About Emma Smith-Stevens

FACULTY

Emma Smith-Stevens is the author of a novel, The Australian (Dzanc Books). Her other writing includes essays, short stories, interviews, and humor pieces, which have been published widely online and in print. She holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Literature (Honors) from Bard College and a Master’s in Fine Arts in fiction writing from the University of Florida, where she began her teaching career. She has taught composition and rhetoric, literature, and fiction workshops, most recently as a faculty member of the Bard Prison Initiative, a rigorous four-year liberal arts college for incarcerated students. Emma has held editorial positions at several literary journals and works as a freelance manuscript consultant and writing coach, helping a diverse array of writers manifest their fullest potential on the page and leading them through the process of writing, editing, and publication. She brings all of these experiences and her passionate devotion to education to her work with students at JCT4Education.
Emma cultivates a deep sensitivity and understanding of each student’s needs as guides them through brainstorming, drafting, structuring, and polishing their writing. She strongly believes that there is no such thing as a “silly question,” and is highly available to her students should they have questions or concerns, and to offer support with discovering inspiration or focus for their writing. She appreciates that each student has a unique learning style, approach to communication, comfort level with essay writing, and other factors that shape the customized mentorship she provides. Through conversation, finding opportunities for “teachable moments,” and editorial guidance, she works with students to make a concrete plan for writing their application essays that showcases students’ strengths, explores areas of curiosity and inspiration, and offers constructive feedback and wisdom that enhances students’ ability to write effectively, concisely, and with a clear and highly developed focus–ultimately leaving them with both stellar college application essays and skills that will continue to serve them in college and beyond. 
Emma is from New York City and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Emma Smith-Stevens|JCT4Education

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