Monthly Zoom Discussion

March 23: “Be Not Afraid, Only Believe”: A Christian Songwriter’s Journey

A discussion with Shawna Edwards

Shawna Edwards, a prolific Christian children’s songwriter, will share how the Lord has multiplied her efforts to share His message to the world, and what she has learned about faith, music and business along the way.

Her short presentation will be followed by 20–30 minutes of Q&A and discussion.

Bio: Originally a piano performance major, Shawna Edwards returned to BYU to finish her degree when her oldest boys were students there. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Media Music in 2009. She put her first song on YouTube in 2010. Her channel now has over 30M views, and her songs have been performed in churches, cathedrals, and Christian schools in over 100 different countries.

February 23: Social Media Questions and Answers

A discussion with social media expert Mimi Bascom

What is a social media “brand”? How often should I post? How is Instagram different than Facebook? How do I build an engaged audience on Instagram?

Bio: Mimi Bascom is an influencer and freelance social media manager/strategist. She enjoys creating content for her personal brand to show people that religion is still relevant, and she helps brands organically build an audience online and increase revenue (you can view her work at mimibascom.com). She is a recent BYU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communications, and she has been working in the social media industry for the past three years.

December 16: Empathy, Dignity, and Cultural Diversity

A discussion with author Kaela Rivera

How can we effectively portray cultural diversity in our writing? Using her recent award-winning novel Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls as an example, Kaela Rivera will discuss writing latinx characters, the difficulties of bringing Cece Rios’s latinx fantasy world to life, navigating her own mixed heritage, and using empathy as a guiding tool for writing characters with dignity, especially those from marginalized backgrounds.  

Bio: Kaela Rivera writes about the folktales of her Mexican-American and British parents. When she’s not crafting stories, she’s working as an editor for a marketing company. Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls—which won the 2022 Charlotte Huck Award—is her first novel; the sequel comes out in fall 2022.

There is no recording available for this Zoom discussion.

November 18: Heeding the Spiritual Call to Create

A discussion with songwriter and author Michael Young

How can we as Latter-day Saint Christians heed the call to consecrate our time and talents to the Lord? Author and songwriter Michael Young will share his experience writing and collaborating on 100 songs submitted for the new Hymnbook and Children’s Songbook. Michael will share how he was able to succeed through both spiritual preparation and networking and give us tips on how we can apply these strategies in our own creative pursuits!

Bio: Michael teaches in a German immersion program and enjoys acting in community theater and writing music. He played with the Handbell Choir Bells on Temple Square for several years and is now a member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. He is the author of the novels in The Canticle Kingdom Series, The Last Archangel Series, The Chess Quest Series, and The Penultimate Dawn Cycle, as well as the nonfiction work The Song of the Righteous. He runs several podcasts, including Chapter and Verse, The Carols of Christmas, and Songs for All Seasons.