Weird Sisters West, the progressive magazine with a queer edge

Our Contributors,
listed alphabetically:

Local Colorado artist Diann Anderson lives in Louisville with her partner of 11 years and works as a full-time illustrator from her home studio. Anderson is known for her meticulously detailed botanical and scientific illustrations which she creates using graphite and colored pencil.

email Diann
Diann Anderson - Artist

Alison Bechdel - Cartoonist

Alison Bechdel grew up in rural Pennsylvania. After graduating from Oberlin College, she moved to New York City, where she began drawing Dykes to Watch Out For as a feature in the feminist monthly Womanews in 1983. Ten book-length collections of the strip have since appeared,
nine of them-including Spawn of Dykes To Watch Out For, and Hot, Throbbing Dykes
to Watch Out For-published by the pioneering feminist press, Firebrand Books.
The eleventh volume, Invasion of the Dykes To Watch Out For, will be released
by Alyson Books in October, 2005. Five of Bechdel's books have won Lambda Literary Awards. Bechdel's bi-weekly strip is syndicated in over 50 periodicals and has been a joyous mainstay in Weird Sisters West since 1995.

Email Alyson
Visit Alison's web page

Maggie Boys - Writer

Maggie Boys writes letters to her Congresspeople, occasional pieces for Weird Sisters West, and reports about customer service for E Source in Boulder. She enjoys puns (all too much), mysteries, non-fiction, Collette in French, and teaching English to newcomers.

Janice Josephine Carney - Writer

Janice Josephine Carney has contributed stories to three anthologies, including "Pinned Down By Pronouns," which was nominated for a 2004 Lambda Literary award. She is the author of "Purple Hearts and Silver Stars: Poems, Rants, Essay, and Short Stories Direct from a Trans-Woman’s Soul." Janice began writing a syndicated column, "Perspectives from a Trans-Woman" in January 2004. Her column grows out of her view as a 54-year-old, post-op trans-woman, lesbian, liberal, disabled Vietnam Veteran. Janice has done workshops on gender issues and on creative writing at LGBT conferences across the country. She was the subject of a short documentary, "TransJan" that screened at several film festivals. Janice grew up in Cambridge, Mass, and earned a BA in law studies from the Univ. of Mass. She now lives in Florida. Her book "Purple Hearts and Silver Stars" is available at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

Email Janice

Jeff Chernin - Writer

Jeffrey Chernin, Ph.D. is a licensed pscyotherapist in Los Angeles.
He has been providing psychotherapy since 1994, primarily in the GBLT community.
Dr. Chernin has been writing Q Health for over 7 years and has become a regular contributor
with Weird Sisters West over the last few years. He is co-author of Affirmative Counseling and Psychotherapy for Lesbians and Gay Men.

Visit Jeffrey's web page

Becky Code - Writer

"A former neurobiologist and biomedical researcher, I now teach part-time in order to pursue my writing. I've had essays and poetry published in Notre Dame Magazine, Weird Sisters West, and Pleasant Living Magazine and included in a book entitled "Family." My partner and I live in Athens, OH."

Siân Lambert - Writer

Siân is English and grew up near Nottingham. She gained her BA in Theatre
Studies & Imaginative Writing from Liverpool John Moores University and worked in theatre publicity in Britain for several years before falling in love with the mountains and a nice American girl and becoming a ski bum. She now lives near Aspen, Colorado, with her partner. Siân's passion is poetry but she loves reading and writing all kinds of creative and factual scribblings.

Sally Sheklow - writer

Long ago, Sally Sheklow won an Honorable Mention in Palm Springs High School's essay contest with her essay lampooning essay contests. She discovered that it pays to make fun of stuff. Later her job hefting big heavy boxes of rennetless cheddar and organic gruyere in a natural foods warehouse gave rise to her most prolific parody period, producing such inspirational spirituals as "Oh, What a Friend We Have in Cheeses" and "Bringing In the Cheese." She was cookin'! When her community's first gay newsmagazine sprang up, she volunteered to write an advice column that made fun of advice columns. Writing "ASK BIG SISTER" for five years whetted her appetite for seeing her words in print. She began taking actual writing classes and exploring the world of the personal essay. She discovered a fun world where she could say whatever she wanted without having to look too much stuff up. Sheklow funny essays about her everyday lesbian life soon became a big success and she found a larger audience for her work, appearing in newsweeklies and glossy magazines. Sheklow has been a regular contributor to Weird Sisters West for many years -- long enough to count as a Big weird Sister. In between deadlines, Sheklow performs with the improvisational troupe WYMPROV!, teaches lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans/Queer Issues classes for Portland State University, and takes out the recycling on Wednesday nights. Sheklow and her life partner share their Pacific Northwest home with a teenaged niece, an overindulged cat, and heaps of fan mail.

Email Sally
Visit Sally's WYMPROV web page
Visit Sally's own web page

Irene Stein - Owner and Co-Publisher

I have really enjoyed being associated with Weird Sisters West since 1997—and it has given me a great sense of pride, also. I’ve always known how important the paper was to lesbians, and to womyn-identified others, as a place that they could see themselves reflected in stories, articles, and cartoons. But after 9/11 I really realized how special we were as one of the few alternative press publications that were free to explore all aspects of world and national events. You don’t need to be queer-identified, or even a woman to appreciate that.

Madeleine does most all the editing and business end of the paper--she is the heart and soul. As a co-owner, I describe my role as morale-booster and keeper of the subscription data base. I print out the labels for the subscriptions that go out all over the continent. I look forward each time to seeing what readers write on their renewal slips. We have the best readers in the world!

The rest of my time is spent as a Life and Learning Coach for adult learners, and as a doctoral student, trying to finish my dissertation and coursework for a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems. I live in Ft. Collins with my dog, Teri, and two cats. I love playing golf most seasons, and watching the CSU women’s basketball team play during the winter months. I exercise most days, and take Teri for walks when she gets too bored with my studying.

Email Irene

Rachael Weiss -Graphic Designer

Visual artist Rachael Weiss provides the artful layout and design WSW magazine has come to be known for. Funky, innovative, Rachael’s playful eye keeps the look fresh. She is the owner of Rockolita Graphic Design and Layout, and specializes in logo design, ad creation, business cards and stationery packages, brochures, invitations, menus, posters and promotional items. Rachael is ready for any graphic gig!

Email Rachael