About Us

The Valley Planet is a community-minded publication that was created in 2003 to meet the cultural needs of metro Huntsville and the Tennessee Valley. The Valley Planet is dedicated to promoting the ideas, arts and events that lend uniqueness to the Tennessee Valley area. The Valley Planet serves as a valuable resource to local residents, business travelers and tourists alike when planning an afternoon, an evening or a weekend in and around North Alabama.

Currently enjoying our 7th year in business, The Valley Planet is locally-owned and is published every three weeks on Thursdays. The Valley Planet is distributed to over 450 newsstands in Huntsville, Madison, Decatur, Athens, Hazel Green, Meridianville and Guntersville. Readers can pick up the latest issue of The Valley Planet in coffee houses, restaurants, clubs, hotels, and many other places around town.

Over 50,000 people regularly read The Valley Planet! Additionally, The Valley Planet is available online at www.valleyplanet.com. Each month, we receive about 350,000 hits on our website. Best of all, The Valley Planet is FREE!

The Valley Planet includes extensive coverage of the local arts and music scene, travel features, human-interest stories, book, music and dining reviews, political opinion and editorials. The Valley Planet provides listings for local restaurants, attractions, theatre, clubs, galleries, museums, and more! The Valley Planet's Calendar of Live Music and the Calendar of Events contain the most up-to-date and comprehensive listings in North Alabama and is the only searchable calendar in the area. The Valley Planet is the #1 source for seekers of great shopping, good coffee, fine dining and top-notch entertainment in the Tennessee Valley!

Our Office Address:

Valley Planet
203 Grove Avenue
Huntsville, Alabama
35801

256-533-4613 office
256-533-4613 fax

Editor / Publisher: Jill E. Wood
jill@valleyplanet.com

Our Current Sales Staff:

General Advertising
sales@valleyplanet.com

Valley Planet Writers and Staff

Sarah Gorman Bio: Sarah Gorman has lived in (and loves) Buffalo, NY and Boston, MA. She now resides in Huntsville and is a student at UAH majoring in English and philosophy. In her spare time she like to read, write, cook Indian food and draw. She likes life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and magic.

Ricky Thomason Bio: A biography? Right. I was born a poor black child. I love that movie. Despite the assumption I hear often "You ain't from around here, are you boy?" I was born in North Alabubba on December 25th several decades ago, mangy, but no manger. My mama reportedly said, "I get this for Christmas? All things considered I'd rather have had a lump of coal." I wasn't the second coming then, and it's been years since I had one. Damn, she was good at that, but practice made perfect, no doubt. What 's there to tell? I had a good Christian raising and I've no doubt, of their three sons, one a lifelong educator, another a captain of industry, my parents looked at me and said, "Damn. Where did we go wrong?" I am a self-taught writer. One could say I learned to write by ear - something I think is teachable if anyone would care to attend a seminar. I was the school smartass with an attitude that made every coach and disciplinarian who ever saw me hate me beyond all reason. Despite all the dire predictions for my future and where I'd be incarcerated, the written word and a following of intelligent readers with equally bad attitudes have proven that you can't let the bastards get you down. You really can do it your way and get paid for it --- if you're willing to pay the price. I never colored inside the lines as a kid. I never wanted to and am not about to start at this late date. I have one uncommonly talented musician son - Mark, the keyboardist for the Scratch Band, two delightful grandkids, Erin and Emily, and a terrific wife, Lisa Gray. I couldn't have taken a kit and made a woman any better suited to be married to a crazy man. Use the caricature for my pic. Huntsville artist Debbie West did a wonderful job on that, and I'm camera shy. As always, screw'm if they can't take a joke.

Terri French Bio: Terri French is a native Michigander and has lived in the Huntsville area since 1987. She and her husband, Ray, have four teenagers between them (figuratively speaking). Their three cats own the house, but are generous enough to let them hang out and cater to their every need. She obtained a degree in Journalism eons ago. As well as writing for the Valley Planet, Terri has written for other area newspapers and several magazines and newsletters. She is a fledgling poet and particularly interested in the fine art of haiku. Almost four years ago she became a Licensed Massage Therapist and owns her own business. She and her husband enjoy wine tastings and yoga, but their balance isn't good enough yet to do both simultaneously.

Auntie Jen Bio: Auntie Jen was born and raised in Alabama as Jennifer Roberts. She graduated from Central Queensland University in Australia in 2003 with a Bachelor of Communication. During college, she lived near the beach with a two-legged dog named Popeye who was rescued by the RSPCA. Popeye’s human mummy, Ali, affectionately referred to Jennifer as Auntie Jen. Although Jennifer double-majored in journalism and professional communication, she decided to go into business as a pet sitter in 2008. Since childhood, her mom, Bonnie, has encouraged her love for both animals and writing. Today Jennifer gets a kick out of writing her column, Auntie Jen’s Animal Crazy, for Valley Planet. In her spare time, she enjoys organizing and emceeing animal charities for nonprofit groups and doing other volunteer work for animals. Auntie Jen also has a handful of wild and wacky children at home—a mature queen-cat named Elaine Coltrane; a worldly, handsome and young man-cat named Tiger; and a crazy, sweet and pretty girl-mutt named Sharky. Auntie Jen is also the proud sister of her mom’s dogs, Charlotte Elaine and Frederico Michelangelo, and her dad’s golden retriever named Maggie.

Bonnie Roberts Bio: Bonnie Roberts has two volumes of poetry, To Hide in the Light and Dances in Straw with a Two-Headed Calf (Elk River). To Hide won the 1998 Alabama Book of the Year and was nominated for the Pulitzer. Her chapbook, Bonnie Roberts: Greatest Hits (Ohio), is a part of a national archiving of American poets. Bonnie’s work is part of dozens of literary journals and national and state anthologies--in The Kentucky Poetry Review (with Robert Penn Warren), in Slipstream (opposite Charles Bukowski); in Yellow Silk, the anthology (NY, NY) and in Whatever Remembers Us (Mobile, AL). Bonnie loved teaching as a poet-in-residence, a high school creative writing/English teacher, and a college professor. In her career, she has received numerous awards: an Individual Fellowship in Literature; a Fellowship in Verse in Dublin from Poetry Ireland; a NEH Fellowship in Paris with Brown University; a Fulbright in Turkey. Bonnie sends letters to the editor or e-mails patient friends about ending wars and saving wolves. She loves her daughter; her friends; creative, compassionate people; laughter; Fred and Charlotte; her volunteer work for poetry festivals; beaches; monasteries; trees, redbirds, independent films; and her joyful, pre-primoridal attempts at art. She still writes poetry.

Tim Benton Bio: Tim Benton likes to write, oddly enough.

Raven Woods Bio: I was born and raised in Decatur, Alabama. An enrolled member of the Echota Cherokee tribe, which is a state-recognized tribe in Alabama, I have devoted a good portion of my writing life to exploring the unique culture and stories of the (mostly) mixed-blood Native people of this region. You can often see me performing at various local Native American festivals and powwows. When I'm not busy performing at powwows, I'm also an avid music buff. My taste is very eclectic; I love everything from blues to bluegrass; alternative to classic rock. When I was growing up, I developed a love for classic movies and music from my grandmother. I was probably the only kid in my junior high who was listening to Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller, while all my classmates were into Kiss, Elton John and Peter Frampton (it was the mid 70's). But I think being a geek made me a smarter, more well-rounded person, so I have no regrets. I graduated from both Calhoun College, in 1994, and Athens State in 2001. After that, I lived in Starkville, Mississippi for three years while I earned my MA in English from MSU. Trust me, you haven't lived until you have spent your 38th year of life in a girls' freshman college dorm! But I survived. In 2004, I moved to Millegeville, Georgia to attend Georgia College and State University, where I earned an MFA in Creative Writing. Now I am back home, living in Huntsville and teaching part-time at Calhoun College. I have a novel, The Testament of Mattie-Jane, which is pending publication, and there is a motion picture adaptation in development.

Mike Rosenberg Bio: "Mike Rosenberg may not be a sommelier, but he's dogged and determined to find good wine. He's an unapologetic basketball junkie, a homebrewer, and doting stepdad to Mooch the Magnificent Mutt. Contact Mike at thenakedvine@yahoo.com "

Allison Gregg Bio: Allison Gregg writes Party of One for the Valley Planet, and has done so since the paper's inception. She studied journalism at Western Washington University. She moved to Alabama after college graduation and wrote TV news for four years. Realizing that wasn't for her, Allison joined "the other side" and has worked in the public relations field for seven years. She serves as the Program Director at Leadership Huntsville/Madison County. In her spare time, she is a member of various organizations in Huntsville including Whistlestop, the Downtown 47, and Huntsville Heritage Foundation.

Diana LaChance Bio: Diana LaChance is a freelance writer and editor (and chai tea latte addict) living in Huntsville, AL. She specializes in travel writing but also enjoys doing human interest pieces, movie reviews, and pretty much anything with a creative bent. Diana has a bachelor’s degree in history from the College of William & Mary and a master’s degree in African history from the University of Florida. She spends her free time reading, hiking with her dogs, and spending time with her husband, Dave. Ok, and taking naps. She is also an active volunteer in her community. (Donate blood!)

Shawn Bailey Bio: I finished my first short story in the womb. It was written on a papyrus-like weave I constructed from the few bits of fiber and hemp my mother swallowed as a teenager. I had nine months, but like most writers, I procrastinated. I knocked the entire 42 pages out during 16 hours of contractions. It was an emotional time for both of us. I was delivered at 9:38 P.M. on a Friday and the short story came at 10:30. They did what they could but were unable to save it. Too many run on sentences, disjointed thoughts, and the grammar was (understandably) quite horrible. These days I write as often as I can, preferring for some reason small, enclosed spaces like my closet. I usually have the feeling that something really, really big is about to happen right as I am finishing a story. And as soon as I finish one I always spin around, having had the feeling that someone is about to slap me from behind. I'm not sure why. Someone told me once it was Freudian behavior, but I have never smoked a cigar, ever. So I write today as I wrote then. Furiously, under pressure and time constraints, and with love all around.

Jim Zieliński Bio: A cofounder of both the Epicurean Snobs Triumvirate and AHR Fraternity, Fayetteville-born Jim Zieliński works for The Arts Council, Inc. His writing varies from articles in Culture and Leisure Magazine to a 24-year stash of publicity releases, a history of Huntsville theatre, and a myriad of insidious, late-night blog responses and caustic e-mails. Jim enjoys acting, directing, and associated, theatre-related interests; genealogical and other historical pursuits; cultivating/lecturing on carnivorous plants; foreign and domestic travel; reading and freelance ‘riting (NOT ‘rithmetic); dialects and impersonations, raising chinchillas (or whatever non-human houseguests he may have at any given time); gourmet cooking (with follow-up bouts of eating); owls; and praying mantises. He collects classic movie memorabilia; Hummels; autographs—faves include Mae West and Laurel AND Hardy; German cutlery; walking sticks; and all things Yellow Submarine…and was a wedding singer long before Adam Sandler made it unpopular.

Matthew Kresal Bio: Matthew Kresal was born and raised in north Alabama but strangely never developed a southern accent and has been mistaken for being from Minnesota on occasion. Perhaps not so strangely he developed an early interest in NASA and space exploration, spending a large part of his youth wanting to be an astronaut until discovering he wasn't quite good enough at math to do so. That though did lead to an interest in science fiction which has continued to this day and takes form in the Sci-Fi Review section that appears in the Valley Planet. He is especially a fan of the long-running BBC made TV series Doctor Who, Star Trek: The Original Series, The Prisoner, Stargate SG-1 and the writings of Arthur C. Clarke amongst many things sci-fi. Outside of the worlds of sci-fi and space exploration he is interested in such varied things as American History, movie soundtracks, British television, the James Bond films and the TV series The West Wing. He is also the author of more then a 120 reviews each on Amazon.Com and IMDB.Com plus the occasional piece of fiction. When not writing what will hopefully be his first novel (a sci-fi story set in the near future that begins in north Alabama) or working you may find him in Beauregard's enjoying hot wings or looking for a good book in one of the many local bookstores.