I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions, and also not big on setting huge lofty goals. I like tiny steps and constant renewal. So I’d like to share a resource that will refresh and renew your writing life, if or when it needs the input.

In 1934, Dorothea Brande had the brains and courage to insist that attention to the writer’s heart and mind is the first step in becoming a writer. That books on craft are useless without those first steps.

And while I don’t spend a lot of time with regret, after picking up Dorothea Brande’s short book Becoming a Writer, on the recommendation of a critique partner, I did give in to a bit of regret. I couldn’t help wishing my undergraduate creative writing degree had begun with this work. I have no question that my committed, productive, energetic writing life would have begun much earlier had I read this book.

If you’ve read the book, and found it important, skip this column and pass the book along. If you haven’t read the book, find it (it’s back in print, and it’s in plenty of libraries). This book belongs right next to Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird on your writer’s bookshelf. Maybe in front of it.

A taste of her no-nonsense content:

• “The stupid conclusion that if [the writer] cannot write easily he has mistaken his career is sheer nonsense.”
• Writers do—and must—have “dual personalities”: the workman and critic, and the artist, cognitive skills and unconscious working in balance and tandem.
• Writers should write “morning pages” to create and maintain a brain-muscle habit of writing. (Brande made this recommendation long before Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.)
• It is necessary to recognize, but move beyond, resistance to the work.

In my last Prairie Wind column I wrote, “…for me the source of working at staying resilient is telling myself the truth about what keeps me whole and alive in the way I need to feel alive. And that’s the everlasting need to create my place in the world through language, and to make sense of my inner world via the written word.”

I do wish I’d gotten there earlier in life, but I’m grateful to be there now. Brande’s little book with big ideas validates the emotional and intellectual place writers need to be, and provides guidelines for getting and staying there.

The inner life of the writer can always use nurturing, and Dorothea Brande’s Becoming a Writer is a wonderful way to refresh a productive new writing year – anytime at all.

Carol Coven Grannick writes picture books and middle-grade novels. In private practice as a clinical social worker, she works with writers and others to create and maintain emotional resilience. She can be reached at carolgrannick@gmail.com.

I have fallen. Fallen over backward. Fallen into the messy world of theater.

How did it happen? I do not know. I do know that it is a world of story, just like our own picture book world. But I am now in the illustration, I am the collage piece moved about on the page by the hand of the director. I look over and see the other collage pieces on the stage with me. The director is looking for composition; arranging, rearranging, providing text. We listen. Tell us. Tell us what we are to do. Where we are to stand. The words we are to say. But then, let us listen. Listen to each other.

We are like a murmuration, a collection of starlings.

Murmuration. I love that word. It is soft and dreamlike—not like a heart pounding.

Your heart.
The doctor leans in toward you. He presses his stethoscope against your chest.
He listens. You listen with your eyes to his face.
He removes his stethoscope and folds it in his hands.
He says he hears a murmur.

A murmur.
A murmuration. A collection of starlings.

A bird flies close to your ear, feathers beating air.
You look up.
Above you, a murmuration. A collection of starlings.

In a single voice, hundreds of birds sweep across the sky, glissando, together shape-shifting, tumbling, turning, ascending.
Black, like a shadow thrown against the sky.
Twisting and turning, the spiraling ladder, climbing high and then higher, plummeting down, straight to the black dirt.
LISTEN. With eyes, ears, wings, feathers, listen.

Your heart pounds.

I have fallen. Again.

This time from the sky. I have fallen into my visiting chair right next to Iris in the dementia ward of the nursing home. Iris’s ear is turned toward the piano. She is so sick. She is lost. The music enters through her ear. She is suddenly connected to the pulsing energy of life and its tumbling, swirling, twisting, wild madness. She fills with tears—her face is red, she laughs, she looks like she will explode, the tears come, release. The piano is right next to her ear. The piano player plays in a minor key of longing, yearning. He plays. It enters Iris. She stares straight ahead. This music—the longing—it enters her. She suddenly feels the wild shimmering brilliance and the dark shadow, the magnificent birth of the universe, the stars colliding, turning, the light, sparks drifting in dizzy, slow-turning circles. Iris is connected and she begins to cry. Silently. If you didn’t look at her closely, you would not know.

The dialogue of shapes, the arrangement of notes, the flocking of birds, the position of actors.

Art is a game. Your audience, your reader, your listener agrees to play the game with you. To come with you. You agree to deliver its promise. But how?

By finding the composition that best tells your story. A composition that activates the alchemy of emotion. This is your promise.

But where in the world do you get this kind of composition?

We move our shapes around on the page believing we know what will evoke emotional response; the triangle sitting on the page with two points touching the ground will imply balance and stability. The triangle positioned with only one point touching the ground, instability and uncertainty. Arranging our shapes symmetrically will evoke equilibrium, positioning them asymmetrically conjures impulse and movement.

But even with the awareness of the effect of these arrangements, composition seems to defy formula. We place our figures, our musical notes, our story elements in accordance with these understandings and we wait for the combustion. We set our sticks just right but the fire refuses to catch.

The problem is that composition is really derived from the shapes’ interacting with each other and comes from within the picture rather than by being imposed from the outside. Combustion really comes from the shapes’ “listening” to each other.

Even the spaces between shapes, between notes, between actors onstage are busy creating composition. The vast white space of the page in which the tiny object floats, the crowded figure pushing against the edges, the juxtaposition of shape and shape, note and note, turn the elegant composition into the eloquent composition.

Inherently, within ourselves, we know these things about the positions of triangles and the effect of white space, because inside of us, we all have an intuitive sense of composition. We hurry home from the store to tell a story, and we tell it perfectly, in just the right way to make the other person laugh out loud.

We insist that the other person sit down while we play a song that we can’t help crying to when we hear it and we want the other person to cry too, to experience this. We play the Coventry Carol from the sixteenth century over and over and over because we need to hear the note at the very end of the song that switches it from minor to major key—so beautiful is the switch, the playing of one note, that it causes tears to pour out of our eyes.

Ultimately, this is why we are drawn to art.

Composition. Emotion.

It has to do with the promise that the artist made. To deliver a composition so beautiful, so intuitive that we can’t help crying or laughing,

Because inside that wild big vibrating world of relationship between artist and audience where one speaks through shape, rhythm, and note and the other listens, we are able to share with each other the human drama, the experience of being human.

A Little Exercise for Exploring Composition

Playing with shapes, arranging, rearranging, exploring the infinite possibilities is the window to building on the innate sense of composition that we each carry within us. It is really a matter of listening. Letting shapes have their effect on one another, letting notes clash or harmonize and feeling the effects, that is the study of composition.

Begin with your pile of scraps

and your blank book dummy.

Pick nine scraps out of the pile.

Choose one of the scraps and allow it to lead.

Let the other scraps take the lead while the first one listens.

Add, subtract, and move shapes on the left-hand page. Let these shapes listen to the ones on the right until you find . . . the satisfying finished spread.

For a beautiful film of a murmuration please see: http://player.vimeo.com/video/31158841?autoplay=1 created by Sophie Windsor Clive and Liberty Smith.

Laura Nyman Montenegro teaches children’s book illustration at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is illustrator/author of A Poet’s Bird Garden, A Bird About to Sing (featured on Reading Rainbow), Sweet Tooth, and One Stuck Drawer. Her books have won Parents’ Choice Awards. She is a founding ensemble member, actor, musician, and visual artist of Theatre Zarko, Puppet Symbolist Theatre. www.lauranymanmontenegro.com; lauramontenegro@sbcglobal.net

We have several guest columns. If you would like to write an occasional column for the Prairie Wind, please contact Jeanne at beckerjeanne@hotmail.com. It’s a great way to get published!

Jeanne Becker
Editor

WINTER 2012 Contents

• Greeting: Lisa Bierman urges us to do the things we resist doing to further our writing careers and has some strategies to help us break down our resistance.

~ Our Chapter ~

• Marlene Targ Brill remembers Mary Jane Miller (1936-2011).
• Illustrator in the Spotlight: The illustrious Scott Gustafson gives us the highlights of his thirty-year career.
• Tales from the Front: Keir Graff tells his son’s nightmares inspired him to write The Other Felix.

~ Happenings ~

• Classes: June Sengpiehl has compiled a list of learning opportunities.
• News Roundup: Learn about upcoming events and contests and recent awards from Corie Ramos-Azem.
• Food for Thought: Sallie Wolf reports on the group’s most recent event, where attendees learned about alternative publishing options.
• Don’t Miss: Spring Thaw at the Morton Arboretum with Steve Mooser and Lin Oliver, coming in May.

~ Craft ~

• Writing Tips: M. Molly Backes has advice on what to do when you’re stuck.
• Illustrator Tips: Laura Nyman Montenegro talks about the connection between composition and emotion.
• Writer’s Bookshelf: Juliet C. Bond reviews Joy Cowley’s Writing from the Heart: How to Write for Children and also interviews Joy.
• Book Look: Jodell Sadler explains what makes Darren Shan’s “Cirque du Freak” series work for reluctant readers.

~ Career ~

• The Irrepressible Writer: Carol Coven Grannick recommends a “little book with big ideas,” Dorothea Brande’s Becoming a Writer.
• A Fly on the Wall: Michele Weber Hurwitz reports on the successful 7th annual Prairie Writer’s Day.
• Guest Expert: You will admire Carol Fisher Saller’s self-discipline as a writer when you read what she cut from her novel Eddie’s War.

A tribute to Mary Jane Miller is the most difficult, yet most important, article I’ve ever been asked to write. How do you share the life of someone who has meant so much to so many people, including readers and students? How do you find words to describe a good friend, confidant, and colleague who will be sorely missed?

Trust me. This article took lots of chocolate and solitaire to complete. But those of us who knew Mary Jane want those of you who didn’t to understand why we feel so strongly about her as a writer and person and so sad about her passing on September 19.

A Little History

Author and SCBWI-IL member Mary Jane Miller was the total package. As talented author of four acclaimed books, she mastered the art of creating sensitive, realistic characters. As an educator, she shared the gift of imagination and love of story with her readers and students. But it was Mary Jane the person who touched so many in the writing community with her kind, supportive personality.

Mary Jane began her writer’s journey in the late 1980s with many of us. We joined Children’s Reading Round Table (a group interested in children’s books, including authors, editors, illustrators, and teachers), Off Campus Writers Workshop, and Society of Midland Authors. Mary Jane also participated in the early days of SCBWI-IL, helping to grow our state organization.

“After I joined SCBW (before the ‘I’ was added), I met Mary Jane at various writing events,” said Mary Jane Buskupic. “She asked me to join her critique group, and we drove together to OCWW on Thursdays. No one had a computer then. Everyone used a typewriter, making carbon copies. Revising was a huge deal. It was a big day when Mary Jane and some of us got a word processor—not a computer but better than the typewriter.

“It’s amazing that Mary Jane’s four books—Me and My Name, Upside Down, Fast Forward, Going the Distance–were published a year apart, capturing that middle grade, junior high voice. In the dedication of her books, Mary Jane thanked people who helped her, including Maude. Maude was Mary Jane’s word processor who helped her write her books.”

Mary Jane came to writing after raising four daughters. According to her husband, Joseph Miller, “she always had a heart for the special needs of children, and her stories, like a quilt, are woven pieces from a specific experience, a particular place and feeling, dream or memory.”

Mary Jane particularly enjoyed the opportunities her books afforded for her to visit classrooms and present to writer’s groups. “She was always there to support, cheer on, share, and encourage us,” said Esther Hershenhorn. “Her warm and welcoming smile made you feel good for days.”

Mary Jane, the Person

Mary Jane’s positive, can-do attitude attracted many of us. “I remember Mary Jane’s smile,” wrote Charlotte Herman. “It’s what drew me to her when we first met at OCWW. She was a gentle person. Even her critiques of the manuscripts we read in our writer’s group were gentle. Always constructive and encouraging, but always gentle.”

Many people I spoke with reinforced Charlotte’s impression of someone who was soft-spoken and approachable. Yet Mary Jane had a fun side that often came across in her writing and with colleagues.

“My fondest memories of Mary Jane are our rides to Off Campus and of a time we met at O’Hare on our return from one of our rare writing-related trips at publisher’s expense,” said Glennette Tilley Turner. “She was in the limo that I also took and we delighted in the coincidence. We giggled all the way to the western suburbs—before returning to real life of raising kids and being chief cook and bottle washers.”

Some of us may not know of Mary Jane’s spiritual side and how it influenced her writing. “Her faith and family were of primary importance to her. Using her writing skills, she sought ways to come closer to them both,” said Jennifer Bartoli-Kalina, friend, writer, former CRRT and OCWW member.

Jennifer recalled that Mary Jane studied writing with Madeleine L’Engle and later shared the lessons and inspirations she learned from class with groups at Off Campus.

Mary Jane, the Author

For Mary Jane, the love of story came from her heritage. She wrote on her SCBWI-IL author page that one of her earliest memories was drinking tea with her Irish grandmother. As they sipped tea, her grandmother regaled her with tales of Irish folklore. The stories Mary Jane later wrote took shape just as her grandmother wove stories from tea leaves.

Of Me and My Name (1992, Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award nominee), Publisher’s Weekly wrote that “with humor and sensitivity, Miller explores the complexity and confusion of early adolescence. She gently reminds readers that solutions they seek elsewhere can often be found within themselves. A quick, enjoyable read.”

We particularly treasured Mary Jane’s comments during the many years we shared stories in a writer’s group. Mary Monsell recalled that time and Mary Jane’s skills best. “If anyone understood the heart of a story, it was she. Mary Jane was a superb writer, with a natural, evolving voice, characterizing fictional actors with well-crafted believable detail.

“I miss Mary Jane’s presence, though I still remember her piles of books stacked neatly under the bed, her love of Chanel, and anything and anyone Irish, including her beloved Joe. She loved sharing the art of writing, passing on that joy to so many children. What I think she wanted all of us to know is that creating in and of itself has extraordinary value in our world. Mary Jane leaves us all with a sense of hope that what we do matters. And we love her all the more for it.”

Marlene Targ Brill writes nonfiction for preschoolers through adults and historical fiction for primary and middle graders. Her latest books include Annie Shapiro and the Clothing Worker Strike, Diabetes (2nd ed.), The Rough-Riding Adventures of Bronco Charlie, Pony Express Rider (graphic novel), and The Underground Railroad Adventures of Allen Jay (graphic novel). But her greatest accomplishment is having great friends, like Mary Jane Miller.

CLASSES

SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
37 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, IL 60603
Department of Continuing Studies  312-899-7458
To register, contact: http://www.saic.edu/continuing_studies/ace/index.html

Multi-Level Children’s Book Illustration, Class #1663, ILLUST 505-001
Wednesdays, February 8  to April 11, 2012, 6 to 9 pm
Instructor: Lisa Cinelli, Teaching Artist
http://www.lisacinelli.com

Illustration Materials and Techniques,  Class #1715, ILLUST 503-001
Thursdays, February 9 to April 12, 2012, 6 to 9 pm
Instructor: Lisa Cinelli, Teaching Artist

Beginning Children’s Book Illustration Class #1662, ILLUST 504-001
Tuesdays, February 7 to April 10, 2012,  6 to 9 pm
Instructor: Laura Nyman Montenegro, Author/Illustrator
http://www.lauranymanmontenegro.com

For more information, check the SAIC.EDU Continuing Studies website or call Continuing Studies and Special Programs through the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Department of Continuing Studies and Special Programs, now has a Certificate in Children’s Book Illustration Program with Lisa Cinelli and Laura Nyman Montenegro as Instructors.

Materials and Techniques in Children’s Book Illustration
440 Oakland Drive
Highland Park, Illinois 60035
Teaching Artist: Lisa Cinelli
Work one-on-one or in small classes exploring drawing, painting and mixed media techniques used in children’s book illustration. Fine tune images in your picture book dummy and then experiment with materials to best tell the story visually.  Classes can also be arranged to focus on particular drawing or painting techniques such as pen and ink, watercolor or gouache (an opaque watercolor) or mixed media. Painting, drawing, and putting together a portfolio are among the choices for particular classes.
For more information, contact Lisa Cinelli at lisacinelli@gmail.com.
THE NORTH SHORE ART LEAGUE
620 Lincoln Avenue, Winnetka, IL 60093

Illustration Class
Fridays, January 20 to March 23,  2012, 9:30 am to noon
Instructor: Lisa Cinelli
To register, contact the North Shore Art League at http://www.northshoreartleague.org or 847-446-2870

COLLEGE OF DU PAGE
GLEN ELLYN CAMPUS
425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn 60137
For Continuing Education information, call 630-942-2208.

Get Started Blogging – New Class for 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012, 9 am to 3 pm
Instructor: Carmela Martino, Author
In this hands-on class, you’ll learn how to define, set-up and maintain your own blog, whether for business purposes or to connect with family and friends.  The intructor will walk you through basic blog set-up (on WordPress), including how to add photos, clip-art, and video clips.  You’ll also learn how to attract your target audience and keep them coming back.  Prerequisite: Basic computer experience.
Please bring a sack lunch.
Course code: LEISR-0052-003   Cost:  $69

Transforming Life Into Fiction
Saturday, March 10, 2012, 9 am to 3 pm
Instructor: Carmela Martino, Author
This one-day workshop will introduce you to techniques for creating fiction based on your own life events, or those of others.  Learn how to mine your past for story ideas and details that will bring your fiction to life.  Find out how to create composite characters from real people and turn anecdotes into stories that have a beginning, middle and end.
Please bring a sack lunch.
Course Code: LEISR-0052-002  Cost: $69
For more information on either of the above classes, see:  http://www.carmelamartino.com/events.htm

THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY
60 W. Walton St., Chicago
To register:  http://www.newberry.org or phone 312-255-3700

Oh, The Possibilities: Writing for Children in Today’s Children’s Book World
Saturday, March 24, 2012, 10 am to 4 pm
Instructor: Esther Hershenhorn, Author and Writing Coach
Eager to write that children’s book you’ve dreamed of writing?  Anxious to learn what to do once you write it?  This workshop introduces newcomers to today’s world of children’s book publishing – the markets, the genres, the formats and audience niches – and recommends a few Rules of the Road and tried-and-true short cuts to make navigating that world easier.  Participants will have the opportunity to share a work-in-progress in order to see its possibilities in today’s publishing world.
(Note:  Please bring a bagged lunch as the class will continue to meet during the lunch hour.  Class size is limited.)  Cost:  $110
To register go to http://www.newberry.org/writing-workshops

University of Chicago Writer’s Studio
Downtown Gleacher Center
450 North Cityfront Plaza, Chicago 60611
For information, call 773-702-1722

Writing Novels  For Children and Young Adults
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 to February 28, 2012  6 pm to 8:30 pm
Instructor: Esther Hershenhorn, Author and Writing Coach

Begin the process of crafting an early chapter book, middle grade, or young adult novel for young readers.  Suggested readings will highlight the structure and demands of the various format possibilities.  Writing exercises and workshop discussions will focus on the writing process, elements of narrative, revision, and a story’s marketability, with special emphasis on the connection between plot and character.  The workshop will keep writers on their respective plot lines, offering measured assignments, project-related goals, models to study, suggestions and encouragement.  Particular needs will be assessed and determined in the first session and addressed in the remaining weeks.
To register, visit http://www.grahamschool.uchicago.edu/php/writersstudio/

The following classes are taught by Michelle Kogan
Email Michelle with any questions.  Website http://www.michellekogan.com;
email: mkogan@mdandmk.com
Michelle also works with students independently, email her for more specifics.

Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe 60022
http://www.chicagobotanic.org/school

Watercolor in the Greenhouse
Thursdays, January 19 to March 8, 2012, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Instructor:  Michelle Kogan, illustrator/painter/instructor
Join us for a warm retreat watercoloring in the Greenhouse.  In this lush venue, we will create finished compositions using your choice of watercolor pencils, cakes, and tubes.  Both beginners and seasoned artists are welcome.  Beginners will focus on exercises starting with monochromatic paintings and build up to full-color compositions, while seasoned artists will be given criticism in composition, color and materials.  Each student will receive individual critiques.  Cost:  $299 member/$374 non-member.  Register online at chicagobotanic.org/school or call 847-835-8261.

Evanston Art Center
2603 Sheridan Road, Evanston 60201
Click on link to register or call 847-475-5300
http://www.evanstonartcenter.org/school

Multilevel Figure Painting (01767)
Tuesdays, January 10 to March 13, 2012, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Instructor:  Michelle Kogan
Working in the medium of your choice – oil, acrylic, watercolor or drawing media – students will create finished works from a live model.  One pose will be carried out through several classes.  Techniques may include gesture, contour line, organizational framework and modeled drawings.  Cost: $295 Regular Member Rate/$285 Discounted (Resident) Rate.  Register online at http://www.evanstonartcenter.org/school

Intermediate Painting (0181)
Wednesdays, January 11 to March 14, 2012, 9 am to 12 pm
Instructor:  Michelle Kogan
In this mid level class, students will choose their painting medium and create a series of works from material they bring in, including objects, and photos.  Individual and group critiques will cover composition, color and structure.  We also will review contemporary and historical artists who work(ed) in series or with a particular focus.  Cost: $265 Regular Member Rate/$255 Discounted (Resident) Rate.  Register online at http://www.evanstonartcenter.org/school

Basic Drawing (0282)
Wednesdays, January 11 to March 14, 2012, 12:30 pm to 3 pm
Instructor:  Michelle Kogan
This class focuses on creating strong compositions, using positive and negative space and building a full range of values in your drawings.  We will work from still-life arrangements created by the instructor and the students.  All levels welcome.  Advanced students will work independently, while receiving one-on-one critiques.  Cost: $265 Regular Member Rate/$255 Discounted (Resident) Rate.  Register online at http://www.evanstonartcenter.org/school

Transparent Watercolor (0261)
Fridays, January 13 to March 16, 2012,  9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Instructor:  Michelle Kogan
This class will emphasize the use of composition, color and glazing with transparent watercolors.  Students will work independently on a series of paintings over the session.  Students will have the option to bring in reference materials and/or still life materials for creating their own compositions, or may work from still life materials that the instructor provides.  Cost:  $265 Regular Member Rate/$255 Discounted (Resident) Rate

Poetry Writing Correspondence Course
What: The ABC’s of Children’s Poetry Correspondence Course
When & Where: At your convenience in your own home
Instructor: Heidi Bee Roemer, poet
Author of three poetry books and over 400 magazine sales, Heidi teaches students how to write poetry for children with an eye on publication.  Learn how to write a variety of poetry forms, basic meters, rhyme schemes, devices of sound and more.  Poetry assignments are exchanged via e-mail.  Detailed critiques are offered.  Includes instruction on how to find and target poetry publishers.  Materials you receive: 60 page ABC workbook, POETRY PLACE booklet, five CD’s, sample magazines, and market newsletters.
Cost: $195 (includes shipping)
Do you want professional feedback on your story-in-rhyme, poetry collection, picture book or nonfiction?  Heidi Bee Roemer, a children’s author and instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature, offers detailed written critiques with an eye on publication–yours!
For more information, please contact Heidi at HRoemer@hotmail.com

The following institutions offer classes and workshops for writers and illustrators.  Specific class information was not available at time of publication.

THE RAGDALE FOUNDATION
1260 N. Green Bay Road, Lake Forest, IL  60045
Phone 847-234-1063 or visit http://www.ragdale.org

THE WRITERS CENTER AT ELGIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
1700 Spartan Dr., Elgin, IL  60123
Regular writing workshop plus weekend special-topic workshops
Phone 847-214-7578

For more information on the SCBWI events listed below, go to http://www.scbwi.org and click on regional chapters.

SCBWI INDIANA
March 5, 2012, 9:30 am to 2 pm
Brunch & Book Fair
Carmel, IN
Contact:  Kristi Valiant
http://ezregister.com/events/2323 (Note:  At the time of publication, it appears that the brunch is sold out but that the book fair is still open.  No registration required).

SCBWI IOWA
April 20 to 22, 2012
Spring Conference
The Lodge
Bettendorf, IA
Contact:  Connie Heckert

SCBWI MICHIGAN
March 10 to March 11, 2012
Critique Meet
Various host sites across the state
Contact:  Anita Pazner

SCBWI OHIO
March 12, 2012
Keys to Successful Children’s Illustration
Holiday Inn Cleveland – South
6001 Rockside Rd., Independence, Ohio 44131
Contact: Victoria Selvaggio

WISCONSIN SCBWI
March 25 to March 27, 2012
Novel Workshop
Bishop O’Connor Center
Madison, WI
Contact: Pam Beres

April 28, 2012
Spring Luncheon
Oconomowoc Lake Club
Oconomowoc, WI
Contact: Emily Kokie

SCBWI INTERNATIONAL
13th  Annual Winter Conference
January 27 to 29,  2012
New York, NY
Visit http://www.SCBWI.org. for faculty, registration and information

RETREATS, CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND LECTURES
HIGHLIGHTS FOUNDATION FOUNDERS WORKSHOPS
For professional and aspiring writers and illustrators
Honesdale, PA
Conferences include seminars, small-group workshops, and one-on-one sessions with some of the most accomplished, prominent and supportive authors, illustrators, editors, critics and publishers in the world of children’s literature, all determined to help authors and illustrators meet their goals.

For all workshops, phone 877-512-8365 for more information.  To register, e-mail Jo Lloyd, Program Assistant, jalloyd@highlightsfoundation.org.  For more information on the workshops, visit http://www.highlightsfoundation.org/fw-sched-preview

Making the Web Work For You
March 4 to March 8, 2012
Workshop Leaders: Katie Davis, Lindsey Leavitt, Bobbie Combs, Laurina Cashin
Special Guest: Jules Danielson

Writing For Magazines: Fiction and Nonfiction
March 8 to March 11, 2012
Workshop Leaders: Paula Morrow, Rich Wallace, Rachel Buchholz, Lou Waryncia

Whole Novel Workshop
March 11 to March 17, 2012
Workshop Leaders: Kathi Appelt, Jeanette Ingold, Alan Gratz, Martha Milhalik
Special guests: Janet Fox, (Teaching Assistant), Karyn Henley (Teaching Assistant)

Screenwriting for the Children’s and Young Adult Audience
April 12 to April 15, 2012
Workshop leaders: David Paterson, Shelly Mellott, Maureen Green
Special Guest: Sandy Asher

Nature Writing Boot Camp
April 16 to April 19, 2012
Workshop Leaders: Dianna Hutts Aston, Mark Baldwin, Robert Hynes, Andy Boyles

Science Writing Boot Camp
April 19 to April 22, 2012
Workshop Leaders: Catherine D. Hughes, Sally M. Walker, Doug Wechsler, Andy Boyles

Creating an Authentic Cultural Voice
April 26 to April 29, 2012
Putting imagination, experience, empathy, and research to work for you
Workshop Leaders: Mitali Perkins, Donna Jo Napoli
Special Guests: Kathryn Erskine, Alvina Ling

Finding Your Story (And What To Do  About It)
April 29 to May 6, 2012
Workshop Leaders: Juanita Havill, Susan Pearson

Life in the Spotlight:  Author Opportunities after Publication
The Path to Successful School and Library Visits, Self-Promotion, and Press Interviews
May 6 to May 11, 2012
Workshop Leader: Peter P. Jacobi
Special Guest: Kate Messner

Heart of the Fantasy Novel (Part One of Two-Part Class)
Map a Fantasy and Set Writing Goals
May 10 to May 13, 2012
Workshop Leader: Patricia Lee Gauch

Poetry for All
May 13 to May 17, 2012
Workshop Leaders: Eileen Spinelli, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, David L. Harrison
Special Guests: Melanie Hall, Marjorie Maddox, Rebecca Davis

28th  Annual Writers Workshop
Chautauqua Institute, Chautauqua, NY  14722
July 14 to 21, 2012
For more information, phone 570-253-1192 or email contact@highlightsfoundation.org

RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
VERMONT COLLEGE BRIEF RESIDENCY
MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
Montpelier, VT
July and January
11-day intensive residencies in July and January on campus alternate with 5 month nonresident projects (4 semesters, 5 residencies) Faculty includes M.T. Anderson, Kathi Appelt, Marion Dane Bauer, Sharon Darrow, Ellen Levine, and Norma Fox Mazer
Contact Melissa Fisher at 800-336-6794, Ext. 8637 or e-mail melissa.fisher@tui.edu or visit the website at http://www.vermontcollege.edu/low-residency-mfa/writing-children-young-adults

SPALDING UNIVERSITY BRIEF RESIDENCY
MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN WRITING PROGRAM
with a Concentration in Writing For Children
Louisville, KY
Semesters begin in May or October
Program is 4 semesters, 5 residencies
Contact Graduate Admissions at (800) 896-8941, Ext. 2423 or e-mail: mfa@spalding.edu or visit the website at http://www.spalding.edu

LESLEY  UNIVERSITY LOW-RESIDENCY
MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN CREATIVE WRITING
Cambridge, MA
Offering a concentration in Writing for Young People
Semesters begin in January and June
Program is 4 semesters, 5 residencies
Contact Jana M. Van der Veer (jvanderv@lesley.edu)
Assistant Director, Advising and Student Services

HAMLINE UNIVERSITY LOW-RESIDENCY
MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
1536 Hewitt Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55104
Semesters begin in January and July
Program is 4 semesters, 5 residencies
Office phone: (651) 523-2047
For questions, call (651) 523-2900 or e-mail gradprog@hamline.edu

LEARNING ON-LINE
INSTITUTE OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
Correspondence courses and access to articles, tips, and chat-room discussions on writing.
Visit http://www.Institutechildrenslit.com

WRITER’S DIGEST ONLINE WORKSHOPS
“Fundamentals of Writing For Children”  (12 week beginning course)
“Focus Course in Writing For Children” (14 week intermediate course)
For details and starting dates on these workshops and other Writer’s Digest Online Courses, visit http://www.writersonlineworkshops.com

June Sengpiehl lives in Oak Park with her husband, Paul. She writes poetry, articles, picture books, and chapter books. Her email is jsseng629@yahoo.com. ]]> http://www.scbwi-illinois.org/pub/PrairieWind/?feed=rss2&p=1567 0 http://www.scbwi-illinois.org/pub/PrairieWind/?p=1546 http://www.scbwi-illinois.org/pub/PrairieWind/?p=1546#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:19:26 +0000 Susan http://www.scbwi-illinois.org/pub/PrairieWind/?p=1546 Compiled by Corie Ramos-Azem

***EVENTS (roughly by date)***

ANDERSON’S BOOKSHOP

Information is subject to change; some events require tickets.  For more information on these and other upcoming events, visit http://www.andersonsbookshop.com/events.php, or call 630-355-2665 for AB Naperville (123 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville) and ATDE (Anderson’s Two Doors East, 111 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville) or 630-963-2665 for AB Downers

Continue reading News Roundup Winter 2012

Two hundred and thirty-nine writers and illustrators attended the sold-out 7th annual Prairie Writer’s Day on November 12 at Harper College in Palatine, and the word on the street, well, make that the word on the beach, was that “Get Hooked” certainly lived up to our expectations. The day was action- and information-packed, with many breakout sessions, a chance to hear from experts in publishing, and the opportunity to mix and mingle with each other as well as the industry experts. The very creative fishing theme gave us a chuckle now and then—especially when we were greeted at registration by Swedish fish candy in a tackle box!

The day kicked off with a panel featuring Josh Adams of Adams Literary, Stacey Barney of Penguin/Putnam Books for Young Readers, Michele Burke of Knopf Books for Young Readers/Random House, Mary Rodgers of Lerner Publishing Group, Molly O’Neill of Harper Collins/Katherine Tegen Books, Kathy Landwehr of Peachtree Publishers, and Daniel Nayeri of Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The panelists gave the audience some background on how they started in their publishing careers, what type of books they look for and have edited, and why they love what they do. O’Neill particularly likes books with a “what if” premise and stories that keep her thinking, while Rodgers, who was a political science major in college, noted how that has benefited her in publishing by honing her “truth-telling” skills when editing nonfiction.

When asked what advice is often given to aspiring authors that isn’t true, Nayeri mentioned that it isn’t necessary to have a website before you become published and urged writers to spend more time on writing than on designing an eye-catching website. O’Neill added that it’s not true publishers don’t market anymore. A good deal of marketing, she said, goes on behind the scenes—to librarians, booksellers, and at conferences. And Landwehr added that conventional wisdom doesn’t apply to every writer, every time, so know yourself and stay true to your vision.

As for changes that are rapidly occurring in publishing, Landwehr commented that there is much more competition among information media in today’s world. O’Neill said, however, that a positive element is that authors can now reach their audience much more directly than they have in the past, through their websites, Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.

Tips from “First Pages” Session

Here are some of the tips gleamed from one of the breakout sessions, First Pages with Josh Adams and Kathy Landwehr, where they critiqued first pages submitted by attendees.

• Watch extraneous description and details that can distract from the story’s start. The reader doesn’t need to know everything in the first page. Focus on one scene.
• A character’s internal thought can slow things down. This can come later. A character just sitting and talking to himself or wondering isn’t usually a beginning that will grab a reader.
• Watch overdone issues such as the child moving to a new town or the orphan scenario. Differentiate your story from what’s already out there.
• Emotionally invest in your characters. Let the reader like them early on.
• If you are creating a fantasy world, realize that you know this world but your reader doesn’t so you need to give your reader enough information to understand the scene.
• And of course, the ever popular “show don’t tell.” Let the reader experience what the character is feeling.

Adams noted, interestingly, that his agency asks the question “Do we love it?” before they take on a project, not necessarily “Can we sell it?”

Breakout Session with Molly O’Neill

Molly O’Neill, an editor with Harper Collins/Katherine Tegen Books, led us through an informative session on how editors choose the books that will become published. She displayed first drafts from authors Bobbie Pyron, Veronica Roth, and S. J. Kincaid and then showed the final published versions, illustrating how much revision took place. O’Neill discussed such essential issues as

1. The first few chapters of a book need to be compelling, something she can’t put down.
2. Voice—a term heard over and over—is simply where a book starts. It’s the essence and personality of a story captured on paper.
3. Characters need to be strong and memorable. Readers need to care about them, and they should grow and change through the story, especially in unpredictable ways.
4. Be sure to balance the interior or emotional plot with the external or active plot. Both are necessary.
5. Details help in showing not telling.
6. Everything matters, especially the little things, the everyday nuances that help shape the image of the story.

Bruce Hale via Skype

What a treat to hear from the fabulous and very funny Bruce Hale, award-winning author of the Chet Gecko series and numerous other books. With only a few minor (and funny) technical difficulties, Hale shared with us via Skype his pointers for incorporating humor into writing. He said that he was the kid who whispered lines to the class clown when he was in school and that he has always loved humor. Hale’s seven secrets to engaging kids with humor included killing your inner editor and taking a risk, as well as knowing your audience. Humor in a picture book is different from humor in a middle-grade reader. Hale noted that using exaggeration and giving characters an obsession are great ways to create humor, as are funny words and sounds. He left us with the parting thought to “find the funny” and urged us not to be afraid to write what we find humorous.

Breakout with Josh Adams

Another fantastic breakout session was with Josh Adams, co-owner of the Adams Literary Agency with his wife, Tracey.

Josh explained to attendees how Adams Literary goes about pitching a book, taking us through their strategy and follow-up. They strive to find a hook for the work, or an “anchor concept” in which to describe the story in a succinct way. Often, they prefer to let the work speak for itself, sometimes telling an editor simply, “you have to read this.” Adams Literary strives to work with authors for the length of their careers, not just sell a book. “Our job is to open doors and create opportunities.”

Adams noted that while exclusive submissions were popular in the past, now his agency mostly submits to multiple editors, ranging from two or three up to ten or twelve. There are some instances where they do submit exclusively, if they believe a specific editor is right for a book.

Adams also explained stand-alone books versus series, preempts versus auctions, and giving editors deadlines to respond versus “nudges.”

“A-Luring” School Visits

Roxanne Owens, Chair of Teacher Education at DePaul University and Chair of the Illinois Prairie State Award for Excellence in Children’s Writing, shared with attendees how to create school visits that resonate with children. Owens came up with an acronym E I E I Mo (she even made us sing “Old McDonald’s Farm,” rewritten with lyrics about author visits), which stands for Engage, Inform/Instruct, Educate/Entertain, Inspire, and Motivate!

Owens advised setting goals with the school to know exactly what they expect of your visit; doing what you do best, whether it’s being funny or educating; and getting the kids’ attention in the first few minutes of your presentation. She stressed that active presentations are better than passive (just talking) ones and that even a failed visit can make for good reflection and the opportunity to plan a better visit next time.

Catch of the Day

Prairie Writer’s Day closed with a “Catch of the Day” panel where all of us could hear summaries of the presentations we weren’t able to attend. Michele Burke reminded us about the importance of setting in enhancing the emotion of a story, and Kathy Landwehr shared that there is still room and a need for nonfiction books.

Thank you to the hardworking committee who planned and carried out this wonderful event: Lisa Bierman, Laura Crawford, Lori Degman, Meg Lentz, Alice McGinty, Janet Nolan, Natalie Rompella, Sara Shacter, Suzanne Slade, and Darcy Zoells.

Michele Weber Hurwitz’s debut middle-grade novel, Calli Be Gold, was published this April by Wendy Lamb Books/Random House. Michele lives in Buffalo Grove with her three teenage children and CPA husband. Although she loves attending SCBWI events, her favorite day in the whole world is to stay home in her PJs and write, write, write. She’s working on a second middle-grade novel.

My first children’s book, a middle-grade novel titled The Other Felix, had its origins in a nightmare—but getting it published was a dream come true.

Three years ago, my older son was having bad dreams. Night after night, he found himself chased through a spooky forest by monsters. These weren’t aliens or cyborgs or intelligent robots capable of transforming into semi-trailer trucks but old-fashioned storybook monsters with fur, fangs, and horns. Each night the monsters got closer and closer until my son woke up crying. Then he woke me up. After a few nights of this, I felt like crying, too.

I tried to reassure him with the usual bromides (“Don’t worry, son, dreams can’t hurt you”), but I was no help. When he was awake, he knew perfectly well the dreams couldn’t hurt him. But asleep, the dreams seemed utterly real and he felt completely alone.

But then one night the dream was different. He met a boy who looked just like him, right down to the bright orange hair. The other boy had the same name as him, too. And this boy knew how to fight monsters. The battle was epic. At its end, the largest monster was flung from a cliff and buried in volcanic ash. (I believe National Geographic had recently published something about Pompeii.)

I tucked him in and raced to my desk, where I wrote down all I remembered of what he could remember. It filled only a single sheet of reporters’ notebook paper, but what a story!

Lying Just for the Fun of It

I had published three novels at that point, all for adults, but had no ambition to become a children’s author. I loved reading aloud to my kids at bedtime, and though I winced at some of the books I didn’t like, I assumed I lacked the insight necessary to write for young audiences. Still, I wanted to explore this story and it was definitely not for grownups. So I decided to write for the smallest audience I knew: my two sons.

I planned to write a short story, ten or twelve pages at most. But as I began to write about Felix and the Other Felix, I found I couldn’t stop. I was curious about the boy and his doppelgänger, about the dream world where they met, about how the monsters looked and behaved.

After years of writing about the world of adults in depressingly dystopian detail, it was a joy to set my imagination free. I remembered the reason I loved writing when I was a kid: it’s really, really fun to make stuff up.

Before I knew it, I had a short novel. I was eager to read it to my sons but my professional instincts kicked in. I had done a lot with the dream world but not enough with Felix’s waking life. His family and school life didn’t seem nearly as real as his dreams.

So I did another draft, adding characters, scenes, and chapters, trying to add resonance between Felix’s dream world and waking life without making the connections obvious. When I introduced a classroom bully, it was important to me that the monsters not become didactic metaphors.

After a second draft, I was quite pleased with the book and it occurred to me that I might actually be able to publish it. My imagination went to work once again: if I could sell it, wouldn’t it be wonderful to read to my sons from an actual, published book?

I am lucky enough to be a friend and colleague of Ilene Cooper, who has published more than two dozen children’s books (most recently Angel in My Pocket). I asked if she would read it and share her thoughts.

“I think you probably could publish it,” she said. “But I do have a few suggestions.”

Or More Than a Few

Did she ever. Ilene helped me think more rigorously about how kids other than my sons might respond to the book. She asked, “What age group are you writing for?” and made me defend my answer. She told me to add more dialogue, to cut some of the description, and to pick up the pace in places. She helped me clarify the way in which the Felixes fight the monsters. (In my book, it’s not a fistfight as it was in my son’s dream.)

I did another draft. The manuscript was definitely improving. Ilene gave it to Lauren Wohl, then associate publisher of Roaring Brook Press. Lauren loved the book and took it to busy publisher Simon Boughton, then kept after him. Eventually, informally, I was told they would like to publish the book. And did I have an agent?

I didn’t have an agent. Unusual as it sounds, I had sold my other books without one. Ilene, once again showing peerless generosity, introduced me to her agent, Ken Wright at Writers House. Ken and I hit it off and decided to work together. After a lot of time, a few false starts, and plenty of persistence on Ken’s part (the wheels of publishing do turn slowly), we got an offer.

I was in a hotel room in Indianapolis, sick with the flu, when Ken called with the good news that Roaring Brook was willing to sign a generous deal. He seemed puzzled that I didn’t sound happier. I was extremely happy—but I was also trying hard not to throw up.

The Impotence Importance of Editing

Now the real rewriting began. Working with my wonderfully talented editor, Kate Jacobs, we went over the story again and again until the plot was consistent, the characters breathed, and the prose sparkled. When I meet writers who tell me that traditional publishing is dead and they’re going to do everything all by themselves, I ask, “So who’s going to edit you?”

The First Review

I still hadn’t told my kids about the book. I was planning to wait until I could read from a finished copy. But when, in spring of 2011, I received an advance readers’ edition, my resolve crumbled. It had an attractive cover, the pages had words on them, and some of the drawings were finished—it was basically a paperback, right?

I sat down and read it to them over two nights, then waited for their review with bated breath.

“I like it,” said my older son. “You’re almost as good as Jeff Kinney.”

The Other Albert?

So I should mention that my older son’s name really is Felix. When I started writing the story, I used his name because it was his story and I was writing it for him. When the story became a novel that I began to think might really get published, I started thinking I should change the name. I worried that he might get a big head, or that he might start having the dreams again, or that his classmates would think it was nonfiction. If the reviews were bad, I feared that I would take them too personally, as if the critics were targeting my own flesh and blood.

I tried out at least a hundred variations: The Other Aaron, The Other Albert, The Other Alex, The Other Avram, and on through the alphabet. None of them worked. Finally, I decided I was overthinking things. It was his story and the whole thing had just happened naturally. And, as one friend pointed out, if the book happened to be a smash hit and the ensuing fame went to his head, at least I’d be able to afford his psychiatrist bills.

My wife had a more down-to-earth concern: “You do realize we have another son, right?”

Yes, we do, a kindergartner named Cosmo. He’s been very patient despite seeing his big brother’s name on the front of a huge stack of books. Thankfully, Roaring Brook signed me to a two-book deal, which may just keep Cosmo out of therapy, too.

What is the next book about? Well, despite another friend’s joking suggestion that I whisper scary things to Cosmo as he drifts off to sleep, I already have an idea of my own.

And, Cosmo, that one’s for you.

Keir Graff is the editor of Booklist Online, a publication of the American Library Association. He is an SCBWI member and is also on the board of directors of the Society of Midland Authors. His second middle-grade novel is tentatively titled The Matchstick Castle. Find more information at http://www.keirgraff.com.

© 2011, Scott Gustafson. All rights reserved.

Of the fifty-five years of my life thus far on this planet, I’ve had the great good fortune of spending more than thirty as an illustrator. Even though there were early stages when I found myself wanting to become either a truck driver, a cartoonist, or an animator, after the truck driver stage, when I was about five years old, drawing pictures for a living was how I envisioned my future.

I was so intent on getting into this field that I imagined I could just skip college and somehow become a professional artist. Life soon proved me wrong, and six months after graduating from high school in Marengo, Illinois, where I had spent my entire life, I found myself living in Chicago and attending the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.

Unfortunately for my fellow students and me, that venerable institution of seventy-five years closed its doors a year and a half after I enrolled. Fortunately for us, Columbia College accepted many of our credits, and I took classes there for about another year.

During that time, a friend who had become an art director at a local slide production house started hiring me as a freelance cartoonist when he needed some extra help. The work was always under insane deadlines and was rarely gratifying, but it did plant in my impressionable mind the notion that I could support myself as a freelance illustrator/animator.

Once the professional world became a possibility, for better or worse I decided not to resume classes that fall. Instead, I began shifting my focus entirely to illustration and concentrated on learning to paint in acrylic, gouache, and eventually in oils.

Throughout my career I’ve been lucky enough to work on a variety of projects, from greeting cards and prints to designing characters for toys and animated films. But no matter what twists and turns my career path has taken, it seems I’ve always returned to illustrating children’s books.

I think that stems from my belief that only pictures that are in some way associated with a story are the ones that truly have any lasting meaning for people. It’s just a theory of mine and one I’ve only recently put into words, but I think it might be true.

Early Books

© 1985, The Tempest Company. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission.

The first children’s book titles that I illustrated were for Chicago-based publishers, but these books were targeted directly at libraries and schools and weren’t available to the general public.

Then, in 1984, Ariel Books, a New York book packager, asked me to illustrate The Night before Christmas. It was my first trade book and also the first that I painted entirely in oils. To this day, deadlines permitting, oil paintings are my preferred medium.

The Night before Christmas was originally published in 1985 with Alfred Knopf and was reprinted in 2005 by Hallmark.

Ariel then asked me if I was interested in doing an illustrated edition of Peter Pan. Even though I was familiar with the story, I had never actually read the book. Once I had, I couldn’t believe my good fortune for getting a chance to work on such a fantastic title. In addition to all the wonderful elements like Edwardian London, pirates, mermaids, Indians, and fairies, the story also featured three of the greatest characters in children’s literature: Peter Pan, Wendy, and Captain Hook.

Unfortunately, my desire to live up to the task overwhelmed me, and a project that was originally planned to take a year and a half ended up taking three years. Several years after the book was released, however, I was surprised to get a call from Michael Jackson, who told me it was his favorite illustrated version of the book. Since it came from someone who actually lived in Neverland, I took that as very high praise indeed.

Peter Pan was originally released by Viking in 1991 and remains in print.

© 1990, Scott Gustafson. All rights reserved.

One of the partners at Ariel Books had approached a Chicago publisher about starting a children’s division, and because they were planning on introducing a new imprint, they were looking for basic types of books. I was asked to do an alphabet book, and Alphabet Soup became my first real foray into writing as well as illustrating.

The story was very simple. An otter moves into a new home, and finding it empty except for a large soup pot, he decides to throw himself a potluck housewarming party. Twenty-six of his closest animal friends attend, and each brings an ingredient to add to the soup pot.

Of all the books from this period, this was probably the most enjoyable to work on, even though it took longer than expected (they always do!). Animals have always been a favorite subject of mine, and it was a lot of fun to arrange assortments of food into “still lifes” from which I painted directly.

Alphabet Soup was originally published in 1990 by Calico Books, an imprint of Contemporary Books in Chicago. The book was reprinted by the Greenwich Workshop Press in 1994 and remains in print.

Collector’s Plates

© 1991, Scott Gustafson. All rights reserved.

By the time I had completed Alphabet Soup I had dedicated about six years of my career to illustrating children’s books exclusively. In 1990, I was contacted by the Bradford Exchange, a Chicago-area company that produced collector’s plates. Unexpectedly, this business relationship turned out to be a timely and welcome change for me. As much as I loved working on children’s books, the amount of work required, along with my time-consuming approach and the deadlines, had started to wear me down.

The Bradford Exchange was interested in developing plates based on familiar children’s fairy tales and nursery rhyme themes. The subject matter was very intriguing. It also gave me a chance to concentrate more on individual pieces. And even though I created these images to appear on plates, I also hoped that they would eventually end up as book illustrations. Little did I know that it would take ten years before the first of those books would become a reality.

Eventually, I painted approximately twenty-six images that were made into collector’s plates for the Bradford Exchange, including Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, the Frog Prince, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Humpty Dumpty.

Limited Edition Prints

Several years after I started working on plates, I decided to branch out a bit and contacted the Greenwich Workshop, a limited edition print company. They were not only producing high-quality artist’s prints, but also had success in book publishing, with titles like James Gurney’s Dinotopia.

The Greenwich Workshop published many of my plate images in print formats, and they offered me an opportunity to create new paintings that didn’t need to conform to the circular compositions needed for plates.

Classic Fairy Tales

© 2003, Scott Gustafson. All rights reserved.

Finally, in 2001, the time became right to collect all my large-scale fairy tale images between two covers, and I began work on a fully illustrated book for the Greenwich Workshop Press. Two years and approximately fifty illustrations later, Classic Fairy Tales became a reality.

While working on the additional illustrations for this book, I spent a lot of time researching and absorbing paintings from various periods in the history of European art—everyone from medieval masters to Georges de La Tour, Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Van Dyke supplied inspiration for the different stories.

Classic Fairy Tales was released in 2003 by the Greenwich Workshop Press and remains in print.

Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose

© 2007, Scott Gustafson. All rights reserved.

In addition to the fairy tale pictures that had been painted for the Bradford Exchange, I had also done eight nursery rhyme pieces. So at last, in 2005, some fifteen years after painting the first of these pictures for a plate series, I began work on a Mother Goose book.

In retrospect, this book provided some of the most pleasurable time I have ever spent in front of an easel. The lighthearted nature of the rhymes and the variety of characters and locations allowed for a range of approaches. In most books it is very important to keep all the elements consistent, but for Mother Goose I let each rhyme dictate its own two-page spread. The end result may seem a bit uneven, but to me it is simply a reflection of the fanciful nature of those classic little poems.

Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose was released in 2007 by the Greenwich Workshop Press. Some of the images have also been licensed by Lasting Memories and published as three separate “Record-a-Books.”

Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe

Throughout the years I’ve worked on a number of original children’s book ideas. Some are little more than a few sketches and scribbled notes stuffed into manila file folders, but others have been developed into full-scale dummy books and have landed on a few editors’ desks. Unfortunately, that is where their short lives have ended.

© 2011, Scott Gustafson. All rights reserved.

Then, late in 2007, I was rereading a paperback book that I had purchased when I was about thirteen. It was a collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s best short stories, and it got me thinking—what would Poe have been like when he was twelve or thirteen? Soon I was making sketches and doing research, and when I found out that family and friends had called the young author Eddie, I knew that there was something there.

After getting good responses from my wife and a few friends, I tried my hand at writing a rough draft. Eventually, with the help of a fellow author-illustrator, the manuscript was picked up by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers.

On several levels, Eddie was a departure for me. It was my first novel and was intended for a slightly older audience (ages 8–12). It was also the first time that I would do all the interior illustrations in black and white.

For years, I’d been toying with the idea of trying something akin to a graphic novel, not with pages bearing panels and multiple images, but a fully illustrated story with pictures incorporated into the text. Ten to fifteen years ago, the assumed wisdom in children’s publishing was that readers in this age group weren’t interested in pictures; pictures were for “little kids.” But the work of artists like Brian Selznick as well as others has proved that assumption wrong.

I hoped that by combining the pictures and the text, I could create more of an atmosphere than simply with the text alone. By the time it was finished, Eddie had almost ninety pictures and took over a year to illustrate. It was a wonderful challenge and a great opportunity to venture into some new territory, both as an author and as an illustrator.

Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe was released in August 2011 by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. The interior drawings were rendered in graphite and Liquid Pencil on Bristol board.

For more information, please visit Scott’s website at http://www.scottgustafson.com.

There was a moment when I was writing Eddie’s War when it occurred to me that I had a cast of thousands (well, dozens), interacting and overlapping like the characters in an Altman film, in a collection of little scenes that was speedily adding up to . . . not much. “You have a handful of pearls,” my editor told me, “but it’s not anywhere close to being a necklace.”

The problem lay in my method. Instead of outlining a proper plot (because I couldn’t think of one), I had mentally put myself on a farm in central Illinois during World War II and had started writing little scenes, or vignettes. Random, unrelated, related—whatever came to mind went into the collection.

But no plot.

I didn’t really have a main character, either, although there were several characters who turned up more often than others, and I was keeping an eye on them. Eddie seemed promising, but he was too young to go to war. His older brother Thomas and Thomas’s friends were hogging the spotlight by enlisting and shipping out. And Thomas’s girlfriend Pauline kept demanding more scenes, along with her brother Howard, who had already come home from the war wounded—maybe with a little PTSD. The stage was getting crowded even before Jozef turned up. Jozef, a refugee gypsy from Poland, was becoming an important symbol of the war in Europe.

And then there was Leo. Between Eddie and Thomas in age, Leo was having entirely too much fun in a novel that was not, on the whole, supposed to be about having fun. And I was pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to be about Leo. The thing about Leo was that he was maybe—I was never sure—gay. I was sure that he was extravagant and effeminate. He was smart and competent and literate among townspeople who generally were not. He was Eddie’s mentor and idol.

And finally, he had to go.

There were several reasons. First, I came to realize that Eddie was the essence of the book, never mind that he didn’t have much flash. Eddie’s quiet ability to observe and reflect evolved into the first-person narrative I wanted. Second, Leo was becoming an “issue” in a book that already had enough issues. Was he gay? Even if he wasn’t, would he be bullied and persecuted for who he seemed to be? Could a book be about the war, and about xenophobia, and about domestic abuse, and about Leo and homophobia?

When I began to hone and trim and find plotlines in my patchwork of vignettes, it was easy to cut Howard; a cinch demoting Pauline to a cipher. But cutting Leo’s scenes from the book made me sad. I sensed his disappointment, and I still do. In the published book he appears only in cameo in one scene (and it’s a doozy—involving something like a striptease at a church social), but I cut everything else, including his greatest moment of triumph. For in my mind, Leo was a hero on the battlefield in France and present in Paris on Liberation Day.

So to somehow make up for letting him go, I’m giving him his fifteen minutes of fame here. Thank you, Prairie Wind, for the opportunity! Go on, Leo—make me proud.

May 1945

From Leo in Paris

Chère Mère et Père,
I’m coming home!
Things are mad here in Paris,
but I’ll soon be on my way—
I can’t wait to get back
and see you both,
feel that good old Illinois soil
under my feet.
Yesterday, Paris was the center of the universe—
if only you could have been here
to see us celebrate.
I have to say,
it’s the biggest thing
that ever happened to me.
The avenues were roaring—
people, soldiers, children, bikes and cars
all in one big mash.
Church bells ringing, music blaring,
people laughing and cheering,
dancing in the streets.
Every ten steps, it seemed,
someone spotted my uniform,
had to slap me on the shoulder,
give me a bear hug.
I quit counting the number of women
who kissed me—
and they were all beautiful!
“Uncle Sam! Uncle Sam!” they shouted.

I lost my buddies in the crowd,
but it didn’t matter—
the whole of Paris was my buddy yesterday.
Some GIs shouted at me,
“Hey—this way!
De Gaulle and Eisenhower are in the parade!”
I started to go with them—
but then I saw the Arch of Triumph
up ahead,
just like the postcards—
a huge, stone mass
against a brilliant blue sky,
giant flags hanging from it,
and crowds of people on the roof
shouting and waving.
It had to be the best view in Paris,
and I had to see it.
I wish I’d thought to count the steps—

there must have been hundreds.
People were coming down and going up,
so it was quite a crush.
Just when I thought I’d be trapped on the stairs forever,
I felt the fresh air from the top,
and then I was there,
stepping out onto the roof.
The second I did,
a man in a top hat and tails
handed me a glass of champagne.
“Mon ami americain!” he cried,
and kissed me on both cheeks,
sloshing champagne all over me.
I was a mess, but all choked up, too.
I wished I knew more French.
All I could say was “Merci! Merci!”
for the thousandth time that day.

When I finally elbowed my way
into a place by the rail,
I was stunned by the view:
even that high, I could hear the cheers
of the masses below.
In every direction as far as I could see,
the streets were teeming with revelers,
the whole of Paris,
packed to overflowing with shouting
and music.
You could just feel the pride and joy,
the relief
that the fighting was over,
that the boys were coming home.

I could have stayed there forever,
but it began to get dark, and I knew
I needed to find my outfit
and that it might be tricky
getting through the streets.
But as I pressed through the crowd
toward the stairs
I heard people around me gasp,
and everyone began pointing and shouting,
“Voici les lumières!”

Mom and Dad,
you wouldn’t have believed your eyes
if you’d seen it.
In the dusk, the lights of Paris
were blinking on.
Six years,
darkened by the blackout,
and now they began to twinkle.
Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, the Louvre.
And shooting straight out
from under the Arch where I was standing,
the great avenue Champs Elysées,
more than a mile of it!
all of a sudden grand and gleaming
with light.

Then the crowd roared again—
“La tour Eiffel!”
There it was—
the most famous sight in the world,
lights blazing, fireworks popping
along the river Seine,
the people around me
weeping with joy.
I didn’t even try to fight the tears.
I thought of home, of you both,
of good old Ellisville,
and I wished you were all here
so fiercely
I thought my heart
would break with happiness
and longing.

But soon!
Soon I’ll be home again.
Until then, I remain,
with much, much love,

Your devoted
Leo

Carol Fisher Saller’s middle-grade novel Eddie’s War (namelos, August 2011) was recently named a Best Children’s Book for 2011 by Kirkus Reviews. Carol is a manuscript editor at the University of Chicago Press and blogs at Lingua Franca for the Chronicle of Higher Education.