Mahala Church, freelance editor and writer, is an award-winning author whose fiction and non-fiction stories have appeared in anthologies, including the 2014 Mississippi Profiles and placed first in the 2014 Alabama Conclave writing contest. She writes monthly columns on the art of writing and mystery book reviews for The Book Breeze.

Church provides editorial and writing services to an international group of clients through her company, Written Word, which is a multicentric writing and editing company. Written Word houses Barefoot Writing Academy, which offers classes for adults and teens on the art of writing. A Pushcart Prize nominee in 2008, she is the published author of fiction and non-fiction in hard copy and online articles, short stories, and personal essays. Editorial credits include anthologies, published novels, and marketing materials for numerous businesses, including publishers. Church works with small business owners, authors, and organizations to give them the competitive edge through traditional and online media to build credibility, establish a platform for their work and services, and promote sales.

Her works-in-progress includes a Southern book of linked stories exploring the women who influenced the protagonist as a girl; the book is ready to send to beta readers. A new novel, carrying the linked characters forward is in revision purgatory. Church has a deep passion for Southern and Anglophilic literature and blends those two genres in her work.

Church is a member of The Pensters in Fairhope, Alabama, and Gulf Coast Bloggers. She served on the charter board of Emerald Coast Writers and co-founded with Tracy Hurley the Mobile Writers Guild. She shares a blog at www.lyricalpens.com.