Meet Our Editor

Dr. Richard C. Leonard has a history of editorial and publishing activity. He was Scripture Editor for The Complete Library of Christian Worship (Hendrickson, 1993), contributing heavily to Volume I, The Biblical Foundations of Christian Worship. He served as a reviewing editor for the Praise and Worship Study Bible (Tyndale, 1997), writing the general introduction. He also contributed to The One Year Book of Bible Prayers (Tyndale, 2000) and the iWORSHIP Daily Devotional Bible (Integrity, 2003).

Dr. Leonard was the "ghost writer" of A Theological Miscellany (Thomas Nelson, 2005) under the pseudonym "T. J. McTavish." He was co-compiler, with JoNancy Sundberg, of A Glimpse of Heaven (Howard / Simon & Schuster, 2007), produced by the Livingstone Corporation. He has also published articles in several Christian periodicals.

Additionally, he has written three novels: Silence of the Drums (Xulon Press, 2005); Heart of the Highriders (with daughter Charity Silkebakken, Word Association, 2006); and New America Lampstand Books, 2009). His theological publications include The Promise of His Coming (with Janice E. Leonard, Laudemont Press, 1996) and Late Breaking News (Laudemont Press, 2018). His author web site is rcleonard.com.

Since 2003 Dr. Leonard has served as Publisher of WestWard Quarterly, assisting Editor Shirley Anne Leonard. Upon her passing in 2024 he assumed the role of Editor as well. In 2025 he edited and published Forgotten Places, a collection of 240 of her poems.

Dr. Leonard received the Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Boston University (1972) and has taught at the college and graduate level. A ministerial member of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, he has also served pastorates in New England and Illinois. From 2004-2005 he was interim minister of Union Congregational Church (now Living Hope Church), North Aurora, Illinois. From 2014-2017 he served as interim pastor of First Christian Church, Hamilton, Illinois. He is a lifelong railroad fan, and Richard Leonard's Rail Archive is popular with his fellow fans.

Shirley Anne Leonard, edited WestWard Quarterly from 2003-2024. Formerly known as Shirley Poirier Malmgren, she studied at Carl Sandburg College where she earned the Certificate in Desktop Publishing and received other awards. Author of more than 800 poems, she became editor of WestWard Quarterly in 2003 succeeding Marsha Ward. She passed away on May 22, 2024.

In addition to WestWard Quarterly, Shirley Anne published five chapbooks through Laudemont Press Her work has appeared in various poetry magazines and online. Poems she wrote also appear in A Glimpse of Heaven, compiled by Richard Leonard and JoNancy Sundberg (Howard Books, 2007) and Secure the Fort (and Remain Under God) edited by Lucy Cain (XLibris, 2007) In May 2025 Lampstand Books (a division of Laudemont Press) published Forgotten Places, a selection of 240 of Shirley Anne's poems, as a memorial to her and her poetic gift. It is available via Amazon.com or from Laudemont Press.