ABOUT THE MAGAZINE

Mission Statement

As a mother and a writer, I have many hopes and dreams for the future.  Not only for my children, of course, but for me as a writer.  Motherhood is not an easy job.  As a matter of fact, it is possibly THE most difficult job in the world.  However, try to throw in being a mom and a writer – mom writer, and the job gets even tougher.  But you know what?  I wouldn’t trade my job for anything in the world.  Really.

When I founded Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine two years ago (June 2005), I was bursting with ideas for this literary magazine for moms (which still continues today!).  I envisioned a quarterly magazine written by moms, for moms, on the ups and downs and many, many challenges of motherhood.  The Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine would honor the fulfilling and tedious work that women do by making their stories visible through print. 

Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine seeks writing that is vivid, complex, and practical.  We are not looking for “sugar-coated” material.  We believe the art of Motherhood is deserving of literary attention.  We are a literary magazine for mothers with something to say. We’re proud to have published essays that are emotionally moving, smart, raw, and sometimes, humorous.

Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine is a publication written by moms for moms across the globe who come together to share their stories.  We publish creative nonfiction essays, fiction, columns, book reviews, profiles about mom writers and visual art.

~Paula Schmitt, Founding Editor & Publisher

About the Editors

 
Paula Schmitt - Founder and Editor-in-Chief, is a writer living in Vermont with her husband and five children. She has been featured in The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Herald, The Burlington Free Press, The Times Argus, Kids VT, Adopting for Tomorrow magazine, Adoption Today magazine, Penwomanship magazine, The Herald of Randolph, and in online parenting magazines such as ThePhilosophicalmother.com and RaisingOurKids.com. Her syndicated column runs on various websites, including JustForMom.com and SanityCentral.com. She also has her syndicated column in Kids VT Family Newspaper and has been quoted in American Baby magazine, Parenting magazine, Family Circle magazine, All You magazine and Real Simple magazine.  Her award-winning book, Living In a Locker Room: A Mom’s Tale of Survival in a Houseful of Boys is available at your favorite online retailer and at all bookstores. She launched her radio talk show for mom authors, Mom Writer's Talk Radio, November of 2005. You can read Paula’s writing and get more information about her book at her website paulaschmitt.com.

Samantha Gianulis, Managing Editor and Regular Columnist, writes from Southern California where she lives with her husband and their three children. Her first book, Little Grapes on the Vine.Mommy's Musings on Food & Family released March 2007. She has written for several print and online publications, including Hybrid Mom Magazine, San Diego Family Magazine, recipestoday.com, and alongstoryshort.net. She is also a columnist for Family Food Network (http://www.familyfoodnetwork.com). Her website address is http://www.samanthagianulis.com. Check out her blog at
http://samanthagianulis.blog.com.

Jane Hammons, Senior Editor, received an Academy of American Poets award at the University of New Mexico in 1975 when she began publishing poetry. She has been writing ever since and has published fiction and nonfiction in journals and magazines such as Alaska Quarterly Review; Brain, Child: The Magazine for Thinking Mothers; Natural Bridge; Rhino; River Walk Journal; Slow Trains Literary Journal; taint; and Word Riot. She also teaches writing at UC Berkeley where she is the recipient of a Distinguished Teaching Award. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her two teenage sons who provide her with plenty of material and a view of the world that would be very different without them.

Jessica Ramsey Golden , Copy Editor, spent the last several years on staff at the award-winning weekly, The Northern Light where she held a variety of positions including reporter, managing editor, and columnist. Her poetry has been featured in Understory and The Rectangle. She is the 2006 winner of the Eleanor B. North Poetry Award. She currently spends her days trying to figure out this motherhood thing, with the help of Esmé – her infant on the brink of toddlerhood. This spring, Jessica will graduate from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a BA in English.

Jackie Papandrew, Profiles Editor and Regular Columnist, airs out her rather soiled sense of humor about everything under the sun – from the comfort of granny panties to the agony of aging gums and sagging, er, gams. She tickles the funny bone with tales of troublesome teenagers, the trials of testosterone, and using Formula 409 as foreplay. Jackie's writing has won awards from the Florida Magazine Association, the American Association of Business Press and the Florida Freelance Writers Association, among others. Her humor columns have appeared in a variety of publications, including the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Please visit JackiePapandrew.com to read additional humor columns and to sign up for a FREE email version of Airing My Dirty Laundry. You can contact Jackie at Jackie@JackiePapandrew.com.

Tracy Lyn Moland , Co-Cover Editor, Reviews Editor, and Regular Columnist  - Over the past few years, best selling author Tracy Lyn Moland, B. Ed. has established herself as a highly sought after and internationally recognized life management and marketing expert. You may recognize Tracy Lyn’s ideas and advice from magazines like Reader’s Digest, Chatelaine, or Women’s Day as well as her series on Good Morning Canada and appearance on Living it Up! With Ali and Jack. She has been featured in over 500 media outlets and presented in three countries. Her expertise has lead to her work as a spokesperson for Johnsonville Sausages, Crayola, TJ Maxx, and Whirlpool appliances. Tracy Lyn’s books Mom Management and Quotes of Inspiration have provided much needed advice and sanity in our crazy world.

Stephanie McCarty, Co-Cover Editor and Regular Columnist, Stephanie McCarty's Fumbling Toward Motherhood column appears regularly in print and online publications.  One of her columns will be included in the upcoming release: Chicken Soup for the New Mom's Soul (Health Communications Inc.; April 2007). Stephanie worked in PR and media relations full-time for more than a decade, before starting her own writing and consulting career.  She says, "During my professional tenure, I have worked on political campaigns, in the halls of Congress, and in corporate PR - but nothing could have prepared me for the roller-coaster ride that is motherhood."  Stephanie currently lives in Ohio with her husband and daughter, who is the joy of her life. She credits her little girl with inspiring her to find her true writing passion. Read more of Stephanie's work at www.fumblingtowardmotherhood.com, or contact her at Stephanie@fumblingtowardmotherhood.com.

Melissa Fulwider, Writer’s Resource Editor - Mom, writer, chief cook and bottle washer.  Married with two toddlers, she never runs out of blog fodder.  She writes regularly for OcalaCafe’.com and Underwired Magazine.  She has contributed to Mommy Mentors web site, conducts The Adland Interviews Series, and is the web master for several sites, including her own (TheWriteTimes.com).  Being in her early thirties, she is re-designing her life around kids, chaos, and minor catastrophes.  Melissa absorbs trivia, enjoys classical music, and is a tenacious Tetris player.

Veronica Hosking, Poetry Editor, is a stay at home mom, which works out well for her writing career. Her two daughters are a great inspiration for her writing. She wrote a creative nonfiction story, "Carousel," about her oldest daughter's love of horses. The story was printed in the anthology, Forget Me Knots from the Front Porch (Obadiah Press 2003).
In the year 2005, she saw her second print publication - "In a Tree" was published in the anthology, Cosmic Brownies (Sun-rising Poetry Press). Her poem, "Morning Accolade" was published in Whispers of Inspiration (Sun Piper Press) later that same year.

Karrie McAllister, Webmaster, Illustrations Editor, and Regular Columnist, has dabbled in everything from coal mining to culinary classes. She and her family live in Northeast Ohio where conversations in the grocery store and pierogis are as common as Amish buggies. Her local column, Small Town Soup, appears in local newspapers and her writing has appeared on numerous web sites. She is slowly discovering the benefits of being a stay at home mom, including mid-afternoon naps, staying in pajamas until noon, as many leftover PBJ sandwich crusts as she wants, and being constantly entertained by her two nutty children. Read more of Karrie at her website, www.KarrieMcAllister.com.

About the Columnists

Lucie Bouchard Antoniazzi, Regular Columnist, is a work-at-home mom with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a specialization in telecommunications from Concordia University in Montreal. She chose to stay home full time with her three children after working as a telecommunications engineer for twelve years. When her youngest child started school in 2002, she decided to pursue her second passion: writing. Lucie now works from home as a freelance writer, editor, and web designer.  She currently writes mainly for adults but loves to write for children, too.  Her writing has been published at  justformom.com, sanitycentral.com, institutechildrenslit.com, and reallygreatinfo.com.  In February of 2005, she sold her first children's piece to Highlights for Children magazine.  Lucie is also senior editor and webmaster for justformom.com and works part-time for a Montreal engineering firm where she is responsible for the development and management of technical training manuals and materials.  You can find out more about Lucie's work  by visiting her web site at www.LucieBouchardAntoniazzi.com.  In her spare time, Lucie likes to read, listen to music, take tae-bo classes, and spend as much time as she can with her family. She lives with her husband and their three children in Laval, Quebec, Canada.

Jennifer Brown, Regular Columnist, is a freelance writer with award-winning fiction, nonfiction, and poetry appearing in over a dozen publications around the world. Jennifer's work has appeared in Writer's Journal, Australia's The Messenger, Long Story Short, and Simple Joy, just to name a few. Jennifer most enjoys writing humor essays, and her humor column, "Adrift in the Gene Pool," appears bi-weekly in The Liberty Sun News. In 2005, Jennifer's humor essay, "Fling Shui for Beginners," won first prize in the global humor category of the Erma Bombeck contest. Jennifer is also a book reviewer for Bookpleasures, Road to Romance, Foreword Reviews, and TCM Reviews, and teaches essay-writing and book reviewing classes for Writer's Success.com and humor writing classes at Long Story Short School of Writing. To find out more about Jennifer's work, visit www.freewebs.com/jennifer_brown.

Since 2000, she’s taught narrative writing through week-long writing residency workshops in schools and is a writer-in-residence through the United Arts Council.  She has also done public relations consulting that has resulted in successful media coverage for various programs and events.

Denise Roy, LMFT, M.Div., is an author, a licensed marriage and family therapist, a popular speaker, and a mother of five. Her books and audiotapes include Momfulness: Mothering with Mindfulness, Compassion, and Grace (Jossey-Bass, 2007), My Monastery Is a Minivan (Loyola Press, 2001) and Meditations for Mothers (Random House Audiobook, 2007). Her essays have also been included in these books: Your Children Will Raise You; I Like Being a Mom; The Miracle of Sons; Spiritual Surrender; and Humor for a Mom's Heart.

Denise and her husband live in the San Francisco Bay area; they have three grown sons, an eleven-year-old daughter, and an eighteen-year-old foster daughter from Iran.

For more information, please contact her at denise@deniseroy.com and visit her website at www.DeniseRoy.com.