About Joanne Brokaw
For more than a decade, award-winning freelance writer and humor columnist Joanne Brokaw covered entertainment and current issues for dozens of Christian and community publications in the U.S. and Canada. She blogged about Christian music on the Gospel Soundcheck blog at Beliefnet.com, which won a 2009 Evangelical Press Association Higher Goals Award for Best Blog.
Not long ago, she decided to indulge a passion for animals by creating BarkAroundTown.com where she occasionally covers dog news in Rochester, NY. That led to her new blog, Heavenly Creatures, at Patheos.com, where she writes about animals and faith/spirituality/life. If it barks, meows, moos or oinks, she muses on the topic, often questioning how our beliefs and spiritual faith influence how we treat the animals we live with – and eat.
In addition to her own writing, Joanne oversees her dog Bandit’s blog, It’s A Dog’s Life, where the mischievous Border Collie writes about his adventures. As Bandit says, “I’m a dog. I do dog stuff and then write about it.”
Her writing has appeared in publications such as Breakaway, Brio, WorldNetDaily.com, ChristianMusicPlanet.com, ByLine Magazine, Christian Voice Magazine, The Christian Examiner, The Ozarks Christian News and dozens of other Christian newspapers and magazines. She’s been a guest blogger at FidoFriendly.com and at WreckedForTheOrdinary.com.
Awards
2003 Fourth Place – Evangelical Press Association Higher Goals in Christian Journalism Award, Freelance Article Category
2008 Excellence in Writing – Ozarks Christian News
2009 First Place – Evangelical Press Association Higher Goals in Christian Journalism Award, Best Blog for Gospel Soundcheck blog at Beliefnet.com
Writing Experience
Freelance Writer and columnist, various publications
2001 – Present
Heavenly Creatures blog, Patheos.com
November 2010 – present
Blogs about animals and faith/spirituality/life
BarkAroundTown.com
August 2010 – present
Blogs about dogs and the Rochester, NY dog community
Columnist and Freelance Writer, Christian Voice Magazine
September 2007 – December 2010
Writes a monthly humor/slice of life column as well as feature stories, including several cover stories.
Christian Music Blogger, Gospel Soundcheck blog, Beliefnet.com
May 2008 – Dec 2011
Blogs about Christian music as well as mainstream music related to Christian music industry. Blog has been cited by outlets including ABCnews.com; MTV; Dallas Morning News; LA Times; Chicago Sun Times; Baltimore Sun; and Augusta Chronicle. The Gospel Soundcheck blog won a 2009 Evangelical Press Association Higher Goals Award for Best Blog.
Columnist and Freelance Writer, Christian Examiner
2005 – Dec 2010
Write monthly column covering Christian music news; write additional articles on assignment
Managing Editor, New Christian Voices
March 2008 – December 2008
Work with columnists Taylor Mason, Brad Stine, Martha Bolton, Caron Guillo and Teresa Roberts Logan as well as freelance writers to coordinate daily content; coordinate writers’ invoices; respond to queries.
Columnist, ByLine Magazine
February 2007 – August 2008
Wrote monthly column about the writing life from a humorous perspective.
Associate Editor, Rochester Christian Voice Newspaper
2000 – 2003
Freelance writer and then Associate Editor until the paper was sold in 2003
Writing credits include:
AGreaterFreedom.com
American Greetings
Breakaway Magazine
Brio/Brio Beyond Magazines
ByLine Magazine
Christian Examiner newspapers
ChristianMusicPlanet.com
Christian Voice Magazine
The Desert Voice, CA
Fido Friendly blog
Good News of Tucson
Manna newspaper
Maranatha News
The Marion Voice, NY
Minnesota Christian Chronicle
New Christian Voices
OnCourse Magazine
SevenBall Magazine
TriState Voice
WorldNetDaily.com
WreckedForTheOrdinary.com
more
Profile of Seventh Day Slumber’s Joseph Rojas was included in Max Lucado’s book ”Every Day Deserves A Chance Teen Edition” (July 2007)
Story “When Church Chicks Laugh …” was included in the book ”The Groovy Chicks Road Trip Guide to Peace” (Cook Communications)
Miscellaneous
Did publicity for local Christian bands for several years, handling everything from press kits to press releases. Did a little work for a Nashville publicist before deciding publicity wasn’t a career path she wanted to follow.
Served as first-round judge for the Erma Bombeck Humor Writing Contest, 2007 & 2008
Served as judge in the Fellowship of Christian Writers essay contest, 2006
Appeared in TV commercial, RSalon, Rochester, NY, customer testimonial
Radio commercial, Hoselton Auto Mall, Rochester, NY, customer testimonial
Radio commercial, Mostly Clay, Pittsford, NY, voice over
Owned Elizabeth’s Tea Emporium, tea shop and tearoom in Pittsford, NY
Speaking references available upon request
