Jill Dianne Swenson, Ph.D. is President, CEO, and Executive Book Development Editor at Swenson Book Development, LLC. With a Ph.D. from The University of Chicago, 20 years of teaching, editing, and coaching non-fiction writers, Jill is an author’s advocate. First and foremost, she loves books. Let her help you make your book and your dream take flight.Jill works with a small and dedicated support team of editorial, research and marketing professionals who conquer all style guides, submission specifications, search engines and help convert hits into sales.
Ruth Goldhor Chlebowski, Ph.D. is Swenson Book Development, LLC’s meticulous senior editor and brilliant project assistant. She holds a doctorate in speech communication from The University of Texas, Austin. Her previous professional experience includes working as a developmental editor at RAND, a content developer at Kumon USA, and 14 years teaching writing and communication courses at public and private colleges and universities across the United States. “Dr. Ruth” is committed to developing text that is clear, concise and audience-centered. With a strong background in literature and performance, she brings eloquence and a sense of voice to all her writing and editing efforts. She has recently returned to Austin where she lives with her husband, two children, and cat.
Alice Muhlback is a cartoonist, graphic designer, illustrator and painter living in Ithaca, NY. Her work has been displayed in the Museum of Art and design in New York City, as well as in galleries and venues throughout the Finger Lakes. She has provided illustrations for books, literary journals and other print media. Her graphic designs have appeared on various merchandise including credit cards, coffee sleeves, cars and ATM machines. She also creates sculptures, recycles furniture and paints on whatever she can find.
In 2006 she was named the Ithaca Festival Artist. In 2008 she was voted "Best Ithaca Artist" by the Ithaca Times. Alice is the owner of Ithacamade a shop featuring local artists and products. She is delighted to be a part of Swenson Book Development.
Danielle Sherwood is Swenson Book Development, LLC’s excellent market researcher, specializing in “tradigital” (traditional meets digital) social media marketing and web design. A recent graduate of Ithaca College who majored in English and art history, Danielle spent a semester abroad in Dublin at Trinity College. There she developed a love of contemporary Irish literature (especially young adult fiction), Jaffa cakes, and the TV show Misfits. After completing her bachelor’s degree, Danielle returned to her native Seattle to intern with 45th Parallel Communications, a public relations firm representing fine independent publishers. Industrious Danielle continues working at Gap stores and with Swenson Book Development, LLC as she launches her career in publications.
Bethany Dixon is a writer and musician currently living and working in Ithaca, NY. She graduated in May 2011 from Ithaca College, where she studied English and piano performance. She has also studied at King's College London and the Royal College of Music.
Whilst living in London during 2008-2009, Bethany disovered the London poetry scene, most memorably at The Troubador in Earl's Court, the Poetry Caf´e in Covent Garden, and the Poetry Library at Southbank Centre. This serendipitous series of events inspired her to write her senior thesis on "The Wistful Eye in Elizabeth Bishop's Poetry of Travel", and to make the pursuit of poetry (both the writing and the study) a lifelong goal. She is most intersted in 20th century & contemporary British and American Poets, some favorites being Elizabeth Bishop, Seamus Heaney, Robert Frost, Frank O'Hara, Polly Atkin, and Helen Ivory. Bethany's poem "There Are Two Things I am Sure Of" won second prize in the Dehn Poetry Contest, and was Published in "Long River Run". She has lived in New England, New York, and London, to which she very much hopes to return to one day.
Bethany works with Swenson Book Development, LLC as a social media corordinator and editor. She is abosolutely thrilled to be a part of this wonderful and exciting company, and to have discovered a new community of literarians.
Melissa Jo Hill is a a word-slinging, ukulele-playing, fortune-telling, single mama in beautiful Upstate New York. She likes saucy romance novels, haiku and the deep sense of self-satisfaction that comes from finding and fixing a misplaced comma. A set of divination cards she created, the Melissa Lenormand, will be published by Schiffer Books in 2014.
Claire Webber can be lured away from comforting glow of her computer screen to help clients discover their own love of technology. While originally brought on to the Swenson Book Development, LLC team to aid in revising the website, her eclectic skill set in design, presentation, and one-on-one technology coaching was quickly put to full use.
Claire lives at two ends of the technology spectrum - when she’s not exploring the frontiers of the online world, she knits, ferments sauerkraut, and reads good old-fashioned paper books with her microbiologist partner in the countryside of Upstate New York.
Swenson Book Development also collaborates with graphic designers, photographers, image editors, cover designers, illustrators and other professionals on specific projects as needed.
