Writing Picture Book Biographies 2019

October 2 - 5, 2019

Overview

Engage children in the lives of others through captivating events and compelling narrative threads.

A good biography fuels a story with research. It brings subjects to life through accuracy and authenticity. A well-told true story can inspire, delight, teach, and enthrall: kids are realizing that nonfiction can read with the same page-turning momentum as great fiction. In this workshop, you’ll explore the fundamentals of writing biographies for children.

What You’ll Learn

In this workshop, you will learn answers to these questions:

How do you select a biographical subject?
How do you tell a true story that is calling to you?
What makes this particular life worth writing about?
Will this person’s life make a good story for children?
What can be accomplished within the short form of a picture book biography?
What are some tips and tools for researching your subject?
How do you take a mountain of research and carve a storyline through it?
How do you create tension and keep readers turning the page?
How can fiction writing techniques enrich a picture book biography?
What are the publishers and markets for picture book biographies?

Who Should Attend

Beginning or intermediate authors or author/illustrators who want to learn, or strengthen, techniques for writing compelling picture book biographies.
Anyone who is fascinated with a potential biographical subject, feels that children would be interested in their story, and would like to discover the best way to tell that story.
Storytellers who would benefit from one-to-one critique sessions with mentors working in the field of picture book biography.

Agenda

This workshop features:

Faculty lectures and breakout sessions on craft and markets.
One-to-one critique sessions with faculty mentors.
Writing exercises and free writing time.
Editor Q&A.
Time for informal discussion with faculty and industry special guests.

Resources

True Storytelling: Tod Olson and Leda Schubert in Conversation
Don Tate: Get it Right with Research
Don Tate: Illustrating Lonnie Johnson’s story, Whoosh!
Don Tate: “Whoosh!” Research and texting with Lonnie Johnson
Donna Janell Bowman’s website

Testimonials

This is a new workshop, so we have no testimonials yet.

Faculty

Don Tate

Don Tate is an award-winning author, and the illustrator of numerous critically acclaimed books for children, including The Cart That Carried Martin(Charlesbridge); Hope’s…
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Donna Janell Bowman

Donna Janell Bowman is the author of the picture book biography Step Right Up: How Doc and Jim Key Taught…
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All-Inclusive Event Cost: $1,099.00

All-inclusive means we provide transportation to and from the airport, lodging and all meals.

workshop information

Begins Wednesday, October 2, with dinner, and ends on Saturday, October 5, with lunch.

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