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.


Robin Dutton-Cookston, Senior Editor, has written for Mothering, Hip Mama, Clamor, and many other fantastic Web sites and zines. She self-publishes a zine called Apron Strings and blogs at www.thefoggiestidea.wordpress.com. Her book, The Foggiest Idea: Tales of a Displaced Texan in San Francisco Mamaland makes a hilarious and affordable stocking stuffer! In addition to her creative pursuits, Robin works for San Francisco’s official Web site for families, www.SFkids.org. When she’s not writing, Robin likes to chase her family through the streets of San Francisco.

Sue Lesko, Managing Editor, writes and lives near the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with pairs of kids and dogs. Sue has an M.A. in English and currently teaches colleges writing courses while coaching soccer on the side.

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.

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, Reviews Editor and 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

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.

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.

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.

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.