Meet Me

Jesaka LongTeaching Young Voices
There’s nothing better than teaching young writers–whether it’s in person or online. I’ve been fortunate to connect with teens who are passionate about sharing their stories around the globe. Currently I teach creative writing classes and lead writing communities for Lighthouse Writers Workshop, The Loft Literary Center, Think 360 Arts for Learning, and Denver School of the Arts.

Upcoming Fall 2022 Classes:

  • You can find my Lighthouse Writers Workshop classes here.
  • Sign up for my online class Fiction Writing from the Inside Out at The Loft.

For one-on-one writing support info and rates, contact me.

Editing & Ghostwriting Services
I love working with writers of all ages to help them find or refine their voices and get their work ready to share with the world. I’ve worked on full-length books, subject-specific chapters, thought leadership papers, and more. Details will be added with an upcoming site update. Stay tuned or contact me for a project-specific estimate.

Writing Accolades 

  • Winner of the 2019 Flying Pig, Grade-A, Number-One Ham Humor Award and Scholarship at Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children & Young Adults MFA program
  • Finalist in the 2016 Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition
  • Finalist in the 2015 SeriesFest Storytellers Initiative Comedy Pilot Competition
  • Top 10% of the Drama category in the 2015 Austin Film Festival (AFF) Screenplay Competition
  • Top 10% of the Drama category in the 2014 Austin Film Festival (AFF) Screenplay Competition
  • Top 10% of the Comedy Category in the 2013 Austin Film Festival (AFF) Screenplay Competition
  • Semi-Finalist for the 2014 Bluecat Screenplay Competition
  • Featured Screenplay in the 2014 Portland Film Festival (one of four scripts)
  • Finalist for the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund for Nonfiction

Copywriting History
Although I focus more on teaching and editing work these days, my copywriting clients often singled me out for a human sound. I can take dense, often technical, information and distill it into text an actual person can understand—and even want to read. This skill landed me one of my all-time favorite projects: writing for the San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center. (A dream project for a theatre geek like me.) I got to sing the beauty of their event venues while also helping SFWMPAC detail specifications like lighting systems and fly space.

These two skills have elevated everything I’ve written, from copy for websites, email and social media campaigns, and SEO as well as white papers and industry publications to speeches and video scripts. And they’ve thrilled a range of clients, including:

  • Vail Resorts
  • Nordstrom
  • Starbucks
  • Intermec Technologies
  • Booyah Online Advertising
  • Microsoft
  • San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center
  • Prologis
  • AZDS Interactive Group (with end clients including Montage Hotels & Resorts; Shutters on the Beach; other luxury brands)
  • Van Hyest Group (with end client Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)
  • VOCO Creative (with end clients including Earth Balance; Madhava; Jolly Llama Sorbet Pops)
  • and many small businesses.