President

Andrew Doty

Vice President

Cherie Postill

Secretary

Michael DePung

Treasurer

Linda Austin

Membership Chair

Webmaster

Kevin Ericson

Board Member

Pat Dorsey

Andrew Doty

Andrew Doty began publishing poetry at the age of 16, then earned a degree in creative writing before pursuing a career as an editor. Through his publishing consultancy, Editwright, he provides comprehensive publishing services (book coaching, editing, design, illustration, proofreading, website design, award submissions, fundraising, and more) to independent authors, small publishers, and nonprofits. His portfolio includes both bestselling books and celebrity authors. In addition to incessant reading and editing, Andrew continues to write and publish poetry as well as create and record music. 

 Cherie Postill

Cherie is a writer, a sales professional, and a speaker. She is the author of How to Train a Beta Reader and Sell More Books, a nonfiction guide for writers, and presents workshops for authors across the country, teaching her unique strategy and step-by-step process. Ms. Postill serves on the St. Louis Writers Guild board as the V.P. of Contests and liaison for 20+ school districts and is Vice President of the St. Louis Publishers Assoc.

When she is not writing, mentoring, or speaking to writers, young and old, she enjoys time with friends and family, reading, teaching, camping, hiking, cooking, and helping aspiring writers. You can learn more about her writing at www.clpostill.com. She loves to connect with fellow readers and writers and welcomes your emails at cherie@clpostill.com. You can find her at https://twitter.com/postillc, http://Instagram.com/cheriepostill, and www.facebook.com/Cherie.Postill.

Mike DePung writes fiction, poetry, and essays when he is not working as an educational consultant. He involves himself as a philanthropist in various organizations: Pencils of Promise (education), Kids Helping Kids, Stray Rescue and ASPCA. As a family man, he seeks the welfare of his wife, children, and grandchildren.

Linda Austin

Linda Austin became an advocate for life writing and memoir after writing and publishing her mother’s memoir, Cherry Blossoms in Twilight, of growing up in Japan around WWII. She has since written and published Poems That Come to Mind, about caregiving, and a Korean War veteran’s memoir, Battlefield Doc. She encourages life writing via her website http://moonbridgebooks.com and advises on indie-publishing and social media marketing.

Kerri M. Holloway is a freelance editor and copywriter with over 20 years’ experience working with authors, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and Christian ministries. As the principal of Successful Improvements, she is committed to helping people share their story. From walking an author through the editing process to creating a brochure or special event script, she specializes in transforming ideas into a polished, effective message.

Kerri provides full-service editing for manuscripts in the following genres:  Adult (nonfiction)—autobiography/memoir, Christian ministry, youth programs, women, family, personal journal; and Youth (fiction and nonfiction)—children’s picture books, early readers.

 Kevin Ericson

One hundred years ago Kevin Ericson’s Swedish Grandfather crossed the Atlantic aboard the Lusitania. He wrote about coming to America in a series of newspaper columns titled Till Amerika that were published in a Swedish newspaper. Kevin recently inherited copies of the articles and is working on translating them and compiling them into a book.   

Jo Lena Johnson, the AG Resilience Coach, is a certified mediator, international trainer, acclaimed author, founder of Absolute Good Training and Life Skills Management, and publisher of Mission Possible Press. She has taught 100,000 people worldwide with her no-nonsense and dynamic approach, with messages of how to effectively communicate, manage conflict, and maintain resilience, even after something bad happens.

Kevin Desrosiers’ passion in life is to challenge himself and others to be the best they can be. He developed this passion when he saw his dad make sacrifices and overcome obstacles to improve the quality of his family’s lives. Kevin is a retired team lead, two-time Distinguished Toastmaster, and has served as a mentor for people in all walks of life. Kevin has delivered keynotes in Australia, South Africa, and in several cities across the United States.

     Pat Dorsey     

Patrick Dorsey has spent his career as a professional business writer helping people and businesses tell their stories. A natural storyteller his whole life, he began creating his own books in first grade by stapling together crayoned pages. He's a St. Louis native in all but birthplace and holds a degree in English from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. In 2013, he released his adventure novel GOD'S FORGE through Legendary Planet -- his first book published without either a stapler or crayons.

Sean Gold

Sean Gold is a young, black, gay man with a disability, his desire is to enlighten, inform and support others in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, and beyond. He is an advocate for people with disabilities, an author, a public speaker, and has one Microsoft certification for web design. In 2020, Sean was elected as president of the disability-owned nonprofit organization, Coalition in Truth and Independence. In 2021, he published his debut book, “Pure Love, Or Is It?” In 2022, Gold became a board member of FestAbility. He considers his faith, family, and friends the most important things in his life. His physical disability is Cerebral Palsy, and he has had a Tracheostomy Breathing Tube since he was only one and a half years old. Even though he’s nonverbal, it doesn’t get in the way of his love of creative writing, and storytelling.