A writer’s life

SCBWI Prarie Writers and Illustrators Day Diversity session

Today I am off at Harper college in Palatine, Illinois for SCBWI\’s annual Prairie Writer\’s and Illustrators day, a conference for filled with authors, illustrators, editors and agents. There are contests, workshop sessions, portfolio reviews, and general information sharing and networking. This year they are featuring something new. Lunch and Learn sessions, where people will

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End of Year School visit

On Friday I traveled the 144 miles to Bloomington Illinois to meet with freshmen at Bloomington High School. I was invited by Keran Johnson, the school\’s retiring Library Media Specialist (she\’s in full countdown mode).  We met last fall when I spoke at the Illinois School Library Media Association in Springfield, and she mentioned how

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Empowering the Voice of the Black Male in Children’s and Teen Lit – NCAAL 2013

I spoke at the 8th National Conference of African American Librarians on August 8, 2013. The topic was Empowering the Voice of the Black Male in Children’s and Teen Lit. [Click here to read the YALSA Hub post about the conference] At one point we had a discussion on the role of non-fiction. One librarian

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Interview with 2013 RWA Golden heart finalist – Sonali Dev

I feel lucky and honored to be a member of the Chicago North RWA chapter. Doubly lucky because Sonali Dev is also a member. She is one of the 2013 Golden Heart ® finalists with her  Contemporary Single Title Romance – The Bollywood Bad Boy.  Sonali agreed to visit my blog and discuss the manuscript

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