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Pen Parentis Accountability Group Facilitators
What are Pen Parentis Accountability Groups?
Breakout sessions during Scribente Maternum events are ​​entirely for you. The purpose of the groups is to give moms time to be part of an intimate group of like-minded writers.
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What do the facilitators do?
Facilitators receive all of the same benefits as regular attendees, plus an additional one-hour training from Pen Parentis. They learn about the art of goal-setting, how to offer Pen Parentis-style encouragement, and what to do when a group member unwittingly hinders the group. Most importantly, facilitators learn how to hold space effectively for fellow writers.
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What are the facilitator requirements?
Facilitators must be of an inclusive mindset: able to embrace any/all of a diversity of writing projects within the group with equal enthusiasm and try to push the members to see their completion. Facilitators help keep their group on track, while also working on their own writing projects.
All Pen Parentis accountability group facilitators receive a discount on their retreat registration. We are also proud to feature all of our Pen Parentis accountability group facilitators here. If you are interested in receiving these additional facilitator benefits, please send us a message.
Meet Our Facilitators
Annie Bacon​
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Annie Bacon is a writer and songwriter whose widely available work has been recognized by the Independent Music Awards, the International Songwriting Competition and the Nashville Songwriters Association. She has released seven albums and EPs, of which Folk Radio UK says, "Annie Bacon’s storytelling is exceptional," and music critic Jeff Milo adds, "her poetry begins to paint cinematic pictures ... montages from any of our memories." She has also written a longform hybrid-poem in the form of a Folk Opera, and has bylines in SheShreds, KQED, and Metro Times Detroit as a music critic. She lives in Michigan with her family.
Lara Ehrlich​
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Lara’s work been published in literary magazines, including F(r)iction, Hunger Mountain, and StoryQuarterly, and has been recognized with many awards and fellowships; most recently, Animal Wife received Red Hen Press’s Fiction Award, judged by New York Times-bestselling author, Ann Hood, who called the collection “sensual and intelligent, with gorgeous prose.” Animal Wife, which launched in Sept 2020, has been praised as “remarkable” by Lit Hub, who said “the collection is a standout in a season full of amazing new releases.” Lara lives in Connecticut with her husband and daughter.
Laura Laughlin​
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As an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastor, Laura’s writing takes its most frequent form in sermons preached. She is passionate about preaching and teaching God’s Word in a way that relates and applies the Bible to everyday life. Laura delights in the challenge of writing sermons in a way that the words preach right from the page. Laura is also a writer of poetry, whose last two pieces are in the process of being published as hymns and choral anthems. Writing as a means of wrestling with and exploring faith is one of her greatest passions. Laura lives in Minnesota with her husband, David, son, Oliver, and border doodle, Emma
Julia ​Nusbaum
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Julia Nusbaum is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of HerStry, a literary magazine and writing community for women. She holds a masters degree in theology from Vanderbilt University and is constantly looking at the way narrative shapes our lives. Julia's work has been published in Windrose magazine, Pussy Magic magazine, Mothers Always Write, OBA, Hello Giggles, and the Feminine Collective, among others. When she is not writing, she's cooking her way through the New York Times cooking app and spending time with her partner and son. Julia lives with her family in Wisconsin.
Susan Weaver​
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Susan Weaver, veteran career shifter, has been a 3rd grade teacher, a private piano instructor, a licensed parent educator, a lay family minister and an ordained pastor. Now retired, she continues her lifelong love of putting thoughts into words through journaling and occasional blogging at pastorgrandma.com. With her pre-Covid writing group she explored poetry, non-fiction narrative and memoir. Mother-daughter relationships intrigue, frustrate and delight her and are featured often in her writing.