Taiia Smart Young
A Message from the Founder:
Hi, my name is Taiia Smart Young.
My friends call me T. Back in the day, my rap name was Lady T.
Confession: I was never ever (ever) a rapper, however, I envied that they were the ones with the mic telling stories with music. As they say, real recognizes real.
I’ve been a storyteller since the fifth grade and started earning a living at it when I snagged an editorial position at ESSENCE magazine after graduating from college. Since then I’ve had senior and executive editing roles at Latina, XXL and co-founded Juicy magazine with my soul friend. I even helped launch Red, the first digital magazine for multicultural teens available exclusively on the iPad.
I’m also the award-winning author of Famous! How to Be the Star of Your Show: A Teen’s Girl’s Guide to Embracing Her Fabulous Self. And I’ve published essays in several young adult (YA) books—because, just like Martin Payne told Gina: “I love the kids.” Oh, I love pop culture too! I’ve interviewed so many celebrities (including Taraji P. Henson, Rita Moreno, Nas, Niecy Nash, Chris Rock, Wendy Williams and others) that I would be fluent in star, if that were a language.
I’m obsessed with stories, specifically:
- Who’s telling ’em
- How they’re telling ’em
- Why they’re telling ’em
My sweet spots are:
- Guiding you out of StuckVille
- Coaching (and editing) newbie writers and aspiring authors
- Teaching you how to get published
I can’t teach you passion, but because you’re here, I know you already have 10 gallons of ice-cold creative juice just waiting to be poured.
Let me coach you and take your writing to the next level.
Together, we’ll write some damn good stories. #yeahwrite