About Sheila Bender

I have been writing seriously since 1975 and have taught writing since 1980. I published my first book about writing (Writing in a Convertible with the Top Down) in 1991 and have continued since then writing and publishing my poetry (Sustenance: New and Selected Poems), reviews (in Poet Lore, The Seattle Times and The World), and articles (Writer's Digest Magazine and The Writer), as well as producing and publishing many more books on writing, the newest entitled Writing and Publishing Personal Essays.

My essays and poems appear online and in numerous North American literary magazines and anthologies including Poetry Northwest, The Seattle Review, The Bellingham Review, Tiny Lights, and Tidepools among others. My  newest book, A New Theology: Turning to Poetry in a Time of Grief, is out from Imago Press in Tucson, AZ. Perfect Phrases for College Application Essays is out from McGraw-Hill, and another book from McGraw-Hill, Creative Writing Demystified, will be out in 2011.  

As I wrote, my teaching expanded from local community education courses in writing to workshops at national writer's conferences and university-sponsored classes. I served as curator for Seattle's Poetry on the Buses program and as a judge for the Associated Writing Program and Writer's Digest's literary contests. I am a frequent presenter, instructor and panel member at conferences, most recently the University of Dayton's Erma Bombeck Conference, the San Francisco Jack London Writer's Conference, Washington's Whidbey Island Writer's Conference and low-residency MFA program, the Conference on College Composition and Communication and the Society of Southwest Authors' Conference. Each year, I am joined by a renowned faculty for the Writing It Real in Port Townsend Writers' Conference.

My passion is helping those who want to break their writing out into new forms, revise effectively, generate more writing or facilitate the writing of others. In the last three decades years, I have worked with hundreds of people in colleges, universities and workshops helping them write personal essays, poetry, and writer's journals and allow writing a serious place in their lives. I've provided teacher training in WA, AZ and CA. I conceived and launched Writing It Real in 2002 as a vehicle to help others foster their best work, involve themselves in a community of people who write from personal experience, and learn to teach others how to facilitate good writing. In 2005, I developed LifeJournal for Writers with Chronicles Software.

I have an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Wisconsin, an MAT in Secondary Education from Keane College and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington.

My references, including program directors, agents, editors, department chairs, writing colleagues, publishers and students are available upon request.

My very best to you on all your writing endeavors,