Looking for publishing advice? Frustrated staring at a blank page?

The Writer in Residence program brings local authors to the Library to consult with writers of any age, experience, or genre.

This program, generously funded by the Arizona State Library, is a favorite among local writers. Each has brought their own special talents to the program to help people with all aspects of the writing process. Writers are funded from February through July each year.

About our current Writer-in-Residence: Laura Markowitz

Laura Markowitz is a National Magazine Award-winning writer, Contributing Editor for Arizona Public Media, YA novelist, nonfiction author, book editor, and multimedia producer.

She started her career as a book reviewer for Lambda Literary Review and worked as an editor for MOMENT Magazine and then Psychotherapy Networker magazine, where she wrote about mental health and systems change for more than a decade. She was a regular contributor to Glamour and Utne Reader, and also wrote for Mademoiselle, Self, Ms., and many other magazines. She launched an award-winning publication, In the Family: A Magazine for LGBTQ people and their Loved Ones, which was in print for ten years. She also contributed personal essays and poems to several anthologies.

In 2005, Laura moved from magazines to book writing and editing. She is coauthor of the forthcoming Facing the White Shadow: A Self-Help Book for White People, coauthor of Voices On The Economy: How Open-Minded Exploration of Rival Perspectives Can Spark New Solutions to Our Urgent Economic Problems, co-editor of The Art of Psychotherapy and The Evolving Therapist, and author of the critically acclaimed YA novel Book of the Sky God.

In 2009, she expanded her work into broadcast. She has been Contributing Producer for Arizona Public Media since 2009, producing feature stories on a wide range of topics for NPR 89.1/FM and PBS-6. Her latest work, Children of the Holocaust, is an intimate, living-history project consisting of 20 first-person accounts of the Holocaust from survivors living in Southern Arizona. Laura also co-wrote and co-produced a series of original radio dramas called Tales of Tucson, which aired on NPR and KXCI.

As a longtime editor and writing coach, Laura has helped hundreds of writers bring their ideas to the page, screen, stage, and airwaves. She will be available for one-on-one sessions to help with works in progress, project ideas, writing challenges, questions about traditional publishing, books proposals, agents, self-publishing, and more. She offers advice, feedback, and resources for writers of all genres as well as editors and multimedia producers.

One-on-One Sessions

Our Spring Writer-in-Residence program will feature local author Laura Markowitz, Feb. 14 – Apr. 30. She will be meeting with aspiring authors at eight 30-minute one-on-one sessions per week.

Sign up for one of Laura's sessions in our calendar., opens a new window

Talk to Laura for advice, feedback, pointers, and tips on writing and publishing.

Looking for publishing advice? Frustrated staring at a blank page?

The Writer in Residence program brings local authors to the Library to consult with writers of any age, experience, or genre.

This program, generously funded by the Arizona State Library, is a favorite among local writers. Each has brought their own special talents to the program to help people with all aspects of the writing process. Writers are funded from February through July each year.

About our current Writer-in-Residence

Laura Markowitz is a National Magazine Award-winning writer, Contributing Editor for Arizona Public Media, YA novelist, nonfiction author, book editor, and multimedia producer.

She started her career as a book reviewer for Lambda Literary Review and worked as an editor for MOMENT Magazine and then Psychotherapy Networker magazine, where she wrote about mental health and systems change for more than a decade. She was a regular contributor to Glamour and Utne Reader, and also wrote for Mademoiselle, Self, Ms., and many other magazines. She launched an award-winning publication, In the Family: A Magazine for LGBTQ people and their Loved Ones, which was in print for ten years. She also contributed personal essays and poems to several anthologies.

In 2005, Laura moved from magazines to book writing and editing. She is coauthor of the forthcoming Facing the White Shadow: A Self-Help Book for White People, coauthor of Voices On The Economy: How Open-Minded Exploration of Rival Perspectives Can Spark New Solutions to Our Urgent Economic Problems, co-editor of The Art of Psychotherapy and The Evolving Therapist, and author of the critically acclaimed YA novel Book of the Sky God.

In 2009, she expanded her work into broadcast. She has been Contributing Producer for Arizona Public Media since 2009, producing feature stories on a wide range of topics for NPR 89.1/FM and PBS-6. Her latest work, Children of the Holocaust, is an intimate, living-history project consisting of 20 first-person accounts of the Holocaust from survivors living in Southern Arizona. Laura also co-wrote and co-produced a series of original radio dramas called Tales of Tucson, which aired on NPR and KXCI.

As a longtime editor and writing coach, Laura has helped hundreds of writers bring their ideas to the page, screen, stage, and airwaves. She will be available for one-on-one sessions to help with works in progress, project ideas, writing challenges, questions about traditional publishing, books proposals, agents, self-publishing, and more. She offers advice, feedback, and resources for writers of all genres as well as editors and multimedia producers.

One-on-One Sessions

Our Spring Writer-in-Residence program will feature local author Laura Markowitz, Feb. 14 – Apr. 30. She will be meeting with aspiring authors at eight 30-minute one-on-one sessions per week.

Sign up for one of Laura's sessions in our calendar., opens a new window

Talk to Laura for advice, feedback, pointers, and tips on writing and publishing.

FAQs

The Writer in Residence Program is made possible by the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Past Writers in Residence

About Adiba Nelson

Adiba Nelson is the author of Ain't That A Mother; the memoir that Essence, Bustle, Ms. magazine and Shondaland all hailed as a “must read”, and subject of the Emmy winning documentary, The Full Nelson, opens a new window. She is also a disability rights activist, executive producer and creative consultant on the tv series based on her memoir (currently in development), a freelance journalist, semi-retired burlesque performer and very tired mom!

In 2013 she self-published her first children’s book Meet ClaraBelle Blue after not being able to find a book that adequately and appropriately represented her daughter (disabled, Black). Since then, Adiba has led numerous workshops and given keynote addresses around the country for parents and educators focusing on DEIA from a disability perspective.

In 2017 Adiba delivered her TEDx talk (Skating Downhill: The Art of Claiming Your Life, opens a new windowto a sold out crowd, and has since joined the NPR affiliate Arizona Public Media as a regular contributor on Arizona Spotlightand was a featured speaker at the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of African American History and Culture, opens a new window. Her children’s book, “Oshun & Me” (MacMillan/Feiwel & Friends) will be available Winter 2024, and her next book, “Hazel’s Best Day!” will be available Winter 2026.

FAQs

The Writer in Residence Program is made possible by the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Past Writers in Residence

Past Writers in Residence

FAQs

The Writer in Residence Program is made possible by the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

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