Fun Fact:
Janna is the founder and coordinator of an online syndicate that provides financial support to writers who highlight diverse voices in fiction. They have backed almost 70 projects and helped put dozens of books into production.
Janna Liggan is an advocate for journalism
Janna has taught composition, creative writing and literature at a variety of universities, most recently at Rutgers University, and though she loves teaching, her true passion has always been writing.
—
Janna ghostwrote for a 2016 Presidential candidate, and she’s had over 50 short stories, poems and interviews published in various print and online journals. She has worked as a freelance writer for 16 years, writing for Fortune 200 companies, nonfiction publications, newspapers, and literary magazines. While living in Manhattan, Janna also did a 3-year stint at one of the top hedge funds in the world.
She carries her love of storytelling into her photography work. Janna first fell in love with photography in her high school darkroom, developing film by hand and learning to see narrative through light and shadow. Her camera has since traveled with her across the world, as she spent a year in Wales while earning her master’s in Teaching and Creative Writing from Cardiff University and, to date, has lived in and visited 23 countries.
After the birth of her daughter, Janna returned to photography in earnest, first documenting weddings and family portraits before expanding into corporate and brand photography. Today, her work includes headshots, corporate events, brochures, and branding imagery for a variety of clientele, including Fortune 200 companies, universities, investment funds, and nonprofits.
She also holds a BA in English and a BS in Psychology from the University of Mary Washington, but her favorite courses were taken in England through University College at Oxford. While working as a crisis counselor and workshop leader, she shared her love of the written word with unhoused teens, exploring the relationship between creativity and empowerment — and later taught introductory photography classes to help students tell their own stories through images.
While she’s not weaving stories — written or visual — for clients at Rhudy & Co, Janna is a literary magazine editor and poetry reader. Her debut novel will be published in 2026, and she currently resides with her husband and daughter in Richmond, Va.