Val Serdy sent this along. Sounds like an amazing bunch of classes.The King County Library System has several great teen writing opportunities with local authors coming up. While these events are focused on teens (rather than the adults who write for them), all are welcome to attend.Bellevue LibraryThe Bellevue Library is holding a Saturday Teen... Continue Reading →
SCBWI has a new award: the Silver Kite
I snagged this from the SCBWI website: The Silver Kite Peer Awards will be given annually for best book as chosen by the members of each SCBWI Regional Division beginning in 2011 for books published during the 2010 calendar year. For questions or comments regarding this information, please email SCBWI Director of Communications Aaron Hartzler... Continue Reading →
YA covers: some interesting thoughts
A lot of people are thinking about YA book covers after the "whitewashing" controversies with LIAR and MAGIC UNDER GLASS. These blog posts raise related questions. Why don't we ever see plus-sized cover models? And what's with all the pretty decapitations? This one is more tongue-in-cheek, but does ask why so many heads are removed... Continue Reading →
LA Times catching on to YA literature
This article won't surprise any of us, but it's still nice to see: It used to be that the only adults who read young adult literature were those who had a vested interest -- teachers or librarians or parents who either needed or wanted to keep an eye on developing readers' tastes.But increasingly, adults are... Continue Reading →
Craig Orback at Secret Garden’s Ultimate Tuesday
Have you seen THE CAN MAN yet? I read it to my kids and they snatched it from my hands so they could get a better look at the illustrations. Craig Orback, the illustrator, is the Ultimate Tuesday star at Secret Garden Books this month, from 7-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 30. (If you're not... Continue Reading →
Take an online writing class with Ann Gonzalez
Ann sends along an announcement about her latest class:Are you working on a young adult or middle grade novel? Join a group of skilled writers online and workshop your work-in-progress chapter by chapter. At the same time learn aspects of craft, and commiserate and network with other writers committed to writing for children and young... Continue Reading →
Rescuing your story from cliche
This is an excerpt from 179 Ways to Save a Novel by Peter Selgin:As the moth is attracted to flame, less-than-vigilant writers are attracted to the bright light of intrinsically dramatic situations, where the drama is preassembled, ready to use—convenient.We’re drawn to clichés because they’re convenient. And convenience for writers—convenient plots, convenient characters, convenient coincidences,... Continue Reading →
Skype an author
Hey, authors. Here's a cool way to visit schools without leaving your office. There are some steps you need to take to get set up, but it sounds like a great way to get your work into schools. Check it out here.
Speculative fiction class at Field’s End
Thanks to Margaret Nevinski for passing this along:The field of speculative fiction allows writers to play with talking objects, spaceships, and transformations of the unlikely to the unlikelier. In this workshop, we’ll discuss the basics of story writing and how the considerations of speculative fiction do (and don’t) alter those basics. We’ll also discuss how... Continue Reading →
Mentor a student
The following comes from a student who's looking for a mentor: Dear Writers, Hello, my name is Shayla Smith and I am currently a senior at Everett High School. As a graduation requirement we must complete a project that relates to something we want to pursue in the future. I personally have always loved writing... Continue Reading →