“Rah-Shel”
Born Rachelle Lyn Stilphen and nicknamed Shelly at some point in very early childhood, she decided to go by Raye in her early 20s.
Raye’s bylines include:
Raye Leonard, Raye Shelly, Raye Tibbitts, and Raye Stilphen.
Raye S. Leonard is a writer.
Raye began keeping a diary in 1982 at the age of 11 when she was known as Shelly Stilphen. By 7th grade she knew she wanted to be a writer forever. David Gilbert, one of the upper grade English teachers at Woolwich Central School, encouraged her through the publication of a student newsletter called Projector in which her descriptive paragraphs frequently appeared. After winning the Halloween writing contest in 7th grade, her heart was set on being a writer.
Mr. Gilbert gave her a copy of Strunk & White’s “The Elements of Style” at the end of 7th grade, and told her to keep going.
Despite the missing years of adolescence and young adulthood, she did.
Highlights include:
- The New England Young Writers’ Conference at Middlebury College in 1988;
- First place in the Des Plaines/Park Ridge N.O.W. Feminist Fiction Writers’ Contest in 1999;
- Liberal Arts B.A. with a concentration in creative writing, Vermont College of Norwich University, 2002;
- M.F.A. in Creative Writing with a concentration in creative nonfiction from Stonecoast at the University of Southern Maine, 2006;
- Top blogger of Bad Mother Chronicles for RaisingMaine.com, 2008 to 2010;
- Featured guest on the BBC’s “World Have Your Say” six times on topics related to motherhood, 2009 to 2012;
- Featured feminist blogger of Love on the Run at Blogher.com, 2011 to 2012
- Times Record reporter, copy editor, and special sections designer, 2012-2013
- Assistant Editor/Editor of the Coastal Journal, 2013-2018
- Editor of The Lincoln County News, 2021-2022
- Author of A Reading from the Journal of Yesterday, Substack
Along the way, Raye became a passionate adult educator, and for 10 years taught students at Southern Community College how to write. She is certified by the Maine Department of Education to teach English Language Arts to grades 7-12, plus adults, but she has made a career as a professional director of adult & community education.
She lives and writes in Midcoast Maine.
Contact Raye at raye.s.leonard@gmail.com.
Raye S. Leonard 