Danielle Kiowski
Chief Academic Officer, Story Grid Universe

Danielle works with writers to help them tell the stories that they need to tell.

In 2019, she came to Story Grid to level up her own craft, and discovered a passion for teaching others and helping them to tell their stories. She strives to guide her students and clients to unlock a new understanding of how stories work and how they can apply that insight to their own writing and in their own lives. Writing is hard work. She coaches her writers through the transformative work that they must face to tell a story that matters while maintaining focus on the joy of creating art and protecting the passion for storytelling that drives them to the page.

As the Chief Academic Officer at Story Grid, Danielle crafts the Guild experience to help members reach their writing goals. Along the way, she teaches plenty of theory, but always brings it back to the page — where the writing happens!

Rachel Arsenault
Director, Writer Mentorship Program

Rachel Arsenault hails from the writing and research-heavy disciplines of history and anthropology, which fueled her love of writing and springboarded her into editing. She came to Story Grid in 2020, drawn by the collaborative approach to the writer-editor relationship and the use of a clear evaluative methodology. She focuses on helping writers tell stories full of action and intrigue while building immersive worlds, whether representations of the real world or faraway imagined places. Rachel lives by the words “Writing is more fun with friends,” and strives to help writers grow while staying curious and enjoying the process, especially when it’s difficult.

As an instructor in the Guild, Rachel helps implement the curriculum with an eye toward analysis and practical application, and as self-titled Wit to the CAO, does her best to make Danielle laugh.

Shawn Coyne
Founder and Creator of Story Grid

Shawn Coyne is a writer, editor, and publishing professional with over 30 years of experience. He has published more than 300 books with many dozens of bestsellers across all genres and generated over $150,000,000 of revenue.

He started his editing career in 1991 as an editorial assistant and was promoted to senior editor in less than five years. Four years later, he became a publisher. Throughout his twenty year career in traditional publishing, he held positions at Dell Publishing, St. Martin's Press, and Doubleday Publishing.

From 2001 through 2007, Coyne founded and served as Publisher and Managing Partner for Rugged Land Books. In its six years of operation, Rugged Land published thirty-six hardcover titles and fourteen trade paperback titles. One third of all original titles published at Rugged Land were placed on the major bestseller lists.

After shuttering Rugged Land in 2007, Coyne became a literary agent representing many bestselling authors including Robert McKee, Steven Pressfield, David Feherty, Scott Patterson, Anita Raghaven, and many others.

In 2011, Coyne co-founded Black Irish Books where he has published over twenty-five titles including bestsellers such as The War of Art and Turning Pro.

In 2015, he wrote and published The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know and, later that year, launched the Story Grid Podcast. Since then, Story Grid has grown into a community of 40,000+ writers dedicated to leveling up their craft.

Shawn continues to study and write on Narrative Theory, develop the Story Grid methodology, and teach aspiring and professional writers.

A small sampling of works he acquired, edited, published and/or represented include James Bamford, John Brenkus, James Lee Burke, Barbara Bush, Dick Butkus, Harlan Coben, Nellie Connally, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Ben Crenshaw, Catherine Crier, Brett Favre, David Feherty, John Feinstein, Tyler Florence, Jim Gant, Col. David H. Hackworth, Jamie Harrison, Mo Hayder, William Hjortsberg, Stephen Graham Jones, Jon Krakauer, David Leadbetter, Alan Lomax, David Mamet, Troon McAllister, Robert McKee, Matthew Modine, Bill Murray, Joe Namath, John J. Nance, Jack Olsen, Scott Patterson, Steven Pressfield, Matthew Quirk, Anita Raghavan, Ian Rankin, Ruth Rendell, Jerry Rice, Giora Romm, Tim Rosaforte, William Safire, Dava Sobel, Michael Thomas, Nick Tosches, Ann Scott Tyson, Minette Walters, Betty White, Randy Wayne White, Steven White, and Don Winslow among many others.

Tim Grahl
CEO of Story Grid

Tim Grahl is the CEO of Story Grid, a university and publishing house dedicated to teaching and publishing complex stories. He is the author of the bestselling book marketing methodology and protocol, Your First Thousand Copies and The Book Launch Blueprint. His memoir Running Down a Dream, a warts-and-all confession of the trials and tribulations of a contemporary small business owner, drew accolades from Ryan Holiday, Barbara Corcoran, Daniel H. Pink, Derek Sivers, and Steven Pressfield, who described it as "Indispensable." The writing of his first novel, a young adult science fiction coming-of-age action story, The Threshing, was the subject of the first three years of the Story Grid Podcast, a perennial chart-topper on multiple podcast bestseller lists.