Program and Schedule

Presented by Teresa Ho Robeson. As Lisa Cron claims in one of her bestselling craft books, we humans are wired for story. But there are stories, and then there are stories. How do we tell ones that truly touch others? How can we reach across that vast expanse that appears to divide us? How do we engage those who seem so different from us? By definition, to engage is to attract or involve. But it is also a promise. Let’s discover all the HOWs together this weekend to fully engage readers.

Come to this workshop to better understand how thinking about the craft of bookmaking can serve the business of bookmaking, and how thinking about the business can serve the craft! In the happy overlap between these goals there lies opportunity: for you, and for your manuscripts. Let Melissa Manlove help you make them irresistible to editors and agents by making them irresistible to READERS.

In this session, join Kait Feldmann as you take an in-depth look at how picture books are printed, folded, and bound—and see how this process informs the way stories are structured. You’ll learn how endpapers and page count affect the space you have to tell a story, and how to paginate to account for frontmatter, backmatter, page turns and overall pacing. You will also get to make two of the cutest little book dummies to use as reference! (Bring a writing utensil and one of your favorite picture books, all other materials provided.)

In this session, Erin Minchk, Samantha Cora, Cindy Schumerth, Jeanne Styczinski, and Liza Wiemer delve into the research process, helping you from start to finish. They'll share their best steps to find, collect, and utilize authentic resource material for your books. They'll address best practices and challenges, including how to determine what to incorporate and what to leave out of your story. Participants will leave with a toolbox of ideas and resources.

This session, presented by Deb Buschman, will give you some keys to use in your writing to get laughs and giggles. Humor is tough and subjective but there are some tools you can use to get a laugh from adults and kids.

The duties of a literary agent will be outlined to show how they might be of benefit to you and your work. Liza Pulitzer-Voges shares her 40 years of experience.

Whether you’re starting your novel or are in the editing process, Liza Wiemer will share her best writing tips to create authentic characters and best practices for utilizing multiple points of view in your novels. This interactive workshop will provide guidance that writers will be able to utilize over and over again. Participants will walk away with numerous helpful ideas to put into practice. Handouts and practical exercises will be included.

There are SO MANY ways to structure a picture book. And, choosing the right one is as important to your story’s success as choosing the right design when you’re building a house. Pat Zietlow Miller shares common picture book structures, tons of book recommendations and tips for making your structure sing.

In this session geared towards illustrators and author-illustrators, Kait Feldmann will cover some exciting ways to use art as a narrative form. Come hungry to feast your eyes on lots of picture books and graphic novels that play with components like page-turn, gutter, white space, paneling, perspective, color, and more!

Does the idea of creating a book dummy sound exciting to you—or maybe just a little daunting or overwhelming? Leah Gilbert will break it down and talk about the process of dummy making, covering some common considerations such as trim size, pagination, page turns, layout and more, and why they do or don't matter at this stage in the process. Great for beginners as well as advanced authors and illustrators looking for tips, tricks, and insight into this exciting process. Geared for author-illustrators, but any author or illustrator is welcome to learn how to apply these techniques to enhance their own creative process.

What sells picture books in today's crowded market? It’s not the plot, the setting, the subject, or even the character(s). It’s heart: the deepest layer that creates connection, meaning, and transformation for both child and adult readers. Heart is also, often, the most difficult layer to get right. This workshop will provide hands-on strategies for finding heart in the specific and taking it to the universal, infusing your stories with heart, and revising for emotional resonance.

A panel of authors, agents, publishers and illustrators led by author Laura Bird discuss how to create stories irresistible to the reader.

Graphic novels are hot! Join Teresa Ho Robeson as she walks you through how to create one. Many publishers now have their own graphic novel lines. Not only do many kids (and adults) gravitate to GNs because they’re a mesmerizing art form, but they have helped numerous reluctant readers enjoy reading, or kids with reading difficulties learn how to read. You don’t have to be an author-illustrator to create them either; editors will look at scripts from writers-only. This session will get you started with a concise intro that will enable you to draft your first script.

Do you have a fascinating true story you're dying to share with young readers? Whether you're drawn to biographies, STEM books, or even magazine articles, this intensive masterclass will give you the essential tools to craft compelling nonfiction that kids can't put down. Based on award-winning author Kirsten W. Larson's comprehensive guide Telling It True, you’ll learn how to transform facts into page-turning stories, conduct efficient research, and structure your work so young readers stay hooked from beginning to end. Materials Needed: Bring a current work-in-progress or story idea you're excited to develop, plus your laptop or notebook for hands-on exercises.

This intensive is open to illustrators, authors, and translators. Participants will explore what it means to create story within story using the words on the page and our personal experiences. Illustrators will learn to read between the lines to identify concepts that are worth fleshing out visually to complement the verbal narrative. Authors will learn how to leave "crumbs" to feed the creativity of their illustrator partners. Illustrator Marie-Laure Couët will apply her experience in brand design to show how crossing over disciplines can help us explore narrative in new ways, to distill and champion the essence of a story.

Feeling blah about your writing? Wondering what you can do to create a more vivid and emotional experience for the reader? In this intensive, author Irene Latham will explore poetic techniques such as imagery, metaphor, and rhythm. You'll play with verbs and symbols. You'll look to poems to show how poetry's music of words, economy of expression, and precision of language has the power to elevate any story to “art.” Attendees will come away reinvigorated and armed with new ways to create and improve all kinds of writing.

Can you do what you love and still earn a living? It's hard. But it's possible. Learn the world of self-publishing and its potential for a lucrative career with Darcy Pattison. Learn to choose story topics, develop a brand and followers, and optimize your storytelling and your income.