Daughter, Mother, Scholar, Writer

Shirley Russak Wachtel is an educator, novelist, and author of several children’s books.Her short stories and poems have appeared in various literary journals. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Wachtel is now a college professor in New Jersey where she lives with her husband, Arthur. She has earned a Doctor of Letters Degree from Drew University, and in 2017 she received the Middlesex County College Scholar of the Year Award. But her proudest achievements are her three sons and two granddaughters, Zoey and Emmy.