Faculty

Sara Wigal is an Assistant Professor of Cinema, Television and Media and Director of Publishing at Belmont University. Through the Publishing program, she equips students with necessary skills and knowledge to enter the ever-changing world of book and magazine publishing. She has trained under literary agents, magazine editors, and a major publishing house’s marketing department, finally working in literary PR, beginning as an assistant and working her way up to a Senior Manager role. Wigal has been published by Library Journal, The Tennessean, Publishers Weekly, and Writer's Digest, and was a featured interview in the Writer’s Digest “Guide to Literary Agents” 2019 edition. She speaks frequently at conferences on a range of topics related to Publishing, such as author branding, digital platforms for authors, and the business of books.

Wigal is the Fundraising Chair for the Next Chapter Society which supports the programming made possible by the Nashville Public Library Foundation. She is the founder of the Nashville Publishing Meetup, which connects local publishing professionals. When she doesn’t have a book in hand, you can find Professor Wigal snuggling with her two dogs, dancing salsa, or doing DIY projects on her cottage home. Most booklovers cannot pick a favorite book, but Wigal’s most re-read title is Wuthering Heights.

Jennifer Chesak is an adjunct instructor who teaches copyediting in the Publishing Program at Belmont University. She earned her Master of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School and draws on nearly two decades of experience as a journalist and editor across the fields of broadcast, print, and online. Currently she is a freelance medical journalist, editor, and fact checker with bylines in several national publications. Her work has appeared in Washington Post, Prevention, Healthline, Verywell, The Daily Beast, Runner's World, Greatist, and more. Her coverage focuses on COVID-19, chronic health issues, and the scientific evidence around health and wellness trends. She also serves on the Medical Integrity Team at Healthline.

In addition to reporting, she works as a freelance manuscript editor and operates a business in which she helps authors prepare their manuscripts for independent publishing or sending to a literary agent. Chesak earned her editing chops on staff at a magazine publishing firm, where she eventually became the managing editor. She has since worked in a freelance capacity for more than a decade and has helped more than 100 authors take their manuscripts from early draft to polished final. She is also the managing editor for the literary magazine SHIFT and enjoys teaching evening and weekend writing workshops for Nashville’s nonprofit literary center, The Porch Writers’ Collective. In her free time, Chesak is an avid reader, runner, and gardener.