I spent last weekend at the New England Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators annual spring conference and have wanted since then to share a few thoughts about the marvelousness. Somehow, though, the week got away from me. Let’s just file this post in the “Better Late Than Never” folder and get on with it …
Firstly, I was thrilled with the scope and breadth of the offerings specific to writers of nonfiction. Here is a rundown of the nonfiction workshops offered throughout the weekend:
WILD WORDS: VOICE AND CHOICE IN NONFICTION, by April Pulley Sayre
HOW TO SUCCEED IN RESEARCH WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE AN IMPOSTER, by Sara Hoagland Hunter
WRITING TRADE NONFICTION, by Loree Griffin Burns
DELICIOUS NONFICTION, by April Pulley Sayre
INFORMATION VIA ILLUSTRATION: THE ART OF WRITING THE NONFICTION PICTURE BOOK, by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
NOVEL TECHNIQUES FOR NONFICTION, by Padma Venkatraman
What can I say except: WOW!
Kudos to the New England SCBWI Conference Committee for giving non-fiction writers several seats at the conference table. I know that all writing—be it fiction or nonfiction—requires passion and commitment and, yes, artistry on the part of the author; this year’s New England conference made it clear that this notion is embraced by our entire New England writing community. Hooray for that!
More personally, it was a joy to spend time with writers I have come to adore and seldom have time to visit with in person. Hooray for that, too!