“Cold, Hard Readings” Critiques

Don’t forget to enter your first two pages for a chance to have Cheri Earl read and critique your first page in her afternoon lecture. It’s an opportunity to be recognized, something akin to being discovered from the slush pile (albeit a smaller one).

For each “Cold, Hard Readings” breakout session, Cheri will choose up to five, first-two novel pages written by conference participants (chosen randomly and in advance) and critique/discuss-in front of the group-the detailed strengths and weaknesses of each. The experience in Cheri’s breakout session will be something like coming out of a public bathroom with your dress tucked up into your nylons. . .lots of fun. A group discussion will follow the critiques.

Entries are to be submitted to Amy White’s at saltzworks@gmail.com by June 14th at the latest.

Book Review: Ammi-Joan Paquette

I discovered a fabulous mix of reality and fantasy in Ammi-Joan Paquette’s Tiptoe Guides. The photography and illustrations combine to create a child’s adventure exploring what might be hiding in the water or flowers they see around them.

The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Mermaids leads the reader along the shore, allowing them to discover tide pools where baby mermaids love to splash and treasures that might catch a mermaid’s attention. The reader follows the mermaids as they feast, chase dolphins and play hide-and-seek in the coral reef with their seahorse buddies. A glimpse of the fantasy world of a mermaid in the real places we see along the shore make this a book young readers will choose more than once.

The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies is a similar adventure as the reader looks for clues in everyday places where fairies might be. In the tulips, under the waterfall and blossoms on a tree are all places where the reader may find some fairy magic. Bareback chipmunk riding and hide-and-seek provide some fairy entertainment.

Both books are a beautiful look from our world into a fantasy world that will attract young, adventurous readers.

Ammi-Joan is multi-talented. Not only is she the author of these and other books, but she is also a literary agent. We are excited to welcome her as an agent working with the conference next week.

WIFYR Success Stories, Part 2

Earlier on the blog we featured several writers who got their start at WIFYR. This week we’ll start off with some stories from some of our resident illustrators, as well as many more from past attendees. We hope you enjoy their inspiring stories!books

A few years ago Jed Henry had never been published. He’d been an artist all his life, studying art in college and graduating from a prestigious animation program. But though he enjoyed his schooling, his true aspiration was to become a children’s illustrator. The problem was, he didn’t know where to start. That’s when oneof his friends told him about WIFYR conference.  He says, “Attending [WIFYR] was my first step into the world of publishing.  Before the conference, I had no idea what I was getting into.  But during that week of workshops and classes, I learned a lot.  Most importantly, I made connections that lead to other opportunities.”

After the conference, Henry had his hands full. He writes, “I made dozens of illustrations, and wrote manuscript after manuscript.  With each piece, I felt myself getting a little better. Finally, I got a lucky break when an illustrator friend introduced me to his agent.” With the help of his agent, Henry illustrated his first book, Pick a PupHe went on to illustrate Can’t Wait Till Christmasand Just Say Boo!. He has also written and illustrated two of his own picture books, I Speak Dinosaur! and Cheer Up, Mouse! He has three books due for release in 2013, including Good Night, Mouse!a sequel to Cheer Up, Mouse! To aspiring writers and illustrators he says, “Honing one’s craft takes time and hard work.  You may not get discovered your first year at the conference.  But youwill learn a ton, and if you’re serious about writing or illustrating, you’ll do what it takes to make the most of this conference.  It’s an amazing opportunity.”

Another illustrator and past WIFYR attendee, Matthew Armstrong, met his agent at the WIFYR conference as well. He has since written and illustrated several books for young readers, including a popular pop-up retelling of the classic Narnia tales. He also won the 2005 Benjamin Franklin Award for his illustrations in The Blacksmith’s Gift.

Illustrators Scott Franson and Sherry Meideell also attended the illustrator workshop at WIFYR conference. It was here that Franson sold his first picture book, the wordless tale Un-brella, published in April 2007. Meidell, meanwhile, made connections with her now-agent Steve Fraser, who will return to the conference this year as one of our special guests. Since then, Meidell has gone on to illustrate nine picture books.

Of course, illustrators aren’t the only ones who make connections at WIFYR conference. Rick Walton, a highly-published author of picture books, chapter books, joke books (and more!) says attending conferences like WIFYR is an essential part of becoming a published author. At conferences, writers and illustrators are able to network, not just with each other, but with agents and editors, too:  “Actually,most of my sales have come about through networking, from meeting people at conferences or other events,” he says. “It’s not the only way to get published obviously, but for me it’s the most effective.” The WIFYR conference led directly to at least three picture book sales for Walton.

Ann Dee Ellis, author of This is What I Did and Everything is Fine, feels that the instruction she got as an attendee was as valuable as the contacts she made. She writes, “I attended the conference while I was in graduate school. I had no idea what to expect. I was both surprised and excited after the first day. It was much more hands-on than I had expected. Not only did I get to have a group of peers plus a published and accomplished author read and critique my work, I got to meet editors and an agent from New York. I got to hear what they were looking for, learn what the business of writing entailed and received valuable tips on craft. I left the conference feeling rejuvenated and encouraged.
“The second year I attended, the author that was directing my workshop, Virginia Euwer Wolff, had a specific request from a new agent back in New York to look for writers that he might want to represent. After workshopping my piece, Virginia suggested I send him some of my manuscript. What?! Yay! I sent him the first few pages and, within a few weeks, had an awesome agent, and soon thereafter a contract. I can honestly say that the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers conference launched my career.” Ellis has since returned to WIFYR several times as an instructor.The conference has also put established authors in touch with editors and agents. Claudia Mills, author of dozens of YA and middle grade novels, first came to the conference as an instructor several years ago. While there, she met the person who would become her agent. She also met the editor to whom her agent would sell a new series. But she didn’tgain just professional contacts; “I met wonderful writers who helped me grow in my craft and whose friendship I will always cherish,” she says.

WIFYR conference has also been useful for beginning writers, and we hope to see several of our past attendees in print soon. Here is a list of past attendees who are now on the road to publication:Taryn Albright, winner of last year’s Annual Writing Contest, received a great deal of feedback from agent Mary Kole, creator of the popular kidlit.com website. After extensive revisions, Albright later signed with agent Molly Ker Hawn of the Bent Agency. She hopes to have a contract soon.

Courtney Alameda, a longtime WIFYR participant, signed last year with agent John Cusick. Her book, Shutter, will be published by Feiwell & Friends in 2014.

Kate Coursey, 19-year-old YA writer from Salt Lake City, was in a workshop with writer Alane Ferguson. Ferguson introduced Coursey to her agent, Edward Necarsulmer of McIntosh & Otis. Coursey signed with Necarsulmer soon after. Her book is undergoing revisions at Scholastic Press.

We’d love to see your name added to this list, and we know you would too. WIFYR may be just what you need to jump-start your writing/illustrating career. At the conference you will practice your craft, make new connections, and learn important skills to help you get published. Keep checking for more updates from our authors, and go see this year’s lineup at wifyr.com.

Author Interview: Kris Chandler

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Kris Chandler’s first stories were told for cookies. When she was five years old, she was paid in cookies to tell stories to a toddler in her neighborhood. Fortunately, she didn’t stop there. We are delighted that she is teaching at WIFYR this June. Here’s more about Kristen.

Q: When did you know books for kids was the place for you?

A: I started out writing adult novels but teenagers kept taking over my books. Eventually I figured out my characters were trying to tell me something. Also, my first year of teaching I listened to To Kill A Mocking Bird on tape while I was commuting. I had resisted reading it in high school for some reason and just never gotten around to reading it until then. But hearing Scout’s voice in the solitude of my crummy car hypnotized me. I was late for class because I was sitting in the parking lot with my radio on. I realized then that voice was the whole shebang to me.

Q: What is your favorite line that you have ever written or read that someone else wrote and why?

A: YIKES! That’s so much pressure.

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

I’m not alone in this of course. But yeah… I think it was Fitzgerald’s favorite line too and it ruined him.

When you are immersed in a book, what makes you know that this is the book you need to write?

I forget I’m writing.

Q: How did you get started in this industry?

A: My neighbor gave me cookies to tell stories to her daughter.

Q: If you weren’t a writer, what would you do?

A: Truthfully? I love teaching! But I was really close to going into law. For ten years I said, “The LSAT’s in November.” Luckily I worked in a law firm to get through grad school so I knew that lawyers made more money than writers and teachers but they didn’t seem too happy about it.

Q: What is your favorite city and why?

A: I try to love wherever I am. But I’m a hardcore travel junkie. I wish I had a place in McLeod, Montana. Maybe because I’ve never been there.

Q: How often do you write a piece before it’s where you think it should be so you can show it to someone else?

A: It totally depends on how good it is and how needy I am.

Q: What is the best advice you have ever received for this business we are in?

A: “Do something else if you can.” “Don’t quit your day job.” Totally blew off both suggestions.

Q: What is your best writing exercise to help someone get stronger as a writer?

A: Live and then tell the truth about it.

Q: What does your typical day look like?

A: It looks a lot like my computer. But I get up early and write before my kids get up and then write when they go to school and then do my other writing job at night when they settle down.

Q: What happens when the writing just isn’t coming out as you think it should?

A: I go running or take my dog for walk. Sometimes I whine. I read other writers. Then I work more.

Learn more about Kris, view her WIFYR bio and class information.

http://www.wifyr.com/biokrischandler.php

Author Interview: Cheri Pray Earl

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It’s a pleasure to welcome Cheri Pray Earl to WIFYR again. She has been involved with the conference for many years. Those attending her morning workshop will rescue stalled-out novel manuscripts and paddle through the murky middles. It’s sure to be a great experience. Now on to the interview.

Q: What is your favorite paragraph that you have ever written or read that someone else wrote and why?

A: “Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between.  Boo was our neighbor.  He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives.  But neighbors give in return.  We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad.”—Scout, To Kill a Mockingbird

I can’t say I have a favorite line/paragraph really, but this comes close. It’s full of voice, rhythm, emotion, nostalgia, meaning. It brings up the emotion of the whole book for me.

Q: If you weren’t a writer, what would you do?

A: Teach writing, which is what I do that keeps me from writing. I love irony . . .

Q: How often do you write a piece before it’s where you think it should be so you can show it to someone else?

A: Do you mean how many times do I revise a piece before it’s good enough to show someone? I hope that’s what you mean because that’s the question I’m answering. I revise my first few (two to three) chapters maybe a dozen times before I show them to anyone. I might show bits and pieces earlier than that, but not the whole. The narrative voice of a novel is hard for me to nail down, so I keep rewriting the beginning until I get that part right. Then I can move on with the story.

Q: What is your best writing exercise to help someone get stronger as a writer?

A:  My favorite exercise is Routine, Disruption, and Drama from The Portable MFA. It goes like this:

Frank O’Connor says (in his book, The Lonely Voice) that a story requires three elements: exposition, development, and drama. You know that your beginning plot portion is strong if you can summarize your story in three lines, with each line relating to one of these elements. For example:

  • Exposition: John Fortescue was a solicitor in the little town of X. (Routine)
  • Development: One day, Mrs. Fortescue told him she was leaving him for another man. (Disruption of routine)
  • Drama: “You’ll do nothing of the kind,” he said. (What the protagonist will struggle for, in this case, his marriage.)

Another favorite is a writing exercise that sort of mimics what Hemingway (and Steinbeck, too) does with setting up a scene. This one works for me and for my students because we all need to work on creating richer settings. Here it is:

Write six descriptive sentences without a character (second three sentences elaborate on the first three). Then have the character(s) enter the setting you have created; write at least 4 lines of dialogue. No more than 500 words total.

Learn more about Cheri, view her WIFYR bio and class information.

http://www.wifyr.com/biocheriprayearl.php

It is not too late!

Have you ever procrastinated? That, for almost every human being on the Earth, is a silly question. Of course we have! It’s human nature. Often we put off those things we need to do that we do not. Those always catch up to us, such as when I skip a week or two of mowing the lawn. By the time I get to it, the lawn is a wild, ferocious thing that really puts the mower through the ringer. There is rarely a time when putting something off turns out to be the best thing. Usually we only make things harder or worse.

Then there are the things we procrastinate that we know will be good for us. One such thing is a higher education. Sometimes we might take a lighter load of classes, or skip a semester. Another example is spending time with something we love, whether it be art, woodworking, and writing. Sometimes when we put things off we simply miss out on what the opportunity had to offer us. For writers or illustrators, one such opportunity is coming up very quickly!

WIFYR provides invaluable feedback, skills, methods, and many other tools to help hone the craft. Another thing we gain is networking with our peers, both firmly in the industry, or striving to become part of it. It’s not too late to sign up, or if you have a friend who is unsure if they will attend, to help them make it to gain all WIFYR has to offer. We hope to see you there!

For Young Readers

I am an assistant at WIFYR this year and am excited to be working with Ann Cannon. She is a regular at the conference and I try to attend her afternoon sessions when I can. Ann writes at many levels in children’s literature. She’s done PB to YA. You can read her each Saturday in the Salt Lake Tribune and thus knows how to entertain adult readers as well.

 Carol Williams, again, has assembled a host of talented speakers and faculty. Cheri Pray Earl, Sharlee Glenn, Steve Bjorkman, J Scott Savage, Kris Chandler, Martine Leavitt, Matt Kirby, and Mette Ivie Harrison all join Ann and Carol in running workshops. Something new this year, there are mini-workshops that participants can sign up for. Each morning focuses on a different theme, from blogging to screen writing and short stories to rhythm, rhyme, and riddle. Elana Johnson, Alison Randall, Krysten Crow, and Marty Nabhan are running these sessions.

Also in attendance will be an editor and two agents. Carol has pulled in Alyson Heller from Aladdin Books. The agents include Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency and Steven Fraser from the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency.

The Utah State Poet Laureate, Lance Larson will be the keynote speaker in Thursday afternoon.

The conference is a great place to grow your craft. I have yet to do a LTUE and have heard high praise for LDStorymakers, but the For Young Readers conference is refreshing. Any effort to cultivate your writing skill is satisfying. Carol’s conference is the place to do it.

SUPERSNOUTS: Illustrated by Steve Bjorkman

By Eric Birkin
                SUPERSNOUTS is a whimsical picture book illustrated by Steve Bjorkman featuring superhero pigs Hamlet, Snoutbuster, and Kernel Hog. Many of Bjorkman’s earlier works are centered around pen and ink. SUPERSNOUTS is Bjorkman’s first project done entirely in pen and brush. This bold new style displays the critical and practiced eye of a quality illustrator. Bjorkman is a master of creating dialogue and action without using written language.
               Steve Bjorkman will lead the three-day illustration workshop at WIFYR this year. Anybody desiring to learn the skills involved in visual storytelling will benefit from Bjorkman’s knowledge and experience. Not only are his illustrations colorful, expressive and unique, they are, in simple terms, incredibly effective at telling a story without words.

Spread the WIFYR word, Win a Page Critique

There are still a few more days to enter the contest. Share the WIFYR Word! The person who gets the word out to the most places/people will win a page critique from Edgar Award-winning author Alane Ferguson. I can tell you from experience that her critiques are spot-on. She knows what she’s talking about, and she’s super nice as well.

Here’s how it works: Talk about what you love about the WIFYR conference in every way you can. Blog, post, tweet, email, tell friends. Suggestions: Let people know what’s unique about WIFYR: it’s the only Utah conference to offer five-day, small group workshops featuring hands-on instruction and critique. Make sure everyone knows about the deadline extension for the WIFYR writing contest with its award of $1000 plus potential publication, the a la carte mini workshops, remind people about the early bird registration extension, the free Keynote speech with Utah’s Poet Laureate Lance Larsen, the discount for SCBWI members, etc. Limit of two posts per day on Facebook and Twitter. When tweeting, please use the hashtag #wifyr2013. You will also get points for liking the WIFYR Facebook page, signing up for the WIFYR email newsletter list, or making comments on the blog.

Us the comments box below to tell us how many times you shared the WIFYR word, and please include a list of places you posted, including blog links, and remember to use #wifyr2013 when you tweet.