Joan Bouza Koster

~ Writer, Educator, Ethnographer, & Artist ~

When she is not writing in her studio by the sea, Joan Bouza Koster lives in an 1860s farmhouse stacked to the ceiling with books. In a life full of adventures, she has scaled mountains, chased sheep, and been abandoned on a island for longer than she wants to remember.

An award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction works in the fields of ethnography, education, anti-racism and the arts, she holds a doctorate from Binghamton University and has published two textbooks on teaching the arts to young children. She is also the author of numerous academic papers based on her ethnographic research on agriculture, shepherding, and weaving in the Southern Peloponnese and on Crete. A professional handweaver, her creative work has been sold across the country.

Joan’s short stories have appeared in several anthologies, and have received awards from Women on Writing, Stone Thread Publishing, Tryst Literary Magazine, and Winning Writers. Her poetry has been published in Potomac Magazine, and her historical fiction has long-listed for the Mslexia Award.

Under the pen name, Zara West, she has published the award-winning romantic thriller series The Skin Quartet. with Wild Rose Press. Her new romantic suspense series, Tide Harbor Suspense, is forthcoming. Her biographical historical series is about adventurous nineteenth-century women who never should have been forgotten. Book 1, That Dickinson Girl, and Book 2 Censored Angel are published by Tidal Waters Press. 

Find a complete listing of her writings here.

A life-long educator, she shares her writing know-how and research into creativity in her top-selling Write for Success series: Fast Draft Your Manuscript and Get It Done Now, Revise Your Draft and Make It Shine, Research Your Subject and Validate Your Writing, and Power Up Your Language and Make Your Writing Shine. She also offers numerous writing workshops every year.

Joan also blogs at Women Words Wisdom where she shares the wisdom of women from all times and places, at American Civil War Voice where she shares tidbits of everyday life gleaned from 19th century first-hand sources, at Traditional Greek Weaving where her ethnographic research can be found, and at Zara West’s Journal where she explores the craft of writing. She can also be found on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, ResearchGate, Academia, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

She is a member of the Authors Guild, Non-Fiction Authors Association, Historical Fiction Society, Romance Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

My Charities

All proceeds from That Dickinson Girl and Censored Angel are donated to The Freedom to Read Foundation.

The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) is a non-profit legal and educational organization affiliated with the American Library Association.  FTRF protects and defends the First Amendment to the Constitution and supports the right of libraries to collect – and individuals to access – information.

To make a donation, visit https://www.ftrf.org/donations/https://www.ftrf.org/donations/

The proceeds from from my other publications are donated to the Women’s History Museum.

This nonprofit organization is dedicated to the uncovering, the interpretation, and the celebration of women’s diverse contributions to society.

To make a donation, visit https://www.womenshistory.org/donate

My Awards

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