Rhonda Bailey has had a career as an editor, publisher, and teacher of publishing. She has worked as an editor for publishers across the country, served on the boards of national publishing associations, and holds a Master of Publishing degree from Simon Fraser University. Retired from the Creative Writing Department of Vancouver Island University, she is currently a VIU honorary research associate. Although deeply rooted in Nanaimo, Bailey feels connected to Cumberland through her family heritage: her maternal grandmother emigrated from Maryport in Cumberland, England, to Canada after the First World War, and two of her great-uncles worked in Vancouver Island coal mines. She was pleased to team up with the writers and the Cumberland Museum & Archives to develop this book.