Five storytellers shared stories of a journey to theGrand Canyon, a childhood cat,the start of a nonprofitand more,all with a theme of "love and heartbreak."
The Coachella Valley Storytellers Project, a storytelling event series by The Desert Sun with partner University of California Riverside–Palm Desert's low-residency MFA program, was attended by more than 200 people on Monday March 20, the largest sold-out event for the project in the desert.The series, which moves across the Coachella Valley, was held at UCR – Palm Desert, where attendees enjoyed refreshments in an auditoriumsetting.
Desert Sun columnist Denise Goolsby, as well as community members Maegan Carberry, Amie Fisher, A.E. Santana and Manny Sepulveda, told first-person stories around the theme of the night. They are all regular people, not professional storytellers, who werecoached to tell astory.
The series is dedicated to the idea that oral storytelling and journalism have the same goals: serving, reflecting and connecting a community while fostering empathy among those people. These nights blend the authenticity and hype-free discipline of storytelling as an art form with the truthfulness, community-building and empowerment that's at the heart of great journalism.
NOVEMBER 2017:Hear CV Storytellers Project 'Family' stories
MAY 2017:Hear CV Storytellers Project 'It seemed like a good idea at the time' stories
Be a teller at our upcoming events:
Tellers are being sought to share a true, first-person story around themes for the rest of the year. The exact date and location for each theme will be announced once confirmed.Email kristin.scharkey@desertsun.comfor information on how to get started or submit your story online here.
Each teller receives a minimum of three hours of training to develop their stories. Tellers begin working with the project coaches about two months before the event, but you may send an email for any of the themes anytime – the earlier, the better.
Here are detailed descriptions of each of the 2018 themes:
MAY 2018 – OBSESSION:An idea or thought that continually preoccupies a person's mind, with one question in mind: where did it lead you? A night of stories about discoveries, secrets and lies.
SEPTEMBER 2018 – I WAS WRONG:A mistake sometimes comes with lessons learned and silver linings. Sometimes it doesn’t. These are stories about the big and little moments that force you to grow up.
DECEMBER 2018 – RESOLUTIONS:Do you make them? Do you keep them? A new year on the horizon is time to reflect on the past, revelations and new beginnings. With 2019 on the horizon, reminisce in the past and look forward to the future.
Scroll down for more on individual tellers:
Maegan Carberry
Maegan Carberry is a social entrepreneur. She is known primarily for her work as a political commentator, activistand professor, as well as for her artistic pursuits as a novelist and fashion designer.
Maegan served as Arianna Huffington’s chief of staff, launched Variety’s Wilshire and Washington podcast about Hollywood and politics, and was the founding curator of Upworthy. She was an analyst for FOX Business and CNN, and taught courses at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.She is the author of the fiction bookDo I Have To Vote For Hillary Clinton?about the state of feminism during the 2016 presidential election.
Maegan moved to Palm Springs in 2015 to launchbirdbrain, a nonprofit clothing line for people impacted by sexual assault and PTSD. Birdbrain’s mission is to comfort rape victims and help others support them.
Amie Fisher
Amie is a world enthusiast and has traveled all around the world toexotic destinations such as Oman, India, Kenya, Antarcticaand Russia.Amie combines her travels with writing, photo journalingand interviewinglocals. Amie celebrated her last birthday in Bulgaria where she did somegreat shopping, and took a day trip to Macedonia where she visited agypsy ghetto.
Amie writes experimental poetry and short stories that are whimsical andsurreal in nature. Amie experiments with some of her writings bytranslating them into other languages using Google Translate and thenreversing the process back into English. Amie says the results can beilluminating and provocative.
Amie also enjoys making original fairy tale characters out of papier-mâché.Amie has been a feature artist at Cathedral City Library where sheheld workshops for children. Amie recently had a 13-piece sculpturestory of The Counter-bury Tales installed at Cathedral City Library.
Amie has a B.A. in Anthropology from California State University, Fullerton,and retired from the Internal Revenue Service after 21 years.She has been living in thedesert since 1992, and lives by the motto“Treateveryday as a holiday.”
Denise Goolsby
Born and raised in Southern California, Denise moved to the desert in 1996, where she owned and operated the Bee Charmer Inn, a 13-room boutique hotel in Palm Springs. During this time, she served as president of the Palm Springs Hotel & Hospitality Association, served on the Palm Springs Human Rights Commission and was appointed by Gov. Gray Davis to the Mt.San JacintoWinter Park Authority (Tram board). She received the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism’s Hall of Fame Award in 2002.
In 2003, after selling the hotel, she went to work forThe Desert Sunwhere she was a reporter – and most recently a columnist – before taking a job with the City of Palm Springs as Office of Neighborhoods Manager in the fall of 2016.She still writes occasional columns forThe Desert Sunand is most proud of the more than 400 stories she wrote – over a five-year period – profiling local World War II veterans. Those veterans included baseball Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, legendary sportscaster Jack Whitaker, and Yankees catcher and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra.
Denise has a passion for history and has written painstakingly researched stories about the 90-year history ofThe Desert Sun; the nearly 100-years’ worth of solutions pitched for the shrinking Salton Sea; the history of College of the Desert; and the inequities of those who lived – and were later removed – from Section 14, one of the prime pieces of Palm Springs real estate.Her work has been recognized by the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Gannett Company and the Riverside County Historical Commission.
A.E. Santana
A.E. Santana is a Southern California native who writes horror, fantasyand science fiction. She received her bachelor’s degree in mass communications with a minor in script writing from California State University, San Bernardino.
She has taught fine art, theaterand writing at the middle school level. A.E. is part of the theater group, East Valley Rep, in Indioas one of its founding playwrights.
She is currently a managing editor and writes media content for a nonprofit organization. She has quite an affinity for cats.
A.E. can be found at aesantana.com,facebook.com/authoraesantana, and on Instagram and Twitter @foxflur.
Manny Sepulveda
Manny Sepulveda is best described as a man who works hard, laughs often and gets along withpeople.Born in Puerto Rico in 1945, the youngest of six children, his parents came to California,specifically east Los Angeles, when he was 8 years old.
He had a very simple and happy childhood. His biggest challenge was learning English.High school years were mostly uneventful but active. A member of student council, heplayed baseball and basketball, and was editor of the school paper his senior year. His education did not go past high school.
Drafted into the Army in 1965, he served in the Strategic Communications Command South in Panamaand reached the rank of Sergeant.After various sales jobs, he went into the car business as a salesman. He stayed in the businessas a salesman, manager and trainer for 25 years.
In 2006, along with his wife, Toni, he moved full time to La Quinta and he turned to selling Real Estate.Now retired, he and his wife read, relax, travel,root for the Cubs and Dodgers, and love each other.
