Tag Archives: workshops

From the Highlights Foundation:

Explore mystical realms, meet tricksters and heroes, and learn how to turn the world’s rich treasure of folklore and myth into stories and books that sell.

Almost every children’s magazine and book company publishes retellings. In fact, because they combine the sharing of other cultures with the sharing of universal truths, they’ve become a staple in children’s literature. Parents and grandparents love to read them. Teachers and librarians love to introduce them to students. And kids love to enjoy them on their own.

You may not know it, but many authors enter the children’s literature field with retellings. And many of the best writers mine the gemstones of myth and folklore for their most successful books. A number of award-winning authors have forged impressive careers by grounding their work in folklore and myth. Books such as Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted (Cinderella), Donna Jo Napoli’s Zel (Rapunzel), and Nancy Farmer’s Newbery honor book Sea of Trolls (Norse myth) represent some of the best works in this genre. Successful picture book authors such as Robert Sans Souci, Aaron Shepard, and John Steptoe have also delved into the treasure trove of myth for work such as The Talking Eggs (Southern folktale), The Sea King’s Daughter (Russian legend), and Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters (African folktale).

With sixty books in print—ten of those collections of folklore and myth—professional writer, editor, and folklorist Josepha Sherman is the perfect mentor to guide you toward producing successful retellings. Josepha has taught writing and folklore at conferences and workshops across North America. From April 3—6, Josepha will be sharing her wealth of knowledge with an intimate group of writers in the inspiring setting of the home of the Founders of Highlights for Children.

Take a closer look at Josepha Sherman’s work at www.sff.net/people/josepha.sherman

Get complete information about Retelling Folktales and Myth at www.highlightsfoundation.org

(Please feel free to forward this e-mail to others who might want to take advantage of this opportunity.)

The Highlights Foundation
814 Court Street
Honesdale, PA 18431
Phone: (570) 253-1192
E-mail: contact@highlightsfoundation.org

From The Highlights Foundation:

If you read blogs, writing magazines, or publishing industry newsletters, one aspect of publishing in the twenty-first century becomes crystal clear—to be successful today, a writer needs to self-promote. Yikes!

For many of us, that’s a problem: we’re by and large bookish introverts who happily hole up in our offices for hours on end. Bookstore signings? School visits? Conference presentations? When you’re just beginning to publish, your knees probably knock together when you think about stepping in front of an audience to promote your books. If only you had an expert to guide you as you take those first feeble steps out of your writing cubby and into the world!

Now you can. This March, the Highlights Foundation is proud to present Life in the Spotlight: The Path to Successful School and Library Visits, Self-Promotion, and Press Interviews with Peter Jacobi.

Peter is an award-winning journalism professor, a former on-air reporter for radio and television (including ABC and NBC News), a magazine consultant, and a specialist in speech training and media training. Best of all, this acclaimed journalist, writer, and renowned public speaker is willing to hold your hand as you take your first steps toward building your writing career through self-promotion.

As a participant in Life in the Spotlight, you will learn the publicity techniques needed to promote your books, gain practice in public speaking and presentation skills, and participate in a real-life school experience—with an expert to guide you each step of the way.

Here’s what one former workshop attendee has to say about Life in the Spotlight:

“Peter Jacobi’s Life in the Spotlight gave me the jump start I needed to overcome my fear of public speaking and publicity. In a group setting, Peter warmly gave us one-to-one attention to help us build confidence through reading, interviewing, and performing on-site school presentations. The lectern has become a good friend.”

—Lori Ries, author of Aggie and Ben, Three Stories (an Oregon Book Award Finalist); Super Sam; Mrs. Fickle’s Pickles; and Fix It, Sam! Her latest release, Punk Wig, is due out this March. Lori now promotes her work through school visits, author signings, and conferences.

If you’re serious about your writing career and believe in your books, take advantage of the opportunity to learn from Peter Jacobi. Click this link for more information.

(Please feel free to forward this e-mail to others who might want to take advantage of this opportunity.)

The Highlights Foundation
814 Court Street
Honesdale, PA 18431
Phone: (570) 253-1192
E-mail: contact@highlightsfoundation.org

Check out this great workshop opportunity with F1rst Pages and JWKC! (click on the Oct. 27 FP Conference button at the top)

This workshop will feature Harold Underdown, Marcella Landres (formerly of Simon & Schuster), Jon Goodspeed of Penguin Putnam, Adriana Dominguez of HarperCollins and critique opportunities with Eileen Robinson, owner of F1rst Pages and former editor with Scholastic. Attendees will choose from one of four intensive, hands-on tracks. You can also sign up for an optional writing workshop Sunday with Eileen Robinson. Attendence is limited to 15 people per track (the adult track with Marcella Landres will have space for more), so enroll now!

As promised, photos of JWKC’s Editors Day. I know all these ladies gave tons more info than I’ve shared, but I didn’t get to take as many notes as I would have liked (mostly just because my brain was jumping around to make sure everything ran smoothly). Thanks to Mary Schulte for these photos:

   
Lower left corner: the stunning blonde in classic black is

lizzy_lyn

. I’m the frazzled redhead in mock-maternity with my back to the camera. We caught up with each other over muffins.

 
It isn’t a good conference without an abundance of snacks
 

Krista Marino spoke first about Random House in general, Delacorte in depth, and the many books she has edited (including Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement Moore and King Dork by the made-of-awesome Dr. Frank Portman). 

  
Martha Mihalick discussed Ursula Nordstom and Greenwillow Books, quizzed us on classic HarperCollins titles and covered her varied interests. She also walked us through Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes to show why it is so effective.

    
Stacey Barney arrived at KCI airport just two hours before this photo was taken. She talked of Putnam, Paula Chase and

seaheidi

, her desire to find good quality multicultural stories, and why she is moving away from picture books.

Lovely Jamie and Lovely Ann help attendees submit their manuscripts.

Still smiling at the end of the day. That’s got to be a good sign…

Stuck at JFK and later Dallas/Ft. Worth, Stacey Barney arrived in Kansas City seventeen hours late. Despite this, she remained enthusiastic and approachable. And she looked fabulous, enough for a man attending the VFW reunion at our hotel to propose to her in the elevator. 

Martha Mihalick also was stuck on the tarmac at LaGuardia for three hours. I tell ya, airline travel sucks. These ladies truly are grace under pressure. 

I got lost trying to get Krista Marino to our downtown hotel. Twice. And once trying to get her back to the airport. I was Clark Griswald in London. 

“Look, Krista! The Bartle Hall Pylons!”

Friday night we treated Krista and Martha to world-famous Arthur Bryant’s.
 Pulled pork on Wonder Bread and ice cold Coca Cola — life doesn’t get much better than that. 

During Stacey’s presentation she mentioned how thrilled she was to acquire a dazzling debut last week and discussed in depth why the premise appealed to her. The story? SEA by Heidi Kling. Go seaheidi!! (I told her about our SEA/WOLF tour idea…J) 

Martha’s presentation “Letting ‘Quiet’ Be Heard: The Challenges of an Oft-Cursed Word” was a foray into the difference between “too quiet” and stunning eloquence. She completely rewrote a passage from Bridge to Terabithia, trashing it until it was nearly unrecognizable, to illuminate the difference between showing and telling. She also quizzed attendees on titles from the various Harper imprints and passed out books and catalogs as prizes. 

Krista’s First Pages Blind Critique rounded out the day and provided spot-on feedback on what worked and what didn’t. Some consistent points: It’s harder than most writers realize to successfully pull off first person present tense, watch the info dump in both narrative and dialogue, and learn to spot when third-person narrative slips into first-person perspective.

Krista and Fanboy later dished on Deadliest Catch, Scott Baio and the Two Coreys, 
and celebrity babies from the shallow end of the gene pool. 

Our editors got a driving tour of KC’s best: The Plaza, The Nelson Art Gallery, Community Christian Church, the Hallmark Complex and a plethora of fountains.

The thought of giants playing badminton on the Nelson’s sprawling lawn tickled Martha Mihalick

My boys showed up at the hotel Saturday night at 9:30 pm to spend the night with me. Yay! I missed them! It was nice to snuggle down with them and finally get some sleep — except that I woke up at 2 am and couldn’t fall back asleep. That could explain why I got lost with Krista when we left at 5 am for the airport…

I will post pictures of the event once I get them from our official event photographer.