Lauren Wise is an award-winning journalist and editor and has worked for almost 20 years in the media and book publishing industry. She’s the associate publisher of She Writes Press and SparkPress and is active in the indie publishing community as a conference speaker. She sits on the PubWest Board of Directors and the IBPA’s Advocacy Committee, where she was a judge at the 2025 IBPA Book Awards. She lives in Arizona, corralling her toddler son and husband, a gigantic sunflower garden, and endless stacks of books, all while replicating her favorite Masterchef recipes and enjoying a healthy whiskey collection.