SEAL-PRESS - Key Persons
Amy Ragsdale is a writer and choreographer who was raised in Madison, Wisconsin, Asia, and North Africa. She earned a BA in art history from Harvard College and an MALS from Wesleyan. Her articles on travel and dance have appeared in High Desert Journal, Mamalode, and Outside Magazine Online, where she initiated the column Raising Rippers.
Amy has taught contemporary dance in Spain, Indonesia, Martinique, Mozambique, and Brazil. She is the founder of Headwaters Dance Co., the recipient of the University of Montana's Distinguished Teaching Award, and a 2009 Governor's Arts Award for the State of Montana.
She is married to writer Peter Stark. They live in Missoula, Montana, with two fabulous children, an imperious cat, and an enthusiastic puppy.
ANASTASIA M. ASHMAN is a career essayist specializing in personal tales of cultural adventure. She has spent ten years working for literary agents and producers of film, television, and Broadway theater. She has been published in Cornucopia, a magazine for connoisseurs of Turkey, Dow Jones' Far Eastern Economic Review, The Asian Wall Street Journal, and The Village Voice. Born and raised in Berkeley, California, she holds a degree in Classical Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern Archaeology from Bryn Mawr, and lives in Istanbul with her husband, Burc Sahinoglu.
Job Titles:
- Editorial Director for the TODAY Show
Arianna Davis is the editorial director for The TODAY Show. Davis previously worked at Oprah Daily, Refinery29, and Us Weekly; and has written for New York, Glamour, and PopSugar Latina. She has also served as an entertainment and culture expert for Access Hollywood and TLC documentaries. She lives in New York City.
Ariel Gore is a journalist, writer, and teacher. Her novel We Were Witches was celebrated for its "piercing and wise" (Booklist) examination of modern womanhood. Gore is the founder of Hip Mama, an Alternative Press Award-winning publication covering the culture and politics of motherhood, and the creator of the Fascism Fatigue Coloring Book. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Barbara Findlen is managing editor of FamilyFun magazine. She lives in Amherst, MA.
Camille Cusumano was a staff editor at VIA Magazine in San Francisco for seventeen years, until August 2005, when she became a freelancer. She will continue to work for VIA, a bimonthly magazine that reaches 3.1 million households in Northern California, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, and southern Idaho, when she returns to the States from Argentina.
Camille's short story Plot Theory, was published in the 2006 summer issue of the North American Review and won third place in the Kurt Vonnegut fiction contest. She has written on food and travel for many publications, including Islands, Country Living, the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. She's also authored several cookbooks, including The New Foods (Henry Holt), America Loves Salads (for Literary Guild), and Rodale's Basic Natural Foods Cookbook (co-writer); one novel, The Last Cannoli (Legas); and she's the editor of the Love Story anthologies, which include France, A Love Story, Italy; A Love Story; Mexico, A Love Story, and Greece, A Love Story, all published by Seal Press.
Elisabeth Eaves is the author of Bare: The Naked Truth About Stripping, and her travel essays have been anthologized in The Best American Travel Writing, The Best Women's Travel Writing, and A Moveable Feast: Life-Changing Food Adventures from Around the World. Her writing has also appeared in numerous publications, including Forbes, Harper's, the New York Times, Slate, and the Wall Street Journal, and she holds a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University. Born and raised in Vancouver, she lives in New York City.
JENNIFER EATON GOKMEN is a writer captivated by the people and customs of Turkey, her home for the past decade. For the past six years Ms. Gokmen has served as International Coordinator for the Kadikoy Municipality Annual Folkdance Festival showcasing two hundred ethnic dancers and musicians each summer. A native of Michigan, she holds a degree in Creative Writing and American and English Literature from Western Michigan University. She has been a regular contributor to the monthly city guide Time Out Istanbul. She lives with her husband, Bilgehan, in Istanbul.