Board of Directors

2021-2022 Board Members

2021-2022 Elected Members: Thanks to our new board members for their enthusiasm and dedication to helping IPNE members "make better books & sell more of them!"  New board members are introduced to the membership at the IPNE Annual Meeting. Board meetings are on second Tuesdays, and we welcome questions and agenda items from members - please send via IPNE.org/contact.

Eddie Vincent, President

Mission, Board Development

Eddie Vincent, co-owner of Encircle Publications, has been in the publishing and graphic design field for more than 30 years. His company Encircle Publications specializes in complete book production, and is home to The Aurorean poetry journal. Eddie works with publishers and independent authors, helping them with all their design needs and all facets of bringing a book to life. Eddie and his wife Cynthia, a poet and editor, live in Maine.

Charlotte R. Pierce

VP - Regional Groups, Membership Development

Charlotte has participated as an IPNE member since 2007, serving in most positions on the Board of Directors over the years, including President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Regional Groups manager. She coordinates the Metro Boston regional group for IPNE.

Charlotte runs the independent publishing house Pierce Press and podcast production company, Pierce Productions. Charlotte gives a free publishing or podcasting consult to IPNE and IBPA members

Michael Piekny

Book Awards, Outreach

Michael Piekny is the Acquiring Editor at Encircle Publications, an independent press publishing a wide variety of titles. At Encircle, Michael is primarily responsible for acquiring, editing, and promoting the press’s titles, as well as business development. He also serves on the Editorial Board of The Fictional Café, an online literary and arts magazine. Previously, Michael founded the professional editorial agency Hub Edits. He has served on the IPNE Board since 2019.

Ruby Fink

Secretary, Events Committee

Ruby Fink was born in Los Angeles, California and studied Film Production at Chapman University ’s Dodge College, with a minor in Narrative and Dramatic Literature. An avid writer and reader her whole life, she fell in love with the production and creation of audiobooks and built her company, Faux Fiction Audio. A few years later, she was recruited to be the Audio Arts Barista of The Fictional Café, a job that primarily involves finding note-worthy podcasts and posting them on the website. She is also the Head Ghostwriter for Beyond Publishing, a rising hybrid publishing company. When Ruby is not producing audiobooks, posting podcasts or ghostwriting novels, she is working on her own books or walking her dog.

Spencer Smith

Publisher, Seapoint Books

Mike Rochester

Membership Team, Conference Committee, Metro Boston Regional Group

Mike is a freelance ghostwriter, editor and publisher. He is also the Managing Editor and Anthology Barista at The Fictional Café literary magazine. Mike is an IPNE Membership Chair and serves on the Conference Committee. He's one of the co-hosts of IPNE's Metro Boston Publishers Regional Meetup group. You can find his work on Linktree.

Connelly Akstens

Events Committee

Connelly Akstens, author of Without Shame: Learning to Be Me (2021, Potowomut Press), has been active for years in transgender advocacy as a speaker for SpeakOUT Boston and at many conferences. She teaches Shakespeare and the History of Ideas at SUNY/ Empire State College and has been an award-winning feature writer for Adirondack Life and many other magazines and journals. As a musician, Connelly has released five CDs of original and American roots music. She is a licensed Adirondack guide and an avid gardener.

Jon Meyer

Former Vice President

His book, Love Poems From New England won twelve national and international awards, including Best Poetry winner for 2020/2021, Eric Hoffer Finalist, International Independent Publisher Award (IPPY) Finalist, International Next Generation Indie Award Finalist, Poetry 2021. His new book, Clouds: love poems from above the fray is due out soon. More information about Jon Meyer can be found on www.jonmeyerpoetry.com

Past Board Members & Staff: We are grateful to our past board members for their service: Jon Meyer,  Jack Rochester, Geoffrey Dutton, David Shiang, Peg Roberts, Bill Cordaro, Michelle Burinskas, Ian Lamont, Jane English; and of course our founding directors, Tordis Isselhardt and Pamela Fenner.