Davina Morgan-Witts

Davina spent her childhood and early adult years in England where she held a variety of advertising, marketing and research roles for a range of products including chocolate bars, bottled water, dog food, banks and cheese. She founded BookBrowse in 1998 after moving with her husband to the U.S. Today, it is one of the internet's leading resources for book club members and those who read to expand their horizons.

She is delighted to be able to spend her time talking about books (although talking about cheese and chocolate wasn't all bad). Davina is a recognized authority on book clubs and a popular speaker and writer on the topic of books and book groups; she has given talks at many library, publisher and bookseller conferences, to the media and to private groups. More information.

Lisa Butts

Lisa (she/her) is a poet and freelance critic living in Cincinnati, Ohio. She studied Creative Writing at The New School and Sarah-Lawrence College. In addition to editing and writing for BookBrowse, she writes regularly for Publishers Weekly and BookRags, among others.

Elisabeth Cook

Elisabeth (she/her) is a published poet, a frequent reader of translated literature and a freelance writer. In addition to reviewing books, she occasionally writes about language learning and indie film. You can follow her latest reads on her blog, Lit All Over, and at BookBrowse.

Norah Piehl

Norah is a former bookseller who has also worked for several publishing companies. Currently the literary director for the Bay Area Book Festival and an editor at BookBrowse, Norah reviews books and writes interviews and features for a number of print and online publications including BookBrowse. She lives with her family in Berkeley, California.

Elena Spagnolie

Elena received her Master's degree in magical realism studies and creative writing from New York University. She has worked at the University of Wisconsin Press, interned at the Taryn Fagerness Agency and has written book reviews and articles for BookBrowse, NewPages and Travelhost Magazine. Her most favorite stories are those written in crayon by her daughter, usually about a duck named Thea.

BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers

Each month, USA based BookBrowse members have the opportunity to review books through our First Impressions program. Books that our member-reviewers rate particularly highly are featured as "Editor's Choice" selections and are listed below. All books recently reviewed for First Impressions can be seen here.

Jordan Lynch

Jordan Lynch is a scientist by training, but her true passion is books. She currently lives in St. Louis, MO, where she spends her days caring for her son and reading during naptime. She also works to educate and advocate for phenylketonuria (PKU) research on behalf of her son. You can see what she’s been reading or explore some interesting science at The Literary Laboratory. You can see what she’s been reading or explore some interesting science at her blog The Literary Laboratory.

Kim Kovacs

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.

Callum McLaughlin

Callum McLaughlin (he/him) is a writer of words, a reader of books, and a lover of cats. Based in Scotland, he operates on a freelance basis, producing content for blogs, websites, and magazines. His fiction and poetry have also featured in several literary journals, both online and in print. You can find him on Twitter @Callum_M1, and he chats about all things bookish over on his blog callummclaughlin.wordpress.com

Valerie Morales

Valerie Morales' non-fiction work has been featured in Huffington Post, The Talented Tenth Review Medium and The Committed Generation. She loves books that inhale the future and exhale the past. James Baldwin’s novel Another Country was her beginning of all things literary, life and truth.

Erin Lyndal Martin

Erin Lyndal Martin is a writer and artist living in Blacksburg, VA.

Jo-Anne Blanco

Jo-Anne Blanco was born in Brazil to an English mother and Spanish father. Holder of an MA in languages and an MPhil in media and culture, she is the author of the Fata Morgana series of novels, which follow the life and adventures of Morgan le Fay. Book reviewing gives her the chance to discover exciting new authors and share her love of literature with others. Visit her at jo-anneblanco.com.

Jacob Lenz-Avila

Jacob Lenz-Avila is a writer from Southern California. He is an ardent reader and writer currently studying the arts of short stories, poetry, and criticism.

Peggy Kurkowski

Peggy is a professional copywriter for a higher education IT nonprofit association by day and major history geek at night. She hosts her own YouTube channel, The History Shelf, where she features and reviews history books (new and old), as well as a variety of fiction. In addition to BookBrowse, she also reviews for Library Journal, the Historical Novels Review, Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle.

Rebecca Foster

An American transplant to England, Rebecca is a freelance proofreader and writer. She is an associate editor of Bookmarks magazine and reviews books for a myriad of print and online publications in the USA and UK, including the Times Literary Supplement and her blog, Bookish Beck.

Elisabeth Herschbach

Elisabeth Herschbach is an editor and writer from Maryland.

Grace Graham-Taylor

Grace Graham-Taylor is a freelance writer and content creator living in London, UK. She relies on books to refract the absurdity of the present day, so that she can laugh about things she would otherwise find unbearable. An insatiable media-consuming machine, she also loves film and has conducted interviews for an underground music magazine. She is particularly fond of experimental and post-modern fiction.

Jane McCormack

Jane McCormack is an avid adventurer, whether it be hiking through the woods or traversing through the pages of a good book. She is the mother of two blue heelers, a horse, and a boy. Additionally, she also aspires to influence a hundred or so high schoolers to make friends with literature, pen their dreams, and be curious, on a yearly basis. In addition to teaching ELA at her local high school, she writes book reviews, and teaches riding. She can often be found reading in a grassy paddock, with Gus, her trusty steed, grazing beside her.

Jennifer Hon Khalaf

Jennifer Hon Khalaf (she/her) is a lawyer and writer based in Los Angeles, CA.

Maria Katsulos

Maria Rosario Katsulos is a lifelong reader and writer. The daughter of a journalist-turned-writer and an editor-turned-librarian, she grew up considering books to be some of her best friends. She is currently a senior at Southern Methodist University, where she is a President's Scholar studying English, history, and more with the goal of becoming a professor of gender and sexuality history. She is the editor-in-chief of Kairos Creative & Literary Magazine and a 2021 winner of the SMU.

Tasneem Pocketwala

Tasneem is a freelance writer and journalist based in Mumbai, India. You can find her documenting the reading-and-writing life on Instagram at @tasneemsworld05, and on her blog.

Lisa Ahima

"Lisa Ahima is a New Orleans-based, black writer and content creator. She works for a major literary agency, a black-owned bookstore, and judges fiction for a literary magazine. She especially loves lyric essays, fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. She owns "The Black Joy Podcast," a visual podcast about breaking out of the idea behind a "black monolith," exploring in a digestible manner the different facets of black media representation while balancing academic sources, accessible language, and meme culture, which you can view here.

Katharine Blatchford

Kate is a freelance writer and livelong lover of literature. The fascination with varying cultures and perspectives that grew from this love led her to pursue an education in the social sciences. Her favorite genres are fantasy, historical fiction, and history. She is also a passionate fiber artist who designs knitting and embroidery patterns. In her free time she can be found experimenting in the kitchen, attempting to teach herself to sew, or enjoying the outdoors.

Rose Rankin

Rose Rankin (she/her) lives and writes outside of Chicago. A historian by training, she primarily reviews non-fiction with an emphasis on women's studies. She recently completed a comparative study of female-authored poetry in Late-Renaissance Italy titled Cautious if Not Chaste: The Poetry of Tullia D'Aragona and Veronica Franco. In addition to freelancing for various publications, she is also a marketing copywriter with experience in technical writing.

Chloe Pfeiffer

Chloe Pfeiffer (she/her) is a technical writer living in New Jersey. She has an MFA in creative writing from Oregon State University.

Nichole Brazelton

Nichole is a poet, college educator, and freelance writer who holds a Master's degree in Philosophy of Communication and Rhetoric from Duquesne University. She is an MFA candidate at New England College and her current work maintains a special focus on the interplay of motherhood and magical realism. In addition to her love for poetry, she enjoys reading literary fiction, memoirs, and true crime novels. Her poems have been anthologized multiple times and can be found in The Magnolia Review, Sysyphus Literary Magazine, Pretty Owl Poetry, Beyond Words International Literary Magazine, and For Women Who Roar, among other places. You can visit her at www.writeagain.org

Glory Cumbow

Glory Cumbow (they/them) is a writer living in North Carolina. They work as a strategist helping other writers to get their work published. They are dedicated to the arts and work with local theatres and sing in their community choir. When they’re not writing, they enjoy traveling, catching live shows, and visiting art museums. You can see more of their writing at glorythepoet.wordpress.com.

David Bahia

David is a writer displaced by an aporetic longing for the genuine in a world rarely given to clarity.

Amanda Ellison

Amanda Ellison is a writer, teacher and labradoodle owner, hailing from Northumberland in the UK. She writes regularly for various publications, exclusively on subjects she is passionate about – including, of course, books!

Karen Lewis

Karen Lewis is a freelance writer and editor who leads workshops with California Poets in the Schools. She earned an MFA from Antioch-Los Angeles and formerly directed the Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference. Her poetry chapbook Peace Maps is available from Finishing Line Press. When not writing or reading, she’s passionate about travel, garden-to-table, outdoor adventures, keeping the oceans clean and safe, and building world peace. Visit her at wordjourneys.org

Rachel Hullett

Rachel Hullett (she/her) is an avid reader, feminist, and cat enthusiast. A graduate from Tulane University, she currently lives in Vermont and works as the Editor of an indie children's book publisher. You can find her on Twitter @paceamorelibri, and you can read more of her thoughts on books over at her personal blog at paceamorelibri.wordpress.com.

Tina Choi

Tina Choi, a graduate of Western Washington University, is a Special Education/English teacher living in the Northwest. Although she's taught in Seattle and surfed the Oregon Coast, she prefers to 'dry out' in northeastern Oregon. She currently writes and lives there with her husband.

Althea Draper

Althea Draper is a freelance interpreter and translator living in Scotland and, having graduated during the Covid-19 pandemic, has had plenty of time to read over the past year. Althea is a firm advocate for LGBT+ books and books written by disabled authors and authors of color, alongside translated works (as she knows exactly how much work goes into translating literature!). When she's not chucking about a rugby ball, trying to learn new Chinese characters or devouring a 600-page fantasy novel, she can be found at her blog, Althea Is Reading or on Twitter, @altheaisreading

Will Heath

Will Heath is a former high school English teacher and the co-owner of Books & Bao, a site dedicated to international literature. Will travels the world, both in real life and through the books he reads, but mostly splits his time between London and Tokyo. His favorite literature comes from Japan but he also has room in his heart for gothic and fantasy literature.