Information on BookBrowse's current reviewers, including a profile and selection of recent reviews

Each month, USA based BookBrowse members have the opportunity to review books through our First Impressions program.  A complete list of books reviewed can be found here.

Kim Kovacs is an avid reader in the Pacific Northwest. All those rainy days give her the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of books that span many genres.

Marnie Colton holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College and is in the process of submitting her poems for publication. She has recently participated in local writing workshops at the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Writers' Center in Bethesda, MD. She currently works as an editorial assistant at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute in Baltimore.

Jennifer G. Wilder is a freelance writer based in upstate New York. She holds an M.A. in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Berkeley and a B.A. from Yale. Her current project is a novel about turning thirty in suburbia.

Lisa Guidarini is a Reference Librarian, Professional Media/Literature reviewer for Library Journal (and BookBrowse of course), and a voting memer of the National Book Critics Circle. You can visit her at her blog: bluestalking.typepad.com

Judy has been an avid reader since the age of six. She works part time as a bookseller at her local independent bookstore, participates in five reading groups and is at work on a memoir of her life in reading. You can visit her blog at keepthewisdom.blogspot.com.

Beverly believes that a day without reading is like a day without sunshine. She holds a B.A. in English, with an eye to acquiring a Ph.D. in Literary Theory. She also spent a year at Alaska magazine & The MILEPOST, proofing and writing the occasional article. She babbles about all of the books she reads at www.bevyofbooks.com.

Jennifer Dawson Oakes works as a freelance writer and has many publishing credits, including The Globe and Mail, to her name. She is an avid reader and book-lover who has been reviewing books for publishers since May of 2010. She has her own blog, "Literal Life", dedicated to sharing her love of reading. As well, Jennifer co-moderates an on-line book group (at GoodReads) called "Bookish" where all things literary, both fiction and nonfiction, are discussed, ideas exchanged and quality reading is highly valued. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Jennifer hopes to one day finish writing her "great novel" which she will then recommend to everyone.

Jo Perry wrote a children's book club column for the Los Angeles Times and writes about children's books for KidsLA Magazine. She has a Ph.D. in English, has taught literature and writing, has produced and written episodic television, and is working on a book about enjoying books with children.

Norah Piehl is a former bookseller who has also worked for several publishing companies. Currently a freelance writer and permissions editor, Norah reviews books for a number of print and online publications. She also teaches an adult education course, "Intro to Book Reviewing."

Tamara Ellis Smith received an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults in 2007 from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Recipient of an Honorable Mention in the 2008 PEN New England Discovery Awards and a runner up for the 2008 SCBWI Works-In-Progress grant, she writes middle grade novels and picture books. She is represented by Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

Elizabeth Whitmore Funk is a writer, editor, critic, and professor based in Washington, DC. As a former editor in New York City and London, she currently serves on the English faculty of Marymount University. Her website is www.elizabethwhitmore.com.

Poornima Apte is a reviewer based in the greater Boston area and blogs at booksnfreshair.blogspot.com. She also works as an editor for two trade magazines.

Donna Chavez, a member of the National Book Critics Circle, also reviews books for Publishers Weekly and the American Library Association's Booklist. She is also a freelance writer with numerous publishing credits, including the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times, and is a writing coach. Visit her website http://www.thewritecoach.com.

Sarah Sacha Dollacker is a writer in Atlanta, Georgia. She can also be found at redroomlibrary.com

Mark James is an engineer by day and a reader by night. He completed a Masters in English later in life in an attempt to exercise the other half of his brain. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, and also reviews for Publisher's Weekly. He lives and reads in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Stacey Brownlie is a reference librarian at the Lititz Public Library (Pennsylvania). She has a B.A. in English and a Master's degree in Library Science. She also reviews books for Library Journal and is a freelance writer and proofreader.

Amy Reading recently completed a Ph.D. in American Studies at Yale University. She is writing a creative nonfiction book, a narrative history of swindling and confidence artistry, which will be published by Knopf in 2011. She lives in upstate New York where she homeschools her two children.

Freelance writer Megan Shaffer has both her Bachelor and Master degrees in Education. She currently works in the schools of Birmingham, Michigan where she shares her love of literature. When Megan is not in the classroom, she is actively involved in the local literary scene and maintains a blog, Night Light Revue, about new books and authors.

Micah Gell-Redman is a graduate student in the Department of Political Science at the University of California San Diego where he studies the politics of immigration. He holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from UCLA and a Master's in Public Policy from Cornell. When he's not writing book reviews, he loves to play the guitar and sing with his wife.

Morgan Macgregor is a reader living in Los Angeles. She also reviews for Bookslut, Three Guys One Book, Full-Stop Magazine, and Gently Read Literature, and she blogs at Reading in LA. Her favorite novel is The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and she's working on one of her own that won't be nearly as good.

A writer, bookseller and artist, BJ Nathan Hegedus is a lover, foremost, of good tales. Her essays and short stories have been anthologized and also included in local publications. She is currently at work on a memoir collection about the wonders of growing up in Manhattan.

Karen Rigby received an MFA in Creative Writing in 2004 from the University of Minnesota. Recipient of a 2007 National Endowment for the Arts literature fellowship, she has published numerous poems. Her website is karenrigby.com.

In addition to being BookBrowse's content editor, Lucia Silva is the book buyer for Portrait of a Bookstore in Studio City, CA. She can also be heard recommending books on NPR's Morning Edition with Susan Stamberg, and on KPBS in San Diego.