEGIST, AUTHOR, MEMBER OF WOMEN WHO WRITE
Carol is an MBA and marketing, strategy and insights expert. For 20 years, she’s led the positioning, branding and product development for multi-million to billion dollar brands. Carol loves collaborating with best-in-class advertising, design and promotions agencies and has managed brands across food, chocolate and gifting categories.
Carol writes contemporary fiction, and was a 2016 finalist in the Lone Star Writing Competition. She shares her marketing expertise with authors through branding, design and trends workshops and the “Where Writers’ Win” blog. Attendees have called her a “presentation powerhouse” and “crowd favorite” with workshops that are “terrific,” “wonderful,” “engaging,” “meaty, food for thought!”
She consulted for an environmental non-profit in Ireland and serves on the board of trustees for a special needs school. She, her husband and twins have lived in the US and China, and share a home with their Siberian cat. Connect with Carol on Facebook or Twitter @c_vandenhende.
SARAH YOUNGER
SENIOR AGENT, NANCY YOST LITERARY AGENCY
Sarah E. Younger, Senior Agent, at the Nancy Yost Literary Agency moved to New York City in 2011. Before joining the NYLA team she attended the University of Denver’s Graduate Publishing program. She is an associate member of AAR and is currently nominated for ACFW’s agent of the year. Sarah represents a wide variety of of authors in both fiction and non-fiction. As an editorial agent one of her favorite parts of the job is working her authors to develop strong submissions. You can find her on her personal twitter page @seyitsme and learn more about the Nancy Yost Literary Agency by visiting the website www.nyliterary.com.
Currently Seeking: all varieties of romance and women’s fiction, select domestic suspense and thrillers, as well as select non-fiction (Sarah particularly enjoys non-fiction that includes animal or sports themes).
Not currently interested in: Poetry, Horror, YA, Middle Grade, or Children’s Picture books.