Reva Leah Stern has been a prominent part of the Toronto arts and theatre circuit for the better part of thirty years. As a mother of four, the founding Artistic Director of the Jewish Community Centre's Leah Posluns Theatre in Toronto for 19 years, and Regional Casting Director for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts for New York and Los Angeles for almost two decades, Stern has delicately balanced her personal and professional life with consummate skill. It is this balancing act that inspired Stern's first novel, The Water Buffalo That Shed Her Girdle. After having won several accolades in the theatre, Stern has brought her love of writing to the forefront as her primary career in recent years. She has written and edited professionally for the past decade, contributing to several journals, magazines, and newspapers, including The National Post.