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. 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, Founding Editor and Publisher, 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 and check out her blog at RealSavvyMoms.com.
Samantha Gianulis, Editor-in-Chief 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. Her work has been published in several print and online publications, including Hybrid Mom Magazine, UCSD Alumni Magazine, San Diego Family Magazine, recipestoday.com, and alongstoryshort.net. She has been featured in Parents Magazine, quoted in Redbook, and made her television debut on NBC’s iVillage Live! She is also a columnist for Families Online Magazine (www.familiesonlinemagazine.com). Her website address is www.samanthagianulis.com. Check out her blog at 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.
Sue Donckels, Managing Editor, writes and lives near the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with pairs of kids and dogs, the same husband for twenty-something years, and bowls of dark chocolate for regular jolts of joy. Sue has an M.A. in English and, in her former career, taught college writing courses, before turning into a stay-at-home-mom and elementary school volunteer. With her kids growing rapidly and thriving in middle school, Sue has successfully weaned herself away from volunteering. She plans to be a soccer mom for many more years to come, though. She also spends as much time as possible on her first novel. Visit Sue's Web site for more information at www.InkBridge.com.
Maureen Locher, Copy Editor and Regular Columnist, proclaims her days of picking up underwear are over as she turns the page of Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine to plunge into this next chapter of her life. A stay-at-home-mom for ten years, Maureen vicariously “escaped” the lunacy of her five men by screaming into notebooks the ups and downs of motherhood. She completed her first book in 2005 and is currently working on her second. Her faith in God, family and friends comes alive in her collection of poetry. While she still loves being the mom, she is eager to remember the woman before the mom. Goodbye diapers — Hello readers. Read more of Maureen at To Give God ~ maureenlocher.blogspot.com.
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.
Jennifer Brown, Reviews Editor and 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.
Kathy Schlaeger, Cover Editor, lives with her husband and three daughters near Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a freelance writer for the "Life and Leisure" section of her local paper, so no one has told her " no comment" yet. She also writes for "All about Kids", "Cincinnati Woman" and other publications. People are surprised to find out that she will always turn down chocolate for her favorite candy, Sweedish fish. She has a passion for entering all types of contests. She has won "Annie" tickets, a grill and several other prizes.
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.
Kris Underwood, Writer's Resources Editor, has had poetry appear in several publications including MotherVerse, mamazine.com and Poetry Midwest. Other writing is featured at MotherVerse blog: Mothering Out Loud and Moms Speak Up. She writes simply because it helps keep her sane among the chaos. For more information, please visit her personal blog, Writing In The Mountains (krisunderwood.blogspot.com)
Pamela Vanden Bos, Intern, became concerned when her last child flew off to college. "Would I get the dreaded empty nest syndrome?" Pam ran from a caffeine-induced corporate management lifestyle in Seattle, Washington to a little beach bungalow located down a deserted road on the southernmost tip of Alabama on the Gulf of Mexico. This is where she has collected and protects a couple dozen rescue dogs, converses with eight hand-raised parrots and is currently training for a 45 mile bike ride in October of 2008. Staying in touch with her three grown children, three grandbabies, family and friends makes high speed Internet a must. In her spare time Pam writes. No sign of empty-nest at her house.
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 for a Montreal consulting/training firm where she is responsible for the development and management of technical training manuals and materials. She also likes to write children’s fiction and non-fiction and parenting articles when time permits, and she occasionally does Web design. Her writing has been published at justformom.com, sanitycentral.com, institutechildrenslit.com, and reallygreatinfo.com. In November of 2006, Highlights for Children magazine published her first children’s piece, “Soft Banana Cookies”. 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, power walk, and spend as much time as she can with her family. She lives with her husband and their three children in Laval, Quebec, Canada.
Stephanie McCarty, Regular Columnist. Stephanie's “Fumbling Toward Motherhood” column appears regularly in print and online publications. One of her columns was included in the recent release: “Chicken Soup for the New Mom’s Soul.” Stephanie writes from Ohio where she currently lives with her husband and two young daughters, who are the inspiration for her column. Read more of Stephanie’s work at: www.fumblingtowardmotherhood.com or contact her at: Stephanie@fumblingtowardmotherhood.com.
Lisa Rickwood, Regular Columnist, is passionate about helping people slow down and enjoy their lives. She is
the founder of Escape The Pace®,
a business dedicated to helping people live a happier, relaxed life
while pursuing careers, raising families, and making their dreams come
true. This was a spin-off from her highly regarded book,
Escape The Pace: 100 Fun And Easy Ways To Slow Down And Enjoy Life. Lisa has helped dozens of
professionals, entrepreneurs, and executives improve their lives by
offering: seminars, play-shops, keynote talks, books, greeting cards,
gift boxes, e-books, and an e-zine.
Lisa was born in
Vancouver, Canada, and raised in the Okanagan in British Columbia.
She has a visual art degree from the University of Victoria
and is an accomplished international visual artist. She also spent years
working for two large newspapers as an advertising consultant before
becoming co-owner of a high-end menswear store with her husband on
Vancouver Island. When she’s not at the store or working on her business, she’s taking care of her
husband, two sons, and step-son.
She is a sought-after
speaker and has lectured at colleges, Health and Wellness Shows,
business networks, Rotary Clubs, and large organizations. She is a
regular contributor to Woman’s World magazine as well as Synergy and Pure Woman magazine. She has been featured in
Common Ground magazine and the
The Berkeley Psychic Institute Newspaper. Two well-known
U.S. authors will feature her in their books, respectively,
Mom CEO and Less Than Perfect.
Lisa is passionate
about being involved in a world-wide movement about work/life balance
and was asked to participate in a conference in Seattle called:
Take Back Your Time (www.timeday.org).
She looks forward to helping others ‘take back’ their lives.
Denise Roy, LMFT, M.Div, Regular Columnist, 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.
Dionna Sanchez, Regular Columnist, has a passion for encouraging moms and a love for writing. Her
greatest desire is that they would enjoy who they are and what their
role in the home is as a parent, wife, and individual woman. Dionna has
the gift of compassion and counts her blessings while trying to keep her
own priorities straight as a mom, wife, and individual. She chose her
teammate in her husband Eliseo and they raise their three children in Idaho. Dionna created Emphasis On Moms to help share encouragement and
happiness with other moms. She encourages moms not to forget their
marriages while they parent and is always honest in her articles;
inspiring many. Her website ministry can be found at EmphasisOnMoms.com.
Linda Sharp, Regular Columnist, is an internationally read author, columnist, event speaker, and
media guest who
makes people
laugh and think from Maine to Malaysia. Enjoy
her book Stretchmarks On My Sanity and add her daily blog, Don't Get Me
Started, to your online favorites! Look for her new book, Femail:
A Comic Collision In Cyberspace this winter! Give her a Google - you'll be glad you did.
Julie Watson Smith, Regular Columnist,
is a mom of three and founder of Mommy Hullabaloo. More than just a
parenting column, it is a national company inspiring moms to
get organized and energized while learning, living, and loving the chaos
of mommyhood! Julie is also the author of Mommyhood Diaries: Living the
Chaos One Day at a Time (Wyatt McKenzie Publishing, 2005) and the
upcoming Mommy Hullabaloo’s Guidebook to Learning, Living and Loving the
Chaos of Mommyhood (TBD). Visit Julie at mommyhullabaloo.com.
About the Graphics Design and Branding
Nancy Cleary, Branding and Cover Design, is an advocate for work-at-home moms - her publishing company, Wyatt-MacKenzie (named for her two children), celebrates ten years of bringing the ideas of mom writers and entrepreneurs to fruition. Cleary and 24 of her authors describe the publishing process in A Book is Born: 24 Authors Tell All. Cleary has been quoted on publishing, mom entrepreneurs, and branding in Business Week, Working Mother, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, Family Circle, Home Business Magazine, and Entrepreneur Magazine, and has been featured in three best-selling business books. Cleary has a BFA in Graphic Design from Rhode Island School of Design and has run Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing out of her home office in Deadwood, Oregon since 1998. Visit abookisborn.com or wymacpublishing.com
Karrie McAllister, Webmaster, Graphic Design, 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 column, Small Town Soup, appears in local newspapers and she is published on a variety of Web sites. Karrie published her first book, Small Town Soup: Good for what ails you, in 2007. She currently blogs about getting children out into nature, something she holds near and dear to her heart. Read more of Karrie at her Web site, www.KarrieMcAllister.com.
