VirtualPoets! Kim Shuck hosts

Linda Rodriguez has written or edited 13 books. Her novels—Every Hidden Fear, Every Broken Trust, Every Last Secret—and books of poetry—Skin Hunger, Heart's Migration, Dark Sister: Poems—have received critical recognition and awards, such as St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic Best First Novel, International Latino Book Award, Latina Book Club Best Book of 2014, Midwest Voices & Visions, Elvira Cordero Cisneros Award, Thorpe Menn Award, and Ragdale and Macondo fellowships. She also published Plotting the Character-Driven Novel and other nonfiction books, as well as editing Unpapered: Writers Consider Native American Identity and Cultural Belonging, Woven Voices: 3 Generations of Puertorriqueña Poets Look at Their American Lives, The World Is One Place: Native American Poets Visit the Middle East, and other anthologies.       Rodriguez is past chair of the Indigenous Writer’s Caucus, past president of Border Crimes/Sisters in Crime, founding board member of Latino Writers Collective and The Writers Place, and belongs to International Thriller Writers, Native Writers Circle of the Americas, Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers, and Kansas City Cherokee Community. Learn more about her at lindarodriguezwrites.blogspot.com. Phyllis Becker coordinatesthe Riverfront Readings in Kansas City, Missouri, one of the longest-runningreading series in Kansas City. Her latest book is Proof of Existence (2024,Scapegoat Press). She also has a book, How I Came to Love Jazz and OtherPoems (2008, Helicon Nine, Editions). Her poems have also been set to jazzon the compact disc Poetry of Love,produced by jazz vocalist Angela Hagenbach. Phyllis is also a consultant workingwith organizations and communities in youth justice reform, communityengagement, and professional development. She and her husband, Mark are jazzenthusiasts and amateur gardeners.