Perfecting the Picture Book: A 6 Week Class
with Author & Writing Barn Founder, Bethany Hegedus
Agent Guest, Alexandra Penfold of Upstart Crow Literary
Dates of the sessions are: October 1, 15, 22, 29 and November 5, 12 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.
We will be skipping Oct. 8th.
Is there such a thing as perfection in literature? If there is—the picture book may well be the form it takes. Whether it be written in sparse lyrical language or tongue twisting onomatopoeia, the language of a picture book text, when it strikes the right chord is true perfection.
So how do we build our books to capture this magic? Join us for Perfecting the Picture Book with novelist and picture book author, Bethany Hegedus. Bethany will share drafts of her own picture book revisions along with notes from editors and agents to aid in the learning process.
These topics will be addressed:
- character intention
- kid-friendliness
- voice
- the rule of three
- story-boarding
- page turns
- read-a-loud ability
- humor
- picture book pairs
- non-fiction
- writing a picture book query
Along with lessons, exercises, reading homework, group sharing, each student will have the opportunity to have one picture book of 200-700 words critiqued.
Also, on the last session agent Alexandra Penfold, of Upstart Crow Literary, will give you feedback on your picture book query and will give a short talk via Skype to the class on the current state of the picture book market. Alexandra has had numerous picture book sales already in 2013 and she began her agent career in February after ten years at Simon & Schuster.
This class will meet for 6 Tuesday evenings, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Dates of the sessions are: October 1, 15, 22, 29 and November 5, 12. We are skipping Oct. 8th.
To register for this workshop: The cost for this workshop is $375/student.
To register, mail info@writingbarn.com and an invoice for the cost of the class will be sent. Payment is due upon acceptance to the class. There will be no refunds but class registration may be transferred to another student if needed. Or checks may be made payable to The Writing Barn and mailed to: The Writing Barn, 10202 Wommack Road, Austin, TX 78748. Class size is limited so REGISTER NOW!
Author Bethany Hegedus, is founder of The Writing Barn, a retreat and workshop space in Austin, Texas. Bethany holds an MFA from Vermont College of the Fine Arts and serves as Editor for the Children’s & YA section of the literary journal Hunger Mountain. Her novels include Between Us Baxters (WestSide Books) and Truth with a Capital T (Delacorte/Random House.) Her next title, Grandfather Gandhi, co-authored with Arun Gandhi, grandson to the Mahatma, and illustrated by Evan Turk is due out from Antheneum/Simon & Schuster in March, 2014.
Under her private instruction and editing services, Bethany’s mentees have gone on to sign with top literary agents. She previously worked at the Writers’ League of Texas as office manager and lives and writes in Austin, Texas.
Alexandra Penfold has been working in publishing for nearly a decade. Formerly an Editor at Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, she recently joined Upstart Crow Literary as an agent and specializes in young picture books, middle-grade fiction, and young adult. She has edited award-winning books by Meghan McCarthy, Marissa Moss, Carol Lynch Williams, Tammi Sauer, Robert Burleigh, Scott Magoon, Laura Schaefer and N. H. Senzai among others. Prior to becoming an editor, Alexandra was a children’s book publicist. She worked on media campaigns that appeared in USA Today, Newsweek, US News and World Report, and NPR’s All Things Considered, among other national and local media outlets.
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