Artist Statement

Jess Winter grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and attended Augustana College majoring in English.  Jess, president of Writer’s Guild for three years, worked as editor-in-chief of VENTURE: Augustana College’s Literary and Artistic Magazine and was founder and editor-in-chief of Expression: Finding Creativity Amongst Society.  She showcased her peers’ work in: photography, poetry, creative non-fiction, fiction and one act plays.

After college, Jess joined AmeriCorps and spent two years in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she taught third graders how to read one-on-one, volunteered as a middle school poetry teacher, creative writing teacher to the physically disabled, and as a peace facilitator.

Jess decided to attend Salt to give the stories she heard a home.  Her biggest literary influences, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Instructions on Writing and Life, it taught Jess the importance of letting her written work breathe.

Currently, Jess Winter is residing in St. Paul, MN and is attending graduate school.