Though she has a piece in the latest Knoxville Writers' Guild anthology Breathing the Same Air, Penny Tschantz considers herself less a writer than a teacher, editor, and encourager of writing. Since 1967 she has taught in the English department at UT, and for the past ten years has also served as Writing Specialist in the College of Law. She joined the Knoxville Writers' Guild just over a year ago so that she could be a screener for the Peter Taylor Prize, as she's doing again this year.
 
Currently a member of the Guild's board, she serves as coordinator of publicity. Her main goal when she came onto the board was to increase the visibility of the Guild through the local media. To that end, she organized a team to answer phones at the Public TV fundraiser in April and has arranged a new relationship with WUOT public radio, a "nonprofit partnership" involving reciprocal publicity. Her colleagues on the publicity committee have recently completed the first phase of a membership survey, designed to help the Guild enhance its services to members and reach a wider audience.

When she isn't writing press releases or grading student essays, Penny enjoys reading fiction, poetry, biography, and creative nonfiction. She  would like more time for needlepoint, cooking, and travel. A native of the desert Southwest, Penny is devoted to the landscape and culture of both northern New Mexico and East Tennessee.