Courtney Maum is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking publishing guide that Vanity Fair recently named one of the ten best books for writers, Before and After the Book Deal, and the memoir The Year of The Horses, chosen by the Today Show as the best read for mental health awareness. A writing coach, director of the writing workshop "Turning Points," and educator, Maum's mission is to help people hold on to the joy of artmaking in a culture obsessed with turning artists into brands. Widely published in such outlets as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and Interview Magazine, she sits on the advisory councils of The Authors Guild and The Rumpus. Courtney is the founder of the collaborative retreat program, The Cabins, she has a creativity advice newsletter "Get Published, Stay Published" that you can sign up for at CourtneyMaum.com, and she works as a publishing consultant from her home in Connecticut.