Founder and Teacher

I'm the author of sixteen books for tweens and teens, including the 𝘗𝘪𝘱 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵'𝘴 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 series (Scholastic), the 𝘌𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘦, 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳 series (Bloomsbury), and the 𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 series (Bloomsbury). My books are published in twenty-three languages around the world, and have won multiple state and national awards.

My approach is to teach creative writing as play— something that is to be enjoyed, experimented with, and shared. Too often I find that students are their own worst critics; I aim to remind them that there’s value and fun to be had in everything you write, whether it’s good, bad, or in-between.

My classes are fun, informative, and engaging, and I genuinely love helping students uncover or hone their writing talents. Students are encouraged to speak and ask questions during class, and I do my best to relate the material to their likes, dislikes, and interests so they connect better with the coursework.

Teacher

In addition to spending seven years as a sixth grade teacher, I’ve taught kindergarten, preschool, and worked extensively with middle and high school writers as a tutor. I have a Master’s in Elementary Education and a B.A. in English, both from Lehigh University.

Oh yeah, and I’m the author of nine novels for teens and tweens, as well as the momma of three impish Schmidtlets. My books include the Bookish Boyfriends series, the Hold Me Like A Breath series, and Once Bitten, Twice Dead from the Monster High series.

My goal for my students is always for them to Grow and Glow—knowing it’s safe to try hard and take risks, while feeling good about what they accomplish. My teaching style is dynamic optimism and I can’t wait to write together!

Teacher

I'm the author of several young adult books, including the Grace and Fury series (Little, Brown), and the forthcoming Perfect Girl (Feiwel & Friends). I also write picture books, including Love Like Chocolate (Little, Brown). 

I have a BA in English from Davidson College and an MA in Publishing from Oxford Brookes University. I love creative writing and can't wait to share with you all that I've learned over the years.  I'm also an avid journal writer, traveler, Girl Scout leader, Army wife, knitter, stained glass artist, and mom to two kiddos and three pets. I'm looking forward to writing with you!

Teacher

Saundra Mitchell is an award-winning and critically-acclaimed author of twelve novels, including The Vespertine, Shadowed Summer, and the Camp Murderface series. She's also the author of two non-fiction history books, and an editor of four anthologies—all for young people, including All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages. She primarily writes for tweens and teens, and has spent the last fifteen years of her career fighting for the reading rights of young people, especially those from marginalized groups and backgrounds.

For almost twenty years, Mitchell was also the head screenwriter and an executive producer for Fresh Films, the largest filmmaking program for teens in the world. During her tenure, she wrote more than four hundred short films, half of which competed at film festivals all around the world. Ten earned Academy Award eligibility.

Mitchell also teaches creative writing and screenwriting to students of all ages, and enjoys reading, studying history, playing ttrpgs and video games, and spending time with her wife and daughters. After a lifetime in the midwest, she now resides in Maryland. Her pronouns are she/they.

Teacher

Emma K. Ohland has been telling stories since before she knew how to write them down. She grew up in the middle of a cornfield in Indiana, but her imagination often carried her away to other worlds. When she’s not writing, reading, or smelling books, she enjoys traveling, crocheting, D&D, and snuggling with her rescue greyhound. She is the award-winning author of Funeral Girl as well as her upcoming novel Here Goes Nothing, and her work is featured in the short story anthology Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder.

Before publishing, she was an admissions officer of a top 50 university where she read and made decisions on over 5,000 student applications. Along with writing, she is also a private college counselor where she helps students gain admission by crafting strong personal narratives utilizing storytelling techniques. Her students have been accepted into top schools such as the UCs, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, University of Michigan, UT Austin, Northeastern, and more.