Rebecca Wallace-Segall Executive Director, Writing Instructor Rebecca @ WritopiaLab.org Teaching History Rebecca founded WritopiaLab in April 2007, currently directs the national organization, and teaches writing workshops in NYC and at special events throughout the country. Rebecca has won multiple teaching awards including the 2008 and 2009 National Gold Apple Teacher Award for "submitting the most outstanding group of submissions on the national level" in the Scholastic Art & Writing event each year. She lectures at schools, events, and parents' organizations on a variety of topics including "How to Inspire the Writer Within Your Child" and on "Identifying and Participating in Positive Competitions." Previously, Rebecca established the creative writing program at the Abraham Joshua Heschel Middle School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan as a consultant. While she was there, the program outperformed every other school in the city (including every elite public and private institution) in Scholastic's prestigious Art & Writing Awards competition. She was awarded recognition from The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards as an "outstanding educator" in 2006, 2007, and 2008. (Writopia won Scholastic's official endorsement in 2007.) Rebecca was also nominated by students and selected to be entered into the 11th Edition of Who's Who Among American Teachers. Rebecca has taught at SUNY Albany, New York University, The Katherine Gibbs School, and at Gotham Writers’ Workshop. In 2002, she had the pleasure of working with young writers in New York City public schools for the first time as a resident writer with the Teachers & Writers Collaborative. By 2003, she was working at the Heschel School, planting the seeds for a unique and successful creative writing program there. She also participated in the judging of the Scholastic competition in 2006 and currently serves as a judge of several national youth writing competitions (in which her students are not involved). Writings Rebecca began writing for publications in 1997 as an intern at The Village Voice. Over the next ten years, she contributed five cover stories (and other pieces) to the Voice, served as Senior Editor at Psychology Today Magazine, contributed op-eds and thought pieces to The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, The Nation, and New York Newsday, and contributed to dozens of other magazines and newspapers including New York Magazine, Salon.com, and Spin. She won Salon's "Best People Story of the Year Award" for "Love Labor’s Flossed" and received recognition for other pieces as well. In 1999, she became a Journalism Fellow at Brandeis University. In 2003, she entered the world of comedy writing, and began writing and performing sketch comedy around NYC. She won a “Best Sketch” competition at the Upright Citizens Brigade in 2006. A full-length comedic screenplay she co-wrote is currently being represented by The Dorothy Palmer Agency. Courtney Zoffness Fiction and Memoir Writing Instructor Courtney @ WritopiaLab.org Courtney Zoffness taught fiction and memoir workshops year-round at Writopia Lab from 2008 through 2009. Courtney also taught creative writing at Yale and at the University of Pennsylvania. Courtney earned two graduate degrees in fiction: an MA from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, where she held a Teaching Fellowship, and an MFA in fiction from the University of Arizona, where she received the Minnie M. Torrance Scholarship in Creative Writing and the UA Foundation Award. Her fiction has appeared in several journals and anthologies, including Washington Square, Tampa Review, Saint Ann’s Review, Redivider, and the international Fish Prize Stories. It was also nominated for inclusion in Best New American Voices 2007. Her nonfiction has appeared in publications that include Ladies’ Home Journal, Our Town, The Earth Times Monthly, and New York’s daily Metro. A finalist in the 2008 Danahy Fiction Prize, Courtney has held residency fellowships at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and the Vermont Studio Center. Courtney accepted a one year, full-time position at a university for the fall of 2009 but will continue helping Writopia grow in various capacities. She is planning to return to Writopia in 2010! Daniel Ajl Kitrosser Playwriting and Screenwriting Instructor Dan @ WritopiaLab.org Daniel Ajl Kitrosser teaches screenwriting and playwrighting year-round at WritopiaLab. Three of Dan's Writopia students have won "Best Play" in Stephen Sondheim's 2008 and 2009 Write a Play! contests, and many others were named finalists or won honorable mentions. A graduate of NYU, Dan's screenplays include "Old Days" directed by Matt Shapiro, starring Brad Oscar (Tony Nomination, The Producers) and Mary Beth Piel (Dawson's Creek) and "Bodybuilder Island" directed by Matthew Kliegman. Dan has been a final committee judge for the Philadelphia Young Playwrights Festival for four years (this coming summer will be his fifth) after having won the festival himself for his play "Be Here Now." (That play went on to be a finalist in Stephen Sondheim's National Playwriting Competition). Dan was a Summer 2007, Teaching Fellow with the Philadelphia Young Playwrights organization and has recently co-wrote and produced a children's murder mystery musical that received top reviews from Time Out Kids and other publications. Rebecca and Dan met three years ago in an improvisational comedy class at the Upright Citizens Brigade and have been friends and collaborators ever since. Rachel Ephraim Fiction and Memoir Writing Instructor and Writopia Brooklyn Outreach Coordinator Rachel @ WritopiaLab.org Rachel Ephraim teaches fiction and memoir at Writopia Lab year-round in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Westchester and spearheaded the establishment of Writopia Brooklyn. Rachel's fiction, "Please Send a Published Copy to 101 Harris Road," has been published in the Fall 2008 edition of the Apple Valley Review and is being taught at UCLA by Professor Harry Youtt. Rachel's Brooklyn branch of Writopia completed its first successful year: Rachel's students were honored this year at the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards with both regional and national awards. Rachel's journalism has appeared this year in the New York Spirit and the Park Slope Reader where she reviews restaurants, films, books, and community projects. Rachel is also the editor of the Park Slope Reader and Shop Local! She has earned an undergraduate degree in creative writing, screenwriting, and film production at Boston University and is currently pursuing her MFA at Columbia University. Heather Duffy-Stone Fiction and Memoir Writing Instructor Heather @ WritopiaLab.org Heather Duffy-Stone teaches year-round fiction and memoir workshops at Writopia Lab. Heather has designed and taught creative writing workshops for Los Angeles public schools, upstate New York classrooms and Manhattan community centers. Heather served on the founding staff of an organization called Writegirl, Los Angeles—a mentoring and creative writing organization for teenagers, where she developed the mentoring program and taught Saturday writing workshops. She has been a Program Director for PEN USA, an international writers’ organization and an editor for react magazine for teenagers and PEN America: A Literary Journal. Her first novel, This is What I Want to Tell You, will be published by Flux in Spring 2009. Her short stories have been published in Bold Ink and Pieces of Me, collections of women’s writing. She graduated from Bard College and has an MA in School Counseling. Courtney Sheinmel Fiction Writing Instructor CourtneyS@WritopiaLab.org Courtney Sheinmel teaches summer fiction workshops at Writopia Lab. Her critically-acclaimed debut middle grade novel, My So-Called Family, was published by Simon & Schuster in October, 2008. Her next book, Positively, follows a seventh grader living with HIV, and comes out in September, 2009. Sincerely, Sophie/Sincerely, Katiewill be published in 2010, and Courtney is currently at work on You Can’t Even Measure It, which will be her fourth title with Simon & Schuster. You can visit Courtney online at www.courtneysheinmel.com. Daphne Grab Fiction Writing Instructor Daphne@WritopiaLab.org Daphne Grab began teaching year-round workshops at Writopia Lab in January, 2009. Daphne’s first book for teens, ALIVE AND WELL IN PRAGUE, NEW YORK, came out with HarperCollins in June 2008. It earned positive reviews, as well as being selected as an ALAN Pick and has been placed on several state reading lists. Her second book, this one for middle grade readers, will be out in spring 2010. Daphne earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the New School in 2006. She has taught writing and history to teens and is excited to join the Writopia community! Theresa Benaquist Fiction and Memoir Writing Instructor Theresa@WritopiaLab.org Theresa Benaquist began teaching for Writopia Lab in January, 2009. She has contributed essays, reviews, and articles to Babble.com, Lostwriters.net, The Keene Sentinel, and Williamsburg-Greenpoint Arts and News. She received her MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence College in 2007. She currently teaches fiction, poetry, personal essay, and academic writing at SUNY Purchase. Pei-Ling Lue Writing Instructor Pei-Ling@WritopiaLab.org Pei-Ling Lue began teaching creative writing workshops for Writopia Westchester in the spring of 2009. She is also an editor at One Story magazine, an award-winning literary magazine. As part of her quest to save the short story, Pei-Ling also writes for the blog www.savetheshortstory.com. She holds an MFA in Fiction Writing from New York University, where she was awarded a Starworks Fellowship to teach creative writing at a program for at-risk children. Pei-Ling has taught fiction and English composition classes at NYU and Iona College, where her students have won awards for their personal essays. Pei-Ling also teaches creative writing and college essay writing classes at the Larchmont & Mamaroneck Center for Continuing Education. Kathy Crutcher DC Director, Writing Instructor Kathy @ WritopiaLab.org (No spaces) Kathy Crutcher joined Writopia Lab in March 2009. She received an MFA in Creative Writing (‘06) from the University of Arizona in both fiction and creative nonfiction, and has taught composition and creative writing at the University of Kentucky, the University of Arizona, and through the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY) program. Kathy has also read for various literary publications, including The Atlantic, The Sonora Review, and Limestone, and will serve on the national panel of judges for the 2009 Parent Teacher Association (PTA) “Reflections” Literature Contest. Her writing has earned her an Artist Enrichment Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women, fellowships to writing programs in Prague and Kenya, as well as accolades from contests such as the Glimmer Train Fiction Open and The New Millennium Writing Awards. Kathy is thrilled to be part of Writopia and looks forward to many good reads in DC! SPECIAL GUESTS Sheree Renée Thomas Science Fiction/Fantasy Writing Instructor Sheree @ WritopiaLab.org Sheree Renée Thomas (Sheree R. Thomas) taught summer Science Fiction/Fantasy Workshops at Writopia Lab. Sheree was awarded the 2003 Ledig House/LEF Foundation Prize for Fiction for her novel, Bonecarver. Her anthology, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction, from the African Diaspora won the 2001 World Fantasy Award for Year's Best Anthology and the Gold Pen Award. The volume was also honored as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, received a Washington Post Editor's "Rave," and was named an Amazon.com "Essential Book." Her second anthology, Dark Matter: Reading the Bones, was published in 2004 and won the 2005 World Fantasy Award for Year's Best Anthology. She is also co-publisher of the literary journal Anansi: Fiction of the African Diaspora, and founder of Wanganegresse Press. There's more: Sheree has also written book reviews and articles for publications including The Washington Post Book World, VIBE, Upscale Magazine, and Black Issues Book Review. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy (Arsenal), MOJO: Conjure Stories (Warner Books), The 2006 and 2003 Rhysling Award anthologies (Science Fiction Poetry Association), MYTHIC, STRANGE HORIZONS, storySOUTH, ROLE CALL: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature & Art (Third World Press), BUM RUSH THE PAGE: A Def Poetry Jam (Three Rivers Press/Random House), 2001: A Science Fiction Poetry Anthology (Anamnesis), as well as Black Renaissance/Renaissance Noire (NYU), Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism (Smith College), Drumvoices Revue, Obsidian III (NCSU), Voices: The Wisconsin Review of African Literatures, and Ishmael Reed's KONCH. A Cave Canem Fellow and recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry, she teaches fiction at the Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center in Manhattan. Look for recent short fiction and poetry in BRONX BIANNUAL, No. 2: The Literary Journal of Urbane Urban Literature edited by Miles Marshall Lewis (Akashic Press, 2007), THE RINGING EAR: Black Poets Lean South edited by Nikky Finney (University of Georgia Press, 2007), and in COLORLINES: The National Magazine on Race and Politics (March/April 2008 and November/December 2006). Thomas is currently editing a third volume of DARK MATTER on Africa. Sheree has taught numerous teen writing workshops with as part of the Teachers & Writers Collaborative and with other New York City organizations. Deborah Siegel, Ph.D Writing for Newspapers & Magazines Instructor Deborah @ WritopiaLab.org Deborah taught a summer blogging workshop at Writopia Lab. She is the author of Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007) and co-editor of the literary anthology, Only Child: Writers on the Singular Joys and Solitary Sorrows of Growing Up Solo (Random House, 2007). She has also recently written op-eds and articles about contemporary families, women, and popular culture for many publications including The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, The American Prospect, Psychology Today, and on her blog, Girl with Pen. Deborah is co-founder of the webjournal, The Scholar & Feminist Online, which she launched while a Fellow at the Barnard Center for Research on Women in 2003. She received her doctorate in English and American Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001. We are so excited to have Deborah with us! Jill Santopolo Fiction Writing Instructor Jill @ WritopiaLab.org Jill Santopolo lead a special Long-Form Fiction Workshop at Writopia Lab the summer of 2008. Jill is the author of the Alec Flint, Super Sleuth series, published by Scholastic Inc., which is launching in July 2008 with The Nina, The Pinta and The Vanishing Treasure. She is also a Senior Editor at HarperCollins Publishers where she edits teen novels and more. Jill earned a BA in English from Columbia University and is currently pursuing her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College. You can visit her online at jillsantopolo.com. Diana Schoenbrun Diana@WritopiaLab.org Diana Schoenbrun ran a Writopia workshop at an after school program in Brooklyn in the spring of 2009. She has also taught puppetry and playwriting workshops at 826 NYC in Brooklyn. She co-wrote and performed puppet comedy skits for Chicks and Giggles and Todd Seavey’s monthly debates in New York City. Diana has been published in educational textbooks by McGraw-Hill and Houghton Mifflin. Her first book and craft kit, Let’s Make Sock Puppets, was published by Mudpuddle Books in 2006. Diana received her BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2004, with a concentration in children’s book illustration and writing.You can visit her online at www.dianaschoenbrun.com. SYSTEMS, ART, AND ADMINISTRATION Jeremy Wallace-Segall Director of Operations Jeremy @ WritopiaLab.org Jeremy Wallace-Segall is the Director of Operations for Writopia Lab. Jeremy oversees technology and back-office functions, contributes to the organizational literature, recruits new students and new schools, and does light housekeeping. Jeremy has built and implemented databases and websites for 15 years. For the past six years he has run a consulting business, ABCDataworks, that brings database, website, and communications strategy to non-profits and socially minded corporate ventures. Jeremy spent a few years in the corporate world, but most of his work experience has been focused on making the world a better place by helping non-profit organizations manage their data collection and dissemination. Jeremy has written corporate policy documents, software documentation, branding copy for websites, tutorials, and recently published a featured article of the month on Idealware.org. Hannah Lepow Intern HannahL@WritopiaLab.org Hannah is a rising junior at Columbia University, where she majors in history. On campus she is a senior editor for the monthly undergraduate magazine The Blue and White and the editor-in-chief of Tablet, the university’s literary arts journal. Her writing has appeared in these publications, as well as in Preservation magazine, the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She hails from Washington, D.C. Andrea Listenberger Intern Andrea @ WritopiaLab.org Andrea, a junior at Vassar College, designed and continues to manages the graphics on WritopiaLab's blog, Young Writers' Space. She also designs and produces WritopiaLab's fliers, event programs, and various other marketing materials. She has also produced award-winning films and has assisted on the production of major documentaries. In her spare time, Andrea plays for the Vassar womens' rugby team. Check out her website here. TECHNOLOGY Logo Design and Production Marco Acevedo m_acev @ mac.com Web Design and Production Joe Faraci joefaraci @ gmail.com Flyers & Event Programs Design and Production Andrea Listenberger anlistenberger @ vassar.edu Legal Services WritopiaLab's legal services are provided by Lisa Ornest, Esq. OrnestLaw @ aol.com