Write Wisdom: Our Philosophy and Who We Are


...writing your life story
		Writing Your Memoir/Life Story Editing an Existing Manuscript Coaching Printing & Publishing

	OUR PHILOSOPHY & WHO WE ARE Write Wisdom, Inc. was established by Loren Stephens to provide support and guidance for anyone interested in writing their memoir or life story. It is our belief that every life is unique; that every person has a right to express what is inside their head and inside their heart, but not everyone has the self-confidence or discipline to accomplish this task without the help of a professional coach, editor or writer. Your memoir may not be headed for the best-seller list, but it will find willing and appreciative readers who want to know about your life. Write Wisdom, Inc. can help you fashion a readable, compelling, entertaining, and moving memoir through an organized process that will take you from a desire to tell your story to a completed manuscript and published book. You may want to write a memoir of your entire life; a slice of your life story (your teenage years); a memoir about a particularly challenging time in your life (loss of a loved one, battling an illness; a bitter divorce); a dangerous or unusual adventure (living in the jungles of Brazil; kayaking across Lake Michigan); or embarking upon a unique career (the only woman in the Boardroom). Whatever the idea, we will help you focus your story, give you ways to overcome your creative blocks, and make sure that you cross the writing finish line. Loren Stephens is president of Write Wisdom, Inc., and Provenance Press which she founded 6 years ago. She began her career as an editor at Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company. For 7 years, she worked for a mortgage and investment-banking firm in Boston. Loren’s love for the theater and books led her to Los Angeles where she established a theater and film production company, producing over 30 plays including “Hannah Senesh,” “The Normal Heart” and “To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday.” Loren also served as executive producer for the Emmy nominated PBS documentary, “Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist,” narrated by Burt Lancaster; the bilingual documentary, “Los Pastores: The Shepherd’s Play,” for KCET/Los Angeles; and the docudrama, “Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman?” starring Julie Harris and Roscoe Lee Browne. Her productions garnered Golden Apple and Cine Gold Eagle awards. Loren’s personal essays and short stories have been accepted for publication in numerous literary journals and newspapers including: the Los Angeles Times; the Chicago Tribune; Oracle Fine Arts Review; Tapestries; Jewish Women’s Literary Annual; MacGuffin; Distillery; The Hudson Group of Newspapers; Pig Iron Press; The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles; St. Louis Jewish Light; The Write Room; the anthology, Thanksgiving Tales; and Eclectica Magazine. Loren is on the advisory editorial board of Memoir (and). Loren is a graduate of Cornell University with degrees in English Literature and Government, and a masters degree from the School of International Affairs and Public Policy at Columbia University. Oakley Brooks is a science and environment journalist whose work has appeared in news outlets around the world, including The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Far East Economic Review, ESPN The Magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, Portland Monthly and Oregon Business. He's a contributing editor at Nature Conservancy magazine. In 2009-2010, he was writer-in-residence at the Earth Observatory of Singapore, where he wrote a book about the challenge of Sumatrans adapting to tsunami threats. The work was published in Asia as Tsunami Alert: Beating Asia's Next Big One. He's currently updating the book for publication in North America. Previously, he spent four years as an editor at Oregon Business magazine. He was also a feature writer and city beat reporter for Saratoga News and Los Gatos Weekly-Times in northern California. He's a 1999 graduate of Princeton University, where he majored in history, with a minor in African Studies and education. Jan Zahler Lebow is a Los Angeles-based journalist, essayist and poet. Her articles, interviews and essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The Daily News, The Beat, The View From Fez, Blogspot and SunJet Magazine. Her poetry has been published in Tryst, Green Tricycle and Lightning Bell Journal. She currently serves as an op/ed editor for a political think tank, Community Advocates. Jan received both her B.A and M.A. in history from UCLA. She is also a formally trained spiritual director, receiving her certificate from Loyola Marymount University and the Center for Spiritual Development in Orange, California. In keeping with her belief in giving back to the community, Jan has completed the California AIDS Ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and the Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk from Santa Barbara to Malibu. Betsy Rosenthal is a published author and editor. Her many essays have appeared in newspapers and magazine including the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, Mothering magazine, The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, The Christian Science Monitor, California Monthly Magazine, and Working Writer. She is also the author of children's books: My House Is Singing; It's Not Worth Making a Tzimmes Over!; and her latest book, Which Shoes Would You Choose. Her first novel, Looking for Me in This Great Big Family, will be published by Houghton Mifflin in Spring 2012. Betsy was formerly the Western States Counsel for the Anti-Defamation League, a position she left in order to raise her three children and concentrate on her writing. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and her law degree from UCLA. For more details about her books you can visit Betsy at www.BetsyRosenthal.com. Elizabeth Lopez, editor and story analyst, attended Vassar College, majoring in English Literature. She was a screenwriting fellow of the Los Angeles Latino Film Festival. She started her writing career as a story analyst for talent managers and production companies including Vincent Cirrincione & Associates and The Little Company, and she has served as vice president of literary development at Marilyn Atlas Talent Management. Her editing credits include two young adult novels published by Harper Collins. Elizabeth's articles have been published in entertainment-oriented magazines, including The Writer's Store E-Zine, and she has worked as a speech writer for Rob Reiner's First Five California Foundation and Union Bank. [BACK TO TOP]