Judith Speizer Crandell

Judith Speizer Crandell

I have recently lost my writing mentor and close friend, Suzanne Byerley.  I am taking her spirit – along with those of Georgia O’Keeffe and Virginia Woolf – with me as inspiration for this conference.   As for my background, I am a seasoned, award-winning writer of both fiction and nonfiction. I’ve received a residency at Yaddo and a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship. Recently, I won two Raymond Carver Short Story Awards from PRIZM of Northwest Ohio.  My general background includes writers’ workshops newspaper and magazine journalism and speechwriting in Washington, D.C. for close to 20 years.  I’ve lived on both coasts and currently reside in Perrysburg, Ohio along the Maumee River where I thoroughly enjoy teaching “Memoir Sisters” writing classes in my home and sitting by the water with my dog Sparky.  My formal education includes a BA in Psychology from Ohio State University, an MA in English from Cleveland State University and post-doctoral work at Case Western University.  In truth, the love of literature is at the core of my writing ability and passion – my life.  Add reading to life experiences and you have my true education.