JAKE ANDERSON

JAKE ANDERSON is a writer/filmmaker living in Los Angeles. His favorite genres are science fiction and comedy, but he also writes short non-fiction about corporate cool hunting, conspiracy theories, and the general mania of modern life. When not exploring ideas from the comfort of a rocking chair, he's suffering hot yoga or a bad horror movie. He also cherishes oysters on the half shell and a strong Bloody Mary.

First Prize: Dear Consumer Affairs

JANET GOLD

JANET GOLD enjoys international travel and adventure. She writes and lives in New York City. She is particularly appreciative of libraries and fresh cupcakes.

Second Prize: Thank You, Culiseta Longiareolata

C.E. JONES

C.E. JONES is a small town girl, mother of three awesome children, who lives with the love of her life. EMS/ firefighter chick, she looks on each day as a new adventure, and, for as long as she can remember, she has had a story to tell.

Third Prize: Bombshell

KATHERINE CROWLEY

KATHERINE CROWLEY is a Harvard trained psychotherapist, and the co-author of Working for You Isn’t Working for Me: The Ultimate Guide To Managing Your Boss (September, 2009), and the best selling business book Working With You is Killing Me: Freeing Yourself From Emotional Traps At Work (March, 2006).

As a psychotherapist and consultant, Katherine specializes in recognizing and resolving the psychological and interpersonal challenges that emerge when people work together. For more than twenty years, Katherine has assisted both individuals and groups with navigating difficult workplace relationships, and overcoming emotional obstacles to success.

Published author, college educator, public speaker and veteran consultant, Katherine is also the Vice President of K Squared Enterprises, a Management Consulting firm located on NYC.

KATHI ELSTER

KATHI ELSTER is the co-author of Working for You Isn’t Working for Me: The Ultimate Guide To Managing Your Boss (September, 2009), as well as the best selling business book Working With You is Killing Me: Freeing Yourself From Emotional Traps At Work (March, 2006). Since 2006, Working With You Is Killing Me has hit the New York Times Business Books Bestsellers List as well as Business Weeks and The Wall Street Journal’s bestsellers lists. Kathi is also the President of K Squared Enterprises, a Management Consulting firm located on NYC.

As a management consultant and executive coach, Kathi specializes in staff training and development. She has helped retool hundreds of companies by training thousands of individuals in the art of achieving business goals while managing difficult personalities and emotionally charged situations.

Published author, college educator, public speaker and veteran consultant, Kathi Elster and her co-author Katherine Crowley have created a process that allows employees at all levels to achieve their business goals while managing difficult personalities and emotionally charged situations.

Kathi has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN and numerous nationally syndicated radio shows to talk about managing difficult workplace relationships. She and Katherine Crowley have charmed audiences and led workshops at Microsoft, Starbucks, Time Life, Martha Stewart Omni Media, and America Express.

EIKE GEBHARDT, PH.D.

EIKE GEBHARDT, Ph.D. , a native of Berlin, received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University. For 13 years he taught at various American colleges and universities, including Yale, the University of Chicago, The Cooper Union and the City University of New York. In 1984 he moved back to Germany and has held various visiting professorships in both countries. He is the editor, along with Andrew Arato, of The Essential Frankfurt School Reader (1978), and of Dawn and Decline: Notes of Max Horkheimer (1978). His books on the social and psychological correlates of creativity appeared in 1992, and on leadership psychology 1994, both in German. (Kreativität und Mündigkeit; Abschied von der Autorität - die Manager der Postmoderne).

His specialities include interdisciplinary projects bridging seemingly remote areas: Science and Society, Culture and Economy, Politics and Lifestyles. A host to several regular talk-shows on Swiss and German radio, Eike invites guests from the frontiers of science, technology, the arts, and international politics.

In addition, Eike has been working as a coach and consultant for corporations and institutions, focusing on re-training personnel in the areas of creativity, motivation, and communication. He also advises corporations and political institutions on cultural affairs and public relations. Eike Gebhardt co-organized, for instance, the EU-conference "A Working Culture II - Culture, Politics and Labor" in June 1999, and curated the International Einstein Conference 2005 in Tel Aviv.

NAOMI ROSENBLATT

NAOMI ROSENBLATT is the Creative Director of JobsOfTheDamned Books. She has worked in book and magazine publishing in New York City for 25 years, including as the former Art Director of Writers and Readers Inc. and the former Production Manager of Harper's Magazine . Naomi also has consulted at Random House, Sesame Workshop, Scholastic and The Princeton Review.

In 1992 Writers and Readers Inc. published Rainforests for Beginners , which Naomi wrote and illustrated. She designed and illustrated other documentary comics in the for Beginners series including Zen for Beginners and Virginia Woolf for Beginners .

She now teaches at NYU's Center for Publishing and works with private clients as well as directing JobsOfTheDamned projects. A painter and printmaker in her private time, Naomi holds a BFA from The Cooper Union and an MA from NYU.

JOANNE TOMBRAKOS

JOANNE TOMBRAKOS is a novelist and coach who blogs on reinventing life after Corporate America at http://onewomanseye.blogspot.com .

Her business experience includes sales management positions at CBS and Time Warner in Philadelphia, Washington DC, and New York. She has been published in More.com, ForbesWoman.com and has been listed as one of 101 Women Bloggers to Watch in 2010 by WE Magazine.