Our Mission
TELLING Your Story IS A REVOLUTIONARY ACT.
Unless she did something very incredible (or very, very bad) most women don't get named in history. HerStry wants to rewrite the narrative and put women’s stories front and center.
Since 2015 we have collected hundreds of stories from women all over the world. Stories about love, loss, motherhood, friendship, and so much more. We all have something to say, and we all have experiences worth sharing. HerStry wants to get every woman writing, talking, and sharing her story.
Our Story
Julia Nusbaum created HerStry after graduating from Vanderbilt University Divinity School in 2014 with her Master of Theological Studies. You might think a background in theology would make her an odd candidate for creating a feminist storytelling community, but we beg to differ.
In 2014 while finishing her master's thesis work at Thistle Farms, a recovery community in Nashville, Tennessee for women who have survived trafficking, addiction and life on the streets, Julia started a writing class. It was there, writing with the women of Thistle Farms, that she discovered the deep need women have to tell their stories. She became interested in the way our narratives shape how we see the world and how we perceive ourselves. Julia realized that by telling our stories and claiming our voices we start to become strong, confident, and empathetic women.
Meet The HerStry Team
Julia Nusbaum, Founder/Editor-in-Chief
Julia is the founder and Editor in Chief of HerStry. She is a native of rural Northern Illinois where she grew up on a farm. She earned her bachelor's degree from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, her Master’s of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, and her MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago. Her Work appears in The Wisconsin Review, Mutha Magazine, The Feminine Collective, and elsewhere. She currently lives with her partner and son in Milwaukee, WI. To read her writing check out julianusbaum.com.
Kris Busch, Staff Editor
Kris Busch (she/her) is a lesbian non-fiction writer and editor from the Twin Cities. She has work published or forthcoming in the Rumpus, Anime Herald, and more. Follow her on Instagram @itskriskringle.
Selena Raygoza, Staff Editor
Selena is a graduate from the University of California-Riverside with a BA in Creative Writing and a focus on Nonfiction. She began her journey as an editor with Mosaic, UCR’s Literary Journal. She has found her inspiration as a writer from her mother’s life stories and her own experiences as a daughter. When she’s not writing nonfiction pieces she loves to experiment with poetry.
Gretchen Corsillo, Social Media Coordinator
Gretchen is a native of the greater NYC area. She received her BA in Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing and a minor in Political Science from Ramapo College and holds a Master's in Library & Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. By day, she works as the director of a public library and also owns a small tarot business. An avid writer, she is working on a novel and enjoys dabbling in personal essays and poetry too.
Molly Stites, Editorial Intern
Molly Stites grew up in a small coastal town in Maine. She has always loved storytelling, both about herself and others. She traveled down the east coast all the way to Washington DC for college, where she studied Film and Creative Writing at American University. She dreams of sharing stories with the world, whether on screen or on paper. Despite the distance from home, her pen draws her to write about the rocky coasts and icy waters back home. Her writing encompasses the experiences of young women, focusing on girlhood, love, home, and friendship, with nature as a force that ties her language and visuals together. When not writing, she can be found walking her three-legged rescue pup or watching movies with her roommates.
Nicole Conti, Member Services Intern
Nicole is a recent graduate of Monmouth University, where she earned a BA in English with a concentration in creative writing. As an aspiring author, she is currently working on her debut fiction novel, which explores themes of women's empowerment within the realms of fantasy and thriller. Her feminist poem “july 21st” won her university’s Toni Morrison Day Creative Writing Award, and is featured in the Spring 2024 issue of the Monmouth Review. She is currently a volunteer editor and book reviewer, pursuing a career in trade publishing.
Briana Gwin, Critique Group Instructor
Briana Gwin embraces multitudes as a neurodiverse, Afro-Latina hybrid creative and multicultural Citizen. She received a BA in Literature and Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College, and an MFA in Fiction and Nonfiction from The New School. She is the current senior editor of prose at The Seventh Wave magazine, and the former editor & storyteller of Milkweed Editions. Her words have appeared in Midnight & Indigo, The Seventh Wave, Guernica, and elsewhere. She currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her three hairless cats and more books and houseplants than she can count.
Yael Aldana, Critique Group Instructor.
Yael Valencia Aldana is a Black-Latine poet and writer. She is the author of the poetry collection Black Mestiza (University Press of Kentucky, 2025) and the chapbook Alien(s) from (Sweetie Press 2023). She is a Pushcart Prize winner, and her work has appeared in numerous national and international publications. She teaches creative writing in South Florida, where she lives near the ocean with her family and too many pets. You can find her online at YaelAldana.com and @yaelwrites.
