Treasurer - Caroline Thonger

Caroline Thonger’s The Banker’s Daughter was published in the UK in 2007, the year before she emigrated to Switzerland. She worked as Chief Ed of Hello Switzerland for over 3 years, contributing many articles on Swiss life; and was also Chief Ed for the GWG’s Offshoots 13 as well as managing editor for Offshoots 15. A freelance translator and editor, she is currently negotiating the publication of the memoir-in-flash co-written with her sister (living in New Zealand), and finds writing inspiration on long hikes on vineyard and mountain trails in the Haut Valais.

Executive Secretary - Sarah Tinsley

Sarah is a writer and writing coach from the UK who enjoys food, getting out in nature and music. She mostly writes short stories, with her themes often including feminist themes and marginalized voices and issues. Her first book, The Shadows We Cast came out in January 2022 and is a dark contemporary novel about consent and control. She's writing a memoir about traveling with her daughter when she was a baby and provides workshops, resources, mentoring, and coaching to a range of writers and creatives.

Christine Breede-Schechter

Christine is a fiction writer and graduate from Columbia University in Speech-Language Pathology, who divides her time between Geneva, Berlin, and New York City. Writing keeps her rooted. Her work has earned her third prize in Glimmer Train’s 2014 Fiction Open contest and numerous honorable mentions. She is currently working on her first novel. She is an active member of the Geneva Writers Group and the International Women’s Writers Guild.

Ximena Escobar de Nogales

Ximena's career spans over 25 years across the public, private and non-profit sectors. She initially trained as an economist in Colombia and at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Later she completed a masters in international trade and an MBA, both in Geneva. She co-authored Impact Investment: A Practical Guide to Investment Process and Social Impact Analysis. More recently she has discovered a passion for creative writing. Ximena has three adult children and in her free time volunteers as a language teacher in prison and for a restaurant with a social cause.

Quade Hermann

Quade was a radio journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation when she took a year's leave of absence to run a radio station for the United Nations' peacekeeping operation in Sudan. Twelve years, four countries, and three jobs later, she's now head of communications for a Swiss foundation in Geneva. She has an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction Writing from the University of British Columbia, and a Shepherd-Collie cross named Misha who lies beneath her desk while she is at work on her first novel.

Aja Lynne

Aja was born in New Zealand, living in Australia, Austria, and Romania before moving to Geneva in 2012. She is a former opera singer (specializing in early music) and now teaches music and drama at the International School of Geneva. She has a masters in baroque stagecraft and is a prolific song-writer, mostly in the genre of folk-pop. Aja also writes poetry, science fiction and fantasy. Her science-fiction story for children, The Extinct Hunter, was published in Frostfire Worlds in 2015. Currently Aja’s main focus is on writing plays and musicals, primarily aimed at adolescents, which she does in collaboration with Viennese composer Alexander Wagendristel.