Authors | East End Review

Writers

Consi Handelsman Bennett

My family moved from the U.S. to England when I was seven years old, crossing the Atlantic on a ship called the Seven Seas.

My father, cartoonist J.B. Handelsman worked for Punch and The New Yorker. I grew up watching him draw - quick pen and ink sketches that captured the visual essence, accompanied by witty captions. My love of art and literature came from him. My love of music, from my harpist mother.

At a young age, I moved to West Wales, fell in love with the wild countryside, made lifelong friends and met my future husband, singing in a band called Swamp Talk.

I lived in Wales until the tragic death of my first child drastically changed the course of my life. I began to write about this and all aspects of my life in memoir, essays and poetry. Writing has opened a whole world inside me and one that I want to share. I am a writer, art-teacher, painter and puppet maker living on Long Island, N.Y.

Cheryl Daters

Cheryl Daters is a lifetime resident of Long Island's east end. Only recently taking up writing, she has long felt the desire to put some of her personal stories and unique views on paper. Ms. Daters has always found ways to express her creativity through a variety of mediums over the years. In addition to currently writing, she enjoys painting, baking, crafting and her rescue dog, Max.

Cindy March

"You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page." — Jodi Picoult

Barbara Willensky

Barbara Willensky is a recently retired psychologist/psychoanalyst. She lives on The North Fork with her husband and a lovely golden retriever. Previously she lived in Manhattan where she raised two daughters and managed a private practice. Barbara likes to play pickleball, sail her sunfish on Southold Bay, enjoys being a Nana to 3.5 wonderful grandchildren and is writing a trauma memoir about a sensitive subject. She also has been taking writing classes and workshops.

Jo Anne Vitiello

"If you wait for inspiration to write; you're not a writer, you're a waiter."

— Dan Poynter

Kelly Zinn

Kelly Zinn is a social worker and educator. Her writing is inspired by family relationships, resilience, and the stories hidden within ordinary experiences. Kelly lives on Long Island with her family.

Heidi MacAlpine

Heidi MacAlpine is a holistic occupational therapist, podcaster (W.E.L.L Matters) , poet, writer and owner of (Align OT). She helps people learn and grow by sharing knowledge, helpful tools, and creative activities that gently awaken each of the body’s senses.

Through her own healing journey, she has come to better understand what grace truly means. Her clients continue to inspire her to write stories and poems.

Christopher E. Servedio

Christopher E. Servedio is a writer, master electrician, and retired vocational educator based on Long Island, New York. His work explores restoration, healing, and reconnecting with the natural world. He is a contributor to Spirituality & Health Magazine.

Jill Drum

Jill’s articles, essays and poems have been published in EDUCATION DAILY, THE SUN and LOCAL GEMS PRESS anthologies. She has appeared at curated readings in Brooklyn and Lake Tahoe and as a featured poet at Summer Gazebo Readings in Oceanside, East Meadow’s Performance Poets Association, and this winter at the Poetry Series at the Mid Island Y.

For 31 years, she taught middle and high school English. Currently, she tutors students privately and as a Homebound Instructor. She is the Co President and Political Action lobbyist for the North Bellmore Retired Teachers' Association. She also enjoys being a vocalist in the Northport Chorale.

Jill holds degrees from Hofstra University with a BA in three majors, Creative Writing /English Literature, Education, and Psychology, an MA from NYU in Musical Theater, and an Advanced Certificate from Brooklyn College in Special Education/Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Susan Casey

Susan Casey is a mother, high school English teacher, lifelong learner, and reflective writer who believes some of life’s most important lessons begin with a good question. Her writing explores love, loss, growth, faith, family, and the unexpected wisdom found in ordinary moments. After years of writing privately, she is beginning to share pieces from a journey that has taught her the value of slowing down, sitting with difficult questions, and allowing experience to change the way we understand ourselves and one another.

Sharon Black

Sharon Black, SAR Academy’s Director of Arts & Enrichment, is the author of The Wisdom of A Starry Night—Using the Power of Great Art for Self-Awareness and More Than Four Questions: Inviting Children’s Voices to the Seder. Her memoir pieces, poetry, and educational essays have appeared in numerous publications. Harvesting The Stars, her debut memoir collection, includes the essay “Where Light Rises First.”

Mary Regan

“A writer is a world trapped in a person.” – Victor Hugo

Celebrating Writers of All Genres Creative Nonfiction, Personal Essays, Memoir, Fiction, Poetry, Prose, and more