Shout Mouse Winter 2017 Update
Authors of Humans of Ballou in front of their school, where Ballou Story Project 4 will take the stage on Thursday, April 13.
This winter has been a busy one! This is what we’ve been up to.
Students writers are deep in progress for Ballou Story Project 4. This time, in collaboration with Young Playwrights’ Theater, our authors’ stories will be told live, on stage, by professional actors! The performance and celebration will be held at Ballou High School’s state of the art auditorium on Thursday, April 13, 2017.
This is a new kind of partnership, and a new pathway for our students’ voices to be heard and their stories to be valued. We’re grateful to the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities for making this important project possible, and we’re really excited for you to see it.
L-R: Author Danielle Evans, Julia Mascioli and Nokomis Hunter of Free Minds, Kathy Crutcher of Shout Mouse, and Emma Snyder of PEN/Faulkner
Terrell and Anthony from Free Minds Book Club & Workshop and Najae, Jonae, Temil, of Beacon House (and authors of the upcoming The Day Tajon Got Shot) appeared on a panel titled, "Black Lit Matters" at the AWP conference in Feb.
At February’s prestigious Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, we introduced Shout Mouse Press to writers from across the country, sold books, and appeared on two panels.
Partners from Free Minds and PEN/Faulkner Writers in Schools, along with award-winning author Danielle Evans, joined Founder Kathy on panel a titled “Degree of Change: Using Your MFA in Social Justice Nonprofit Work.” We were thrilled to draw such an impassioned crowd looking to use the power of storytelling for public good!
In another popular panel, Shout Mouse authors took the stage to read and discuss their latest works for “Black Lit Matters: Unheard Voices on Race and Criminal Justice.” Free Minds ambassadors Terrell and Anthony explained how learning to express themselves through writing has impacted their lives and read from The Untold Story of the Real Me. Beacon House authors Najae, Jonae, and Temil read from their upcoming novel-in-stories, The Day Tajon Got Shot, a powerfully emotional and unflinching look at what happens to a community after a police-involved shooting.
Story Coach Sarai and Authors of Spanky the Pup: All Dogs Must Go: Abreona, Temil, Darrin, and Rochelle.
Illustration from Spanky the Pup: All Dogs Must Go.
Art by Evey Cahall, story by Darrin, Abreona, Rochelle, and Temil.
Our friends at the Children’s Book Guild of Washington DC, a collective of published authors, illustrators, and children’s literature specialists, have been shouting about our authors! Thanks so much to Karen Leggett Abouraya for writing on her blog “Pencil Tips" about the power of books like Spanky the Pup: All Dogs Must Go to inspire young writers to imagine themselves as authors and tell their own stories. Congrats to Reach Incorporated authors Rochelle, Temil, Abreona, and Darrin for creating such a meaningful and moving story. We are excited to see what Spanky inspires in other young writers!
Finally, we at Shout Mouse have been increasingly concerned by the recent rise in anti-immigrant and xenophobic discrimination, and we want to do something about it. We’re hard at work designing a new project allowing immigrants to speak for themselves and to champion the inclusive, compassionate, diverse America we believe in. Stay tuned for details, and thank you for your continued support!