The WLT Staff

The Writers' League of Texas serves a statewide membership, but unless you live near Austin or visit frequently, the people who serve you and keep the wheels turning on a day-to-day basis are mostly voices on the telephone or text in an email. We would like to help those of you spread far and wide by putting faces and a tiny touch of background information on those who staff the League offices.

Jennifer Ziegler - Director of Publicity & Programming (Incoming)

Jennifer Ziegler was born in Temple, Texas and grew up in nearby Round Rock. She attended the University of Texas at Austin where she earned a journalism degree, an English degree, and two teaching certifications. After working as an editorial assistant, a reporter, a TV host, and a writing teacher, Jennifer focused all of her energies on creating books and mini human beings. In the past 15 years she has written over 20 novels for publishers such as Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Penguin Putnam. Her book Alpha Dog was a finalist for the 2007 Teddy Award, and her next novel How Not to Be Popular was a pick for the 2009 Lone Star Reading List and a 2010 International Reading Associations Young Adults’ Choice. Her latest book, Sass & Serendipity, gives Jane Austen a South Texas spin. Her favorite of all her works, however, are her son Owen and daughter Renee.

Sara Kocek - Director of Publicity & Programming (Outgoing)

Sara Kocek holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from New York University, where she also taught fiction and poetry to undergraduates. A recent transplant to Austin, she discovered the WLT at the Texas Book Festival and volunteered with the League for several months before joining the staff. Sara brings first-hand experience from the editorial side of the publishing industry as a former full-time intern at Random House and Penguin in the adult and children's divisions, respectively.

Prior to pursuing her MFA, Sara attended Yale University, where she earned her BA in English and spent her free-time obsessing over drop quotes and serial commas as the editor in chief of The Yale Daily News Magazine. She is thrilled to join the Writers' League of Texas and make the Austin writing community her own.

Internship Program

Interns at the Writers’ League work on a variety of projects, with emphasis on publicity, media relations, marketing, events, and administration. For more information see the intern description.