Sylvia Simmons, a native of Washington, D.C. is a retired public affairs specialist. She done extensive traveling within the United States, the Caribbean, and the Far East. Sylvia was educated in the D. C. public school system. She began writing poems in her early teenage years. Sylvia was a member of the National Cherry Blossom Festival Committee for eleven years in the capacity as secretary and vice president for community development. She is the founder and president of SiHoWa Publishing and the editor of a quarterly newsletter, Purple Passion for the Arts. Sylvia is currently writing a novel: Suspended in Time and a how-to book, Nine Rules to Clubbing after 50. Sylvia writes poetry for special occasions such as weddings, and birthdays.

Sylvia Simmons is listed in 1996-2000 editions of Who's Who in the World and the 2000-2001 editions of Who's Who of American Women.

Sylvia's poem Forever appears in the 2006 publication of Echoes: Voices from Prince George's County Poets and her poem Rain appears in Reflections, a literary and arts magazine published by Prince George's Community College. Participant in Karibu sponsored Black Writer's Guild, MD monthly workshops as a presenter/facilitator from December, 2006 through June, 2007. She is the editor of a quarterly newsletter, Purple Passion for the Arts that features interviews with local, national, and international talents, tips on writing/publishing. Her publishing company is proud to showcase J. D. Collection (Poems for every age) by Janel D. Howard. Sylvia is working on the sequel to her novel: Anything But Love, entitled: An Affair with a Stranger. Sylvia performed as Lena in a video production of A Raisin in the Sun, and in the play: How I Learned to Drive as part of the Greek Chrous and in the role as Grandmother.