JOANNE SHWED was born in the Bronx (New York) and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1975. She and her husband Tom Ekkens have lived in Pacifica since 1989.

In the 1970s, she edited and typeset several early versions of Richard Bolles’s best-selling book, What Color Is Your Parachute?

In 1985, Joanne designed and published Tom's book, Collected Poetry of Thomas A. Ekkens—Early Works.

The same year, her company Backspace Ink was created.

In 2004, Joanne created, produced, and published Backpocket Crosswords: Handmade Puzzles, a collection of 24 handmade crossword puzzles (not computer generated) with common words and user-friendly clues.

In 2023, her second crossword puzzle book, Backpocket Crosswords (Volume 2): Handmade Puzzles, which includes 24 new puzzles, was created, produced, and published.

Joanne has written several short stories and essays for your reading enjoyment. (The above baby picture is from her story called The Fire Kiss.) Some stories have won writing awards and appeared in magazines and books and on others’ websites.

For over 25 years, Joanne performed with the Paloma band. They volunteered their time and music for Bread & Roses, a nonprofit organization founded by Joan Baez’s sister Mimi Fariña, providing entertainment for "shut-ins." 

Tom is the creator of TAE Gallery — an e-gallery of original artwork, photography, poetry, songs, and book arts.

In 2023, Tom and Joanne copublished Carpet Creatures: Tales from the Deep Pile, a book of illustrations and vignettes that started with a carpet and a sketchpad!

You can read more about this art and writing project on the TAE Gallery website.