I just found out about another great opportunity for those of you who want to get more involved in journalism and are looking for a platform to share your perspective on pop culture, the media, and more. Ypulse, the popular blog that provides independent coverage of youth culture, has just put out the call for new members to join the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board (YAB). Ypulse is looking to further expand the YAB network and broaden the scope of young voices that give Ypulse Readers an authentic glimpse into youth culture today.

Here’s the scoop straight from the source:

For the 2010/2011 term we’re opening up 10 slots to youth between the ages of 13 and 24. We’re looking for diversity in age, race, geography and experience, but most importantly strong opinions about youth culture that will inform and challenge the ongoing discussion around media and marketing here on Ypulse.

We offer the YAB quarterly incentives, along with, of course, the opportunity to publish on Ypulse (building a body of published work and having your photo/bio on the site), network with other advisory board members, and the potential for college or career references and recommendations. There may also be opportunities to attend conferences or other events as “press.”

The board meets on a virtual platform once a month and regularly corresponds over email to discuss editorial ideas, multimedia projects and other contributions. To qualify as a full member and receive those aforementioned incentives, we ask members meet a few eligibility requirements (5 editorial and/or multimedia contributions per year-long term and a maximum of 3 missed meetings, unless there are extenuating circumstances). Nothing too unreasonable since we know most are students and/or working.

If this at all interests you, I urge you to go for it. One of the Louder Than Words authors I worked closely with this past year, Chelsea Rae Swiggett (author of Rae) participated on the YAB this year and had a great experience.

If you are between the ages of 13 and 24, you can fill out the online application here. The deadline for YAB applications is Friday, September 17 by 5 p.m. PST.

Good luck!

As a big fan of AllyKatzz, a cool social networking site that gives girls ages 10-15 a place to be heard for girls ages 10-15, I’m really excited about their upcoming relaunch. The site is shifting its focus to give girls ages 9-17 a chance to share their thoughts on the things that are important to them. By engaging teens as “reporters” for the site, the new AllyKatzz will give both tweens and teens a content-rich environment where they will delve into topics that are meaningful to them and put more emphasis on their voice. Official AllyKatzz reporters will be given their own AllyKatzz.com columns and have the ability to literally write and ‘right’ their own stories!

Being a reporter for AllyKatzz comes with lots of perks, including:

• Being able to “Speak Up, Be Heard, and Change Their World” — through words, videos, art, and photos.
• Becoming “official” reporters — credentials and all.
• Focusing their time and talent on topics that are of interest to them and others — from the daily life of a tween-teen, to celebrities and fashion, to current events — and having their efforts showcased to millions of people world-wide.
• Opportunities to interview authors, actors, singers, musicians, politicians, CEO’s and more because of AllyKatzz.com’s relationships.
• Being published from a young age — and having a portfolio for college.

Interested? You’ll have to go through a rigorous application process that includes a sample blog, a letter of recommendation, written parental permission, and the stamp of a notary public. But it sounds to me like the payoff if you’re selected will be well-worth the effort!

To find out more and apply, download this form. But hurry and get your application in soon…the new site will be launching next month! Good luck!

Hi Smart Girls!

I’m so excited to share the news that the next 3 teen-authored memoirs in the Louder Than Words series I created for HCI Books comes out today!

In working with this second group of Louder Than Words authors, Hannah Westberg, Alexis Singer, and Chelsea Rae Swiggett, I’ve once again had the honor of supporting and working with three incredible teens who pushed themselves outside their comfort zones, asked the hard questions, and bared their souls. Like the first three memoirs, the newest books in the series deal with similarly pressing, and important, issues.

In Alexis: My True Story of Being Seduced By An Online Predator, author Alexis Singer tells us about getting caught up in an unhealthy cyber-affair with a man she met online. Hannah Westberg gives an intimate glimpse of life as a teen with mental illness in Hannah: My True Story of Drugs, Cutting, and Mental Illness. And lastly, Chelsea Rae Swiggett powerfully writes about the challenges of living with severe anxiety disorder in Rae: My True Story of Fear, Anxiety and Social Phobia.

I hope you read their stories and let the authors speak to you from the page. Because I know that each Louder Than Words author wanted to write their book for exactly that reason—to share what they’ve been through in the hopes of connecting with and helping other teens who might be facing similar challenges.

You can check out the series and get to know the inspiring young authors behind the books on the Louder Than Words site by reading their blogs, listening to their playlists, delving into their bios, and watching the book trailers.

Thanks so much for letting me share my good news with you, and I hope you like the series!

XOXO
Debbie

PS… Watch book trailers for all three memoirs here!

A recent article in the NY Times says that many of Miley Cyrus’ core followers – fans of the Disney Channel show Hannah Montana who tend to be between 8 and 12 years old – think Miley has gone too far with her new, sexy image. In fact, in 2010, only 24% of teens 13-17 said they liked Miley, compared with 45% in 2008.

Miley’s gotten a lot of attention for her new image, which she premiered recently to correspond with her new album, “Can’t Be Tamed.” And at 17 years old, she is definitely pushing the envelope when it comes to what she’s wearing, how she performs, and what she’s singing about. From her pole-dancing move at last year’s Teen Choice Awards to her provocative performance featuring a girl-on-girl kiss on “Britain’s Got Talent,” Miley seems to be stirring up controversy wherever she goes.

That she’s shaking things up and trying to age-up her image as she tries to make the shift from tween sensation to young woman actress, singer, and performer is totally expected. It’s the backlash from her own fans that I find so surprising.

From the NY Times article:

Perry Hamm has adored Hannah Montana since the age of 8. At 9 she bought a ticket to “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” along with one of the 3 million soundtracks sold after the film’s debut. Last September, she scored one of the most coveted tickets among teenagers in 2009: Hannah Montana in concert.

But now, at 11, Perry’s enthusiasm for Ms. Cyrus has fizzled. She wishes Ms. Cyrus would ditch the tight T-shirts and Uggs for the sassy skirts her television persona wears. So last month, when Miley released her post-adolescent anthem, “Can’t Be Tamed,” her once-adoring fan was unimpressed, unmoved by, among other things, the singer’s sexy music video.

“It was weird,” Perry said of Ms. Cyrus’s bird wings and black ribbon corset. “I feel like she acts 25. She looks so old. She is too old for herself.”

While I’m glad for the insight and perspective of girls like Perry who question the young star’s wardrobe and behavior choices in recent months, I hate to think of all the girls who idolize Miley and want to emulate her every step of the way. Miley’s transformation then becomes just one more message in an overflowing pool of wrong messages…messages that tell girls that they should look or dress or be “sexy” to have value and worth.

No, I don’t think Miley, at 17, has a responsibility to all the young girls of the world, and I cannot imagine growing up in the spotlight and having every aspect of my behavior up for debate. But I do have to wonder what Miley’s hoping her sexy image will give her…approval? Acceptance? Love? Respect? If so, she’ll never find what she’s looking for. There’s only one way to achieve that goal, and it’s all about accepting ourselves for who we are, inside and out.

What are your thoughts on Miley’s sexual image?

Ah…If only I was sixteen again. Then I could apply to be an intern for one of my favorite magazines, New Moon Girls. Alas…I’ll have to be satisfied with sharing the opportunity with you!

New Moon Girls is currently accepting applications for talented interns ages 16 and up for Fall 2010 and Winter/Spring 2011. Their interns work with girl and adult editors to foster creative self-expression in girls ages 8+ worldwide. Though the magazine is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, you can work from the comfort of your own home and still gain real-world experience in many aspects of New Moon’s online community and magazine for girls and their website for parents of girls.

Interns will need to be able to work well independently, communicate well by email and Skype, be Internet-proficient, and have a computer with Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and broadband Internet access. Applications are due by August 1 for Fall and November 1 for Winter/Spring.

Interested? Apply online here!

And if you’re under the age of 16, but still want to get involved, you can sign up to be a New Moon Girls Volunteer, where you’ll have a chance to do things like spread the word online, create New Moon activities for teachers, host online chats, write guest blog posts, and much more.

When she was only 17 years old, Chelsea Krost created a radio show called Teen Talk Live. Her tagline? “Our Voice, Our Opinion, Our Time to Talk.” Inspired by her life experiences and everyday challenges as a teenager, Chelsea’s goal was to establish a voice for the teen population by providing them with a safe outlet where teens can share their problems and gain advice.

Two years later, her show airs on LA Talk Radio, and she has become a unique and distinctive voice in the teen field. Her show often features interviews with professional experts talking about everything from pregnancy and STDs to body image, self-esteem, and bullying.

“We often have people far removed from our generation discussing issues that directly affect us,” Chelsea says. “Teen Talk live provides teens with an informed voice they can relate to, on a platform that is dedicated to inspiring and helping them make wise decisions.”

Chelsea’s show airs live every Wednesday at 7pm EST / 4PM PST, but you can catch up on the past year’s shows online here. I just listened to this week’s show about eating disorders, and was blown away by Chelsea’s interviewing skills and love that she’s bringing these issues to teens from a teen perspective.

I’m so excited to share with you the covers for the next three Louder Than Words memoirs due out from HCI Books this August. I’ve been working hard with three more incredible teen writers to get these books ready, and I can’t wait to bring these babies out into the world.

Next up is ALEXIS, by 19-year-old Alexis Singer who writes about being lured into an emotionally devastating cybersexual relationship with an older married man, HANNAH, by 18-year-old Hannah Westberg, who shares her personal story of mental illness, and RAE, by 18-year-old Chelsea Rae Swiggett, who describes what it’s like to go through life with severe anxiety disorder.

I’ll be sharing more about these new books in the months leading up to publication, but in the meantime, check out these gorgeous new covers. What do you think?

One of my favorite jobs is editing the Louder Than Words series of teen-authored memoirs. I love reading over the interesting submissions, finding the authors, making the phone calls to tell a hopeful author she’s been selected, and ultimately editing the books. But my favorite part of editing this series, without a doubt, is that I get to connect with truly inspirational and incredible young women.

If I’m really lucky, I get to meet them in person. On Monday, I hopped on the Amtrak train and headed south from Seattle for Vancouver, Washington, where I spent three wonderful hours with upcoming Louder Than Words author Hannah Westberg. Hannah is in revision mode for her forthcoming memoir, entitled Hannah, and we spent our time eating Indian food and talking about her manuscript, life after high school, and the joys of five year olds (she babysits one, I have one).

Hannah’s book is an extremely personal, and powerful, account of her struggles with mental illness, drug abuse, and suicidal tendencies. I am so excited to share Hannah’s writing talent and important story with the world! Hannah will be out in August 2010, along with Rae by Chelsea Rae Swiggett of The Pageflipper fame and Alexis by Alexis Papalia. And while Alexis and Rae live too far away for an impromptu lunch, I’ll be sharing more details about their memoirs in the coming weeks.

One of the things I love about New Moon Girls, the fantastic ad-free magazine for girls ages 8-12, is that it doesn’t just talk the talk when it comes to their mission of helping girls discover and honor their true selves, engage in meaningful pursuits and dialogue, and express their voices in ways that matter…it walks the walk.

Case in point, New Moon Girls has a Girls Editorial Board (GEB) made up of girls ages 8-13, who do things like participate in chats, interact with & help girls on the website, brainstorm ideas for both the website and the magazine, make videos for the website, find interesting girl-created content on the website that could be good for online featuring and for the magazine, edit articles and occasionally write articles.

Sound interesting? Then you might want to apply to be a member of the new GEB currently being recruited by the mag. You can find out more and download an application here. But hurry…deadline for applications is Sunday, January 3, 2010! Good luck!

Have you heard about Laura Dekker? Laura is a 13-year-old girl from the Netherlands who is hoping to be the youngest person ever to sail solo around the world – a journey that would take her two years.

Her parents are in favor of the risky voyage. The Dutch Council for Child Protection, on the other hand, is so concerned about the risks involved that they’re trying to put a stop to the whole thing.

About the debate, a psychologist quoted in an article from the AP says “the rat race to become a so-called ‘super child’ – the youngest to accomplish some grueling feat – can be fueled by ambitious parents, laser-focused children with talent, or youngsters with a deep need to please or be praised.”

But which is it in this case and does it really matter?

I’m all for encouraging girls to pursue their dreams and to not let anyone set limits on what they accomplish – it’s one of my core values. And I also firmly believe in the benefits for girls taking safe, physical risks when it comes up beefing up self-esteem and empowering them.

Kudos to Laura for being such an incredible sailer at such a young age that this venture is even a possibility. But it seems to me that the enormity of the feat and the fact that Laura would be risking her life make this a risk not worth taking. The potential dangers in such a voyage are many (storms, pirates, malfunctions, you name it), not to mention the physical, mental, and emotional challenges Laura would surely face along the way. At a certain point, the risks and the fact that Laura would be putting her life in danger, have to outweigh the benefits of trying to accomplish this first.

What are your thoughts? How young is too young to risk one’s life for the sake of accomplishing a super feat? Is the Dutch government right in trying to prevent this voyage from taking place?