Strategic Storyteller & Literary Host
There’s something exciting brewing in Alaska. While it’s not the first state you think of when specialty coffee comes to mind, the Last Frontier is not to be overlooked. The coffee culture of the Pacific Northwest made its way to Alaska in a big way.
The specialty coffee scene has spread from small coffee carts to cafes featuring locally roasted beans with bold flavor. Whether you’re in-state, or looking to try a new coffee at home, here are a few Alaskan specialty roasters to check out.
14th Annual Celebration of the Literary Arts in Baltimore
A Full Day of Free Activities! Get more info here.
Saturday, April 29
10 am – 4 pm
University of Baltimore
William H. Thumel Sr. Business Center 11 W. Mount Royal Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21201
Featuring Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie *
Appearing at the John and Frances Angelos Law Center
Other artists, sessions and activities include:
…and more!
I’m hosting a panel:
Raising Our Voices: Womanist & Feminist Writers Speak
Andria Nacina Cole, Elizabeth Hazen, Hannah Sawyerr and Bilphena Yahwon, moderated by Willona Sloan
A reading and panel discussion featuring powerful womanist and feminist writers who will address issues of cultural identity, healing and self-love, and discuss their efforts to empower young women and girls in our community.
For more info or to register for a Critique Session or the Master Class, visit http://www.citylitproject.org
* Advance Registration Requested for Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Free Tickets available on CityLit site and Eventbrite. General Seating. First come, first serve.
In this guest post author Tracee Lydia Garner shares her best tips for new writers looking to get published.
It’s NEVER too early to start building your following.
I know you have absolutely nothing to promote. That’s not quite true, at the end of the day all writers and authors alike enjoy learning about the journey and process. Because while our journeys are different, our goals are similar. By opening yourself and sharing even your basic writing journal entries, you can start to create a group of people that are just curious about how everyone is making their unique way “in”. YOU are the ultimate product and you can start to share your message through blogging, vlogging, and writing articles for other places. Start to build a following now and it won’t seem so daunting when you finally publish.
Continue reading “Newbie Writer? Fake It Till You…Learn More”
Are you the type of person who only drinks coffee as a matter of sheer survival, or do you enjoy the ritual of brewing a fresh pot? Do you want coffee brewing while you sleep or do you schedule 30 minutes for grinding, brewing, sipping and savoring as part of your morning routine?
We’re not here to judge. Whatever your coffee personality, there’s a brew method (or two) just for you. Brewing at home is a great way to save money and avoid coffee line rage. Whether you’re a down and dirty coffee drinker or you’re just sick of getting to work late every morning because of your coffee obsession, it might be time to shake up your routine. Here are 12 ways to brew coffee at home, based on your personality type.
This article looks at the challenges and benefits for coffee shops and roasters that want to host public education programs to boost customers’ coffee knowledge.
At Counter Culture Coffee, education is an integral part of business. The Durham, North Carolina–based company has wholesale partners across the country, but no cafés of their own; providing resources to ensure proper brewing by clients and customers is critical to their growth and success.
The company’s Counter Intelligence Professional Development series caters to clients and staff, but they wanted an educational offering for curious customers, too. To reach casual coffee enthusiasts, the company began opening their training centers to the public.
For several years, Counter Culture has hosted coffee tastings open to the public every Friday morning at its eleven regional training centers. These cuppings, dubbed “Tastings at Ten,” provide an opportunity for outreach, consumer education, and product storytelling. Attendees learn more about coffee origins and have a platform to discuss various coffees with staff as they taste.
Counter Culture developed courses catering to coffee consumers in response to growing demand from home baristas. In the past, the public could join coffee pros in the same training classes, but the mix of enthusiasts and professionals just didn’t work. Wholesale clients had difficulty getting into classes, and it was clear that most home baristas didn’t have the same learning needs as professionals, or those with professional-grade equipment in their homes.
The only consistent rule with social media is that it’s always going to change. Even tried-and-true brands like Facebook continue to evolve. Here are some exciting new social media trends and tools that can help your business stay socially relevant.
1. Live Video Streams
Facebook Live, the live-stream, real-time video feature, offers an excellent way to take your engagement up a notch. Use it for live events like performances or speaker presentations; host a townhall and instantly respond to questions online; or give viewers a behind-the-scenes tour. Facebook Live is also great for demos, workshops, and man-on-the-street interviews. You can go live for up to 90-minutes. Get tips for going Live here.
Dillanos Coffee Roasters from Sumner, Washington, is taking specialty coffee to a new level. Dillanos offers well-rounded blends and special seasonal offerings from small farms in Africa and Latin America. The DCR line is a well-curated menu of coffees that include limited release micro-lots and single origins that are meant to be ground and consumed as soon as they arrive in the mail. They’re that fresh.
Engaging stories can help to connect people to your company. Through your stories, you can establish trust. People can learn what your company values and how you do business. In today’s marketplace, the most successful companies are the ones that create a brand image that their customers can identify with and relate to directly.
Whether your organization is new to storytelling or if you want to take it to the next level, here are some tips for creating a winning strategy:
1. Look at what you’re already doing. Analyze your various content channels. Where is your company’s content being disseminated and how often? Are you telling stories on any of your content channels? Is anyone clicking through to read them? Look at what’s working and expand on those positive results.
If you have stories posted that no one is reading, take the time to analyze the content. Are you sharing engaging and emotionally-resonant stories? Are you sharing new information? Are you motivating and inspiring the reader with content that they might want to act on or share?
Read the full blog post here.
RAWI (The Radius of Arab American Writers) is sponsoring a one-day workshop in Washington, DC. As part of a series of workshops held in different cities, the In Solidarity: RAWI Creative Writing Workshop is designed for Arab-and Muslim-American writers, writers of color, and writers from any marginalized communities.
This personal essay workshop will focus on the theme of writing about racial and cultural identity. Through a combination of reading, discussion and guided writing exercises, we will explore issues of discrimination and assimilation, while also celebrating our unique racial and cultural identities. Readings will include texts by Elmaz Abinader, Joseph Boyden and Toni Morrison. We will discuss strategies for writing a moving personal essay and develop new writing in-class. Open to writers of all levels.
I’m teaching six writing workshops at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in connection to groundbreaking media arts exhibition, Bill Viola: The Moving Portrait. We will use videos, images, and installations to generate creative writing.
video still: The Raft / Bill Viola Color / Bill Viola Studio
There are two of the same workshops per session. So, you can come to all three sessions!
Continue reading “Strike a Prose: Writing Workshops at the Portrait Gallery”
Willona M. Sloan 