Get Inked! By Kathy Higgs-Coulthard

Imagine a room full of writers—heads bowed, pens gliding across paper. These writers understand the importance of networking and learning from other writers. They have given up an entire Saturday to work on their craft. They are writing poetry, memoir, fiction. Some are beginning novels, others revising them. These writers are committed and skilled. These writers are teenagers.

In South Bend, Indiana (just a hop, skip, and a jump across the Stateline) teen writers assemble each November for the Get Inked! Teen Writing Conference at Saint Mary’s College. An all-day event, Get Inked! exposes young authors to the real work of writing. By attending craft lectures and workshops which are modeled after the high caliber writing conferences available to adult writers, area teens learn that writing is hard work but fun.

This year’s conference featured Michigan author Tracy Bilen. Tracy’s young adult novels mix romance and suspense, elements which appeal to teen audiences and make her an authentic role model. Tracy’s keynote address urged teens to have the courage to keep writing. Following the keynote, local writing teacher and National Writing Project site-coordinator Mary Nicolini issued a challenge that required just such courage: A writer’s marathon.

In a writer’s marathon, prompts are solicited from attendees and collected in a box. The prompts are then drawn at random and the writers free-write on each successive topic for increasingly longer periods of time. Between sprints volunteers share their creations.

The highpoint of the conference is always the breakout sessions, which allow attendees to work in small groups under the tutelage of the visiting author. Tracy’s sessions focused on bringing scenes to life. She guided the teens through this process with an activity on building characterization through the layering of description, dialogue, and action.

You would think that a group of kids would be exhausted after writing from 8 am to 4 pm. Yet, when the last session ended, no one wanted to leave. The teens stuck around to chat with Tracy informally in the lobby.

Tracy brought a lot to this year’s Get Inked! Teen Writing Conference-- signed copies of her book (Y/A thriller, What She Left Behind), autographed bookmarks, and handouts for her talk on bringing scenes to life. The teens appreciated Tracy’s wisdom regarding the publishing process and her helpful tips on establishing a writing routine.

Tracy came armed with everything she needed to make the day a success, but ultimately it was what she left behind that made the biggest impact on the writers who attended. Tracy treated these teens like peers. She saw them the same way they see themselves—as real writers working on real projects. Because Tracy took their work seriously, they know it matters. And hopefully in the not-so-distant future, you’ll find their books on the shelves alongside authors like Tracy.

Kathy Higgs-Coulthard is a writer, a faculty member in the Education Department at Saint Mary's College, and Director of the Michiana Writers' Center. The Teen Writing Conference allows her to combine her passion for teaching with her love of writing. Her work appears in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Reboot Your Life, Cleaver Magazine, and Jack and Jill Magazine. 

BONUS: Tracy Bilen is one of the participating authors in a huge holiday cheer giveaway through Spencer Hill Press. Find out more at her website.

A huge thanks to Kathy for contributing our final guest post in 2014! Enjoy the holidays, and we'll return in the new year. Nina Goebel is preparing to introduce our new Featured Illustrator, and Patti Richards is gathering good news to share in our New Year's edition of Hugs and Hurrahs.

Cheers!
Kristin Lenz

All about MRA: Michigan Reading Association

MRA isn’t just for Educators…

Have you heard of Great Lakes, Great Books? Kaleidoscope? MRJ? News & Views? Gwen Frostic Award? If these sound familiar, then you are probably a Michigan Reading Association Member.

Michigan Reading Association (MRA) is an affiliate of the International Literacy Association, and an organization whose mission is to promote literacy across Michigan. As an educator, I have been familiar with MRA’s publications and conferences for years. Michigan Reading Journal has been a staple in educational institutions since 1967 and News & Views on Reading has kept members current with trends in the field. I love reading the journal to keep informed of research, learn tips for improving my craft, and to read reviews on newly published books. There is a wide spectrum of topics and issues in reading, language arts, and literature, and preschool - adult levels included in publications. MRA also hosts the Kaleidoscope Writing Contest for K-12 students. Nominated students are honored at MRA’s State Conference with a celebration hosted by Michigan authors and illustrators.

But is wasn’t until I entered the world of children’s book writing myself, that I fully understood the benefit of an MRA membership. While I was conducting an author visit, a teacher asked if my publications were on MRA’s Great Lakes, Great Books list. Great Lakes, Great Books is an opportunity for kids in Michigan to vote on their favorite books and many SBCWI members have been nominated.

Later that same year, I was invited to speak at the MRA’s Summer Literature Conference as a guest author. Not only did my book get in the hands of more teachers, but I also met great authors like Ryan Hipp, who ironically talked me into an SCBWI membership.

Since that summer weekend, I have enjoyed memberships with two powerhouse reading organizations! I not only attend SCBWI conferences and webinars, but I now participate on the MRA Board. I have learned that being a part of both organizations has expanded my circle of book friends and has helped with my goal of supporting literacy in Michigan! 

Click here to see the poster and conference info.

Many other SCBWI members join me in this dual membership. Take Ruth McNally Barshaw and Matt Faulkner, for example, who were invited to create MRA’s 2015 Annual Conference poster. 

They did an incredible job and now their artwork is highlighted in nearly every school and library in our state! 

MRA is humbled by the work of Michigan authors and illustrators. Each year, MRA recognizes one special individual with the Gwen Frostic Award. This honor recognizes the literacy contributions of a Michigan author or illustrator. Past winners include:

 2009 – Shirley Nietzel - author

 2010 - Patricia Polacco – author/ illustrator

2011 - Margaret Willey - author, folklorist, and novelist

2012 - Ryan Hipp – author/illustrator 

2013 - Gary Schmidt - author

2014 - Kelly DiPucchio – author

2015- TBA – Could this be you?

There are countless reasons why I choose to be involved with both organizations. I love to communicate with those in the education field, as well as professional writers and illustrators! Many SCBWI-MI friends will be joining MRA as speakers and guests at future events and conferences. If you are interested in learning more about MRA, please feel free to visit michiganreading.org or contact me at iheartwritingbooks@yahoo.com.

As a Language Arts Consultant for Macomb Intermediate School District, Dr. Lisa Rivard is passionate about literacy in our state and enjoys reading children’s literature. She tries to carve out time for her own writing adventures but is also busy planning MRA’s 59^th Annual Conference in March, 2015 and will lead the MRA organization as President in 2016. She loves to spend spare time walking along the St Clair River where she resides and operates a Little Free Library in her front yard.

School Visit Webinar: So You're Not a Juggler?

Would you love to attend a children's book conference without traveling? Webinars offer an inexpensive and flexible format to interact with speakers and other audience members right from your home computer. Or, if you're unavailable at the scheduled time, you can view the webinar at your leisure on another day.




SCBWI-MI offered a series of webinars this year, and the most recent topic was So You're Not a Juggler: Planning Amazing School Visits with Suzanne Morgan Williams. We asked one of our SCBWI-MI members to tell us about her experience.

Here's Sandy Carlson:

An important take-away I learned from Suzanne’s webinar on school visits is that there is always something more you can be doing as a business person. I look on this advice the same way as I see cleaning my house. There are daily tasks. Each day at home there are dirty dishes, laundry, yard work etc. And there are always big ways you could improve these tasks, like buying a snow blower in addition to your handy, decade-old shovel. In home and house work, there’s always something more I could be doing. So it is with being a writer. Suzanne helped bring out both the details and the big things, for being a writer is so much more than just writing. (Now, wouldn’t that be a fun career? Just writing?)

Another take-away for me from the webinar was Suzanne’s encouragement (guide) to creating an author brochure for school visits. I’ve seen many author brochures. In fact, it has been on my to-do list for quite a while now. Other things always took priority, like shoveling the driveway or raking a forest of leaves from our yard. Besides your business cards, a brochure is a concise way

to present what you’ve written and what you are available to present. Being part of this webinar gave me the confident push to get my own author brochure created and done.

Thank you, Suzanne. And thank you SCBWI-MI RA’s and fellow writers for being always so supportive.

Sandy is a 10 year member of SCBWI. She has spoken at three writers conferences and done many school visits for her MG historical fiction books. A former teacher, she lives in Battle  Creek with her husband. Find out more at www.sandycarlson.com

That author brochure that Sandy mentioned? Done. Check out her quality work on her website.

Learn more about Suzanne Morgan Williams, her books and presentations, at her website.

 For more information about any of the 5 webinars SCBWI-MI has hosted this year, visit the Webinar Library. You can still register and view the webinar for up to 3 months after the live date. That gives you until Feb. 12th to learn all about school visits with Suzanne Morgan Williams. Hop to it! 

#GivingTuesday

Thanksgiving

Black Friday

Small Business Saturday (shop at your local indie bookstore!)

Cyber Monday

And a new tradition: 

#Giving Tuesday

Two years ago, a movement was born to kick off the holiday giving season. December 2, 2014 is #Giving Tuesday, an initiative that celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support non-profit organizations. 

Giving can be as simple as dropping coins in a can or donating a toy, but to have a bigger impact, it helps to do your research. Charity Navigator is one place to start. For tips on giving, read their guide.

Prefer to give a hand up over a handout?

Microloans are one way you can have an impact. You choose an endeavor to support, you make a loan, you get updates on the progress, you get paid back, and you repeat the process again with a new project.  Kiva is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty, and you can lend as little as $25. If you're a YA reader/writer, you can guess which super-star author created the Nerdfighters team on Kiva. “We loan because…we aim to decrease world suck.” 

Want to lend a hand?   

Volunteer Match helps individuals and groups find local non-profits who need your time. 

Charitable giving is something we tend to keep quiet about. 

It doesn’t feel right to say, “Look what I did!” 

But the more people know about your efforts, the more likely they are to join you or support another cause that's important to them. So please, shout out, so others can jump on board.  

The SCBWI community has been rallying around a campaign to increase diversity in children's books. Find out more at: http://weneeddiversebooks.tumblr.com/

SCBWI-MI member, Shutta Crum, gives back by giving a scholarship to the annual SCBWI winter conference in NY. The December 10th application deadline is fast approaching. Find out more here.

Since this is a blog about reading and writing for children, I'm shouting out for InsideOut Literary Arts Project in Detroit. IO's Mission and Vision:

"By immersing students in the joy and power of poetry and literary self-expression, InsideOut inspires them to think broadly, create bravely and share their voices with the wider world. Guided by professional writers and celebrated by publications and performances, youth learn that their stories and ideas matter and that their pens can launch them off the page into extraordinary lives."

Now it's your turn. Leave a comment below and shout out for a charity/non-profit organization. Local, national, international, relating to reading, writing, the arts, or any other need you feel passionate about, please share.

http://www.givingtuesday.org/

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kristin Lenz

A Fond Farewell and an Introduction

You may have noticed some new names under our Meet the Editors heading. Before I make the introductions, please join me in sending a huge thank you to Jodie Fletcher who co-edited the SCBWI-MI newsletter for two years and helped with the transition to this blog. 

Jodie is devoting more time to her freelance writing career and is in the midst of a big move downstate to the metro-Detroit area. I heard there's quite a bit of home renovating going on, too - she's digging into all kinds of new projects. I'll miss our monthly editorial phone calls/inspirational chats, but now she'll live close enough to meet up in person! 

Jodie and I found ways to amuse ourselves whenever inevitable newsletter frustrations arose. My favorite was sneaking photos of Jodie's Little Dog into the newsletter stories, because who can resist that cute sweet face?!

Follow Jodie on Twitter @jodellafletch to keep up with her furry friends, writing projects, and much more.

Moving forward, I'm thrilled to introduce two new members to The Mitten blog team: Nina Goebel and Patti Richards!

Nina Goebel is an illustrator and will coordinate our Featured Illustrator content. She has great ideas, and I can't wait to see how the blog design evolves in her artistic hands. Learn more about Nina and see her artwork at her website.

Patti Richards is a children's author and will coordinate our Hugs and Hurrahs and Meet a Member spotlights. Patti and I have cheered for each other through our publishing highs and lows over the years, and I'm looking forward to blogging with her. Learn more about Patti and her various writing projects at her website.

Nina and Patti will share more about themselves in the weeks ahead, and we'll be brainstorming ways to make this blog beneficial to as many of you as possible. As always, we welcome your contributions, and we want to hear your ideas. See the Submissions tab above for information about writing guest posts or email me at kristinbartleylenz@gmail.com.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, and check in with us the following day on Friday, Nov. 28th. We'll have a special post to gear up for #Giving Tuesday.

Have a great weekend!
Kristin Lenz

THE BIRTH OF BLOBS by Amy Nielander

Back in May, I began the journey of redesigning my website. With the help of an incredible web designer, my task was almost complete, until I was asked, “Do I want a Blog?”

A blog. That means I need to... open my world up. Share thoughts and comments

with people I can’t even see, don’t even know, and may... not like my work. 

This was already tough to do - with an actual person.

Writing in an unedited kind of way, under a cyber-spotlight, felt out of my comfort zone. It was just not easy -  due mostly to a design background that earned me a highly critical eye, a music background that rewarded me with a highly critical ear, and a brain that doesn’t know any better but… to follow suit with general criticalness in everything else. This art for fine tuning serves my picture book drafts very well, but pains any off-the-cuff kind of writing that comes out of me (you’re reading the 8^th version of this piece).  

How do I warm up to being a blogger? For a person who is wired to DO versus have to TALK about what I'm doing, I decided maybe I need to put a spin on the traditional blog. Get to know my audience, just as they are getting to know me. Then I can ease into the-sharing-thoughts-with-strangers platform better.

As word play often happens with us crafty book people, I started dallying around with the word, BLOG. BLOB BLOG struck a chord. Then, more questions. What IS that? What could a BLOB be?

Fast forward to some idea testing, my website launch, then making the final decision to use BLOBS as a tool. They would help me accomplish what my hopes as an author/illustrator were: 

Encourage and support creativity

Provide an activity families could enjoy together (a little like…reading?)

Set the stage for laughter    

And even go beyond what a picture book could do -

Build confidence in kids to problem solve on their feet

All of these wrapped up had the power to deliver a child or family, JOY.

BLOBS would be a playground for building and extending imaginations. Giving those far-fetched ideas, a place to live, for the simple fun of it. But, how? Tapping back into my memories of SCBWI conferences, the common request from editors and agents sprung to mind. Give me VOICE. Give me CHARACTER. 

There was my challenge. Turn a BLOB into a character.

So how does THE BLOB BLOG work? I create 4 random shapes on an activity sheet every Monday. Families/kids can download them and share their designs with me over the week (the first person to do so – will get posted!), or just check results on Friday. I post my own designs along with my kids.  As THE BLOB BLOG extends its audience, various artists/designers will be featured.

After getting excellent support and interest from a couple of our very own Michigan author/illustrators, Heidi Woodward Sheffield and Virginia Rinkel (plus family!), I received confirmation. BLOBS work - YES! We weren’t the only ones having fun. 

What have I learned so far?  

#1  BLOBS challenge me too! Turning nothing into something every week, and then sharing (even if I don’t LOVE what I did) is tough. The self-imposed posting schedule holds me accountable.  Sometimes I don’t even get to finishing them until late on Thursday nights (when I’d rather be bundled under covers) but have to deliver on my word. Not knowing if anyone is planning on checking in, I still push myself to stick to my creative duties.

#2  I have loosened up. Because of the tight turnaround and producing separate work at the same time, I can’t get hung up on details. The big picture has to reign. This is not about perfection, only ideas.

#3  BLOBS create connections. The room booms with laughter when my kids and I are designing characters together. We have a blast every Monday morning doing these after breakfast. It’s a routine we look forward to now. BLOBS have that MadLibs kind of effect. They are unexpected and silly.  They open doors to communicating with one another in a different way. After our sheets are finished, we share and talk about what our characters are, how we were inspired, where they came from and names. BLOBS are quick, but rich on return.

Here are a few of my favorites from us…

What are the future of BLOBS? Keep doing them and create occasional product! I gave it a try with HUNGRY HALLOWEEN BLOB cards for kids in October:

I opened an Etsy shop (lean - but filled with love) and have a Holiday line in the works. Here’s a rough glimpse of a deer inspired BLOB…

While story making is still first and foremost (THE LADYBUG RACE will be released 2015, PomegranateKids), BLOBS are a great exercise in character/story building and creativity. 

Check in at amynielander.com on Mondays and Fridays to test The BLOB BLOG out for yourself!  You can also find me on Facebook for other news and work.

Thanks so much for having me SCBWI-MICHIGAN!  I am honored to be part of The Mitten! Wishing everyone warm and wonderful holidays! Thanks for reading : ) 

Thanks for sharing your fun project with us, Amy! We hope your Blob Blog gets shared far and wide with children, parents, writers, artists, and teachers joining you in creating new Blob characters. (Try saying Blob Blog fast three times!)

Exciting changes are brewing here at The Mitten. You may have noticed some new names under the Meet the Editors section on the sidebar. I'll fill you in next Friday.

Have a great weekend,
Kristin

Got Indie Bookstore?

The We Need Diverse Books campaign continues to build steam, and last month Lisa Rose introduced our blog readers to The Missing Voice project to promote diversity in children's literature. Now she's discovered a wonderful gem of a bookstore in her hometown of Farmington, Michigan. The owner hopes to connect with the kid-lit community and expand her children's section. Lisa gives us the scoop:

Ever since Salathiel Palland saw the movie The Neverending Story she wanted to own a bookstore. But then life happened, and Palland studied teaching, musical theater, worked for Detroit Energy and General Motors. Finally, in 2010, she made a New Year’s Resolution to live her childhood dream.  By 2012, she was one of only 200 independent African-American owned bookstores in the United States. By 2014, that number dwindled to just over 50.

Her bookstore is called Off the Beaten Path Books and lives up to its name. It specializes in Steampunk which Palland describes as “Victorian Sci-Fi.” It's an area of literature with very few African-American writers and readers. It’s like the hockey game of literature for people of color, but Palland doesn’t mind. “I always did what interested me. I liked sci-fi, Harry Potter, and all that nerdy stuff. Diversity is about having the freedom to do what you want without judgment or stereotypes. Why can’t a black woman own a Steampunk Bookstore?”

Palland explained how she had all the stigma of growing up as a black woman, but because of the way she spoke and her interests, she was told she was “not black enough.” Her community thought she was “too white.” However, she was also told by black men she was “too dark” to date. Palland explained how sometimes it is our own community that “confines people of color.” Palland explained, “We must stop our own racism before we can expect others to stop theirs.”

Off the Beaten Path Books is much more than a bookstore. It also has a little café counter, Steampunk costumes, and room in the back for gatherings with a stage. Palland hosts anything from 80’s dance parties, to Harry Potter Night, to a Steampunk band concert.  The intention is to use this space for people to connect, create, and explore.

Even though Palland has young children, she admits she has a lot to learn when it comes to children’s literature. However, she can’t wait to meet the kid-lit community and is eager to expand her children’s section. The space in the back is ideal for author events with children’s crafts. Also, unlike the large chain bookstores, the store is very cozy and self-contained. A parent feels his/her child is very safe in this store. So MI authors if you are interested in holding an event at her amazing store, please contact her.

Salathiel Palland

OFF THE BEATEN PATH BOOKS

33314 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48336
(248) 987-6055

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Off-the-Beaten-Path-Books/119512311419861

Lisa Rose lives near Detroit, Michigan with her husband and daughter. She likes to swim, practice yoga, and eat ice cream, but not at the same time.

She has two e-books published with MeeGenius OH NO! THE EASTER BUNNY IS ALLERGIC TO EGGS! and THE TOOTH FAIRY BROKE HER WING!

In 2016, the picture books SHUMLIK PAINTS THE TOWN and THE HUNGRY LATKE MONSTER will be published by Kar-Ben Publishing.

You can learn more about her and her work by following Lisa’s blog www.lisarosewrites.wordpress.com and follow her on twitter @lisarosewrites.