Introducing our new Writers’ Room Manager!
The 826 New Orleans team is excited to welcome and introduce our new Writers’ Room Manager, Lisa O’Neill. Read more about her below!
First & Last Name: Lisa O’Neill
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Job Title: Writers’ Room Manager
Hometown: New Orleans
What brought you to 826 New Orleans?
A lifelong love of writing, especially writing in community. I became familiar with the 826 organization while I was living in San Francisco, where it was founded. Since then, I’ve grown to understand the powerful work 826 chapters do to encourage and amplify youth voices. Upon my return home to New Orleans, I was seeking a role where I could use my skills as a writer and educator alongside my passions for storytelling and working with young writers—and here it was, the perfect fit!
What are you most excited for as our new WR Manager?
Having worked with 826 New Orleans on the “Me in this Moment” project in the spring, I’ve gotten the chance to know some of our inspiring young writers, team members, and community collaborators. I’m looking forward to continuing to learn about and from our community of young writers. I’m really excited to discover what has been done with writer rooms in fellow 826 chapters and to dream, vision, and tailor a writers room that will serve the needs of New Orleans students. I’m enthused to come in at the very beginning and be part of co-creating a supportive, creative environment for young people to engage with their imagination, express themselves, and tell their stories.
What was your favorite book as a kid, and why?
I was a voracious reader as a kid and Scholastic book fair days were a dream come true. Two books I remember really sticking with me are Where the Red Fern Grows and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Where the Red Fern Grows is the first book I remember bringing me to tears while I was reading—I had grown so fond of the main character and his dogs and could really feel the connection between them. Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry allowed me to see through the perspective of the main character Cassie, who was about the same age as me and living in nearby Mississippi, although in a different era; Cassie and her family were targeted because they were Black and as a White kid, my eyes were opened to many of the harsh realities of racism. As a kid, I deeply appreciated books that felt like they were being real with me about the nature of the world—both the beauty and the hard edges—and I still appreciate books that do this.
What are you up to outside of your work with us?
I love all things words—reading, writing, storytelling of all kinds. My other big love is music. I sing, songwrite, and play guitar, harmonica, and banjo. Harmonizing on front porches is my favorite thing. During the pandemic, I have dispelled the lifelong myth that I can’t grow things and have fallen in love with gardening and taking care of my forest of houseplants.
If you were a ghost for a day, where would you most like to haunt?
I would haunt the river. And when I wanted a change of scenery, I might drop by some of my favorite local bookstores, the Community Book Center and Baldwin & Co, and the Latter library which was the branch I went to every Sunday as a kid.
BIO
Lisa O’Neill is writer and storyteller whose work explores art, culture, politics, social justice issues, and our relationship to place. A native New Orleanian, Lisa returned in 2020 after time spent in the desert where she received her MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Arizona and taught writing in the English Department for a decade.
She has worked as a full-time freelance writer; designed and taught in-person and online community writing workshops; and led writing classes as a teaching artist in K-12 classrooms including inside juvenile detention. Lisa hosts and produces The MATRIARCHITECTS, a podcast which highlights change-makers who are building a culture that respects, values, and celebrates women. Her writing has appeared in Bitch Media, Diagram, defunct, Edible Baja Arizona, Everyday Feminism, The Feminist Wire, GOOD, Good Housekeeping, The Guardian, Salon, Shondaland, Talk Poverty, and The Washington Post. Lisa is also a singer/songwriter and loves playing music on porches, witnessing the sky at twilight, and watching the Golden Girls.
