Authors and Contributors

Dec 02, 2007

Posted by: NickTLC

Uncategorized

Authors/Contributors

Melissa Anelli

Melissa Anelli is a freelance writer living in New York City who is smitten by all things Harry Potter. A Georgetown University grad, her work has also appeared on the cable channel NY1 and in the newsmagazine U.S. News & World Report. She joined TLC in October 2001 and has enjoyed the many early mornings and late nights she’s spent keeping it up to date. In Melissa’s free (ha!) time she works on more projects than she can handle, sees more theater than she can afford and consumes more coffee than is healthy for anyone.

Part I

Steve Vander Ark – “The Harry Potter Timeline: What we know so far”

The Lexicon was created and is edited, written, and maintained primarily by one person, Steve Vander Ark. He’s a 49-year-old school librarian and an encyclopedia fan from way back. Steve started writing reference encyclopedias in the late 1960s using the notes he always took about television shows and books that he enjoyed. Steve’s first one was about Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, which he used to watch in black and white reruns. He has written references like the Lexicon for Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation, for Hogan’s Heroes, for Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars books, and others, but never before has Steve had the chance to publish my work in a way that’s accessable to so many people. With the Harry Potter Lexicon, Steve has had the extreme pleasure to create a reference that is actually used and enjoyed by thousands of people all over the world via the Internet. This is his hobby, and it’s been a real thrill for this hobby to be appreciated and supported by so many people.

Steve is also a writer. He has written professionally for many years, including stints at Compute magazine, where he was a columnist and reviewer, RUN Magazine, and others. Steve has freelanced for travel magazines, kids magazines, and professional publications for teachers and librarians. He lectures and teaches on a variety of subjects, besides creating and running the library, media, and technology programs for a K-8 school in Michigan. Steve is also a husband and father, and his family is his first priority.

Lisa Bunker/LisaQQQ – “Hint, Hint: Jo Rowling speaks about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”

In 2004, Lisa Bunker (aka ‘Angharad’ and ‘LisaQQQ’) had the idea of organizing Deborah Skinner’s (Madam Scoop) wonderfully useful JKR quote summaries by topic and putting them on the web. She added over 40 new interviews and transcripts to the Quick Quotes Quill archive when she took it over in 2005. The combined site is now known as “Accio Quote” (http://www.accio-quote.org/). She is also on the editorial staff of the Harry Potter Lexicon (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/index-2.html).

Lisa is a librarian who lives in Tucson, Arizona (U.S.A.). She wore round glasses just like Harry’s when she was 9 years old, but now she is quite a bit older than that. She enjoys gardening and four-wheeling on Arizona’s scenic back roads.

Part II

Emily Bytheway / WahleeTLC – “Divination Made Easier”

Emily is a (seemingly-perpetual) graduate student in English. She discovered Harry Potter just before Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire appeared, and has been absolutely obsessed ever since. When she’s not pondering the mysteries of Harry Potter, she tries to write her thesis (on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings), keeps her eye out for anything mentioning Jane Austen (for a future PhD project), co-coordinates Leaky’s Scribbulus project, reads just about anything she can get her hands on, and (if that wasn’t enough!) knits. She can’t wait to read about Harry and Ginny living happily ever after.

Melissa Walls-Lawson / mlwl – “Harry’s Heroic Journey”

Melissa is a former high school literature teacher, a future librarian, and a permanent bibliophile. She has been a Scribbulus editor since January 2005 and Lily & Stag facilitator since March of the same year. In the rare moments she is not reading or lurking around Leaky, Melissa designs jewelry, sews, and sings.

Ann Skinner/Aislinn – “Hogwarts, a Future?” and co-author of “Duels with Death Eaters”

Ann fell in love with Harry Potter and his world since the first book. She feeds her obsession through managing the Corner Booth text chat, acting as editor on the Scribbulus team, helping to moderate the forum, and through endless debates, erm, conversations about the characters and their motivations. In real life, Ann is a clinical analyst, helping to drag the healthcare world into the 21st century of computerization, and shares her life with two wonderful and goofy dogs.

Michele Nanjo / Theowyn – “I Trust Severus Snape”

Michele is a business analyst and mother of three from Northern California. A long-time Harry Potter fan, she is fascinated by the complexity of the relationships between Rowling’s characters (and no, she doesn’t mean romantic relationships) as well as by the profound moral and ethical questions raised by the books. When not working or driving the kids to innumerable activities, Michele can be found at Scribbulus or at her computer writing fan fiction which is her passion. She denies owning a Time Turner.

Sloan de Forest / Witherwings – “He Who Must Not Be Named” and co-author of “Molly’s Tribe”

Sloan’s fascination with Harry and his world began when she first saw the Sorcerer’s Stone film in 2001 and innocently thought, “Maybe I should read that book.” Everything after that moment is a blur, but somehow she ended up writing and editing Potter-themed essays on the Leaky Cauldron. When not writing, Sloan can be found acting, drawing, dancing and playing with cats. She secretly wishes for the seventh book to never be released so the sweet anticipation can last forever.

Donna Hosie / MaraudingDon – “Vessels of Evil”

Donna Hosie has been a member of the Leaky Cauldron staff since 1995. She helps manage the Leaky Galleries, moderates on the forum and is the Leaky representative on the Fan Council set up by WB and EA Games. She adores Remus Lupin, detests Severus Snape and coined the term “boil him in shampoo.” She awaits that day in July 2007 when it will hopefully happen!!!

Nina de Boo / SeverineSnape – “I am with You” and co-author of “Duels with Death Eaters”

Nina is a Dutch-born medical research scientist currently living with her geriatric (kneazle-free) cat in a “cupboard under the stairs”-sized apartment in New Zealand’s largest city. She was decidedly unimpressed with the first two Harry Potter books when she read them first and literally laughed out loud when she found out people were actually writing essays about them. Since then, something went horribly, horribly wrong… She has now been a staff member of the Leaky Cauldron since March 2006, working as an editor for Scribbulus, Leaky’s premiere essay project.

Mara Cohen / matilda – “Much Stronger Together than Apart”

Matilda is a rabid Harry Potter fan, a bank teller, and a beginner quilter. She lives in Texas with her fiance, dog, cat, and fish, all of whom are remarkably tolerant of the whole ‘HP thing’. Her favorite authors include: Jane Austen, Christopher Moore, J.R.R. Tolkien, Alice Walker and Agatha Christie. Matilda is addicted to all kinds of puzzles… jigsaw, crossword, logic, sudoku, you name it.

Jem Hoggan / WaggaWaggaWerewolf – “Molly’s Tribe”

Jem works as a librarian in a New South Wales TAFE college, having gained her highest librarianship qualification from Wagga Wagga campus of Charles Sturt University. She has a grown family, plus two cats who insist they gave her most of her ideas. Part of her interest in the Harry Potter storyline came about because of the portrayal of what boarding school life could be like in comparison with her own childhood experiences.

Ian Striz / coach – “We Remain on the Same Side”

Coach, 28, married, father of 3. I participate as a coach in baseball and American football. I work as an engineer for a Tier One automotive supplier, although my degree is in history. I am working on a teaching certificate, which I hope to have completed in a few years. I started reading the Harry Potter books right after Order of the Phoenix came out. I got my toes wet in the fandom after the release of Half-Blood Prince, and jumped in all the way in the fall of ’05.

Lorraine Damerell / Asphodel Wormwood – “A Fallen Family”

Lorie is a student of Classics in her second year. If and when she ever has any free time from the enrapturing Cicero or the gripping Tacitus, she enjoys discussing and role-playing HP amongst her friends, corsetry and other dress-making, listening to music, and socializing.

Julia Ross / Narya – “Lightning Strikes”

Julia has been a fan of Harry Potter since the very beginning. In her day job she helps adults brush up their skills in reading, writing, spelling and maths. Apart from being a confirmed Harry Potter nut, she reads, runs, stitches, paints, moderates three forums on the Leaky Lounge and longs for the day when she can hold J.K. Rowling’s final masterpiece in her hands.

Kelly Bohrer / fawkes28 – “Seen but not Heard”

Kelly is a 6th grade teacher in New Jersey, where her favorite subject to teach is Language Arts. She tries to incorporate Harry Potter into her classroom as often as she can because it is a wonderful teaching tool. In her spare time, she enjoys spending many hours on the Leaky Lounge, especially in the Corner Booth where she is a Text Chat Moderator with an amazing group of people. Kelly cannot wait until the seventh Harry Potter book comes out so that the world can know that Snape is one of the good guys.

Athena Stewart / Prongs Patronus – “The Ties that Bind”

Prongs Patronus is a regular poster on the Leaky Lounge Forums, when the author is not destroying dementors in defense of Harry Potter. Prongs enjoys cooking, gardening, music, and everything to do with books.

Pam Nail / connielane – “But He Will Have Power the Dark Lord Knows Not”

Pam, 31, lives and works in Nashville, TN. She has been a fan of the Harry Potter books since halfway through the “Three Year Summer” between Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix. She found the fandom about a year later and has never been the same since! When she is not working or obsessing over all things Potter, she enjoys watching (and writing about) as many movies as her spare time will allow. Pam began working for Leaky in the summer of 2006, as an editor for Scribbulus.

Torey Swink / Towerdweller – “Fulfilling the Prophecy”

Torey Swink has been a fan of the Harry Potter series since 1999, when he finally gave into his sister’s urging to read J.K. Rowling’s first two books shortly before the release of Prisoner of Azkaban. Torey is a native of Utah, where he loves to cook, hike in the nearby mountains, and spend time with his family. Under the pen name of Towerdweller, Torey authored two essays for Scribbulus. Professionally, he is a commercial banking manager.

Susan Faust / AnguaTLC – “Harry Potter and the Nice Big Knot”

Susan is a middle-sized, middle-aged Texan who was captivated by the Harry Potter series in 1999 and has been immersed in it ever since. Online, she co-coordinates TLC’s Scribbulus essay forum, helps moderate a forum at the Sugar Quill, and enjoys reading and writing essays and fanfiction. In real life, she takes care of her husband, two kids, a dog, and two cats, sleeps a lot, and reads many, many books.

Part III

Sue Upton – “This Unbreakable Vow”

Sue Upton loves news. Having worked in broadcast news for over 20 years, Sue is thrilled to bring fans the latest news from the world of Harry Potter each and every day. Sue is also a co-host of PotterCast, Leaky’s award winning broadcast, and can not wait to read Deathly Hallows where she is sure we will hear from her beloved Sirius Black again. One day Sue would like to complete the elusive PhD and help other Daily Prophet reporters on their way, but in her free time, Sue enjoys movies, music, and helping at her child’s school. Sue Upton is also very very proud to be a member of the House of Hufflepuff.

Jason Edwards / TheGuruOfSloth – “The Fan’s Journey”

Jason, a fairly recent convert to the Harry Potter fandom, enjoys nothing more than writing (and singing – eek!) Potter-themed song parodies for the amusement of his friends and fellow fans. He’s also a proud staffer at The Lily and Stag Inn on the Leaky Lounge, and occasionally writes original fiction that he hopes he will, one day, let someone read. He claims to care about baseball more than he should… but when pressed, will admit that that’s not actually possible.

Illustrations

Polly Beam / prettyannamoon

Polly began drawing fan art for the Harry Potter series approximately five minutes after devouring the first three books. Her proudest fandom moments include having her artwork featured on The Leaky Cauldron (31 July, ’06), at the Sugar Quill (1 April, ’02), and being told she was “obviously a Weasley” by J.K. Rowling (18 Oct, ’00). In real life Polly is a freelance illustrator and children’s art instructor. More of her Potter-centric work can be found at her Yahoo! group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/illustrations_by_anna/).





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.