Golden Crown Literary Society

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Writing Academy Faculty and Staff

Faculty & staff

Faculty

Karelia Stetz-Waters

aculty

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Penny Mickelbury

Faculty

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Beth Burnett

Faculty/Dir. of Education

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Staff

Joy Van Stralen

Writing Academy Manager

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Stacy Miller

Administrative Assistant

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Name

Title

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Karelia Stetz- Waters

Karelia Stetz-Waters has taught writing for fifteen years, including eleven years as tenured faculty at Linn-Benton Community College in Oregon. She loves watching her students find their voices. She believes in the power of writing to transform lives, and she wants to help every student achieve that greatness. She writes every day and encourages her students to do the same. Her mantra as a teacher and a writer comes from Mary Oliver who said, “Writing is like going on a date. Nothing happens if you don’t show up.” Karelia has a BA in comparative literature from Smith College and an MA in English literature from the University of Oregon.

Karelia publishes in several genres, but romance is her favorite. She is agented by Jane Dystel (agent to Barack Obama). Her romance novels are published by the Forever Yours imprint of Grand Central Publishing, her thrillers by Sapphire Books, and her literary novel by Ooligan Press. Her novels include Worth the Wait, For Good, Something True, The Admirer, The Purveyor, and Lambda Literary Award and Golden Crown Literary Society finalist Forgive Me If I’ve Told You This Before.

She met her wife of twenty years at a lesbian bar, proving that happily-ever-after romance endings really can come true.

Penny Mickelbury

Penny Mickelbury writes novels (mysteries and historical fiction) and short stories, and she just KNOWS she’s the luckiest woman on the planet to have two stellar publishers: Bywater Books, which publishes the Mimi Patterson/Gianna Maglione Mysteries and the new historical novel featuring Genie Oliver and Abby Read; and BLF Press, which published the short story collection, God’s Will and Other Lies. The Mimi/Gianna novels were twice Lammy finalists.

Penny was a pioneering newspaper, radio and television journalist based primarily in Washington, D.C. She taught journalism at the Los Angeles Leadership Academy, a charter middle school, and was a Coordinator with the Los Angeles Public Library’s Adult Literacy Program. Penny is a recipient of the Audre Lorde Estate Grant and she was a resident at the Hedgebrook Women Writers colony.

The Atlanta native currently lives in Los Angeles.

Beth Burnett

Beth Burnett is the Director of Education for GCLS and a writing professor for Southern New Hampshire University and Johnston Community College. Though Beth supports the mission of all of the GCLS, her passion is the writing academy. With a focus on helping new, emerging, and middle career authors hone their skills, Beth’s mission is to continue to evolve the academy into a stellar, top-tier writing program.

Addicted to education, Beth is two classes away from her second master’s degrees and is currently in search of a PhD program. She recently moved to the great wilds of Canada to be with her Canadian wife and is attempting to come to terms with a long “o” in process.

Beth has published five books with Sapphire Books Publishing. Her sixth book, Coyote Ate the Stars, won first place in fantasy in the 2018 Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. She credits her evolution as a writer to her involvement with the Writing Academy, both as a manager and an instructor.

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Joy Van Stralen

Joy Van Stralen lives in a 365 sqft apartment she lovingly shares with her wife and their dog and cat. The foursome recently bought a home in British Columbia and is planning a cross-country trek in a 23-foot Sprinter Van. An avid mucker-abouter, Joy dabbles in a lot of things that pique her interest. When she comes across something excellent, she sticks to it, which is how she became the Writing Academy manager.

Joy graduated from the academy in 2016. She has since published stories in anthologies and is still working on the novel she started in the WA. She believes in the J.R.R. Tolkien approach to writing which means she still has 13 years before she will unleash her masterpiece.

In her spare time, Joy crochets, woodworks, writes love poems, and binge watches Midsomer Murders.

Stacy Miller

Stacy Lynn Miller is a retired Air Force officer. She spent twenty years toting a gun and police badge, tinkering with computers, and sleuthing for clues as an investigator. She’s a proud stroke survivor, mother of two, tech nerd, chocolate lover, and a 2019 GCLS Writing Academy graduate. In 2020, Bella Books will release her debut novel, romantic thriller Out of the Flames. When you can’t find her writing, she’ll be golfing or drinking wine (sometimes both) with friends and family in Northern California.

TBD

Our team is growing! We'll be adding a new team member soon. Stay tuned!

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2020 Goldie Winners