TWWBF Lineup Saturday, October 14th Noon – 5pm
Noon – Opening Ceremony
12:30 – Kari Martindale
1:00 – Tisa Melton
1:30 – Lori Nissley
2:00 – Mari B
2:30 – Terri Simon
3:00 – KaNikki
3:30 – Patrice Smith aka Poetic Blaze
4:00 – Patti Ross aka little pi
4:15 – Open Mic
4:30 – Closing Poem by Aressa Williams read by TBA
Tickets to The Write Women Book Fest available HERE
Noon – Opening Ceremony
12:30 – Kari Martindale
1:00 – Tisa Melton
1:30 – Lori Nissley
2:00 – Mari B
2:30 – Terri Simon
3:00 – KaNikki
3:30 – Patrice Smith aka Poetic Blaze
4:00 – Patti Ross aka little pi
4:15 – Open Mic
4:30 – Closing Poem by Aressa Williams read by TBA
Tickets to The Write Women Book Fest available HERE
POET BIOS
Kari Martindale is a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet and spoken word artist who has been published in a number literary journals and anthologies. She sits on the Board of Maryland Writers’ Association and is co-editor of Pen-in-Hand. She has served on literary panels for Maryland State Arts Council, Poetry Out Loud, and slam competitions; and has been featured in ekphrastic readings across Maryland. Kari has been to all 50 States and nearly 40 countries. In January, she will be heading to France for a two-week residency. She has an M.A. in Linguistics, is a manager with EC Poetry & Prose, and values kindness over niceness and justice over peace.
Letitsa (Tisa) Melton is a poet, a self-published author of the poetry book Ever Evolving, and an entrepreneur based out of Richmond, Virginia. Tisa sees poetry as a way to heal the soul and as a means of unapologetic self-expression. She believes that there is no right or wrong way to express yourself through poetry.
Lore Nissley is a poet and essayist living and working in Maryland. Her relationship with words drove her to earn a degree in English and Creative Writing at UMBC and to work in journalism. She later moved into nonprofit management and early childhood education, working to bring he love of words and literacy resources to our youngest learners. Lore is currently enjoying her newly empty nest and rediscovering the joy of writing her personal story. Her poetry was most recently published in 45 Magazine Women’s Literary Journal.
Marielle “Mari” Bugayong is a budding writer ready to turn her Notes app ramblings to publishing and performance-quality work. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University, where she also led the spoken word group Archipelag-a, a collective of Filipino female-identifying poets. After completing a Master’s in Public Health in Baltimore, she has now settled into the warmth and creative vibrancy of the DMV with her dozens of houseplants, books, and musings.
Terri Simon’s poetry chapbook, Ghosts of My Own Choosing, was published by Flutter Press in 2017. Her second chapbook, Ringing the Bell, was published by Clare Songbirds Publishing House in 2021. Her work has appeared in “The Avenue,” “Third Wednesday,” “Poetry Quarterly,” “Ariel Chart,” “Bay to Ocean 2019,” and other print and online journals and anthologies. In 2022, she founded Fallen Tree Press, LLC with Patti Ross. Fallen Tree Press is a small press specializing in publishing poetry chapbooks. She is a co-founder of EC Poetry and Prose. She grew up in Mount Vernon, NY, studied writing at Sarah Lawrence College, and lives in Laurel, Maryland.
Patrice Smith, life-long resident of the Washington DC area, long term educator and astute observer of the human condition has melded her experiences to become both a poet and a spoken word performer. Patrice is the ultimate educator, having worked every level from kindergarten through college and taught both English and non-English speaking students. As a mentor teacher, she has used her vast experience to train the next generation of teachers. After years of professional achievements, Patrice is fortunate to have transformed her profession into her passion.
Patti Ross graduated from Washington, DC’s Duke Ellington School for the Performing Arts and The American University. Retiring from a career in technology Patti has rediscovered her love of writing and shares her voice as the poet and spoken word artist “little pi.” Her poems are published in various literary journals, PoetryXHunger website, Oyster River Pages: Composite Dreams Issue and several ekphrastic and nature anthologies. Her debut chapbook, St. Paul Street Provocations, was released in July 2021 by Yellow Arrow Publishing. She is the founder of EC Poetry and Prose collective.
Kari Martindale is a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet and spoken word artist who has been published in a number literary journals and anthologies. She sits on the Board of Maryland Writers’ Association and is co-editor of Pen-in-Hand. She has served on literary panels for Maryland State Arts Council, Poetry Out Loud, and slam competitions; and has been featured in ekphrastic readings across Maryland. Kari has been to all 50 States and nearly 40 countries. In January, she will be heading to France for a two-week residency. She has an M.A. in Linguistics, is a manager with EC Poetry & Prose, and values kindness over niceness and justice over peace.
Letitsa (Tisa) Melton is a poet, a self-published author of the poetry book Ever Evolving, and an entrepreneur based out of Richmond, Virginia. Tisa sees poetry as a way to heal the soul and as a means of unapologetic self-expression. She believes that there is no right or wrong way to express yourself through poetry.
Lore Nissley is a poet and essayist living and working in Maryland. Her relationship with words drove her to earn a degree in English and Creative Writing at UMBC and to work in journalism. She later moved into nonprofit management and early childhood education, working to bring he love of words and literacy resources to our youngest learners. Lore is currently enjoying her newly empty nest and rediscovering the joy of writing her personal story. Her poetry was most recently published in 45 Magazine Women’s Literary Journal.
Marielle “Mari” Bugayong is a budding writer ready to turn her Notes app ramblings to publishing and performance-quality work. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University, where she also led the spoken word group Archipelag-a, a collective of Filipino female-identifying poets. After completing a Master’s in Public Health in Baltimore, she has now settled into the warmth and creative vibrancy of the DMV with her dozens of houseplants, books, and musings.
Terri Simon’s poetry chapbook, Ghosts of My Own Choosing, was published by Flutter Press in 2017. Her second chapbook, Ringing the Bell, was published by Clare Songbirds Publishing House in 2021. Her work has appeared in “The Avenue,” “Third Wednesday,” “Poetry Quarterly,” “Ariel Chart,” “Bay to Ocean 2019,” and other print and online journals and anthologies. In 2022, she founded Fallen Tree Press, LLC with Patti Ross. Fallen Tree Press is a small press specializing in publishing poetry chapbooks. She is a co-founder of EC Poetry and Prose. She grew up in Mount Vernon, NY, studied writing at Sarah Lawrence College, and lives in Laurel, Maryland.
Patrice Smith, life-long resident of the Washington DC area, long term educator and astute observer of the human condition has melded her experiences to become both a poet and a spoken word performer. Patrice is the ultimate educator, having worked every level from kindergarten through college and taught both English and non-English speaking students. As a mentor teacher, she has used her vast experience to train the next generation of teachers. After years of professional achievements, Patrice is fortunate to have transformed her profession into her passion.
Patti Ross graduated from Washington, DC’s Duke Ellington School for the Performing Arts and The American University. Retiring from a career in technology Patti has rediscovered her love of writing and shares her voice as the poet and spoken word artist “little pi.” Her poems are published in various literary journals, PoetryXHunger website, Oyster River Pages: Composite Dreams Issue and several ekphrastic and nature anthologies. Her debut chapbook, St. Paul Street Provocations, was released in July 2021 by Yellow Arrow Publishing. She is the founder of EC Poetry and Prose collective.
