News about YPO, as well as posts and interviews featuring YPO graduates, instructors, and guest lecturers
Shay Kauwe is a Your Personal Odyssey graduate and a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) author from Hawaiʻi. She grew up on the Homestead in Waimānalo but moved to Russia because she fell in love with a boy. They now live on Oʻahu. Shay holds an M.Ed in Education and was Read more
Jeanne Cavelos is the director of the Odyssey Writing Workshops Charitable Trust. She was a senior editor at Bantam Doubleday Dell, where she worked for eight years, editing the fantasy/science fiction program, the Abyss horror line, and other fiction and nonfiction. Jeanne is also the bestselling author of seven books Read more
Barbara Ashford was a 2025 guest lecturer for the Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop. Barbara has been praised by reviewers and readers alike for her compelling characters and her “emotional, heartfelt” storytelling. Her background as a professional actress, lyricist, and librettist has helped her delve deeply into character and explore the Read more
Greg van Eekhout was a 2026 guest lecturer for the Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop. Greg is the author of eight middle-grade novels and four adult novels as well as many stories published in various magazines and anthologies. His work has been nominated for the Nebula Award, the Andre Norton Read more
Maggie Stiefvater was a 2026 guest lecturer for the Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop. Maggie is the New York Times bestselling author of The Listeners, The Raven Cycle, The Scorpio Races, and many others; her books have sold over five million copies around the world. She has also written novels, Read more
Jill Tew was a 2026 guest lecturer for the Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop. Jill is the award-winning, critically-acclaimed author of dystopian romance and middle grade novels that imagine Black girls in exciting new worlds. Her debut novel The Dividing Sky (2024) was a Top 10 Kids Indie Next Pick Read more
Shay Kauwe is a Your Personal Odyssey graduate and Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) author from the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi. She grew up on the Homestead in Waimānalo but moved to Russia because she fell in love with a boy. Shay holds an M.Ed in Education and was named Read more
Henry Lien was a 2025 guest lecturer for Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop. Henry is a graduate of Brown University, UCLA School of Law, and Clarion West Writers’ Workshop. He is the author of the Peasprout Chen fantasy series and the non-fiction book Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Read more
APPLICATIONS OPENEarly Action Deadline 2/20 Have you ever wished that you could attend your own private writing workshop that would teach you exactly what you need to know, at the right pace for you, and respond to your questions, problems, and needs in extensive one-on-one sessions? That’s what Your Personal Read more
Your Personal Odyssey instructor and Odyssey graduate E. C. Ambrose writes knowledge-inspired adventure fiction, including the five-volume Dark Apostle series about medieval surgery, The Singer’s Legacy fantasy series as Elaine Isaak, and the Bone Guard international thrillers as E. Chris Ambrose. The Dark Apostle started with Elisha Barber (DAW, 2013), Read more