A second Illinois SCBWI member has stepped up to join in the effort to help diverse authors and illustrators attend the annual conference on Nov 5. Children’s book author Urania Smith has also stepped up to sponsor an attendee. We have a wide definition of diverse author/illustrator. So if you are in or near the […]
diversity
Illinois Writers and Illustrators conference scholarship
On November 5, the Illinois chapter of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is having its annual conference, Prairie Writer’s and Illustrator’s Day. The one-day conference is held at the Wojcik Conference Center, at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. This conference contains valuable information for people who craft children’s books, with information about
Illinois Writers and Illustrators conference scholarship Read More »
I Am An Anomaly
I volunteer at my town’s Senior Citizen’s center a few times a week, working in the computer lab associated with our public library. There I perform crowd control when things get busy, and answer questions about using the computer, printing, and various websites. I get paid with a free cup of coffee (when I remember
I’m fighting racism, one step at a time
Yesterday after reading an article on Facebook about police dismissing the protests of a young black male because…well, because he was a young black male and therefore what he said didn’t matter, (click here to see the article that started the discussion) an acquaintance on Facebook commented that she supported #blacklivesmatter but recognizes that racism
I’m fighting racism, one step at a time Read More »
Writing cross-culturally
I am currently (July 2016) teaching a class of authors about writing diverse characters, my Spice of Diversity class. I received a student question that I’ve chosen to answer here, because I think it deserves a wide, thoughtful, answer. I was asked, …when I wanted to write a Spanish hero, another writer with a Hispanic last
Writing cross-culturally Read More »
Empathy – Diversity class
Today I’m blogging about the E-word. Empathy. You know, that ability to see things from another point of view. To understand and at least temporarily share someone else’s feelings, even if that someone else is outwardly very different from yourself. A lot has happened recently. Parents jerked through social media because a mother dared to be
Empathy – Diversity class Read More »
#ILLibrary15 Illinois Library Association conference panel on Diversity
In October 2015, I was moderated a panel of authors and illustrators of diverse books at the Illinois Library Association meeting in Peoria, Il. B A Binns, Miranda Paul, Chris Raschka, Laura Park This well attended panel presentation took place in a double room at the Peoria Civic Center on October 23, 2015 in front of a
#ILLibrary15 Illinois Library Association conference panel on Diversity Read More »
Adding the Spice of Diversity class
Some of you know that I give workshops and teach classes for authors and readers. One of those classes is Adding The Spice of Diversity. Originally given as a Workshop at the 2014 Chicago North RWA Spring Fling conference, the material is now a four week course allowing attendees time to delve deep in to
Adding the Spice of Diversity class Read More »
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
SCBWI Prarie Writers and Illustrators Day Diversity session Read More »
Books filled with life’s quirks, kinks, and diversity – #weneeddiversebooks
Diverse books for young readers were plentiful at the Chicago Black Authors tent this weekend at the 2014 Printer\’s Row Literature Festival in Chicago, Il. We faced a steady stream of interested kids, parents and teachers both Saturday and Sunday. I had the misfortune of selling out my stock of copies of Pull early on
Books filled with life’s quirks, kinks, and diversity – #weneeddiversebooks Read More »