Jennifer Browdy

Born and raised in New York City, Jennifer Browdy earned her MA and PhD in Comparative Literature at New York University; she has taught literature, writing and media arts at the college level for more than 30 years and is currently chair of the Language and Literature Division at Bard College/Simon’s Rock. Her latest book, Purposeful Memoir as a Path to a Thriving Future (2021) won a 2022 Nautilus Gold Award in the Creativity & Innovation category, as well as a Gold Independent Press Award. Her environmental memoir, What I Forgot ...And Why I Remembered (2017) was a finalist for the 2018 International Book Awards. Her writer’s guide, The Elemental Journey of Purposeful Memoir, won a 2017 Nautilus Silver Award for “books that make the world better.”

Jennifer is passionate about using the power of arts to wake people up to the climate and environmental crisis. Her popular blog, Transition Times, has focused on aligning the personal, political and planetary in documenting the unfolding of the early years of the Anthropocene. In her communications and leadership classes, students work on writing and public speaking for social and environmental justice, and she is also involved with strategic communications for the environmental movement, with a special interest in spiritual ecology as a means of engaging the public in climate activism.

The Founding Director of the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers, an arts organization she ran for seven years, Jennifer has long had an interest in adult education and community arts activism. She provides coaching and manuscript review for authors in fiction and nonfiction, and offers memoir workshops online and in person, at venues such as Mt. Holyoke College, the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia, Kripalu, Bioneers and the Transformative Language Arts Network.

Find out more at JenniferBrowdy.com and Birthyourtrueststory.com.