Welcome back listeners to The Porchlight Podcast, we couldn’t be happier to start off Season 3 with the one and only Jamie Swenson. Jamie teaches Picture Book classes at The Writing Barn and is a celebrated picture book author. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. And tune in next week for our brand new segment: Living the Literary Life with Bethany Hegedus.
Jamie A. Swenson, author of the newly released picture book A FALL BALL FOR ALL, joins Bethany on this episode of The Porchlight. Jamie has an MFA from Hamline University and is the author of four picture books and two chapter books, including BIG RIG and MEET WOOF AND QUACK. She’s also an associate librarian and early literacy story teller who lives in Wisconsin and is teaching an online picture book class via The Writing Barn beginning in January 2019.
During their conversation, Bethany and Jamie discuss the challenges of writing rhyming picture books and the importance of punctuation and page turns in the picture book format as well as how a writer can leave room for the illustrator. They share their mutual love of author Phyllis Root and discuss how much they learn not only as students but also as teachers of other writers. Jamie shares how she makes time for her writing amidst her busy work and life schedules, and Bethany calls Jamie’s commentary a master class in living the literary life. To learn more about Jamie, visit her website at www.jamieaswenson.com