Teen Summer Writing Intensive

Here is just a small sampling of our teacher roster for the two weeks:

Linda Baird (she/her): Linda is a writer and educator who works as the Features Editor at Columbus Monthly magazine. She has lived in Boston and New York and written for outlets including U.S. News and MUTHA. She was a Thurber House summer camp counselor when she was in college many years ago and is always excited to come back to camp. 

Diane Callahan (she/her): Diane is a writer, editor, and YouTuber who also happens to work at an art gallery as a marketing manager. On her YouTube channel, Quotidian Writer, she provides practical tips for aspiring authors. Her debut poetry collection, The Ship and the Storm, was released in September 2025 with Story Garden Publishing. Visit her: website: https://www.quotidianwriter.com; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/quotidianwriter; and Instagram: @quotidianwriter

Lyn Ford (she/her): Lyn is a teller of folktales, haunted tales and personal stories rooted in her family's Black Appalachian storytelling traditions. She is an award-winning author and published poet, an Ohio Arts Council teaching artist and workshop facilitator, and a certified laughter yoga teacher, a certified laughter wellness ambassador. Lyn’s poetry has appeared in “Callaloo: Black Appalachia Issue,” and on the Poets Against Racism and Hate USA website. Lyn is also a Black Appalachian Storytelling Fellow and the recipient of a National Association of Black Storytellers Zora Neale Hurston Award.

Trudy Krisher: Trudy is an award-winning writer of novels for young adults and picture books for children (11 published works). She’s a retired professor of English and creates a safe, nurturing atmosphere in the classroom. She’s been teaching The Art of Writing Memoir at the Bob Crane Community Center in Upper Arlington for three years now. Visit Trudy’s website: www.trudykrisher.com.

Shelley Mann Hite (she/her): Shelley is a Columbus-based writer and editor. Her work has been published in the New York Times, The Rumpus, HuffPost, Motherwell, Stonecrop Review, and more, and she is working on a memoir manuscript. She is a prose editor for Typehouse Literary Magazine, and co-founder of the Columbus Women’s Writing Group. She got her start in journalism, and previously was an editor at Columbus Crave and Columbus Alive. Visit her website: shelleymannhite.com.

Mindy McGinnis (she/her): Mindy is a returning favorite. She is an Edgar Award-winning novelist who writes across multiple genres, including post-apocalyptic, historical, thriller, contemporary, mystery, and fantasy. While her settings may change, you can always count on Mindy’s books to deliver grit, truth, and an unflinching look at humanity and the world around us. Visit her website: www.mindymcginnis.com.

Brooke Preston (she/her): Brooke is returning this year after a riotously funny writing activity last summer! Her work has been published in The New York Times, Real Simple, The Cut, McSweeney’s, Reductress, Men's Health, and many fine crumpled napkins. Brooke is a co-founder of The Belladonna Comedy. She has taught satire and writing to everyone from high school students to multiple Emmy winners for The Second City, and more. She is currently developing her first solo collection of comedic essays.

Amy Turn Sharp (she/her): Amy is the owner of Secret Studio, a recording studio and art gallery in Franklinton. She hosts poetry and creativity workshops, both in person and virtually, for people and brands around the world. Her poetry and creative nonfiction have appeared or are forthcoming in The NYT, Pithead Chapel, NOON, The Ohio State University Press, Mutha Magazine, and elsewhere.