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| 2013 Children’s Literature programs students and faculty |
I am thrilled to announce that Hollins University now offers the first and only MFA in Writing and Illustrating Children’s Books in the country.
This is in conjunction with the already established MFA in Children’s Literature and Certificate in Children’s Book Illustration programs. (I teach Design in the certificate and now the MFA program, too.)
As a writer/illustrator myself, it has been a long time wish of mine for a program like this to come into existence.
How ironic and wonderful that I help teach it as Visiting Associate Professor of Design!
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| Illustration students & faculty at ‘the signpost’ |
The program will begin in Summer 2014 and will be a marriage of the four Illustration Certificate courses currently offered, six appropriate Children’s Literature courses, one independent study in art, and a creative thesis accompanied by a critical essay situating the student’s work in the historical and critical context of children’s literature and illustration.
Sixty credits will be required, achieved during the summer semesters of six weeks each.
The program is expected to take four years to complete. (The Illustration Certificate program takes two years to complete.)
I highly recommend this program and can attest to the intellectual, inspiring, and magical environment that Hollins creates each summer on the pristine campus in Roanoke, Virginia – right in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. It is where my brain goes to expand and play among peers who happen to be some of the most successful names in children’s literature.
Cynsational Notes
Elizabeth O. Dulemba is an award-winning author/illustrator of two dozen
books, Illustrator Coordinator for the SCBWI Southern Breeze region,
and a Board Member for the Georgia Center for the Book. She teaches
creating picture books at various venues, including Hollins, and enjoys
speaking at book festivals and events. Her “Coloring Page Tuesday”
images garner over a million hits to her site annually, and she will
celebrate the release of her debut historical fiction mid-grade, A Bird on Water Street (Little Pickle Press, 2014), this May.
Hollins Campus
As one of the professors in this summer program I can only say if you are an aspiring illustrator with ambitions to be an author too, this is the program for you. Every 2014 Caldecott was won by an illustrator who was also an author. The two skills are deeply complimentary and this program teaches it all in a gorgeous, inspirational setting.
Thanks so much for letting me share Cynthia! I also wanted to mention two of our illustrious visiting instructors this year will be the Caldecott Medal winning Eric Rohmann and the creator of Skippyjon Jones, Judy Schachner!!! 🙂 e