Cynsations

Highlights Writers’ Conference

Press release:

“Writing for Children” sponsored by the Highlights Foundation

July 16, 2005 – July 23, 2005

Our mission is to enhance the personal and professional development of the writers and illustrators of literature for children by providing support and guidance through our workshops and educational programs.

This intensive, week-long retreat at the famed resort in western New York State is designed for individuals interested in writing for children. Conferees at the Children’s Writers Workshop at Chautauqua have the opportunity to work in individual and small-group sessions with some of the most accomplished and prominent authors, illustrators, editors, and publishers in the world of children’s literature.

The conference is limited to 100 writers and both full and partial scholarships are offered to qualified applicants. Available spaces fill quickly, so applicants are encouraged to register as soon as possible for the 2005 workshop.

Conferees have the opportunity to work in individual and small group sessions with some of the most accomplished and prominent authors, illustrators, editors, and publishers in the world of children’s literature. Participants attend workshop sessions, lectures, and panel discussions on a variety of topics ranging from plot development and characterization to submitting a manuscript for publication and finding children’s markets. Through the manuscript reader and mentoring program, attendees are able to meet with individual members of the Chautauqua Workshop faculty in one-on-one sessions to review and critique their work. {Manuscripts are requested ahead of time for the program}.”

Past Workshops:

Point of View, Writing Dialogue, Conflict/Tension, Characterization, Beginnings and Endings, Developing a Plot, Editing Your Own Writing, Crank Up the Creativity, Motivation and Inspiration: A Writer’s Life, Getting Started: Writing First Sentences, Writing for Beginning Readers, Creating a Rebus, Think Pictures, From Manuscript to Picture Book, Writing for the Upper Grades, Action and Adventure Stories, Memoirs: Mining Your Memories, Humor, Writing Biography, Research to the Printed Page, Photo Research, How to Write a Nonfiction Children’s Book, Writing Illustrated Nonfiction, Electronics and New Media, Designing a Book, Writing for Teacher Publications, Belief and Bylines: Writing for the Inspirational Market, Writing Poetry for Children, Fantasy, Puzzles and Games, Getting Out of the Slush Pile, Rights, Contracts, Copyrights, From Publishers to Booksellers: Into the Hands of the Reader, Writing for the Magazine Market, Cut It Out: Trimming the Fat From Your Prose, From Acceptance to Publication, From Submission to Acceptance

The faculty of the 2005 Writers Workshop at Chautauqua, New York will include the following distinguished names: Larry Dane Brimner; Joy Cowley; Patricia Lee Gauch; David Harrison; Juanita Havill; Fred McKissack; Pat McKissack; Pam Muňoz Ryan.

Accommodations: We coordinate ground transportation to and from airports, trains and bus stations in Erie, PA and Jamestown/Buffalo, NY area. We also coordinate accommodations for conference attendees.

History

The Highlights Foundation was established in 1985 as a means of providing support and guidance to writers and illustrators for children. Our goal is to improve, over time, the quality of literature for children by educating future generations of children’s authors.

For twenty years, the renowned Highlights Foundation Writing for Children Workshop at Chautauqua has stood at the cornerstone of our mission. More than 1,700 individuals have attended this extraordinary workshop, an experience that has had a significant impact on their professional lives and on the world of children’s literature. Many of our workshop alumni have gone on to become published authors as well as ambassadors of the importance of mentoring children’s writers.