Adventure Essays began on a late December night when we received a panicked phone call from a friend. His niece—a stand-out student and all-around superb human being—was days away from submitting her college applications. She’d shown our friend her Common App essay, which she thought was great. He wasn’t so sure. Because we are professional writers, he asked us to take a look. After one quick read, without ever having met this girl, we knew that she could do better. Seventy-two hours later, she submitted her applications with a wholly reconceived essay—unique, authentic, meaningful, and deeply moving—that helped her get into her top college choice. When friends heard that we’d helped one student, they started calling to see if we would help some more. Thus was born Adventure Essays, a passion project to share our love of good stories well told, authentic voices, and impactful messages.

Julie Ferber Frank got her BA in Humanities at UC Berkeley and her MFA in Screenwriting at USC Film School. She has been a member of the Writers Guild of America since 1995 and has written for film and television. Julie brings years of experience writing narratives to the application essay writing process.

Steven Frank got his BA in English at UC Berkeley, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He has been a member of the Writers Guild of America since 1997 and has written for film and television. Steven has taught middle and high school English for 20 years and is the author of The Pen Commandments – A Guide for the Beginning Writer (Pantheon Books). His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Writing for Teens and Read Magazine.