An Introduction to
The Grannie Annie

The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration, founded in 2005, is a nonprofit corporation based in St. Louis, MIssouri. Its mission is to share family stories and to nurture the writing skills of young people.

The Grannie Annie invites young people in U.S. grades 4 through 8 and homeschool and international students ages 9 to 14 to interview people from an older generation of their family and to write about something they learn from their family history. Authors are encouraged to share their stories with their extended family and their community as well as with The Grannie Annie. From the stories submitted to The Grannie Annie each year, about two dozen are selected for publication in an annual anthology, released each May, and on The Grannie Annie website. There is no submission fee; the annual submission deadline is February 1.

Submissions have been received from across the United States and from around the world. Published stories have taken place on six continents over a span of about 400 years. Young people who participate in The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration have an opportunity ito strengthen family bonds and their sense of their own identity, to hone their writing skills, and to deepen their appreciation of history.

The Grannie Annie stories bring history to life, providing readers with a vivid glimpse of life in other places and other times. The Grannie Annie reveals both the uniqueness and the commonality of people's experiences, fostering feelings of unity between people whose lives may seem to be very different from one another.

Founding Directors of The Grannie Annie

Connie McIntyre, M.Ed., helps people capture their stories in unique books. She has authored, or edited, and published dozens of books, some of which she created as handcrafted keepsake books. Others were commercially bound, several under her Thumbprint Press imprint. Her published works include biographies, family stories, children's picture books, personal and travel memoirs, and collections of poetry.

Because she believes everyone has something important to say, Connie has taught numerous writing and bookmaking classes and workshops, and manufactured and marketed her original Handmade Books from the Heart Kits for over ten years. She is author of Flowers for Grandpa Dan, coauthor of Upside Downside Inside Out ~ Poems about Being a Kid, and editor of several volumes of poetry.

Fran Hamilton, M.Ed., has been involved in writing — as teacher, writer, or editor — for more than forty years. She has taught students of all ages — from kindergartners to adults. Fran’s experience with English has enabled her to distill the English language to its essentials.

Fran is the author of Hands-On English and coauthor of the Hands-On English Activity Book. Both books are now in their second edition. Fran has also developed Hands-On Sentences, a card game that gives practice with parts of speech and sentence construction. In addition, she offers a free online writing class and publishes free e-mail newsletters: LinguaPhile, for people who teach and/or enjoy English, and Acu-Write, for anyone whose writing is read by others. Learn more about Fran's books and other offerings at www.GrammarAndMore.com

Connie and Fran founded and continue to co-direct The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration. The Grannie Annie provides an opportunity for young people to simultaneously preserve their family stories, hone their writing skills, and deepen their interest in history.

The Story Behind The Grannie Annie

The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration honors Ann Guirreri Cutler, the original Grannie Annie, who was passionate about saving family stories. In 1996 she and Connie McIntyre began creation of a series of handmade books that captured Ann’s family’s stories. Through the years, Ann devised many innovative ways to inspire other families to preserve their own stories for future generations. When Connie McIntyre joined with Fran Hamilton to create a writing contest, The Grannie Annie was born. Surprised by the honor, Ann was delighted by The Grannie Annie mission and quickly became an enthusiastic supporter. She generously shared her expertise through The Grannie Annie's first two seasons, until her death in 2007 following a lengthy illness.

The mission of The Grannie Annie — to discover, share, and celebrate family stories — springs from a belief in the transformative power of “story.” Imagine that you learn from a family member that your great-grandparents were treated with suspicion when they settled in a new country, that they were disliked and mistrusted because their speech, customs, and beliefs were different from those of people around them. After hearing this family story, you may notice that you feel more accepting of a new student in your school. When you look at faces in the news you may see the joys, sorrows, and families behind them. In some unexplainable way, you may feel unity with someone whose life seems very different from yours. Quietly, surely, the world moves one step closer to peace.

Please feel free to contact us with questions, compliments, or suggestions:

Hello@TheGrannieAnnie.org