Ames Writers Collective
Acacia Coates is the Ames Writer’s Collective’s current communications intern. She has an affinity for fiction, particularly novels, and has aspirations of publishing a book someday. She loves time spent outdoors or playing music with her friends.
Kendra Kruse is in the “aspiring writer” category for now. She’s a married mom of five young kids who enjoys using her education background to support her family. She’s currently working on a young adult novel and hopes to add some cozy mysteries and a Malcolm Gladwell-esque non fiction work to her repertoire soon.
Stephen L. Brayton is a Sixth Degree Black Belt in the American Taekwondo Association and a Marketing Associate for a software company. Current publications include A Cold New Year and Night Shadows, the first in a supernatural series featuring a Homicide detective and an FBI agent. He is the editor and contributing author of The Peace Tree Mystery, a story set in the Knoxville, Iowa/Lake Red Rock area. Visit stephenbraytonauthor.com to learn more.
Rachel Mans McKenny is an author and humorist. She is the author of the 2022 All-Iowa Reads selection for Adults, The Butterfly Effect. Her work has been published in The New York Times, Washington Post, Electric Literature, and Ploughshares. You can find more about her at rachelmansmckenny.com.
Jenny Wilson is a historical fiction writer focusing on myths set in Bronze Age Greece. She earned her B.A. in Ancient Civilizations from the University of Iowa with a concentration on Greek and Roman art, religion, history, and languages. Her debut novel, The Death and Life of Iphigenia, was short-listed for the 2024 Novel London Literary Prize and was published in 2025. Please visit jsusannewilson.com for more about her stories.
Lee Anne Willson retired from Iowa State University in 2014 but is still involved in research to understand the fate of the solar system. She is a founding member of the artist’s cooperative Creative Artists’ Studios of Ames where she runs the Fiber Arts Node and Origami Center. Her main writing project is a memoir about being an astronomer, nearly done. She is also writing up family stories and is working on some ideas for fiction to entertain her granddaughters.
Jaime is the Senior Staff Writer for the educational show Crash Course. She’s especially interested in nonfiction and graphic literature, and she’s happiest when making art with her daughter or riding her horse.
Steve Ryan divides his time between writing, supporting scientific research, and designing interactive art exhibitions. He is interested in short fiction and generative writing as a means to creative community with the environment and with fellow wayfarers.
Douglas A. Gentile, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Iowa State University, the leader of Ames’ premiere jazz band the Indigo Monks, and is a Zen monk with the Ames Buddhist Mahasangha. He writers primarily nonfiction, with books published by Penguin, Oxford, Cambridge, and Praeger.
He often writes with a fountain pen which
Rachel Gantt was the Ames Writers Collective’s first intern. She writes content for the website and socials. She also enjoys writing creative fiction and poetry.
