For Wisconsinites who write for children, the Southeast region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators-Wisconsin Chapter is meeting in Wauwatosa on March 11. Here is area coordinator Andrea Skyberg’s announcement:
March 11th, 2015:SCBWI Meet-up
Wauwatosa Library 7635 West North Ave. Wauwatosa, WI 53213
PB Meet-up
March 11th, 10am-12pm
Topic: Character Driven Stories & Creating Quirky Characters
Lead: JoAnn Early Macken
Agenda:
• Show & Tell: Picture Books that feature successful characters
• A short discussion on creating character driven stories
• Character Creation Exercise
SHOW & TELL: Participants please bring with one or two picture books that you find have great characters. We’ll share these with each other to build our reading list, as well as have some samples of text to explore.
JoAnn Early Macken is the author of Write a Poem Step by Step and five picture books, including Baby Says “Moo!” (soon to be a board book), Waiting Out the Storm, and Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move. She has also written numerous poems and more than 130 nonfiction books for young readers. JoAnn earned her M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has taught writing at four Wisconsin colleges, she contributes to the Teaching Authors blog, and she speaks about poetry and writing to students, teachers, and adult writers at schools, libraries, and conferences. Visit her web site at www.joannmacken.com.
MG/YA Meet-up
March 11th, 1-3pm
Topic: A Serious Look at Humor
Lead: Jeff Schill
Agenda:
•Show & Tell: MG/YA that feature humor
•A short discussion on the history of humor
•Creating Humor Activity
•Unexpected Twist Activity
SHOW & TELL: Participants please bring with one or two books (MG or YA) that you find funny or that use humor in a clever way. We’ll share these with each other to build our reading list, as well as have some samples of text to explore.
Jeff Schill is a self-proclaimed “kid at heart.” He eats peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, spins in circles in his swivel chair at work, and would hang a poster of Taylor Swift on his bedroom wall if his wife would allow it. He spends the majority of his day writing stories, dreaming of characters, and eating jelly beans. He is a recent graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts’ Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program.