Martha Southgate's most recent novels are Third Girl from the Left (Houghton Mifflin). and The Fall of Rome (Scribner). She has received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and the Bread Loaf Writers Conference. Her 2007 essay “Writers Like Me” in the New York Times Book Review received considerable notice in literary circles and the publishing industry. Her new novel will be published by Algonquin Books. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children. You can visit her website at www.marthasouthgate.com.

Ruth Ann Hensley finds joy in telling the stories of things witnessed and those spun in the minds of intriguing, real-life characters. She holds a master’s of journalism degree and has been nationally recognized by the Public Relations Society of America with a 2007 Bronze Anvil Award in feature writing. Ruth Ann’s work has been featured in The New York Times, American Waymagazine and Public Relations Strategies and Tactics (6th Edition). She lives in the Dallas area and is eager to help others find those fascinating tales, wherever they may be discovered. You can visit her website at www.rahensley.com.

Alma Garcia is a 2009 recipient of a grant from Artist Trust, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Award winner in 2007, co-winner of the 2007 Narrative Prize in Fiction, and a past recipient of the Dana Award in Short Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Narrative Magazine, Passages North, and Boulevard. A former journalist, she has taught creative writing at the University of Arizona, the Richard Hugo House, Powerful Writers/Powerful Schools, and 826 Seattle. She lives in Seattle with her husband and son, where she is at work on a novel.

Juliet Patterson's first book, The Truant Lover, was a selected by Jean Valentine as the 2004 winner of the Nightboat Poetry Prize and was a finalist for a 2007 Lambda Literary Award. Her poems have appeared in numerous magazines including 26, American Letters & Commentary, Indiana Review, Knockout, New Orleans Review, Pebble Lake Review, Redivider, Swerve, Water~Stone Review, and Verse. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and among her awards are a 2004 SASE/Jerome grant, a 2004 fellowship with the Institute for Community and Cultural Development through Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis, and a 2003 fellowship from the Minnesota State Arts Board. She edits poetry for Konundrum Literary Engine Review and teaches through the College of St. Catherine and Hamline University. Juliet teaches a variety of poetry courses for She Writes.

Doreen Piellucci felt the jaws of the beastly world of financial advising snap closed seconds after she made her escape. Though she enjoyed working with people in that world, she also realized time was slipping away. She started out life wanting to be a writer--it's what she studied in college and how she spent her time after college. But the need to make a living took over, and that dream somehow was slipped beneath the stack of never-ending bills on her desk. But dreams are persistent. It stayed, and now, decades later, Doreen and writing have hooked up again. Nowadays, she dedicates her time to her art. She is one of the few private students accepted by the renowned teacher BK Loren, and she has completed a slender draft of her first novel. She was awarded a scholarship to the Integrative Writing Institute's Chautauqua workshop in 2007, and she is currently focusing on two creative nonfiction projects. Though she taught English and writing long ago, this is her first time teaching online. She's excited about it.

Sarah Saffian is an author, a journalist, and a teacher. Her memoir, Ithaka, about being an adoptee who was found by her birth family, was widely and favorably reviewed and is a decade in print. Sarah has written and/or edited for publications including The NY Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The NY Daily News, Entertainment Weekly, Slate, and Redbook. A She Writes Preferred Provider, Sarah has taught journalism, memoir, and other things at places like the New School, the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, and Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. She is at work on a novel, her virgin foray into fiction, and is traveling to Jerusalem and Fes in April as part of the International Writing Program delegation. All are warmly welcome at Sarah's website, saffian.com.

Susan Fox Rogers is the editor of eleven anthologies, including the acclaimed Solo: On Her Own Adventure. Kirkus Reviews said that Solo's essays “sparkle with insight into what it means to solo in the great outdoors.” Susan's writing has appeared most recently in Under the Sun, and in the anthology France: A Love Story. In the 2004-2005 austral summer, Susan Fox Rogers spent six weeks in the Antarctic as part of the National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers Program. During this time, she also visited the South Pole. She is at work on a collection of personal essays about the Hudson River from the perspective of six years kayaking the length of the estuary. Susan teaches creative writing at Bard College where she is co-director of First Year Seminar. At She Writes, Susan will teach Creative Nonfiction, including writing creatively about place and science. She will also offer seminars on how to create, edit, and publish successful anthologies.