Compiled by June Sengpiehl
Classes, conferences and workshops provide opportunities for professional contacts, manuscript critiques, networking and fellowship. Many an unpublished manuscript has been refocused, redefined, rewritten and published after its author attended a class or workshop. Visit http://www.scbwi-illinois.org and click on “networks” to find out about other events offered by SCBWI-Illinois Networks throughout the state.
CLASSES
SCHOOL OF ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
37 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, IL 60603
Dept. of Continuing Studies and Special Programs
http://www.saic.edu/continuing_studies/ace/index.html
1. Beginning Children’s Book Illustration 504-001
Tuesdays and Thursdays, May 29 to June 28, 2012, 6 to 9 pm
Instructor: Lisa Cinelli
36 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL
Continuing Studies, cs@saic.edu or call 312-629-6170
2. Multi-Level Children’s Book Illustration 505-001
Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 10 to August 9, 2012, 6 to 9 pm
Instructor: Laura Montenegro
Lake Forest College
555 Sheridan Road
Lake Forest, IL 60045
Phone: 847-735-5020
Illustrating Children’s Books
Mondays and Wednesdays, June 6 to July 25, 2012, 1-5 pm, (no class July 4)
Instructor: Lisa Cinelli
North Shore Art League
629 Lincoln Avenue
Winnetka, IL 60093
Phone: 847-446-2870
Gouache Painting
Fridays, 9:30 am to 12 noon
Acrylic Painting
Fridays, 1 to 3:30 pm
June 22 to August 17, 2012
Instructor: Lisa Cinelli
The two time frames on Friday can also be used for independent studies on picture books
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. For more information about classes or one-on-one lessons, contact Lisa Cinelli @lisacinelli@gmail.com or call 847-433-4287
BIG TABLE STUDIO
EVANSTON, IL
Summer Intensive
The Early World – Making Children’s Picture Books
Tuesdays and Thursdays, June 5 to June 28, 2012, 10 to 1 pm
Instructor: Laura Montenegro
Also offering private instruction
847-328-4175 call or email for information
lauramontenegro@sbcglobal.net
COLLEGE OF DU PAGE
GLEN ELLYN CAMPUS
425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn 60137
Writing for Children and Young Adults: From Goodnight Moon to Harry Potter
Saturday, June 16, 2012, 9 am to 3 pm
Instructor: Carmela Martino
This class is a one-day introduction to the children’s writing field – from picture books and magazines to teen novels. Learn about the genres of children’s literature, the current marketplace, and how to submit a manuscript. Please bring a sack lunch.
Course code: #LEISR-0052-005 Cost $59
For registration information, see: http://www.carmelamartino.com/events.htm
THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY
60 W. Walton St., Chicago
The Write Place: A Facilitated Children’s Book Writers Group
Wednesdays, June 6 to July 18, 2012, 5:45 pm to 7:45 pm (class will not meet July 4)
Instructor: Esther Hershenhorn authors picture books and middle grade fiction, coaches children’s book writers and recently served on the Board of Advisors of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Writers will have the opportunity to share their stories in a supportive, focused and enlightening environment. Facilitated discussions of participants’ manuscripts will highlight the writing process, story components, elements of narrative, craft, revision and a story’s marketability within today’s children’s book publishing world. Writers of all levels will be offered a variety of writing exercises, suggested readings and current marketing information. To register, click on http://www.newberry.org or phone 312-255-3700
Nature Writing Workshop at the Newberry Library
Thursdays, June 14 to July 19, 2012, 5:45 to 7:45 pm
Instructor: Jen Cullerton, author
6 sessions $170
For more information contact the Newberry Library at: http://www.newberrylibrary.org
The following classes are taught by Michelle Kogan
Email Michelle with any questions: mkogan@mdandmk.com
Evanston Art Center
2603 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60201
Plein Air Painting in Lurie Garden, Millennium Park
Tuesdays, June 12, 2012 (ten weeks), 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
$265 Regular Member Rate/ $255 Discounted (Resident) Rate
Bring your paints, easel and brushes and Plein Air paint amongst the wildflowers, tall grasses and cityscapes that abound in Lurie Garden. In this lush venue, we will create finished compositions using your choice of watercolor, oil, acrylic and drawing mediums. 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.
Basic Drawing (0282)
Wednesdays, June 13, 2012 (ten weeks) 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
$265 Regular Member Rate/ $255 Discounted (Resident) Rate
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 are welcome. Advanced students will work independently, while receiving one-on-one critiques.
Transparent Watercolor (0261)
Fridays, June 15, 2012, (ten weeks) 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
$265 Regular Member Rate/$255 Discounted (Resident) Rate
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 your own compositions, or work from still life materials that the instructor provides.
To register, call 847-475-5300 or click on the link below:
http://www.evanstonartcenter.org
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, IL 60022
Plein Air Drawing and Painting in the Gardens and Greenhouse
Thursdays, June 7, 2012, (eight weeks), 9:30 am to 12:30 pm Design Studio
$374 nonmember; members receive 20% discount
Bring your paints, easel and brushes and Plein Air paint/draw amongst the inspiring variety of summer flowers and plants in the Chicago Botanic Garden! In this lush venue, we will create finished compositions using your choice of watercolor, oil, acrylic and drawing mediums. Both beginners and seasoned artists are welcome. Beginners will focus on exercises starting with monochromatic paintings/drawings 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. In the event of inclement weather, we will move into the Greenhouse.
To register, call 847-835-8261 or visit http://www.chicagobotanic.org/school
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
Details: 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 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
Pace Your Picture Book Online Writing Workshop
New workshop will begin on June 4, 2012 and run 3 weeks
Open 24/7 online access, $150.00 includes weekly critique (Limited to 10 participants)
Why pace a picture book to perfection? Why think about how pacing moves the art and words of the story? How do I move story to enhance my manuscripts? Crafting words for children, creating pictures for them, is such a gift. There is nothing on the page until a picture book writer or illustrator breathes life into it. The pulse of the story, its rhythms, its imagery, springs to life from a book’s careful crafting. Verbally, words and pauses guide the reader, while visually, patterns and page turns create action. To move story is to pace and this workshop shares 20 pacing tools that will move your writing to a new level of Wow!
For more information contact Jodell Sadler at sadler4kids@charter.net or to register, visit: http://www/sadler4kids.com/writing4kids.htm
Ultimate Picture Book Editing Online Writing Workshop
New workshop will begin on July 9, 2012 and run 3 weeks.
Open 24/7online access, $150.00 includes weekly critique. (Limited to 10 participants)
Where do you start when editing your picture book? Is it important for me, as a writer, to think about the art of story? How do I utilize pacing to increase my picture book’s success? Award-winning picture books do not just happen. They are well-crafted stories that utilize 20 great pacing techniques: words, repetition, rhythm, rhyme, etc. When we begin to see the picture book as a performance that needs pauses, enhanced page turns, interactivity, established patterns, and original word strings as much as heart, is when we will craft a book worthy of its shelf space. This workshop focuses on pacing tools to move your writing to a new level of Wow! Writing in the picture book form is not simple. But it can be exciting. It is the small edits that make a huge difference. This workshop will focus on helping you see the playfulness that must go into crafting a picture book. It will help you decide how to move a story from characters, plot, and story arc that reveals the heart of a story to a picture book that sings and flips contagiously–leaving readers wanting to experience it again and again.
For more information contact Jodell Sadler at sadler4kids@charter.net, or to register, visit: http://www.sadler4kids.com/writing4kids.htm
The following institutions also offer classes and workshops for writers and illustrators. Specific class information was not available at time of publication.
THE RAGDALE FOUNDATION
Lake Forest, IL
Phone 847-234-1063 or visit http://www.ragdale.org
THE WRITERS CENTER AT ELGIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Elgin, IL
Regular writing workshops plus weekend special-topic workshops
Phone 847-697-1000, Ext 7578
June 22 to 24, 2012,
WORDS IN THE WOODS
Villa Maria Retreat Center
Springfield, Illinois
Contact: Alice McGinty (SCBWI-Illinois RA)
June 23, 2012
SCBWI-MI SHINE II
State Library
Lansing, Michigan
Contact: Michelle Bradford
SCBWI INDIANA
May 18 to May 19, 2012
Annual Indiana SCBWI Conference
Canyon Inn
McCormick’s Creek State Park
Spencer, IN
Contact: Kristi Valiant
SCBWI OHIO
May 19 to 20, 2012, 9 am to 4 pm
Structure of Picture Books
Presented by Laurie Knowlton
Roots and Wings Ranch
6589 Carsten Road
Medina, Ohio 44256
Contact: Victoria Selvaggio
July 21, 2012 10 am to 12 pm
Critique Meet with Author/Illustrator
Lindsay Ward
Barnes and Noble
4015 Medina Road
Akron, Ohio 44333
Contact: Victoria Selvaggio
August 18, 2012, 10 am to 12 pm
Schmooze – Conference Tips-
Make the Most of Your Conference Experience
Barnes and Noble
4015 Medina Road
Akron, Ohio 44333
Contact: Victoria Selvaggio
WISCONSIN SCBWI
May 19, 2012, 10 am to l:30 pm
Finding The Agent Who Is Right For You
with Emily Kokie
Muehl Public Library
Seymour, Wisconsin
Contact: Susan Manzke
SCBWI INTERNATIONAL
41st Annual Summer Conference
August 3 to 6, 2012
Los Angeles, CA
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 of the world of children’s literature, all determined to help authors and illustrators meet their goals
May 20 to May 26, 2012
Whole Narrative Nonfiction
Workshop Leaders: Carolyn P. Yoder, Elizabeth Partridge, Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Peggy Thomas
Special Guests: Nancy Bo Flood, Barbara Krasner
May 29 to June 3, 2012
Kids’ Book Revision Retreat and Critique Group Recharge
Workshop Leaders: Harold Underdown, Eileen Robinson
Special Guests: Sandy Asher, Cheryl Klein
June 3 to June 6, 2012
A Concentrated Course in Nonfiction
Workshop Leader: Peter P. Jacobi
June 7 to June 10, 2012
Young Adult Boot Camp
What Young-Adult Readers Expect from You!
Workshop Leaders: Rich Wallace, Kathryn Erskine, Sarah Debraski
Special Guest: Meg Medina
June 17 to June 24, 2012
Writing from the Heart
Workshop Leaders: Joy Cowley, Jillian Sullivan, Christine French Cully, Lori Ries
Special Guests: Kathleen Hayes, Alyssa Capucilli, Patricia Lee Gauch, Suzanne Bloom, Tim Gillner, Bernette Ford
June 24 to July 1, 2012
Fiction Writing for Children and Young Adults
Workshop Leaders: Patricia Lee Gauch, Jillian Sullivan, David Richardson, Richard J. Blake
Special Guests: Joy Cowley, Peter P. Jacobi, Abby McAden, Nancy Mercado, Holly McGhee
July 8 to July 14, 2012
Whole Novel Workshop: Middle Grade
Workshop Leaders: Tami Lewis Brown, Sarah Aronson, Helen Hemphill, Melanie Kroupa
Special Guests: Alma Fullerton, Joni Sensel, Rebecca Stead
July 15 to July 22, 2012
Nonfiction Writing For Children and Young Adults
Workshop Leaders: Peter P. Jacobi, Candace Fleming, Larry Dane Brimner, Lionel Bender, Stephen R. Swinburne
Special Guests: Carolyn P. Yoder, Laurence Pringle
August 30 to September 3, 2012
Advanced Illustrators Workshop
Workshop Leaders: Floyd Cooper, Eric Rohmann, Kelly Ann Murphy, Ruth Sanderson
For all workshops, phone 877-512-8365 with questions. To register or to request more information, e-mail Jo Lloyd, Program Assistant, jalloyd@highlightsfoundation.org
RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
VERMONT COLLEGE BRIEF RESIDENCY MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
Montpelier, VT
July, 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.tui.edu/vermontcollege
SPALDING UNIVERSITY BRIEF RESIDENCY
MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN WRITING PROGRAM
Louisville, KY
with a Concentration in Writing For Children
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
Assistant Director, Advising and Student Services
jvanderv@lesley.edu
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, Fax: 651-523-2490
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, 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 address is jsseng629@yahoo.com
