About Us

Belletrista is a not-for-profit, bimonthly web magazine which seeks both to encourage cross-cultural understanding through international literature written by women and to increase the visibility of that literature.

Originally the brain child of Lois Ava-Matthew, Belletrista has been developed and honed with the assistance of a remarkable international group of readers who came together as our Board of Advisors, each bringing to the magazine special skills, talents and education. Our initial group of writers and reviewers come from the US, UK, continental Europe, Canada, Ireland, Australia and South Africa, a list that is expanding.

We approach our mission as readers, not as academics or book industry professionals. Belletrista hopes to bring its unique view of women-authored, global literature to a broad audience of international booklovers, from the seasoned fan of world literature to the passionate reader who is just venturing beyond familiar literary shores.

A majority of our content is freelance-written. Writers should note that we do not accept submissions of original fiction or poetry. We do not accept unsolicited material of any kind; however, if you think you have something to contribute to our magazine please feel free to contact us and inquire.

Belletrista acknowledges the early and continuing support, financial and otherwise, of the Matthew family, The Toadstool Bookshop of Milford, NH, USA; and the generosity of many of its writers and advisors.


Contributors in this Issue

Kathleen Ambrogi is an American who has spent most of her life abroad, in Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia. After earning her M.S. in English Education, she taught English, Social Science, Art and Information Technology in schools around the world. Today she is a professional writer, sharing her impressions of cultural forces through fiction and nonfiction.

Lois Ava-Matthew is the founder and managing editor of Belletrista. She is driven by an intense curiosity, a somewhat tempered sense of adventure, and too much chocolate.

Andy Barnes lives in Bristol in the United Kingdom. He is an avid reader on a mission to discover great writing from as many parts of the globe as possible. Andy works in one bookshop, and volunteers in another, and when he isn't reading or selling books, he is usually talking or writing about them.

Rachael Beale has spent much of her career to date experimenting with combinations of words and technology, either writing for technical companies, or doing technical things for literary ones. She graduated from the University of Cambridge's Trinity College with an M.A. allegedly in "English Literature;" actual English writers account for quite a small proportion of her reading, which tends to sprawl luxuriously across genre boundaries. She makes time to read and talk about books by not doing things that normal people consider essential (sleeping, cleaning, ironing...)

Tad Deffler spent the first quarter of his life (so far) moving around the world as an Army brat, the second quarter of his life acquiring degrees he doesn’t use, the third quarter trying to figure out what the fourth and subsequent quarters should be about, and the last quarter working for a long series of companies without ever moving his desk as his tiny software company got acquired by ever-larger ones. He lives in New Jersey but spends as much time in Ontario as he can wangle.

Ceri Evans lives amidst the green green grass of North Wales. She is a family lawyer who prefers reading to anything else. She would secretly love to drop everything and open a second hand book shop.

Caitlin Fehir is an English teacher living in southern Ontario, Canada. Her reading tastes change daily, and she is constantly adding to her never-ending list of books to explore. Her new-found love is traveling, an expensive hobby that is supplemented by seeing the world through literature.

Akeela Gaibie-Dawood lives in the beautiful city of Cape Town, South Africa. She enjoys nature and is a keen hiker. She loves books and the written word, and has a Masters degree in journalism. Her current reading challenge is to visit as many countries around the world, via books, as possible.

Rachel Hayes is a Brit living in Belgium. She reads a variety of mainly contemporary fiction, and enjoys seeking out translated fiction from areas of the world her literary travels haven't taken her to before. She attributes her interest in books written by women to an early obsession with Little Women, What Katy Did and The Chalet School.

Jana Herlander is a former journalist, occasional poet, and unapologetic bibliophile.

Jane Anderson Jones has been a community college professor of Literature and Humanities for over 25 years. A resident of Sarasota, Florida, she has edited an anthology of Florida poetry and has done the usual academic writing and paper presenting. She's beginning to think about retiring to have more time to read and travel.

C. Lariviere is a French-Texan who has lived in Japan, Spain and Argentina. An aficionado of languages (fluent in French, Spanish, English and Japanese), she is quick to pick up her suitcases to travel the globe and explore sites unknown. With her recent M.S. in organic chemistry she currently travels via books and awaits her next adventure. Her favorite fiction consists of Japanese and Latin American literature.

Judy Lim lives on a few acres on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia, with two dogs, three cats, a husband and one of three children. The other two living in various parts of the world at any given time. After many years teaching preschool children, and a few different University degrees, she has settled into the life of a Youth Services Librarian with every spare moment dedicated to reading.

Michael Matthew is a scientist with a small company outside of Boston. Outside work, his reading is usually, but not limited to: nonfiction, current events, poetry or science fiction.

Amanda Meale is a music teacher who loves to read. She lives near Sydney, Australia.

Chris Mills originally hails from Birmingham, UK and at present lives in Dublin, Ireland. She works in a bookshop in South Dublin. Spare time is taken up with reading, writing, gardening, being outdoors, cultural stuff and making things.

Darryl Morris is a pediatrician who lives in Atlanta, Georgia (US). Half of his days are spent taking care of hospitalized children, and he uses his time off to travel in the US and abroad, and to attend jazz and classical music concerts, plays, museum exhibits, and author readings, whenever he isn't reading.

Joyce Nickel is a corporate writer from Vancouver, Canada. When she's not reading or traveling, she can be found enjoying the outdoor lifestyle of the Pacific Northwest.

Maggie Oldendorf has a Masters degree in English Literature and a wide array of interests, ranging from her longstanding regard for the soldier poets of World War I (who she discovered when in the seventh grade) to her more recent enthusiasm for historical embroidery. She lives with her family in a house filled with books somewhere north of New York City.

Charlotte Simpson lives in London. She reads a wide range of classic and contemporary fiction written by women and is currently focusing on Africa. She has a Masters degree in Modern British Women's History.

Dorothy Dudek Vinicombe has had careers in teaching, bookselling, publishing and writing. Now that she is a freelancer she can do all four at the same time. Living in Auckland, New Zealand, she can see three volcanoes (hopefully all extinct) from her office window. Books are her favourite gift—to receive and to give—and she is thrilled that all three of her children are voracious readers.