Meet the SummerWrite Staff!
Kathleen Quinlan, SummerWrite Coordinator:
“My name is Kathleen Quinlan and I am the SummerWrite Coordinator. This is my second summer here at Writers & Books. I graduated from SUNY Geneseo in 2008 with a double major in history and political science. During the school year I work for Quad A for Kids at RCSD #34 as site supervisor for the after school program. I am originally from Long Island and have three younger brothers. I Irish Step Danced for 4 years in elementary school and middle school. I am currently reading A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay.”
Gaelyn Galbreath, Assistant SummerWrite Coordinator:
“After a year away from the W&B building, this summer I am glad to be back working as the “Community Assistant” for the SummerWrite program. This past May I graduated from Ithaca College with a major in Writing and a double minor in Drama and Script Writing. I write both fictional prose and in screenplay format for film and TV. One of my life goals is to adapt a novel by one of my favorite fantasy writers, Patricia A. McKillip, to film.”
Sally Bittner Bonn, Director of Youth Services
“I was a student in the first Writers & Books youth camp sometime in the mid 1980’s, before it was called SummerWrite. I then took a long hiatus from Writers & Books which included a rural high school experience, a theatre degree from Syracuse University, a semester in London, a month-long trip across the country, six years in San Diego, getting married in the desert, performing at the national poetry slam, tutoring Korean students, assistant teaching in a Montessori school, nannying, watching waves crash on the shore, missing the four seasons, and writing in coffee shops, among other enriching experiences. I finally landed back at Writers & Books in 2006. I now live in Brighton, am happily married, and am the proud mother of three-year old Oscar.”
David Bates, Urban Fellow:
“Hi! My name is David Bates and I am the Urban Fellow at Writers & Books this summer. I am also a rising junior at the University of Rochester where I am majoring in literature. My academic interests include American literature and history, 18th century British Romantic poetry, and Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. Also, Toni Morrison rocks my socks and I keep on waiting for the day when I will receive my acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (I think the owl got lost when it was supposed to deliver the letter to me when I was eleven). I love running, playing the piano, and of course, reading. I also like long walks on the beach, dancing in the rain, and anything else that is corny or cliché.”
Anait Tamanian, AmeriCorps VISTA Rochester Youth Year Fellow:
Hi, my name is Anait Tamanian and I’m the AmeriCorps VISTA Rochester Youth Year Fellow at Writers & Books. I’ve been a WABbie for almost a year now and already feel like a fixture in the building. I graduated from SUNY Geneseo in 2011 with a double degree in International Relations and Spanish. As my year with AmeriCorps comes to a close, I’ve got my eyes wide open for opportunities. Fun fact? I got run over by an SUV and didn’t break anything.
Kaitlyn Tiffany, Intern:
“This is my first summer at Writers & Books and I am excited to be helping Sally as an intern with the SummerWrite program. I attended Bloomfield High School and I just finished my first year at Cornell University studying Communications with minors in English and Development Sociology. My favorite book is It Chooses You by Miranda July, but my favorite classic is The Great Gatsby and I fully intend to spend Christmas Day this year at the theater watching Leo take on the role. Interesting fact: I have seen every episode of Gilmore Girls at least seven times.”
Ellie Krasner, Apprentice:
“Hi! My name is Ellie Krasner and I have recently graduated from Brighton High School. My hobbies are playing the violin, dancing, writing, going for walks, and doing other music-related activities. Music has consumed my life since forever, and I have recently graduated from the Eastman Community Music School with a diploma in violin performance. I have a younger sister, an older brother, a dog who we all refer to as “Frog” and a goldfish. I love reptiles, especially lizards, and one of my favorite foods is salsa; people think I am strange because I sometimes eat it straight from the jar. Next year, I will be studying at Binghamton University and hope to major in English and minor in music. “
Emma Lynge, Apprentice:
“I’m super excited to be back at Writers & Books SummerWrite program for a third year. I’ve been busily working on a bunch of different creative projects over the past year, and I’m psyched to share what I’ve learned with the kids. I’m a rising sophomore at Goucher College and I enjoy taking long walks in the field with my dog.”
Patrick Gear, Apprentice:
“Hello there! I’m Patrick Gear; I’m an English major at Nazareth college, and I’m currently helping out Writers & Books as an apprentice. I’m the one with a beard. These days I’m trying to remember that writing can be fun when you’re not working on 20 page dissertations on Proust. I mostly write horror and surreal pseudo-philosophical postmodern things that look like stories for children if you think about them just right. Other than that, I love video games and movies and books and music and run on sentences and climbing things and sandwiches. I am also afraid of fish, but don’t tell anybody.”
Zuraya Long, Apprentice:
“My name is Zuraya Long and I am a Summerwrite apprentice. I go to Aquinas Institute and will be finishing my high school career there as the Class of 2013. I have always been interested in liberal arts including journalism and fine arts. I attended North Country boarding school in Lake Placid and that was where my interest in writing sparked! I am a year round dancer at 25 North Dance Academy among being a part of student government and Women’s leadership at Aquinas. I have volunteered at the Memorial Art Gallery where I worked with children on their art skills and loved it almost as much as I love working with children at Summerwrite to help children improve and grow creatively, mentally, and socially!“
Myles Osborne, Apprentice:
“Hey there y’all, I’m Myles and this summer I’m excited to be joining the SummerWrite team as an apprentice. During the school year, I study Rhetoric and Media Studies out at UC Berkeley— yes, it sounds like a lot of jargon to me, too. However, with my education, I aim to enhance the intersections between creative storytelling and the broader public through civic and commercial programs. My aspirations have led me to the wonderful opportunities that Writers & Books offers here in the Rochester metro. Naturally, my free time is dominated by my passion for the narrative arts— I read, I write, I attend films and plays, and, as an avid traveller (I’m writing this blurb in a wooden hut a few latitude lines south of Santiago, Chile) I’m always searching for novel forms of art to experience and share.”
Megan Steron, Apprentice:
“Hi there, Megan the Apprentice here! I’m so excited to learn with everyone at Writers & Books this summer. I just finished my first year studying Speech Pathology and English Writing—I consider myself a “storytelling” major— at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. I love exploring storytelling in different forms: improv, playwriting, acting, music and funny bumper stickers. Fun facts about me: I was homeschooled for ten years and my favorite book of all time is The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. “
Katarina O’Dette, Apprentice:
“I’m Katarina O’Dette and this will be my third year as an apprentice at Writers & Books. I graduated from Brighton High School two years ago and am now at the University of Southern California studying screenwriting and palm trees. I also have a minor in folklore because I’m kind of a massive nerd. My favorite writers are Joss Whedon, Jane Austen, J.K. Rowling and David Sedaris. I hope to write for television, so I love nothing better than “researching” by curling up with a good episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Good Wife, Fawlty Towers or Dead Like Me. I will be blissfully happy if I get to spend the rest of my life releasing the stories trapped in my head. I love traveling, listening to music, eating obscene amounts of chocolate, and being as unnecessarily sarcastic as possible.”
Melyssa Hall, Apprentice:
“Why hello everyone! My name is Melyssa and I’m so happy you’re here! Working as an apprentice with the SummerWrite program has already proven itself to be an amazing opportunity for me and I couldn’t be more grateful. When I’m not at Writers & Books, I’m living in sunny, summertime Geneseo where I go to school and study English and Theatre. For a while I thought I might want to teach, but there is so much going on in Rochester creatively that, when I graduate next year, I hope to get involved with some of the truly amazing souls working and making art in our lovely little city. In addition to my apprenticeship, I bartend in Geneseo at a local restaurant. As I’m sure most of you all do, I read voraciously and love to write. I also love acting and directing and had the privilege to assistant direct a play at my school last semester. I’m so happy that Writers & Books and the SummerWrite program exist because I think it’s unbelievably important to look around this world of ours and find things to love in it, pursue those loves, and share them using the methods that suit us best. I hope that those who come to this program and want to write find the right words and the courage to share them.”
Katelyn Williams, Apprentice:
“Hi, my name is Katelyn Williams and I am a SummerWrite Apprentice! I was born in Texas, but I’ve lived in the Rochester area for most of my life and I love it here. Currently, I go to Monroe Community College but I hope to eventually go to SUNY Brockport and major in English. I love writing and reading. My favorite book genres are definitely mystery, fantasy, and adventure. Right now I’m working on finishing a book that I’m going to publish, and it is such an awesome experience!“
Abby Johnson, Apprentice:
“I’m Abby Johnson and I’m thrilled to be starting my second summer as an apprentice at Writers & Books. I’m a rising senior at Pittsford Sutherland High School and fortunate enough to be one of my high school literary magazine editors. I hope to major in creative writing, English or history. When not at Writers & Books I can be found at Barnes and Noble, watching Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix, walking my dogs on the canal, babysitting, and trying to find more interviews with Lena Dunham. Some of my favorite authors include Curtis Sittenfeld, Jodi Picoult, and of course JK Rowling. I can’t wait to get to know everyone this summer!”
