Our Mission

Kate Kindred has a background in both private banking and property management.  She published her memoir “An Accidental Mother” in 2011.  Additionally, she serves on the board of the Literacy Volunteers of Maricopa County.

Claudia Sternbach, Editor in Chief, Editorial Board Chair has worked as a columnist and feature writer for more than fifteen years, including for the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner, and the Chicago Tribune. Her work has appeared in Redbook as well as in several anthologies. Her first memoir, Now Breathe, was published by Whiteaker Press in 1999, and Unbridled Books published her latest book, Reading Lips: A Memoir of Kisses, in 2011. When not in the office, Claudia divides her time between her two hometowns, Santa Cruz and New York City.

Leonard Jay studied at the University of New Mexico and received an MA in English from Long Beach State University. He taught Composition and Literature at East Los Angeles College before entering the retail book business. For the last thirty years he has worked as a bookseller, store manager, district manager, regional trainer, and buyer. He lives in San Francisco.

David Rompf has written essays, stories, and articles for Harvard Review, Newsweek, Los Angeles Times, Missouri Review, Creative Nonfiction, and many other publications. His “Strange Science: Monsters, Fate and Optimism in Dedale” appeared in the exhibition catalog of Pierre Coulibeuf’s film and installation project Dedale, shown in museums around the world. David’s work has been cited in “Best American Essays” and “Best American Travel Writing.” He studied at the University of Southern California, Harvard, and Berkeley.

Nancy Wente is a CPA in Cave Creek, Arizona.  She has provided pro-bono accounting and tax services for several non-profit organizations, including educational and animal welfare groups.  She holds an a degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Cat Graham is currently at work on a memoir about her father.  She has been a journalist and nonfiction writer specializing in film and popular culture since 1977, including stints as a staff feature writer for the San Francisco Examiner and movie reviewer for the Santa Cruz Sentinel.  With her husband Jerry Graham, she co-authored a series of companion guides to the television show "Bay Area Backroads" published by Harper Collins. Santa Cruz, California is her home.

Larry Connolly, Prose Editor lives, writes and teaches in Burlington, Vermont.

Carl Rosenstock, Poetry Editor has been published in various anthologies and journals and has curated several reading series. He has a BA in Asian History from Union College and an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College. He grew up on a farm near Albany, New York and currently lives in Brooklyn.

Farnaz Fatemi writes both poetry and prose, and is a Lecturer in Writing at UC Santa Cruz. The poem “Tomorrow Morning He Will Return and Move the Plant” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. In addition to other magazines and journals, she has had poems included in the anthology, Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been: New Writing By Women of The Iranian Diaspora, and a prose piece in the forthcoming, Love and Pomegranates: Artists and Wayfarers on Iran. She has an MFA in Poetry from Mills College, CA

Jessica Grumet is a writer, poet, and Special Education teacher living in Sausalito, California. She received a BA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. In 2011, she received a Golden Bell Award for excellence in teaching. Her published work includes the poems "Rattlesnake Road," "Highland Drive," and "(at) Caledonia," all of which appear in her collection of linked poetry, near completion. In her free time, she enjoys practicing Bikram yoga and traveling to distant, untouched places.

Katey Schultz is the author of Lost Crossings, a nonfiction chapbook, and editor of two fiction anthologies. She has received numerous awards, most notably the Linda Flowers Literary Prize, given by the North Carolina Humanities Council. From 2010 to 2012, Katey is traveling across the United States on writing fellowships and residencies. In addition to her service on Memoir’s Advisory Board, she is Founding Associate Editor of TRACHODON magazine and Managing Editor of Cheek Teeth Blog.

Loren Stephens is president and founder of Write Wisdom and Provenance Press, both of which provide clients with memoir writing and publishing services.  Loren is also Executive Producer and Writer of award-winning PBS documentaries, including Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist and Los Pastores. Her personal essays and short stories have appeared in Tapestries, MacGuffin, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Oracle, the Hudson Group of Newspapers, the Sun Magazine, the Jewish Women’s Literary Annual, the St. Louis Jewish Light and the anthology Thanksgiving Tales, among others.  She teaches “Writing Memoir” to all level of students.

Naamen Tilahun, Production & Distribution Coordinator obtained his BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and his MFA in Fiction and Literature from Mills College. He was the Reviews Manager and a regular columnist for Fantasy Magazine and Fiction Editor for 580 Split. Naamen's writing has appeared in Collective Fallout,  the anthology So Speak Up, Stone Telling, the anthology Fa**ot Dinosaur, Dangerous Sweetness, The WisCon Chronicles vol. 2, Fantasy Magazine, The Angry Black Woman and is forthcoming in the anthology Queers Dig Time Lords. He lives in Oakland surrounded by books and friends.  

Rachel Fiske Reynolds, Program Director graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Rhetoric and a deep regard for the formative impact that language has on our experience of the world. She is a blogger at table1095.com and deardearmaxine.com. When not playing with words, Rachel can usually be found in her kitchen. She lives in Oakland.