Blue Ridge Writers
2022/2023 Board
Who We Are
Gwendolyn Poole
Gwendolyn Poole became a member of the Blue Ridge Writers Group after joining the Virginia Writers Club in 2016. Shortly thereafter, her story “If God Gave Me Wings” placed in the 2016 Blue Ridge Writers Contest/Virginia Writers Club and was subsequently published in Skyline 2017. Several of Gwen’s stories have been published in the Journal of the Blue Ridge Writers, and she served as one of its editors.
Gwen holds a BA in sociology from Guilford College and an AFA from Guilford Technical Community College and realizes that her interest in sociology is reflected in her written work. When not writing short stories, Gwen enjoys scriptwriting and play directing, creating and teaching choreography, and playing handbells.
As a new board member, Gwen would like to see more diversity in the membership and in the works published in the Blue Ridge Writers journals. She will work closely with other board members who share this concern. Gwen would like to see the legacy of exceptional writing and publishing by the Blue Ridge Writers Group members continue for many years to come.
Gerry Kruger
Secretary
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Gerry Kruger is an at-large board member of Blue Ridge Writers and is temporarily acting secretary. She also hosts a critique seminar for The Center Members for BRW. Gerry received a BA degree from Longwood College and an MED from the University of Virginia.
A native Virginian, she moved in 1979 to Charlottesville where she taught English for twenty-seven years. After her retirement from teaching, she began writing about the Canada geese she befriended on her Ivy pond and has self-published several books. She has also served as a judge in the Fralin Museum’s Writer’s Eye Contest.
Michael McLeod
Member At Large
Michael is a writer, teacher, sometime actor, and a dog lover. He is the author of three award-winning screenplays, two teleplays, and four stage productions. He has also penned numerous published short stories and short screenplays. He holds many awards for his writings, including from Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference, Squaw Valley Community of Writers, NYC Midnight Madness, San Diego Film Awards, and Richmond International Film Festival.
Michael has directed multiple industrial films, commercials, and several stage productions and has appeared in several films and stage plays. In 2017, he left the hustle and bustle of California for a quieter life in rural Culpeper County, where he and his wife, Annie, have a small sheep farm.