Story Summit Launches Writing and Marketing Program Featuring Dr. Elayna Fernandez and Other Industry Experts

Story Summit launches a writing and marketing program featuring Dr. Elayna Fernández and other industry experts to help creatives establish a compelling brand.

FORT WORTH, TX, UNITED STATES, February 18, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Story Summit, a premier community for creatives, is proud to announce its exciting new program, 10 Ways to Present Yourself to the World. Designed for writers, entrepreneurs, and anyone looking to establish a compelling personal brand, this immersive experience provides actionable strategies to help individuals share their stories confidently and clearly.

Story Summit has long been a trusted hub for creatives seeking mentorship, networking, and growth opportunities. This latest program continues its mission of fostering a thriving community where storytelling is both an art and a powerful tool for connection.

The event features industry giants such as Michael Jamin, Dena Blizzard, Debra Engle, Julie Cantrel, and Dr. Elayna Fernandez.

Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Dr. Elayna Fernández has been an influential Storyteller and Story Strategist for over 20 years. As a multiple-trauma survivor, she is the Founder and CEO of thePositiveMOM.com blog. Over the past 20 years, her award-winning platform has collaborated with over 600 brands and has inspired millions of moms in over 160 countries, helping them transform their trauma so they can break cycles, find peace, and feel whole.

“I’m honored to be an instructor in such a stellar program and contribute to this exclusive Story Summit program,” she expressed about being a guest Story Summit faculty member.

Story Summit designed the program “for writers at all stages of their careers who want to build their personal brand, enhance their professional skills, and learn how to present themselves authentically and effectively to the world. Whether you’re an aspiring author, a seasoned writer, or someone navigating the publishing or entertainment industry, this course offers valuable insights and tools.”

Some of the benefits of the 10 Ways to Present Yourself to the World program are:

* Proven strategies to enhance a writer’s personal brand and storytelling impact
* Expert guidance on refining a writer’s message and presentation skills
* Insider insights on navigating digital platforms and media opportunities for writers
* Practical exercises to boost a writer’s confidence and authenticity
...and more!

Writers, creatives, and entrepreneurs will learn practical skills to:

* Build and showcase their writing portfolio.
* Increase their online visibility and discoverability as writers
* Enhance their confidence in interviews and virtual meetings with potential literary agents and book publishers
* Connect authentically with the audience for their upcoming books and works
* Position themselves as a professional in the writing and publishing world.

In today’s digital landscape, how you present yourself can make all the difference. The writing and publishing industry experts featured in 10 Ways to Present Yourself to the World will empower participants with essential tools to refine their presence, communicate their message effectively, and connect authentically with audiences worldwide.

"Join the world's best writers and make your writing dreams come true," said David Paul Kirkpatrick, Founder of Story Summit, Former president of Paramount Pictures, and production chief at Walt Disney Pictures. Whether you're an author, a business leader, or a creative professional, this program provides invaluable techniques to elevate your personal and professional presence.

The topics and instructors for this Story Summit program are:

1. Let's go viral: Optimize Your Online Presence with Simple, Effective Strategies, with ​Suzanne Minarcine

2. Let's get real: Authenticity in Action—Presenting Your True Self Online and Beyond, with Julie Barton

3. Let's Write: Mastering Your Work Ethic—A Whistle-While-You-Work Approach, with Michael Jamin

4. Let’s get noticed: Crafting a Winning Portfolio—Elevate Your Credibility and SEO, with Sarah Paulk

5. Let's wiki: Your Wikipedia Playbook—Build Your Brand and Boost Your SEO, with Arjun Mehra

6. Let's get an agent: Through an Agent’s Eyes—Becoming a Standout, Marketable Client, with Kristy Cambron

7. Let's pitch: Pitching with Authentic Purpose: A Fun and Practical Guide, with Dena Blizzard

​8. Let's reset: How to Reinvent Yourself While Remaining Authentic, with Maggie Dallen

9. Let's go big: From Blog to Global Impact—Turning Small Beginnings into Big Opportunities, with Dr. Elayna Fernandez

10. Let's seal the deal: Before and After the Book Deal—Navigating Every Stage of Your Writing Career, with Courtney Maum

In addition to the main training events, participants receive a bonus 11th workshop: How to Create Your Author Website in 3 Hours, when they register for the entire series bundle.

Registration for 10 Ways to Present Yourself to the World is now open. Secure your spot today and take the first step toward presenting yourself with confidence, purpose, and authenticity.

For more information and to register, visit www.storysummit.us/10-ways-to-present-yourself-to-the-world and use code Elayna to receive a $25 discount.

About Story Summit:
Story Summit’s mission is to build community and connection among students and faculty while delivering world-class instruction in the art and craft of writing.

About Dr. Elayna Fernandez
Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for her commitment to empowering people to break cycles, find peace, and feel whole, Dr. Elayna Fernández has been an influential Storyteller and Story Strategist for over 20 years. As a Student of Pain and multiple-trauma survivor, she has spoken on prestigious stages worldwide, including TEDx and the United Nations. She's the bestselling author of Dancing with Death and The Gifts of Pain series.

Dr. Elayna’s work has been featured in global media, including FORBES, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, SUCCESS Magazine, Inc., Authority Magazine, KTLA, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, Yahoo!, CNN en Español, the CW, Real Leaders, Entrepreneur on Fire, Reader’s Digest, The Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, Univision, Thrive Global, Telemundo, LATINA, Good Morning America, BRAINZ Magazine, Despierta America, Disney, Hulu, and more! She’s a contributing writer for Entrepreneur.com. She’s also been named one of the Top Latina Influencers in the USA and named one of the Top 125 Impactful Leaders and a Woman of Influence by SUCCESS Magazine.

To learn more, visit thepositivemom.com/ef, connect on LinkedIn, and follow her @thepositivemom.

About Debra Engle
Deb is the #1 bestselling author of "The Only Little Prayer You Need," featuring a foreword by the Dalai Lama. In addition, she’s written three other books of nonfiction and a novel, "Twenty," and is a two-time winner of the Nautilus Award, honoring better books for a better world.
Deb holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction. She has worked as the Creative Manager for The Des Moines Register; feature writer and book and magazine editor for Meredith Publishing; publications project manager for Fortune 500 companies; and owner of her own editing and mentoring company.

About Julie Cantrell
Julie Cantrell is a multiple award-winning, New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author, editor, story coach, TEDx speaker, and ghostwriter. She served as editor-in-chief of the Southern Literary Review and has received the Mississippi Arts Commission Literary Arts Fellowship, the Rivendell Writer’s Colony Mary Elizabeth Nelson Fellowship, and the Pat Conroy Writer’s Residency Fellowship.

Her novels have earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and have been featured in Top Reads lists by LitHub, Redbook, Southern Living Magazine, REAL SIMPLE, BookBub, HuffPost, USA TODAY, and more. As a novelist, she’s received two Christy Awards, two Carol Awards, and the Mississippi Library Association Fiction Award. She was named a short-list finalist twice for the Mississippi Arts & Letters Fiction Award as well as a two-time short-list finalist for the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize.

In addition to her work with survivors of abuse and her service as a literacy advocate, she’s a member of the Tall Poppy Writers and Her Novel Collective, two organizations that promote the power of story and elevate female voices.

Prior to launching Life 2.0, she helped run her family’s small-scale sustainable farm, where she milked goats, raised sheep, boarded horses, gathered eggs, and harvested fresh honey, herbs, flowers, vegetables, and fruit. As a certified speech-language pathologist, she worked many years in the Mississippi public schools as an SLP, ELL teacher, and reading interventionist.

With published works across a diverse range of genres and numerous languages, Julie currently writes, coaches, and edits fulltime from her home in Houston, Texas where she finds great pleasure in helping to shepherd other people’s stories to shelves.

About Michael Jamin
Michael Jamin has been writing for television since 1996. His many credits include Just Shoot Me, King of the Hill, Beavis & Butthead, Wilfred, Out of Practice, Rules of Engagement, Lopez and Tacoma FD. He’s also served as Executive Producer/Showrunner on Glenn Martin DDS, Maron, and Rhett & Link’s Buddy System. Michael currently lives in Los Angeles where he continues to work in TV and is the author of his bestselling collection of personal essays, A Paper Orchestra. He tours with it as a one-man show.

About Dena Blizzard
Dena Blizzard is a comedian, mother of three and creator of “One Funny Mother”, a multi-media company creating content, products and live comedy shows about “Wine, Women and Laughter”.

Dena is widely known for her viral videos…the “Back to School Rant” and “Chardonnay Go” and her daily morning show on FB Live “One Funny Morning” and “Tipsy Tuesday”, with 25K daily viewers.

Dena has toured her Off-Broadway show, “One Funny Mother” and “My name is NOT Mom”, which toured 75 cities throughout North America through November 2022.

Dena hosted with Anderson Cooper, performed at the United Nations, served as Grand Marshal of “Chardonnay Day” in Chardonnay, France and was the Official Preliminary Host of the Miss America Pageant for ten years! Join us for our next OFM Trip and check out OFM swag at our store!

About Suzanne Minarcine
Suzanne was born an entrepreneur, inspired by her father, a pioneer in the plastics industry, and her grandfather, a farmer and newspaperman. She quickly decided she was not cut out for farm life, and when she was asked to audition for a paid organist position at a local church, she turned music into her first business.

She began her flying lessons at age 15 and, on her 18th birthday, was licensed as a commercial pilot and flight instructor, but no one was hiring women.

After considerable mischief and wanderings down different paths, she became a Registered Nurse. Suzanne was in the right place at the right time for opportunity and published a book for medical professionals in 1992 that allowed her to retire from health care at age 43.

She founded a flight school that grew rapidly. After two years, with 129 aircraft and two locations, Suzanne sold the businesses and went to work for Netjets Aviation. But she wasn’t done. A hospice, a home care company, a doctorate, and most importantly, a happy marriage were still ahead of her.

Suzanne’s broad and varied careers have been driven by her avid sense of adventure and her joy in helping people achieve their goals. Through The Minarcine Group, Suzanne has brought together a group of highly skilled professionals who share her passion for helping others achieve their goals.

About Julie Barton
Julie is the New York Times bestselling author of "Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me From Myself."
She has been published in "Brain Child Magazine" and "The Huffington Post," and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

About Sarah Paulk
Sarah Paulk is a professional writer, editor and collaborative author. After graduating from Abilene Christian University in 2004, with a degree from the department of Journalism and Mass Communication, she became a regular contributor to nationally distributed magazines, and has been featured in supplements to The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Sarah has ghostwritten for a New York Times bestselling author and was a contributing author to the book The YouEconomy: Join the Movement that Is Changing the Way We Work and Live. Sarah lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband, Brock, and their two children.

About Arjun Mehra
Based in bustling Mumbai, Arjun Mehra is a sought-after digital content creator with a talent for crafting compelling narratives that resonate globally. A graduate with honors from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Arjun combines technical expertise with a deep passion for storytelling to elevate brands, businesses, and individuals in the digital age.

Arjun’s impressive portfolio spans some of the world’s most prestigious publications, including Forbes, The New York Times, CNN, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, The Economist, Bloomberg, The Times of India, and The Guardian. His work ranges from high-impact feature articles to data-driven digital strategies, positioning him as a thought leader in content creation and branding.

A frequent collaborator with industry leaders, Arjun thrives on helping others shine. Whether building personal brands or empowering writers to navigate the digital landscape, his mission is clear: to create content that informs, inspires, and ignites change.

When he’s not immersed in the world of content creation, Arjun enjoys exploring Mumbai’s vibrant culture, staying on top of emerging digital trends, and mentoring aspiring creators in the art of impactful storytelling.

About Kristy Cambron
Kristy Cambron is an award-winning author of bestselling historical fiction and nonfiction titles, as well as a literary agent leveraging more than a decade of experience in publishing for her fiction and nonfiction clients. Her work has been featured in national publications such as Publishers Weekly, Once Upon a Book Club Box, Frolic, Book Club Girl, BookBub, and Country Woman Magazine, and was named to Cosmopolitan's Best Historical Fiction Novels of 2021.

An experienced keynote speaker at national conferences and events, Kristy spent fifteen years in education and leadership development for a Fortune 100 corporation, partnering with such companies as the Disney Institute, IBM/Kenexa, and Gallup before stepping away to pursue her passion for publishing. She has a background in art and design, with an undergraduate degree in art history and research writing. You can find Kristy at home in the Hoosier state where she enjoys hiking, watching football with her husband and three sons, and dreaming of Paris while reading and writing in her favorite local coffee shops.

About Maggie Dallen
Maggie Dallen is a big city girl living in Montana. She's written more than a hundred romantic comedies in various subgenres, including young adult, historical, and contemporary. An unapologetic addict of all things romance, she loves to connect with fellow avid readers on Facebook, Instagram or at www.maggiedallen.com.

About Courtney Maum
Courtney is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking publishing guide that Vanity Fair recently named one of the ten best books for writers, BEFORE AND AFTER THE BOOK DEAL and the memoir THE YEAR OF THE HORSES, chosen by The Today Show as the best read for mental health awareness. A writing coach, director of the writing workshop “Turning Points,” and educator, Courtney's mission is to help people hold on to the joy of art-making in a culture obsessed with turning artists into brands. Passionate about literary citizenship, Courtney sits on the advisory councils of The Authors Guild and The Rumpus and runs a bestselling Substack about publishing that you can sign up for at CourtneyMaum.com where you’ll also find her online classes.

Elayna Fernandez
thePositiveMOM.com
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