Level Up!

CREATING STORIES THAT MATTER ⭐ Story creation is an ancient and cross-cultural career, yet even those of us with published books frequently get asked what our "real jobs" are. No wonder we get Imposter Syndrome! Author, storyteller, and librarian Susan Metallo will share the history of creating stories and the science of how stories affect the human brain, using that information to nail down what makes our work meaningful and important. From there, we'll explore how to apply those principles when choosing the stories we tell. Participants will leave this webinar armed with exercises for finding the "emotional truth" of their projects and a research-based elevator speech for explaining the value of their work. ⭐ Susan Metallo is a young adult author and librarian. Her debut novel, REASONS TO HATE ME, was one of Publishers Weekly’s Best YA Books of the Year, a “Rise: a Feminist Book Project” selection, an Indie Next Kids title, and an Indies Introduce Kids selection. In addition to these accolades, her work has received awards from SCBWI, the Tallahassee Writers Association, and Book Pipeline, and been published in Ladybug, Cricket, The Seven Hills Review, and Publishers Weekly. She lives in Virginia with her husband, her children, and an 80-lb bulldog who fervently believes she will fit on your lap. Find Susan online at susanmetallo.com. ⭐ This one-hour webinar will take place Saturday, September 19th, at 10:00 am PDT. A recording will be available for 30 days afterwards to registered attendees. Don’t miss it! Registration closes September 16th.

NARRATIVIZE YOUR NONFICTION PICTURE BOOK: HARNESSING THE TOOLS OF FICTION TO WRITE INFORMATIONAL TEXTS THAT SHINE ⭐ Back by popular demand! In this one-hour workshop with award-winning picture book author Leslie Barnard Booth, learn how to elevate your nonfiction manuscripts by thinking like a fiction writer. Analyze mentor texts to see how techniques and structures from the other side of the literary aisle can bring nonfiction to life for young readers. Consider the role of character, tension, and plot in informational and nonfiction mentor texts, then try an exercise designed to bring the propulsiveness of fiction to your nonfiction manuscript and strengthen its narrative arc. ⭐ Leslie Barnard Booth is the author, most recently, of the Crystal Kite Award winning and PNBA Bestseller I AM WE: HOW CROWS COME TOGETHER TO SURVIVE as well as the award-winning titles ONE DAY THIS TREE WILL FALL and A STONE IS A STORY. Her lyrical picture books about science and nature have been named Best Books of the Year by Kirkus and Bank Street, and she was the recipient of the International Literacy Association’s 2025 Book Award in Primary Nonfiction. Leslie lives in Portland, Oregon, and loves exploring the natural world with her family. ⭐ This one-hour webinar will take place Tuesday, October 13th, at 6:30 pm PDT. A recording will be available for 30 days afterwards to registered attendees. Don’t miss it! Registration closes October 10th.