Writing Seminar for Post-9/11 Gold Star Children and Siblings
Lucky Spur Ranch
Justin, TX
May 8-12, 2023
Application Period Now Closed
Eligibility Requirements
Eligible applicants will be between the ages of 18 and 35 at the time of the event, May 8th through the 12th, 2023.
The seminar is designed to help Gold Star Children and Siblings share their stories of resilience and sacrifice. Eligible applicants will have lost a parent, legal guardian, or sibling serving on active duty after Sept. 11, 2001. The children and siblings of service members who died in combat, by suicide, from illness, and during training accidents are encouraged to apply.
At this time, we are able to support travel for applicants originating from a CONUS location. If you are an otherwise qualified candidate, please reach out at randee.howard@thewarhorse.org to see if special dispensation can be arranged for OCONUS travel.
Applications will be accepted up until 11:59 PM EST on March 15, 2023. Applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered.
Program Expectations
Pre-Seminar Virtual Attendance Dates
Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 4PM EST (Virtual Session 1)
Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 4PM EST (Virtual Session 2)
Optional Office Hours: May 1-5, 2023 as scheduled by fellows
Seminar In-Person Attendance Dates (Travel and accommodation costs covered by The War Horse)
Monday, May 8, 2023 – Friday, May 12, 2023
Selected fellows will be asked to work in advance, with guidance in the virtual sessions, to develop a rough draft of the story they’d like to tell. The goal will be for each fellow to leave the in-person seminar session with a piece they are proud to publish.
Meet the Mentors
The War Horse is proud to continue the tradition of bringing award-winning journalists, world-class editors, and industry professionals together to help mentor the next generation of military writers. While in session at the in-person seminar event, fellows will have access to instruction, mentorship, and support from these generous individuals intent on sharing their time and talent with our cohort. We will continue to update this list over the coming weeks.
David Chrisinger
Director of Writing Seminars
David Chrisinger is the director of writing seminars at The War Horse. To date, he has led five cohorts of veterans and military spouses to share their stories of service and resilience. He is also the executive director of the Harris Writing Workshop at the University of Chicago. Before joining Harris, David worked at the U.S. Government Accountability Office as a senior communications specialist. He is an award-winning author of many books, including The Soldier’s Truth, a forthcoming definitive biography of Ernie Pyle, America’s most famed combat correspondent. David is a graduate of the University of Chicago’s MA Program in the Social Sciences and the recipient of the 2022 George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language.
David Finkel
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist
David Finkel is a journalist and author who writes about the human effects of war and whose honors include a Pulitzer Prize and a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant. His book, The Good Soldiers, a bestselling account of a U.S. infantry battalion during the Iraq War “surge,” received multiple awards and was named by the New York Times as one of the ten best books of 2009. A sequel, Thank You For Your Service, chronicled the challenges faced by American soldiers and their families in war’s aftermath and was the basis for a feature-length movie produced by DreamWorks Pictures and released by Universal Pictures in 2017. A graduate of the University of Florida, Finkel has been a reporter and editor for the Washington Post since 1990.
Nina Rodríguez-Marty
Associate Editor
Nina Rodríguez-Marty joined Sentinel, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in 2019. She is most drawn to prescriptive and idea-driven nonfiction that speaks at the crossroads of work and life, in categories like business, self-help, behavioral science, entrepreneurship, and peak performance. She’s also fascinated by writers who can turn mainstream convention on its head with well-earned arguments or moving narratives. Among her authors are host of the Rationally Speaking podcast Julia Galef, leading sales expert Matthew Dixon, Silicon Valley user researcher Ximena Vengoechea, activist Elizabeth McLaughlin, former U.S. Air Force officer D.J. Vanas, and New York University professor Tessa West.
Chandler Wickers
Associate Agent
Chandler Wickers joined Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency in 2021 after an early career working in tech. She graduated from Washington and Lee University, where she played Division III soccer and earned a degree in English and Film, then going on to complete the Columbia University Publishing Course. She is interested in representing adult fiction and non-fiction. In fiction, she is drawn to voice-driven literary fiction with a strong sense of place, and novels featuring coming of age stories, family sagas, and dark humor. In non-fiction, she is interested in journalism that flows like a good novel, comprehensive histories, war reporting, and adventure stories. As a San Francisco native and Brooklyn transplant, she is keen on stories that intersect tech and pop culture, and narratives that demystify a subculture or reveal an underbelly. When she’s not reading, you can find her outside keeping pace with her running club, or in a theater mixing popcorn with peanut m&ms.
Dr. Pamela Wall
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner & Adjunct Professor
Pamela Wall, Ph.D., PMHNP is a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Master of Science in Nursing, Rush University with a Post Master’s Certificate as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, and from the University of Pennsylvania with a PhD.
Dr. Wall is a 20-year veteran of the United States Navy Nurse corps where she served in multiple different nursing roles to include inpatient and outpatient units and deployed and humanitarian missions. She was the first female nurse to be appointed as the Division Psychiatrist at 2nd Marine Division and worked as an advisor for mental health to the Commanding General of 2nd Marine Division and to the Chief Nursing Officer and Surgeon General of the Navy.
Kelly McHugh-Stewart
Gold Star Daughter, Writer, Editor, & Public Speaker
Kelly McHugh-Stewart is a writer, editor, and digital engagement specialist based out of New York City. Her reporting and personal essays have appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, CNN Opinion, and Sports Illustrated, among others. She’s also shared her story on national television with CNN, ABC News, and ESPN.
Along with her writing and speaking, she is actively involved with numerous Veteran Service Organizations and has worked alongside leadership at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), the Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund, Children of Fallen Patriots, Freedom Alliance, and VoteVets.
Kelly received her MFA in Creative Writing from The New School and holds a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from Kansas State University. She currently works as a Senior Writer and Strategist at New York University.
Sadia Heil
Senior Fellow
Sadia is an officer in the Air Force Reserve, an early childhood special educator, and an aspiring special education advocate. A first-generation American, she takes pride in her South Asian heritage and the sacrifices her parents made to start a life in the United States. She is a fierce proponent of inclusion for service members and individuals with disabilities.
Sadia has been published in The Lily by the Washington Post and The War Horse. She earned a master’s of military operational art and science and a master’s in special education from George Mason University. Sadia is a 2020 Tillman Scholar, a 2022 War Horse Fellow, a proud mother, and a Coast Guard spouse.
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