Loren Stephens

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.

Her debut historical novel All Sorrows Can Be Borne was published in hardcover in 2021 and 2023 in paperback. The novel is loosely based on her husband’s Japanese family.

Loren began her career as an economics and finance textbook editor at Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company. She then joined a mortgage and investment-banking firm in Boston, where she was promoted to senior vice president. Loren's love for the theater and books led her to Los Angeles where she established a theater and film production company, producing over 30 plays including Hannah Senesh, The Normal Heart and To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. Loren also served as executive producer for the Emmy nominated PBS documentary, Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist, narrated by Burt Lancaster; the bilingual documentary, Los Pastores: The Shepherd’s Play, for KCET/Los Angeles; and the docudrama, Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman? starring Julie Harris and Roscoe Lee Browne. Her productions garnered Golden Apple and Cine Gold Eagle awards. She was also nominated for a national Emmy award.

She is also a member of the Association of Ghostwriters and the Authors Guild.

Work and Awards

Loren’s personal essays and short stories have been published in numerous literary journals and newspapers including: the Los Angeles Times; the Chicago Tribune; Oracle Fine Arts Review; Tapestries; Jewish Women’s Literary Annual; MacGuffin; Distillery; The Hudson Group of Newspapers; Pig Iron Press; The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles; St. Louis Jewish Light; The Write Room; the anthology, Thanksgiving Tales; Eclectica Magazine; Knee-Jerk; ken*again; The New Plains Review; The Nassau Review; The Montreal Review; Summerset Review; the anthology, Kicking In the Wall edited by Barbara Abercrombie; Peregrine, The New Laurel Review, Forge, Months to Years Literary Journal and Scope, Stanford Medicine's blog. Loren was twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize for the best American short story.

Loren is a graduate of Cornell University with degrees in English Literature and Government, and a masters degree from the School of International Affairs and Public Policy at Columbia University.

Loren is a member of Greenlight Women, a nonprofit that mentors women in the entertainment industry, and is a National Commissioner of the Anti-Defamation League.

For more information about Loren, excerpts from her novel, and a selection of essays and short stories visit lorenmstephens.com.