Many months ago, I received an invitation to read from
You Are My Only at The Spiral Bookcase, a new independent bookstore in Manayunk, PA. I was, of course, keen to meet the store's very dear owner, Ann. And I was thrilled to have a chance to support a
new independent (how many new independent bookstores do you know?) But how much more fun would be had, I thought, if I could be joined in the event by some of the best young adult writers around.
And so Ann and I talked. And so one thing led to another. And so it is with a great sense of anticipation and pleasure that I am sharing news of the inaugural
Teen Day in Manayunk, to be held during the afternoon of
March 24th. There will be writing workshops for teen authors. There will be a writing contest with winning entries (judged by Elizabeth Mosier and yours truly) appearing in the extraordinary teen-lit magazine
Philadelphia Stories, Jr. and on The Spiral Bookcase web; I'll also be excerpting winning work here. There will be marching bands and media coverage and appearances by some very special souls.
I encourage teachers, parents, and young writers in the Philadelphia area to find out more about the writing contest, workshop, and meet-and-greet by contacting Ann at
The Spiral Bookcase. I encourage the rest of you to consider spending time with some truly fine writers along the canal.
Here we all are. There we all will be.
Susan Campbell Bartoletti is best known for her nonfiction books, including the Newbery Honor-winning Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow (Scholastic) and the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Honor-winning They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of An American Terrorist Group (Houghton Mifflin). Her most recent titles include the novel The Boy Who Dared (Scholastic) and a picture book Naamah and the Ark at Night (Candlewick 2011), illustrated by the amazing Holly Meade. www.scbartoletti.com <http://www.scbartoletti.com> <http://www.scbartoletti.com>
Beth Kephart is the National Book Award-nominated author of thirteen books, including the teen novels Undercover, House of Dance, Nothing but Ghosts, The Heart Is Not a Size, Dangerous Neighbors, and You Are My Only; Small Damages is due out from Philomel in July. Beth, who is an adjunct faculty member of the University of Pennsylvania, blogs at http://beth-kephart.blogspot.com/.
A.S. King is the author of the highly acclaimed Everybody Sees the Ants, a YALSA 2012 Top Ten Fiction for Young Adults book, the 2011 Michael L. Printz Honor book Please Ignore Vera Dietz, ALA Best Book for Young Adults The Dust of 100 Dogs, and the forthcoming Ask the Passengers. Since returning from Ireland where she spent over a decade living off the land, te
photo by pink sherbert www.flickr.com
Clara Gillow Clark is holding a writing contest for students in grades six through ten. The contest goes until April 9. To enter the contest, you write a 250-word entry to one of these prompts from a book called Spilling Ink by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter:
Writing Prompt #1: I DARE YOU Rewrite a scene from your life. Think of something that happened today. Something that wasn’t perfect–maybe something that was even downright mortifying–and rewrite it as you would have wanted it to happen. (Tip from Clara: Remember that scenes have a beginning, middle, and end!)
Writing Prompt #2: I DARE YOU Think of two people you admire. Now think of the thing you admire most about each of them. Combine those two qualities into one person, and write about that person in the following situation: She or he is walking down the street, and a strange man hands your character a small sealed carton and says, “Don’t let anything happen to this!” Then the man sprints away. What does your character do next?
Here are the prizes that tweens/teens can win:
First prize: $25 gift certificate to the bookstore of the winner’s choice, a guest spot on Clara’s blog, and his/her choice of any one of Clara’s books
2nd prize: a gift certificate for $15 to the bookstore of the winner’s choice, a guest spot on Clara’s blog, and a choice of one of Clara’s books.
3rd prize: A guest spot on Clara’s blog and choice of one of Clara’s books.
To find out more details & rules, how to enter the contest, and to check out Clara’s blog, go here.
Here’s the book, Spilling Ink, if you want to check it out. It’s perfect for students grades 5 to 9 (according to Booklist):
As other Wacky Wednesday posts pointed out this month, it will soon be National Poetry Month 2010 (like tomorrow–it starts). My past Wacky Wednesday posts had some ideas for elementary and middle grade students. For teenagers, poetry that they write can often be filled with teenage angst and focus on very dramatic topics such as lost love, peer pressure, or drug abuse. In a high school classroom, you could challenge students each week during National Poetry Month 2010 to do a different form of poetry. For example, week one instead of writing haiku like younger students often do, ask them to write a tanka. The next week, challenge students to write a villanelle. Maybe the third week, you will give them a certain rhyme scheme like ABAB ACAC and so on. The last week, challenge students to write a sonnet.
Throughout the week, give students several examples (modern, too, if possible) on the form of poetry you are requiring them to write. They should write more than one rough draft and then choose one to take through to publication. It’s not important which forms of poetry you choose as long as you choose a specific form, and don’t just allow free verse. Free verse is what most teens naturally write!
Do you have any poetry ideas for teens?
Sounds like a great time. Wish I could be there.
What an amazing line-up. Have fun with it! But I'm slightly distracted by the image. Is this crazy child in her lovely gingham dress actually attempting to climb INTO an elephant pen?
Why yes indeed she is, Melissa. I am so glad you noticed. This is a scene from Berlin. I made sure she emerged unscathed.
:O
Such a marvelous endeavor!