Lisa Carrington Firmin, champion for women veterans and leader in promoting healing through writing, will present the keynote speech at the next Women in Publishing Summit in March 2026.
Columbia, SC [October 26, 2025] – Attendees to the ninth annual Women In Publishing Summit in March 2026 have a special opportunity to hear from Keynote Speaker, Lisa Carrington Firmin, a Bronze Star–decorated, U.S. Air Force combat veteran, award-winning author, international best-selling co-author, poet, and entrepreneur.
A proud Latina and founder of multiple initiatives supporting women veterans, Lisa is the author of Latina Warrior (2023), a powerful collection of poems, prose, and art chronicling her journey through trauma, resilience, and empowerment. Her work—featured by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Library of Congress, and the Military Women’s Memorial—uses storytelling and creativity as tools for recovery and advocacy.
Honored with a Legacy Pioneer Award from Shield of Sisters for her groundbreaking work to educate and prevent Military Sexual Trauma (MST), Lisa continues to keynote nationally, lead Writing to Heal workshops, and serve on the VA Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans. Through her writing, speaking, and mentorship, she inspires others to turn pain into purpose and to use story as a bridge for healing, understanding, and collective strength.
Lisa’s story ties closely to the heart of the Women In Publishing Summit, a virtual conference to empower, encourage, and support women authors and publishing industry professionals. The conference began after its founder, Alexa Bigwarfe, lost her daughter and found healing through grief by writing Sunshine After the Storm: A Survival Guide for the Grieving Mother, a book to help other mothers through their losses. From there, she wanted to encourage other women to write their stories, share their messages, and change the world around them.
“I knew from the very beginning that it was not something I wanted to do by myself. I wanted a lot of voices. I wanted lots of representation of different stories because I knew that one story wouldn’t speak to everyone who had gone through the loss of a pregnancy, an infant, or a child,” Alexa said of her journey into the publishing world.
Alexa continues to fulfill that goal by inviting impactful speakers like Lisa to engage with members of her community and inspire more women’s voices. The 2026 Women In Publishing Summit virtual conference will open with Lisa’s keynote address on International Women’s Day and run March 8–11. Tickets are on sale and available at https://womeninpublishingsummit.com.
