Women Who Write, Inc.
Since 1988
J.R. BALE
AUTHOR, MARKETING CONSULTANT,
AND COLLEGE PROFESSOR
J.R. Bale is the author of two novels, Phoenix in the Middle of the Road and Cognition Chronicles: The Redstone Legacy. When not writing books, he is President and Creative Director of Balefire Communications LLC, a marketing consulting firm which recently has chosen to specialize in book marketing services. He has also served as a college professor at various New Jersey colleges, including Caldwell University, County College of Morris, Raritan Valley Community College and Middlesex County College. He is also the founding member of Page Bound Success, a cooperative book marketing group.
CHRISTINA KAPP
WRITER, EDITOR AND WRITING COACH
Christina has spent most of her life writing and nurturing an obsession with books. After beginning her career in publicity and editorial at William Morrow, she earned a MA in writing at Johns Hopkins University and her short fiction, poetry, and essays have been published or are forthcoming in dozens of publications, including Poetry Quarterly, Storyscape Journal, Monongahela Review, Barn Owl Review, Necessary Fiction, Forge, Pithead Chapel, PANK, and The MacGuffin. As well as her MA in writing, she also has a MA in English literature from
Rutgers University. She currently teaches writing at the Writers Circle Workshops in Summit (www.writerscircleworkshops.com), and Rutgers University—Newark. She also works as a freelance writer, editor, and tutor. Find her through her website (www.christinakapp.com) or Twitter @ChristinaKapp.
ELISSA MATTHEWS
AUTHOR AND SPEAKER
Elissa was born in New Jersey, grew up in New Jersey, and when she finished college, she got a job at the phone company in New Jersey. After a while she needed a change, so she launched on a voyage of discovery. Elissa went to Florida, California, Hawaii, New Zealand, and Australia. She was a cook on a prawn trawler, a bartender in a strip club, a lifeguard, a receptionist in a law office, a professional scuba diver. Eventually she realized that a 9-5, climate controlled job in an office somewhere (even New Jersey) wasn’t as bad as it sounded. Her short stories have appeared in “Aura”,
"Art Times,” “Lilith”, and other literary magazines. Elissa's first novel, Where the River Bends, is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold. She's currently working on her second novel.
LISA ROMEO
AUTHOR, EDITOR, WRITING COACH
Lisa Romeo is the author of the memoir Starting with Goodbye (University of Nevada Press, 2018). Her work is listed among Notables in Best American Essays 2018 and 2016, and is published widely, including New York Times, O The Oprah Magazine, Longreads, Under the Sun, Brevity, The Nervous Breakdown, Hippocampus, Inside Jersey, The Manifest-Station, River Teeth (Beautiful Things), Next Avenue, Brain Child, Greenprints, Skirt, Victoria, Babble, Illustrated Palm Beach, L’Anne Hippique, The Chronicle of the Horse. She’s contributed essays to more than a dozen
anthologies. Lisa teaches in the Bay Path University MFA program, and locally with The Writers Circle, and frequently presents at conferences and literary events. Lisa holds an MFA degree from Stonecoast (University of Southern Maine), and a journalism degree from Newhouse (Syracuse University). She also works as a literary journal editor, freelance manuscript editor, and writing coach. A New Jersey native, Lisa lives in Cedar Grove with her husband and sons. Visit her website: http://LisaRomeo.net
JESSICA FELLEMAN
AGENT, FOUNDRY LITERARY AGENCY AND MEDIA DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
Jessica, an agent with the Foundry Literary Agency and Media Development Company, represents a range of fiction and non-fiction, from fun pop culture, popular science, history, and psychology, to contemporary literary memoirs and graphic novels. On the non-fiction side, she likes books that have a strong, relatable, and often humorous voice, and prescriptive titles that offer realistic advice or new perspectives that help readers better understand themselves and their world.
She is always looking for fiction from compelling and underserved voices that focus on strong characters and interesting worlds, including commercial and literary fiction, and fiction that balances on the edge of genre as well as some science fiction and fantasy. Jessica loves fresh stories about magic, complicated families, everyday people doing extraordinary things, and unforgettable places.
Jessica grew up in Massachusetts, received her BAs in English and French from Syracuse University, and completed her MFA in Writing at The California Institute of the Arts. After working in Los Angeles for the literary magazine Black Clock and with Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises, Jessica moved to New York and began working at Foundry Literary + Media in 2015, where she is actively building her list.
MAYA MARLETTE
ASSISTANT EDITOR, SCHOLASTIC
A Kentucky native and Wellesley College graduate, Maya has been at Scholastic since 2016. She works on both middle grade and YA, though smart, fun, socially conscious YA is really her passion. Anything with a heavy dose of humor is bound to get a careful look. She’s also particularly interested in graphic novels. Her hobbies include being outdoors, tweeting about professional chess, and always packing a snack. You can find her on Twitter: @termayanated
LORI LYNN MEADER, LCSW
LICENSED PSYCHOTHERAPIST
As a licensed psychotherapist (LCSW), Lori Lynn works with individuals, couples and groups. Specializations include eating disorders and body image concerns, career transitions, relationship and marriage issues, anxiety, depression, grief and trauma. Training at NYU and beyond includes Focusing Techniques, AEDP and PBSP methods and Somatic Experiencing, using an interactive psychodynamic approach. She presents workshops and retreats and has written articles for professional publications.
In addition to her clinical practice, she is a certified Black Belt Instructor of The Nia Technique, an expressive way of moving and healing, that invites deep awareness and connection of mind, body and spirit. lorilynnmeader@gmail.com, www.NiaNow.com/lori-lynn-meader,
LESLIE ZAMPETTI
AGENT, DUNHAM LITERARY; MEMBER: AAR, SCBWI
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Leslie joined Dunham Literary in June 2016. Previously, she was an intern for The Bent Agency.
A former librarian with over 20 years’ experience in special, public, and school libraries, Leslie has cataloged rocket launch videos and Lego rocket ship models, presented SEC documents and story times, and negotiated with organizations from Lexis-Nexis to the PTA. Her experience as a librarian has given her a distinct perspective on publishing and readers. A writer herself, Leslie is very familiar with querying from both sides of the desk.
Leslie accepts Picture Books, MG, YA and adult works. More information can be found at https://www.dunhamlit.com/leslie-zampetti.html
Leslie graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in English and has a Master’s of Library and Information Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. On Twitter: @leslie_zampetti.