Our Writing Team

Loren Stephens is president of Write Wisdom and Bright Star Memoirs. Loren’s personal essays and short stories have been published in numerous literary journals and newspapers.

Los Angeles-based writer Josh Stephens has been telling stories about the people, politics, and development of cities in California for the better part of a decade.

Elise Brancheau is a freelance proofreader and editor with experience in both fiction and nonfiction works. She currently proofreads for Penguin Random House, as well as for other independent clients.

Judy Chaikin is a graduate of AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women and is best known for the Emmy nominated PBS documentary, Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist.

Jennifer “J.J.” Holshouser is a freelance writer and editor with extensive experience in the health care industry. A graduate of the School of Journalism at UNC Chapel Hill, she began her career writing about medical research at Duke University Medical Center.

She is the author of the memoir, Wherever You Are, that deals with compassion and understanding about her husband’s brain injury.

Mora Mattern began her career in the late 1990s at Pittsburgh’s Rock ‘n Roll Reporter, where she wrote artist profiles, concert previews, and album reviews.

Betsy Rosenthal is a published author and editor. Her many essays have appeared in newspapers and magazines including the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, Mothering magazine, The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, The Christian Science Monitor, California Monthly Magazine, and Working Writer.