Hi all.
This year I'm helping out at BYU's annual Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop again, and I wanted to get the word out to everyone on the boards. Actually, I think this announcement would work better on the Rants and Stuff or Everything Else page, but I'm sure it'll get moved here soon after, so I'll just save the mods the trouble of moving it.
Anyway--as always, BYU has a really nice conference ready this year. It's running from June 11th-June15th. Essentially how this conference works is that in the mornings, you are in a workshop with an author in which you receive instruction and critique on your writing. In the afternoon, there's a plenary each day by one of the editors or agent attending, and then there are break out sessions where the authors, editors and agents discuss particular topics more fully. Authors you can sign up to workshop with are as follows:
Rick Walton is the author of over 70 books for children. His works include picture books, riddle books, activity books, mini-mysteries, a collection of poetry, and educational and game software. His books have been featured on the IRA Children’s Choice list, on Reading Rainbow, and on CBS’s This Morning. Rick lives in Provo, Utah, with his wife and their five children. http://www.rickwalton.com/
Randall Wright is the author of several novels for young readers, from coming-of-age to historical fantasy. He also has a picture book being released in 2008 (or there abouts). He lives in Highland, Utah, with his wife and children.
Carmen Agra Deedy is an internationally known author and storyteller. Born in Cuba and raised in Decatur, Georgia, she has charmed thousands of adults and children with her performances across America and Canada. She has performed at the White House, Kennedy Center, Disney Institute and on Broadway and National Public Radio. Her six highly-acclaimed books have won dozens of awards, including the Jane Addams Peace Association Honor Book 2001 Award, the 2001 Christopher Award-Books for Young People, the 2000 Parent's Choice Gold Award and the Bologna Ragazzi Award. Her books include Agatha's Feather Bed: Not Just Another Wild Goose Story, Growing Up Cuban in Decatur, The Last Dance, The Library Dragon, The Secret of Old Zeb and The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark. http://carmendeedy.com/
Dandi Mackall is an award-winning author of 400 books for children and grown-ups, with sales of 4 million in 22 countries. Her publishers include Simon & Schuster, Dutton/Penguin, HarperCollins, Harcourt, Random House/WaterBrook, DreamWorks, Tyndale House, TommyNelson, Zonderkidz, Disney, Warner Brothers, and Hanna Barbera. Eva Underground received a Kirkus star and nomination for ALA Best Book 2007. In 2006, she had 21 new books released from 9 different publishers—board books, picture books, short fiction, middle grade, young adult, and novel. She’s a national keynote speaker and has made dozens of appearances on TV, including ABC, NBC, and CBS. www.dandibooks.com
Ann Cannon was born in Salt Lake City but grew up in Provo, Utah where she spent summers going to her brothers’ baseball games and reading. Although she loved books, it never occurred to her that real people wrote them. Ann says that at some level she believed they were created by the wave of a wizard’s wand or other acts of magic.
It wasn’t until she took Elizabeth Wahlquist’s Literature for Adolescents class as a graduate student at BYU that she thought about writing books herself. But once she read M. E. Kerr’s novel Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack, she knew she wanted to give the world of kids’ books a serious whirl. “And here I am (sort of),” Ann says. “All these years later.”
Things have changed in the industry since Ann published her first novel, Cal Cameron by Day, Spider-man by Night, in 1988. “But,” Ann says, “what never changes is the demand for well-written stories peopled with characters to whom young readers can relate. It’s a great pleasure to participate in a conference like this that helps all of us reach this goal.” Learn more about Ann on her website. http://aecannon.com/
Alane Ferguson was born in Cumberland, Maryland, in 1957. She attended the University of Utah and Westminister College where she studied journalism. Latter, Alane became interested in writing for children, mostly, she says, to follow the examples of her mother, Gloria Skurzynski, who had launched her own successful writing career years earlier. Alane is completing her twenty-eighth children’s book. Alane’s novel The Christopher Killer has been nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for the 2007 Edgar Allan Poe “Best Mystery” Award. http://www.alaneferguson.com/
Dave Wolverton began writing during college and entered short stories into various contests. His career began in 1987 when he won the top award in the L. Ron Hubbard “Writers of the Future” contest. He has been nominated for the Nebula Award in the Best Novelette category for his short story After a Lean Winter and for a Hugo Award. Dave is president of Story Island, currently in preproduction for Runelords, the Movie. Under his pseudonym, David Farland, he writes fantasy, leaving his real name for his science fiction novels. www.runelords.com www.benravenspell.com
Martine Leavitt is the author of Dragon’s Tapestry; Prism Moon; Taker’s Key; The Dollmage; Tom Finder, winner of the Mr. Christie Award; and Heck Superhero, a finalist for the Governor General’s Award of Canada. Her newest book, Keturah and Lord Death, was a finalist for the National Book Award in the United States. Martine has a BA degree from the University of Calgary and an MFA degree from Vermont College and works full time as a copy editor in the corporate sector. The creative project she is most proud of is her seven children and six grandchildren, all of whom have been critically acclaimed. http://martineleavitt.com/
Jeanette Ingold writes to explore times, places, and lives beyond her own. Her half dozen novels for young adults include Mountain Solo, about a prodigy violinist; The Window, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and IRA Young Adults’ Choice; The Big Burn, Spur Award winner and Montana Book Award honor book; and Hitch, a Christopher Award winner and Society of School Librarians International Best Book. Jeanette began her writing career on a daily newspaper, and she brings a reporter’s eye and careful research to her fiction. She and her husband live in western Montana and have two grown children. http://jeanetteingold.com/
Gloria Skurzynski is the author of more than fifty books for children and young adults, including Virtual War, The Clones, and The Revolt. Her books have won numerous awards, among them the Christopher Award, the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, the Golden Kite Award, and the Science Book Award from the American Institute of Physics. She lives with her husband, Ed, in Boise, Idaho. http://gloriabooks.com
Guy Francis has done a variety of illustration, including editorial illustration and children’s books.
Some of his recent children’s picture books include Dance by the Light of the Moon by Joanne Ryder, 2007 Beehive Award Nominee Mrs. McBloom, Clean Up Your Classroom! by Kelly DiPucchio, and Shelly and Mary Had a Little Ham by Margie Palatini. He has also illustrated several early chapter book series. His wife and four children are his art critics and often visit the studio in his home in Provo, Utah, to help out. When he isn’t drawing or painting, he heads to the mountains with his family. http://www.guyfrancis.com/
The editors and agent are:
Krista Marino began her publishing career in San Diego at Harcourt Children’s Books. After transferring to the Harcourt offices in New York she decided that fiction was her passion and took a position as an Associate Editor at Delacorte Press, in the Random House Books for Young Readers division, where she is now an Editor. She now works on Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction solely and is always looking for new voices, innovative concepts, and great stories for her list. Recent books she has edited include King Dork by Frank Portman, Ball Don’t Lie by Matt de la Peña, Golden by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and the Lucy Rose books by Katy Kelly.
Margaret Miller is an associate editor at HarperCollins Children's Books. Her favorite genre is middle grade literary fantasy, but she publishes a variety of books for all ages, from babies through teens. She lives in the Bronx, NY.
Stephen Fraser joined the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency in January 2005. He worked most recently as executive editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books, where he edited such creative talents as Mary Engelbreit, Gail Gibbons, Michael Hague, Ann Rinaldi, Kathryn Lasky, Brent Hartinger, Stephen Mitchell, Dan Gutman, and many others. He began his career at Highlights for Children, the famous children’s magazine; he then worked at the Weekly Reader Book Club, the Trumpet Book Club, Oxford University Press, and Simon & Schuster. A graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, he has a master’s degree in children’s literature from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, and has written children’s book reviews for The Christian Science Monitor, Five Owls, and Publishers Weekly. He represents both children’s and adult books in a wide range of genres. http://www.jdlit.com/
Right now there are eight spots remaining in Dave Wolverton's class--the one I'm helping out with--but there are plenty of spots open in all other sections, so no matter what your interest, there's room available right now. I was at Dave's last year, and even if you're not interested in writing for young people alone--but rather in fantasy in general--then I'd recommend it. If you don't know Dave, this is an excellent opportunity to get to know him and learn from him.
The full workshop is $450, or you can attend just the afternoon sessions for $120 (including all plenary talks). You can even get college credit for attending.
Yes, it's expensive, but it's also worth it. I highly recommend it. If you have any questions, post them here and I'd be happy to answer them.
