IVP's women authors are expert practitioners, gifted writers, and leading voices in the most important conversations happening today. On this page, you'll learn more about our women authors and their books. You'll also find articles, videos, and podcasts where you can hear directly from women's voices as they share more about their books and the impact that they are having in the church and the world.
March is when we recognize women authors during Women's History Month. Looking for even more voices to learn from? Discover our authors of color or browse all of IVP's authors. You can also hear from a wide variety of diverse voices on IVP's Every Voice Now podcast.
Asifa Dean previously served on staff with InterVarsity in Redlands, California. She is a contributor to More Than Serving Tea: Asian-American Women on Expectations, Relationships, Leadership, and Faith.
Kenda Creasy Dean is an ordained elder in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference (United Methodist) and professor of youth, church, and culture at Princeton Theological Seminary, where she works closely with the Institute for Youth Ministry. She is the author of several books, including OMG: A Youth Ministry Handbook, Practicing Passion, The God-Bearing Life, and Almost Christian.
Janet B. Dean (PhD, Ohio State University) is a licensed psychologist and associate professor of psychology at Asbury University. In addition to teaching a number of undergraduate courses in psychology, she mentors students interested in research, advises the local chapter of the Psi Chi Honor Society in psychology, and cofacilitates Asbury's annual undergraduate research symposium SEARCH.
In 2014, Dean was recognized by the Kentucky Psychological Association with the "Outstanding Undergraduate Student Mentor Award." Prior to joining the Asbury faculty, Dean served as a counselor in the university's Center for Counseling for four years. She has more than twenty years of experience in psychological assessment and treatment across a variety of settings, including university counseling, community mental health, correctional and forensic psychology, and her ongoing private practice. As affiliate faculty, she also teaches counseling courses at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Cathy Deddo (M.A., Fuller Theological Seminary) is a former InterVarsity Christian Fellowship staff member and has taught women's Bible studies for twenty years. She and her husband, Gary Deddo (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), currently provide Bible study resources and seminar opportunities at www.trinitystudycenter.com. Deddo previously published A Devotional Guide to the Writings of George MacDonald (St. Andrew, 1996).
Erin Devers (PhD, Indiana University) is professor of psychology at Indiana Wesleyan University. As a social psychologist and educator, she has focused on creative ways to nudge students, fellow educators, and parents toward good decision-making practices. Her work has been published in the Journal for Personality and Social Psychology, Christian Scholar’s Review, and the Journal for Psychology and Christianity, among others.
Bette Dickinson is a prophetic artist, writer, and speaker who invites audiences to connect with God through visual parables. Bette earned her MDiv through Grand Rapids Theological Seminary and has worked with ministries like InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, World Vision, Infinitum, and Kensington Church to awaken the soul through beauty and wonder.
Christine Dillon has worked as a church planter in Taiwan with OMF International since 1999. She also grew up in Asia as the daughter of missionaries. The prevalent belief system in Dillon's area is ancestor and idol worship with only .8% of the population being Christian. Her ministry approach consists of storytelling, discipling, and training of locals, other missionaries, and Christians in her home country of Australia. Dillon is the author of 1-2-1 Discipleship and a series of novels and several other non-fiction works.
Liz Ditty is a spiritual director, author, preacher, and teacher currently guiding transformative prayer retreats at Mount Hermon Conference Center, nestled in the coastal redwoods of California. A Silicon Valley native and Western Seminary graduate, Liz’s central purpose in all she writes and teaches is to gently draw attention to God's presence in our actual—often challenging—lives. Alongside her supportive husband, two children, and spirited dog, Liz finds joy in sparking connection and community with all her people.
Amy Dixon is the author of three picture books—Maurice the Unbeastly, Sophie's Animal Parade, and Marathon Mouse—as well as a middle grade novel. When she's not writing, she is editing and marketing other people's books. She writes from her home in Clovis, California, where she lives on a steady diet of popcorn and coffee.
Linda Doll previously served in many capacities at InterVarsity Press and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, including as director of IVP and editor of HIS magazine. She is now retired.
Deborah Dortzbach is World Relief's International Director for HIV/AIDS programs. She provides strategic leadership to World Relief's Mobilizing for Life AIDS programs in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Through the programs, she mobilizes and equips the local church to promote and provide AIDS awareness, sexual education for youth, orphan support, and much more. Debbie and her husband, Karl, first served as missionaries in Eritrea where she was abducted by the Eritrean Liberation Front in 1973. The story is chronicled in their book Kidnapped. In 2002 Debbie testified before a United States Subcommittee on HIV/AIDS and continues to promote active involvement of churches in the AIDS crisis through frequent speaking engagements, radio interviews and articles.
Crystal Downing, Distinguished Professor of English and Film Studies at Messiah College (PA), has published widely on the relationship between Christianity and culture. Her first book, Writing Performances: The Stages of Dorothy L. Sayers (Palgrave Macmillan) received the international Barbara Reynolds Award for best scholarship on Sayers, granted at Cambridge in 2009 by the Dorothy L. Sayers Society. Her second book, How Postmodernism Serves (My) Faith (IVP Academic), grapples with the rhetorical and religious turns in philosophy. Downing has also published scores of essays in Books and Culture, The Cresset, and Religion and the Arts, drawing Christianity and culture into conversation through analysis of film semiotics.
Amanda Drury (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) has been in youth ministry for almost fifteen years. She now serves as assistant professor of practical theology at Indiana Wesleyan University and is ordained in the Wesleyan Church. She teaches, speaks, and writes on youth ministry, and her passion is to see teenagers empowered to express their faith in words and actions. Amanda has three children with her husband, John, and they reside in Marion, Indiana.
Ann Dunagan is a homeschooling mother of seven and an international minister alongside her husband, Jon Dunagan. In 1986, Jon & Ann Dunagan founded Harvest Ministry. Ann has personally ministered in over twenty-five countries throughout the world and she enjoys teaching children, speaking to women, and encouraging parents and teachers. The Dunagan family is based in Hood River, Oregon.
Carissa Dwiwardani (PhD, Rosemead School of Psychology) is professor of psychology at Biola University’s Rosemead School of Psychology. She is a licensed psychologist who is board certified in clinical psychology (ABPP).
Jenny Eaton Dyer (PhD, Vanderbilt University) is the founder of The 2030 Collaborative. As such, she directs the Faith-Based Coalition for Global Nutrition with support from the Eleanor Crook Foundation. Dyer formerly served as the executive director of Hope Through Healing Hands, a nonprofit chaired by Senator Bill Frist, MD. She also served as the national faith outreach director for the DATA Foundation and The ONE Campaign, Bono's organization. She has written widely on the intersection of religion and global health. She is a contributor of Why Save Africa: Answers from around the World and a co-compiler of The Mother & Child Project: Raising Our Voices for Health and Hope and The aWAKE Project: Uniting Against the African AIDS Crisis.
Dr. Kim Gaines Eckert is a licensed psychologist in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she maintains a private counseling practice at the Relationship Therapy Center. Dr. Eckert came to Tennessee in 2002 to join the faculty of Lee University. She now teaches at Lee on an adjunct basis and is the clinical director of the Lee University Play Therapy Center. Dr. Eckert holds an undergraduate honors degree in English and anthropology from the University of Michigan, as well as a master's and doctorate from Wheaton College. In addition to her two books with InterVarsity Press, she has also published in Today’s Christian Woman, Psychology for Living, and Youth & Christian Education Leadership. Dr. Eckert is a national speaker and has been featured on programs such as Moody Radio's Prime Time America, and Midday Connection.
Tara Edelschick (EdD, Harvard) has worked as an educator, teaching public high school students in New York, graduate students at Harvard's School of Education, homeschoolers in Massachusetts, and incarcerated men taking college courses through the Emerson Prison Initiative. In her church, you can find her speaking at a women's conference or marriage retreat, teaching Sunday school, gathering mothers for prayer and Bible study, or leading retreats for families.
Christina Barland Edmondson is a higher education instructor and organizational consultant in the areas of ethics, equity, and Christian leadership development. She is also cohost of the Truth's Table podcast.
Courtney Ellis is a pastor at the Presbyterian Church of the Master in Mission Viejo, California. She is the author of several books, including Happy Now and Present. She also hosts The Thing with Feathers, a podcast about birds and hope. She lives in Orange County, California, with her husband and three children.
Muriel I. Elmer (PhD, Michigan State) is a retired adjunct professor for Trinity International University where she taught in both the educational studies and the intercultural studies PhD programs. She has taught nursing and intercultural communication at various institutions and has been an international consultant and educator for many cross-cultural organizations. She was the director of child survival programs and a training specialist at World Relief as well as a missionary in South Africa.
Kim V. Engelmann (DMin, Boston University) is senior pastor at West Valley Presbyterian Church in Cupertino, CA. Previously she served as pastor of caring ministries at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, California and as associate pastor for First Congregational Church in Redwood City, California, Trinitarian Congregational Church in North Andover, Massachusetts, and The Federated Church of Ashland, Massachusetts. Her books include Seeing Jesus: Glimpses of God in My Life (2004) and three volumes that make up The Joona Trilogy (1995). She also writes the Conversation Guide in the journal, Conversations.
Hannah Estabrook (MA, Grace College) is a mental health clinician with a focus on supporting individuals who have transitioned from the sex trade. She is the cofounder of Sanctuary Night, a pioneering harm reduction drop-in center for marginalized women.
Mary J. Evans is a visiting lecturer in Old Testament and former academic dean at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology, Addis Ababa, and a former lecturer at the London School of Theology. She is the author of the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary Judges and Ruth is a coeditor of The IVP Women's Bible Commentary.
Elrena Evans (MFA, Penn State) is executive editor of Paper&String, a digital care package celebrating faith, creativity, and beauty in its many forms. She is the author of a short story collection, This Crowded Night, and coauthor of the essay collection Mama, PhD: Women Write About Motherhood and Academic Life.
Hear More from Our Women Authors
What good gifts has God given your children? Amy and Rob Dixon, authors of the IVP Kids book "Penny Preaches," help parents and caregivers discern, embrace, and cultivate the vocational giftings of the children in their lives.
In her book "Nobody's Mother," New Testament scholar Sandra Glahn digs deep into evidence about the ancient Greek goddess Artemis of the Ephesians from both biblical and classical sources in order to bring into focus Paul's teaching in 1 Timothy. Read this interview to learn more about her thoughts on scholarship, mentoring, and the role of story in academic writing.