tophat Patricia K. Kummer


Patricia K. Kummer

SPEAKER: Patricia K. Kummer,a nonfiction writer of more than 60 books, focuses her writing on biography, geography, and history for children and young adults.

BACKGROUND:
B.A. and M.A. degrees in history. Former middle school social studies and language arts teacher. Presently, writing and teaching adult continuing education writing courses at various venues in Du Page County, Illinois.

LOCATION: Lisle, Illinois (west of Chicago); accepts speaking engagements throughout the country.

AUDIENCES: Grades 3-8; adults.

PRESENTATIONS FOR CHILDREN: “Nothing but the Facts: Get the Scoop on Writing Nonfiction”—research and interviewing methods, as well as the writing process, used for making nonfiction exciting, as well as informative. “How Writers’ Words Become Books”—overview of the publishing process, highlighting career opportunities. If time allows, students take part in a group nonfiction writing project.

PRESENTATIONS FOR ADULTS: “Querying an Editor: The First Step in Publishing Children’s Nonfiction” and “Putting a Book Proposal Together: The Second Step in Publishing Children’s Nonfiction” analyze elements of the query letter and the proposal for a children’s nonfiction book. Resource lists and time for Q&A provided.

PUBLICATIONS: CURRENCY, THE CALENDAR, and THE TELEPHONE, Franklin Watts Inventions That Changed the World series; COTE D’IVOIRE, UKRAINE, TIBET, SINGAPORE, KOREA, CAMEROON, SYRIA, JORDAN, SOUTH KOREA, and NORTH KOREA, Children’s Press Enchantment of the World series; ATHLETIC TRAINER and SPORTS MEDICINE DOCTOR, Cherry Lake Publishing Cool Careers series; MINNESOTA and MISSISSIPPI, Marshall Cavendish revised Celebrate the States series; THE GREAT LAKES and THE GREAT BARRIER REEF, Marshall Cavendish Nature’s Wonders series; NATURE'S POWER, THE PIONEER WAY, and THE UNITED STATES: REGION BY REGION, Steck-Vaughn Pair-It series; FACTS ABOUT THE 50 STATES, MAKING A PARK, THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI, and WHAT DO WE NEED? Rigby English-as-a Second-Language readers. Thirty titles from ALABAMA to WYOMING, including PUERTO RICO and WASHINGTON, D.C., Capstone Press One Nation series. OH, SHERI...SO UNFORGETTABLE, biography privately commissioned by Jerry Reinsdorf.

AWARDS: Various titles in the Inventions That Shaped the World, Enchantment of the World, and One Nation series have received awards from Chicago Women in Publishing and the Illinois Women’s Press Association.

Contact Information:
Email: patriciakummer@netscape.com


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