Looking Closer
I’m a writer and video producer.
I am the co-author of two textbooks with Scientific American, Lifespan Development and Child and Adolescent Development. I spent eight years reading more than 36,000 articles, producing more than 100 videos and interviewing dozens of people across the US, trying to distill developmental science in a way that is current, engaging and accurate.
Over my years in academic publishing, I worked as an editor and video producer in psychology, history and political science. My work included acquisition, development and writing—creating atlases, producing videos, document collections and interactive simulations.
My first love is less academic: my creative work has been published in Commonweal, the Green Mountains Review, the New York Law Journal and the Sierra Nevada Review. My novel, Creature, Creature, was short-listed for the 2026 CRAFT first chapters contest. I have a MFA from the program at Stonecoast, University of Southern Maine where I was the creative nonfiction editor for the Stonecoast Review in 2025 and 2026.
I’ve been shaped by working as a nurses’ aide, acting in community theater and raising children as a single parent. My superpowers are curiosity and the lifelong aspiration to be nice. I was raised by 1970s radicals and was fortunate enough to receive an undergraduate degree from Columbia College—the best part of which is that it comes along with lifetime access to their library. I’m experienced in archival research, project management, sanding floors and making Halloween costumes.
I live in South Portland, Maine, land stolen from the Wabanaki people.
I’m always interested in learning and creating new things: reach out if you want to collaborate. I’m at jessicasbayne@gmail.com. I also enjoy helping and coaching other writers. I also love to talk: I’m happy to share what I know about human development or creative writing with small or large groups.
