Meet the team!

The WW team is truly exceptional. We're fully volunteer with only one goal in mind: to help writers grow. Your success is our motivation!

 

 

Izhan Arif

Back to Basics

Hi! My name’s Izhan Arif and I’m an English graduate from the University of Illinois, Chicago. My interests tend to revolve around all things superhero, whether it be comics, shows, or movies! I also love to write (go figure) and when I’m not working on Back to Basics, I’m also writing videos for WatchMojo!

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Caitlyn Bailey

Floating Judge, Education

Caitlyn is a lifestyle writer and recent college graduate with a passion for publishing and elevating new writing voices. If she’s not reading on her Kindle or writing an article, she’s probably playing Tiny Bookshop on her Nintendo Switch with a candle lit beside her.

 

 

Denise Botelho

Reading Team, WayWords

Denise is an educational publishing specialist who loves to support writers of all ages find their why and craft their voice. She also enjoys many types of live music and sports, playing tennis, spending time with her college-age kiddos, and relaxing with a good show or movie (and popcorn!). 

 

 

Bruce Buchanan

Conference Assistant, Brand

Bruce Buchanan has been a fan of fantasy and heroic fiction for most of his life. His influences range from the novels of Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman and Stephen King to the Marvel Comics stories of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko. Bruce is the author of the NA fantasy novel The Blacksmith's Boy (Aug. 2025), its sequel, The Queen’s Daughter (2026), and the adult superhero novel The Return of the Cerulean Blur (2026), all from Wild Ink Publishing, He lives in Greensboro, N.C.

 

 

Coffee Quills

Contest Curator

Coffee Quills is a quaffer of coffee, a hugger of hedgehogs, and a slinger of ink. Writing under flickering neon lights, they take inspiration from a range of media and enjoy mashing together genres as they write. Post-nuclear apocalypse cozy mystery? Working on it! Detecting in a steampunk/magic ocean-side fantasy? Sounds good too! Most of their writing has an optimistic slant to it with found families, protection, and love wins being found in most (if not all in varying degrees) of their writing. Describing Coffee is akin to describing one part of a patchwork cloak, and that can be seen in their writing. Spells, Snow, & Sky is a polyamorous paranormal romance, but they also write for 4thewords (an online RPG for writers) and have horror drabbles published with The Horror Tree and Black Hare Press, not to mention a few post-apocalyptic books. Coffee runs on ink and is a friendly person, so feel free to say hello on BlueSky, Twitch, or in 4thewords!

 

 

Seth Cupery

Editor, WayWords // Potluck Judge

A college graduate with a bachelor's degree in the humanities, Seth considers himself a historian as well as a writer. He enjoys reading incredibly long books about science fiction and fantasy, including both narrative works and guides to worlds that don’t exist. He is currently in the process of writing stories of his own, providing input for various group projects, and learning from the work of others. He also works as a small-town librarian, running a blog by the name of The Archivist’s Pen in his free time that has been active for over five years and counting.

 

 

Tosin Ebunola

Reading Team, WayWords

Tosin Ebunola is an alumni of Mercer University. She’s currently working as a content creator and daydreaming endlessly. She has a particular love for fiction that’s interesting and weird.

 

 

Jessie Fisher

Publications Manager

Jessie is a writer, reader, and artist with a soft spot for the mystical and magical! When she’s not scribbling down ideas for new stories that never see the light of day or sketching scenes in nature, she's tending to her frogs and hunting for cozy small towns to explore.

 

 

Will Kelly

Fiction Potluck Manager

Will is a 5th grade English teacher from Las Vegas, Nevada. He needs a deadline and a prompt to write, so he joins just about any creative writing he can find. Most of his stories tend to be set in the real world with adolescent characters at the forefront. Will prefers to read psychological thrillers and mysteries, but is a sucker for meaning of life stories. When not reading or writing, you can find Will at pub trivia, a stand-up comedy show, or rooting on the San Francisco 49ers.

 

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Charlotte New

Floating Judge, Education // Back to Basics

Charlotte (she/her) is a graduate of Cornell College's Creative Writing program. She's a lover of stories in all forms, whether they come in books or video games. She's especially fond of reading and writing within the fantasy genre, especially alongside her beloved cat, Mimzy.

 

 

​Michael Parker, Jr.

Write Track Reviews, Education // Editor, WayWords

Michael is the typical workaholic who always has to be doing something! When he's not busy losing hair over work, you can find him catching up on his backlog of fantasy novels he's reading ever so slowly. When he's not reading, Michael writes stories in the dead of night like the owl he is. He is glad to be part of a community of writers supporting writers. 

 

 

Taylor Pittman

Workshop Presenter

Taylor Pittman is a recent graduate of the Denver Publishing Institute. She is a freelance game journalist and the editor-in-chief of Rooted Literary Magazine, a Texas-based literary magazine. She loves horror but also dabbles in fantasy and the occasional romance. You’ll probably find her singing karaoke, reading about vampires, lurking in bookstores, or listening to D&D podcasts when she’s not writing. Taylor currently lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with her husband, their two dogs, and two cats.

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Cassell Presnell

Editor, WayWords // Potluck Judge

Cassell is an undergraduate studying creative writing, rhetoric, and psychology. In addition to being a full-time student and writing consultant, she’s a fantasy writer and wannabe poet. Every free moment of her day is spent writing, reading, or playing with her little black kitten, Mosi—he rather enjoys watching people type! Cassell also enjoys teaching and helping others, which led her here, and will inevitably lead her to law school in the near future.

 

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C.A. Raine

Write Track Reviews, Education // Administrative Support

C.A. Raine (she/her) is an aspiring fiction writer living in the United Kingdom. When not immersed in her own imaginary worlds, she can be found wrestling with a variety of competition prompts or indulging in creating fanfic with her multitude of OTPs. She especially loves reading and writing in the Young Adult and New Adult genres.
Her archive of completed competition entries can be found here [caraine.co.uk].

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S.E. Reed

Community Liaison // Indie Author Spotlight // Conference Organizer, Brand

S.E. Reed lives in the south and writes strange, haunting, real stories of people and places along old highways. Winner of the 2023 Florida Book Awards, the 2024 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, and a finalist in the 2024 Book Blogger Novel of the Year Award. Additionally, she's been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, the Indie Ink Awards, and won honorable mention twice in L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest. Her short stories have been featured by The Writer's Workout, SEMO Press, Parhelion Lit, Adimverse, The Writers’ Co-op, Wild Ink Publishing, Hey Hey Books, and Tempered Rune's Press.

www.writingwithreed.com

https://x.com/writingwithreed

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Grace Renshaw

Floating Judge, Education

Grace is a student at Gettysburg College majoring in English and Cinema and Media Studies. She enjoys sci-fi and is working on a novel (most of the time). Her work is upcoming in Millennial Pulp Literary Magazine.

 

 

Karen Scott

Craft & Chaos // Blog Curator, Brand

Karen is a writer, teacher, audiobook lover, and unapologetic Wordle enthusiast from New Jersey. She will likely never finish editing her first novel. Her favorite activities are spoiling her granddaughter, traveling to warm climates, snort-laughing with friends, and sipping a good Cosmopolitan. Visit her online at www.karenkinley.com.

 

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Andrea Tode

Floating Judge, Education // Reading Team, WayWords

Andrea is a Spanish-Peruvian writer and editor with a degree in English Literature and Drama. She has had three short children’s novels published by Editorial San Pablo under the pseudonym ‘Andrea Todde’ and currently works as a freelance writer. She’s also dabbled in journalism, having written over 350 articles across International Business Times UK, Deep Travel Magazine and multiple Peruvian newspapers. Having grown up reading translations of Stephen King and Agatha Christie’s works, Andrea is deeply fascinated by language and adaptation, often translating her own works for fun. She’s currently adapting her original full-length stage play into a novel, as well as working on a bilingual mystery novel. 

 

 

Loren Whitmore

Reading Team, WayWords

Loren Whitmore is an avid reader who appreciates the art and function of the written word. She possesses an Associate’s in Professional Communication and is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in Communication, which she hopes to use for a career in publishing. Outside of work and school, she enjoys spending time outside and visiting the local library.

 

 

Réven Widener

Blog Curator, Brand

Réven went from palmetto trees to the Smokies—she’s a South Carolina native now residing in east Tennessee. Faith, family, and friends make her complete. She is a full-time editor but helps others write confidently through her writing review services on the side. She also enjoys writing poetry, reading creative nonfiction and fiction, eating banana pudding without bananas, and racing her husband in Mario Kart if they’re not whisked away to a soccer tournament he’s coaching in.

You can connect with Réven on Instagram: @musings.of.sunshine

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Jesse Wooton

Reading Team, WayWords

Jesse fancies herself a writer and spends most of her time reading, writing, and playing video games. When not doing any of the above, she devotes her time to spoiling her dog, Antigone. She’s got a degree in neuroscience which is mostly used to try and figure out how other people work rather than doing much science at all.

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Sarah Perchikoff

Administrative Support

Sarah Perchikoff is a writer of many different things: novels, short stories, articles, and blog posts. When she's not writing or editing (or procrastinating), she likes to play with her dog, Gracie, and read way too many books and blog about them at Bookish Rantings. She’s also known to hoard Sour Patch Kids, spend too much time on social media, and eat as many french fries as possible. Sarah currently lives in Michigan where she, unsuccessfully, tries to stay warm. 

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Leigh McWilliams

Co-Founder, CFO, HR

Leigh writes in a mixture of genres from contemporary romance and YA fantasy to historical horror and everything in between. She is particularly fond of Southern Gothic Horror and YA contemporary. She loves reading in almost every genre, but has a particular enjoyment for public health nonfiction and Middle Grade fantasy. When she's not reading or putting words on paper, she spends time with her long-suffering husband and four furkids. 

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Email: Cindy.McWilliams [at] writersworkout.net for information about volunteer opportunities.

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Theresa Green

Co-Founder, Executive Director

Theresa spends most days buried behind the scenes here, struggling to keep up with The List. On the rare occasions she makes time for her own writing, her home is in psychological thrillers, crime, history, and elements of magic. She’s honored to be published in a number of magazines and anthologies under a pseudonym. 

www.premierliterary.com 

@kuzitiz

 

Email: Theresa.Green [at] writersworkout.net for information. 

 

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