Summer Class With Patricia Reilly Giff

                                            DINOSAUR'S PAW

                                            1300 POST ROAD

                                     FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT

 

 

                  PATRICIA REILLY GIFF'S SUMMER WRITING COURSE

 

 

Wednesday   July 23                                       Time: 6:45 ---8:30

Wednesday   July 30

Wednesday   August 6

Wednesday   August 13

 

 

Registration begins Tuesday, July 15th, only at the store, or by phone with Visa or Mastercard, not by e-mail.

 

The nonrefundable tuition is $185.00. If you wish to receive a critique for the first class, please leave manuscripts at the store by Saturday, July 19th. You may e-mail to jagiff@aol.com by that date. Please submit fewer than ten pages.

 

Book Focus at Scholastic

One of that can be difficult to find is specific information about editors.  At Scholastic they have put together an area called Book Focus.  Each month a different Scholastic Editor writes about his or her personal experience putting a popular new book together.   

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/tradebooks/bookfocus_middle.htm

Summer Writing Workshop

Summer Writing Workshop

at The Voracious Reader

with author, Phyllis Shalant

If you’ve been interested in writing for children or young adults, here’s your chance to try your hand under the guidance of a professional author and teacher.  Through reading, writing, and discussion, this six-week workshop will explore the key elements of the genre, including: Finding Your Story, Developing Character, Discovering Voice, Exploring Structure, Transforming Character, and Writing the Climax.

How it works:  Each ninety-minute session will include the discussion of a children’s book that complements the weekly topic, and a workshop portion in which writers read their weekly chapters (3-5 pages).  There will also be some on-site writing exercises.  By the end of the workshop, you will have written the first six chapters toward a chapter book or novel.

Phyllis Shalant has written ten books for young readers, including Bartleby of the Mighty Mississippi (N.Y. Public Library Best Books); Bartleby of the Big Bad Bayou (Junior Library Guild); When Pirates Came to Brooklyn (Assoc. of Jewish Libraries, Best Books); and The Great Eye (Florida Sunshine State Award).  Her most recent book is The Society of Super Secret Heroes: The Great Cape Rescue.  Phyllis is an adjunct professor in the Graduate Writing Program at Manhattanville College.

Details: The Voracious Reader, 1997 Palmer Avenue, Larchmont, NY 10538.  Tel. 914-630-4581.  Thursdays, 10:30-12:00; Jul. 10th – Aug.14th  

Workshop Fee: $395.00. A deposit of $100.00 is required.

TO REGISTER:  Call 914-592-2278 or email phyllis@phyllisshalant.com

Visit Phyllis’s website: www.phyllisshalant.com

Summary of Speaking from the Heart

Speaking from the Heart: Three Writers on the Triumphs and Travails of Writing for Children

June 7, 2008

With (in order from left to right) Elise Broach, Nora Raleigh Baskin, Sarah Darer Littman, and Jody Novins (moderator)

Writing is about passion, perseverance, education, and recognition of your own needs. Those were the messages taken from today’s well attended panel held at the Harry Bennett Library in Stamford, Connecticut.

After a brief introduction by Stacy Barnett Mozer, Laura Toffler-Corrie, and Sally Riley, the Southern New England SCBWI Regional Advisor, Jody Novins led the authors in a question and 

answer discussion designed to help them paint a picture of the world of a published writer. All three writers work hard to perfect their craft, taking classes, and reading books on the subject of writing. At one point, Elise Broach pointed out that the real work of a writer is revision.

Broach said, “Often you don’t start your book until you finish your book.” As an example Broach talked about writing Shakespeare’s Secret. The book was first written as a diamond mystery. All the information about Shakespeare was added in after the book was complete.

As for writing from the heart, when Nora Raleigh Baskin was asked how

long it takes her to write a book she said, “My first published novel took four months and my whole life.” Baskin’s books, as well as Sarah Darer Littman’s, are based on personal experiences. All the writers agreed that sometimes writing from your experience is harder. Littman said, “When you write about your life you tend to say to criticism, ‘But it happened.’” Broach added, “At some point you have to decide what your book and character need, even if it means leaving some things out.”

In the last section, Novins had the writers talk about agents. All three writers sold their first book directly to editors, with agent help only after the book was sold. All four agreed that the match between agent and writer has to be a good one. If the agent is not showing your work and doesn’t believe in you, it can stall your career. All four also stressed the importance of self-advocating. Novins added, “You have the right to get a call back. You have a right to ask questions. You have a right to be represented.” Broach added, “Having a bad agent is worse than having no agent at all.”

Some recommendations from the authors: Publishers Marketplace Subscription, reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and joining the SCBWI

For more information about the conference, go to Sarah Darer Littman's Blog, "It's My Life and I'll Blog If I Want To"

Thank You!!!

Thank you so much to everyone who attended Speaking from the Heart, to Michelle and Joan for helping set up, to the four fantastic authors, and to the amazing people at the Harry Bennett Branch who helped put it all together. Please check back here soon for pictures and a summary of the event.

Stacy Barnett Mozer and Laura Toffler-Corrie

If you missed the event but would still like to read the books of these amazing authors, they are linked below:

Elise Broach:

Shakespeare's Secret

When Dinosaurs Came With Everything
Desert Crossing 

Wet Dog

Masterpiece

Cousin John is Coming

Sarah Darer Littman:

Confessions of a Closet Catholic

Purge - Scholastic, April 2009

Nora Raleigh Baskin

Basketball (Or Something Like It)

Truth About My Bat Mitzvah

What Every Girl (Except Me) Knows 

In the Company of Crazies

All We Know of Love - Candlewick Press, August 2008

Great Articles on Our Writers!!!

Check out these fantastic articles in the Norwalk Hour on our "Speaking from the Heart" writers Nora Raleigh Baskin and Sarah Darer Littman. I understand an additional article on Elise Broach should follow soon.

Agent Research

At our last meeting, we discussed ways to research agents. Here are links to some of the great places I have found online. If you have found other places not listed here we would love to hear from you.

QueryTracker.net - This is my favorite place to start. By signing up (for free) you can search for agents, research those agents, link to Agent Query and the Publishers Marketplace about that agent, look at statistics, and create a list for you records of all the agents you have sent to and their response to your query. One note- I like the agent information on agent query better so I always use the links to read info about the agent there. It comes up in a separate window so it is easy to go back and forth.

Agent Query - As mentioned above, a great place to search for and learn about agents. Always check the agents actual website to confirm query information but they do tend to be right. They also have great lists of books the agent has sold.

Publishers Marketplace - Also a great place for information about agents. You do not need to register.

Guide to Literary Agents - Once you have an agents name, this is a great place to find out news about them.

Cynsations - This is a great blog to watch. She interviews agents, publishers, and writers. You can also search for an agents name to see if she has interviewed them.