Rhea Cote Robbins

Rhea Côté Robbins was brought up bilingually in a Franco-American neighborhood in Waterville known as the South End. She currently lives in South Brewer. Côté Robbins is the author of creative nonfiction, memoirs titled, ‘down the Plains,’ and Wednesday’s Child, winner of the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Chapbook Award. She is editor of Canuck and Other Stories, an anthology of translations of early 20th century Franco-American women writers who wrote about their immigration experience. She is the founder and director of the Franco-American Women’s Institute, FAWI, which disseminates information about the contributions of the French heritage women’s lives. FAWI is celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2016. She edited an anthology—a collection of 130 French heritage women’s submitted works to celebrate FAWI’s 20th Anniversary, titled, Heliotrope—French Heritage Women Create! This book project was crowdfunded by the Franco- American community’s many supporters. Côté Robbins’ writing and research has appeared in many publications. She is currently working on research in expanding the definition of the French heritage women and their “hidden contributions.”