For lots of great info for writers please visit these posts, if you would like:
See many of you this summer at the fabulous SCBWI SUMMER CONFERENCE in LA where I'll be talking BOOK CONCEPTS and QUERIES as well as critiquing manuscripts.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
GOING ON BLOG HIATUS
First I closed to queries, now I am closing down the blog...for now. I think twitter and facebook will also be seeing less of me.
For lots of great info for writers please visit these posts, if you would like:
See many of you this summer at the fabulous SCBWI SUMMER CONFERENCE in LA where I'll be talking BOOK CONCEPTS and QUERIES as well as critiquing manuscripts.
For lots of great info for writers please visit these posts, if you would like:
See many of you this summer at the fabulous SCBWI SUMMER CONFERENCE in LA where I'll be talking BOOK CONCEPTS and QUERIES as well as critiquing manuscripts.
Monday, April 29, 2013
CLOSING TO QUERIES ON MAY 1
I am so sorry to have to implement this new policy but I am finding there is not enough time to do everything and with the changing times in publishing, I want to give as much of my time and effort to my current clients as possible to ensure their success.
Friday, April 19, 2013
NEW DATE & TIME***POETRY WORKSHOP WITH ELLEN HOPKINS, JILL CORCORAN & JOYCE LEE WONG moved to MAY 20th!
FOR THE PRICE OF A BOOK OF POETRY, come talk poetry, novel-in-verse, today's market for poetry and more with NYTimes Bestselling Poet Ellen Hopkins, Agent/Poet Jill Corcoran and Poet/Author Joyce Lee Wong via A PATH TO PUBLISHING's Online Video Conference Technology. MONDAY, May 20th, 4-5:30pm Pacific/7-8:30 Eastern
INCLUDES COPY OF DARE TO DREAM...CHANGE THE WORLD
Sign up HERE!
INCLUDES COPY OF DARE TO DREAM...CHANGE THE WORLD
Sign up HERE!
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NYTimes Bestselling Author/Poet Ellen Hopkins
Ellen Hopkins has been writing poetry "ever since I knew what it was," and published her first poem--a perfect five-seven-five haiku--when she was nine. Called "the bestselling living poet in America" by Mediabistro, she is the award-winning author of twenty nonfiction books for children and eight NY Times bestselling young adult novels in verse--CRANK, BURNED, IMPULSE, GLASS, IDENTICAL, TRICKS, FALLOUT and her latest, PERFECT. In 2011 Ellen published her first adult verse novel, TRIANGLES, and will continue to write for both teens and adults "until they have to pry my cold, dead fingers from the keyboard." Next up, in 2012, will be the YA novel, TILT, and the adult novel, COLLATERAL. Ellen lives near Carson City Nevada with her husband, son, two dogs, one cat and two ponds (not pounds) of koi.
www.ellenhopkins.com
Jill Corcoran-Literary Agent/Poet/Poet Anthologist
JILL CORCORAN is a literary agent with Herman Agency.
Her current interests include: high concept Young Adult and Middle Grade Thrillers, Mystery, Romance, Romantic Comedies, and Adventure as well as New Adult manuscripts.
With an English degree from Stanford University and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago, Jill has marketed everything from sneakers to cereal at Leo Burnett Advertising, LA Gear, Mattel, and at her own consulting company, LAUNCH! New Product Marketing.
Her clients include: Bart King, Beck McDowell, Denise Lewis Patrick, Erin Fry, Janet Costa Bates, Janet Gurtler, Jennifer Dussling Arena, Judith Rossel, Julie Williams, Kelly Milner Halls, Kenn Nesbitt, Laura Ellen, Martha Alderson AKA Plot Whisperer, Martha Brockenbrough, Ralph Fletcher, Robin Mellom, Shelley Coriell, Sherry Shahan, Susanne Gervay, Varsha Bajaj, Wendy Higgins
Jill is also the anthologist for DARE TO DREAM...CHANGE THE WORLD (Kane Miller Books, Fall 2012), an anthology of biographical and inspirational paired poems that seek to inform, inspire, and engage middle graders to imagine, persevere and to act. Poets include: Ellen Hopkins, Jane Yolen, Joyce Sidman, J. Patrick Lewis, Marilyn Singer, Georgia Heard, Alice Schertle, Lisa Wheeler, Julia Durango, Lee Bennett Hopkins, David L. Harrison, Elaine Magliaro, Tracie Van Zimmer, Hope Anita Smith, Carol Tanzman, Joan Bransfield Graham, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Laura Purdie Salas. Curtis Crisler, Alan Katz, Rose Horowitz, Hope Vestergaard, Jacqui Robbins, Janet Wong, Stephanie Hemphill, Kelly Fineman, Denise Lewis Patrick, Joyce Lee Wong, Jill Corcoran & Bruce Coville.
Jill's poem PIRATES is included in I AM THE BOOK, Lee Bennett Hopkins & Yayo, Holiday House, 2011.
Joyce Lee Wong - Author/Poet
In 2007 Joyce Lee Wong won the IRA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award.
Her novel-in-verse SEEING EMILY (Abrams, 2007), is an International Reading Association Notable Book and a New York Public Library Best Book for the Teen Age, and was also lauded by Publishers Weekly as “a highly visual, eloquently wrought first novel” and praised by Kirkus Reviews: “the poetic form provides the perfect vehicle for Emily’s unique voice… sensitive and finely crafted.”
A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Joyce has worked as a lawyer and teacher, and now lives in Los Angeles.
Visit her website at www.joyceleewong.com/
Sign up HERE
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
RENEE TREML SHORTLISTED FOR THE AU CBC CRICHTON AWARD!
HUGE CONTRATS to Renee Treml who has been shortlisted in the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Crichton Award for One Very Tired Wombat.
The Crichton Award is for a debut illustrator and ‘aims to recognise and encourage new talent in the field of Australian children's book illustration’.
Below is a sneak peak at Renee's newest work pubbing Sept 2013 from Random House Australia, Colours for Curlews.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
SUPPORT LIBRARIES--WRITE A POEM!
Annual Dare to Dream Poetry Contest for Kids
Grand Prize winner receives $1,500
worth of Kane Miller and Usborne books for
a library of their choice
+
the 30 top poets will be published
by Kane Miller Books in a free e-book!
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| A wall full of poetry from third graders at Island Lake Elementary in Shoreview, MN for the Dare to Dream...Change the World poetry contest! |
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The Dare to Dream … Change the World Annual Writing Contest for Kids aims to promote literacy, poetry writing, and nonfiction research while inspiring students to follow their dreams.
It’s based on the award-winning Dare to Dream … Change the World which pairs biographical and inspirational poems about people who invented something, stood for something, said something, defied the naysayers and not only changed their own lives, but the lives of people all over the world.
CONTEST DETAILS
WHO: For students in 3rd through 8th grade.
WHAT: Following the format of the book, students will write a biographical poem and non-fiction paragraph about someone who not only dreamed, but who took action and made the world better.
HOW: Send your entry by e-mail todaretodreamchangetheworld@gmail.com, subject line of “DARE TO DREAM Writing Contest.” Be sure to include your first name only, your e-mail address and your parents’ e-mail address.
Official rules at www.daretodreamchangetheworld.com
DEADLINE: April 30, 2013
The POETS of DARE TO DREAM...CHANGE THE WORLD
(bios of poets at http://daretodreamchangetheworld.com/index/)
(bios of poets at http://daretodreamchangetheworld.com/index/)
Ellen Hopkins, Jane Yolen, Joyce Sidman, J. Patrick Lewis, Marilyn Singer, Georgia Heard, Alice Schertle, Lisa Wheeler, Julia Durango, Lee Bennett Hopkins, David L. Harrison, Elaine Magliaro, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, Hope Anita Smith, Carol Tanzman, Joan Bransfield Graham, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Laura Purdie Salas, Curtis Crisler, Alan Katz, Rose Horowitz, Hope Vestergaard, Jacqui Robbins, Janet Wong, Stephanie Hemphill, Kelly Fineman, Denise Lewis Patrick, Joyce Lee Wong, Jill Corcoran & Bruce Coville.
My hope is that Dare to Dream…Change the World can spark a paradigm shift from resigned to inspired!
Winner of the 2013 Notable Books for a Global Society Award!
This award is given by Children´s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association and is not only a tremendous honor, but also a significant factor in library collection decisions. According to the chair, the committee "... really appreciated the uniqueness of this book and the contribution it makes toward global and diverse children's literature."
Dare to Dream...Change the Worlds was chosen as a 2013 California Reading Association’s Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Honor Award Book!
The California Reading Association Eureka Award celebrates and honors nonfiction children’s books and assists teachers, librarians, and parents in identifying outstanding nonfiction books for their students and children.
REVIEWS:
Publishers Weekly
Inspired by coverage of the 2011 uprising in Egypt, literary agent Corcoran gathers 30 poems from Lee Bennett Hopkins, Alan Katz, Joyce Sidman, and others. Themes of social justice and possibility run through the poems, with roughly half paying stirring tribute to activists, artists, and iconoclasts, from Anne Frank and Jonas Salk to Steven Spielberg and the founders of YouTube. Jepson’s crisp collagelike illustrations present a gently textured backdrop. Julia Durango’s ode to author/illustrator Ashley Bryan is paired with a powerful evocation of the notion of grace by Tracie Vaughan Zimmer (“It’s bitter words swallowed/ before they push past/ the gates of angry lips”). Bruce Coville’s closing poem, “Ripples,” reads like a call to action: “No one acts in isolation/ And no act leaves the world the same./ Words and gestures ripple outward,/ What shores they reach we cannot name.” All ages. (Mar.)
Children's Literature - Beverley Faher
The thirty poems in this anthology are inspired by the lives of those who through a discovery, invention, or dedication to a craft changed the world. And so you have a poems to celebrate Jonas Salk and the development of the polio vaccine, Michelle Kwan's efforts to attain Olympic gold, Temple Grandin whose unique mind conceived of a method to herd cattle, Christa McAuliffe whose dream to teach from space was so tragically snatched from her, and Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim and their vision of YouTube as a way of sharing videos online. Contributors include Alice Schertle, Marilyn Singer, Denise Lewis Patrick, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Jane Yolen and J. Patrick Lewis. Brief biographical information is provided and incorporated into the handsome illustrations thus making it nonintrusive. This is an impressive collection to share with children and encourage them to dare to dream.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Would You Like Me to Visit Your In-Person or Online Critique Group?
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| Photo by Sonya Sones |
As many of you know, I have purchased an amazing technology that allows me to join up to 23 of you in a video chat that has no lag times in picture or audio. It is like we are all in the same room!
I would love to visit your critique group or writer's group and we can talk about anything you would like and/or I can join you for a day of critiquing manuscripts and or concepts.
Simply click on THIS PAGE to order or email me at jillcorcoran at me dot com if you have any questions.
The cost is $100 per hour. That is not per person but per hour so you can have as many or as few people participate as you would like.
All you need is a phone, tablet, ipad or computer with a camera and microphone. You can sign in via your browser-firefox, safari, outlook or google chrome (all free to download) or Skype (also free to download). There are no apps that you will need to download or purchase. You simply sign in via an email I send to you and I will see and hear you, and you me, via the cloud.
Plus all participants will receive a 15% discount off one A PATH TO PUBLISHING Workshop.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
jill
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Grabbing Your Reader from the Very First Line, Feb 9 in CA
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A first-page critique session will be included at the end of the session.
BIOGRAPHY. JILL CORCORAN is an agent with the Herman Agency. Her current interests include: high concept Young Adult and Middle Grade Thrillers, Mystery, Romance, Romantic Comedies, and Adventure manuscripts.
With an English degree from Stanford University and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from The University of Chicago, Jill has marketed everything from sneakers to cereal at Leo Burnett Advertising, LA Gear, Mattel, and at her own consulting company, LAUNCH! New Product Marketing. Jill is also a children’s book author and poet. For more information, contact Sidonie Wiedenkeller at doniew@aol.com.
Cost: $40 SCBWI members, $50 non-members. Print registration form here
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Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The Dare to Dream ... Change the World Annual Writing Contest for KIDS!
BREAKING NEWS!
The Dare to Dream ... Change the World
Annual Writing Contest
for students grades three to eight will launch January 25th!
Grand prize winner receives $1500 worth of Kane Miller and Usborne books for a library of their choice
+
the top 30 poets will be published by Kane Miller Books
in a free e-book!
The Dare to Dream … Change the World Annual Writing Contest for Kids aims to promote literacy, poetry writing, and nonfiction research while inspiring students to follow their dreams.
It’s based on the award-winning Dare to Dream … Change the World (Kane Miller Books, 2012), which pairs biographical and inspirational poems about people who invented something, stood for something, said something, defied the naysayers and not only changed their own lives, but the lives of people all over the world.
CONTEST DETAILS
WHO: For students in 3rd through 8th grade.
WHAT: Following the format of the book, students will write a biographical poem and non-fiction paragraph about someone who not only dreamed, but who took action and made the world better.
HOW: Send your entry by e-mail to daretodreamchangetheworld@gmail.com, subject line of “DARE TO DREAM Writing Contest.” Be sure to include your first name only, your e-mail address and your parents’ e-mail address.
Official rules at www.daretodreamchangetheworld.com
Download a FREE Curriculum Guide for Dare to Dream…Change the World at www.daretodreamchangetheworld.com
DEADLINE: April 30, 2013
The winner of the Dare to Dream … Change the World Annual Writing Contest for Kids will make others’ dreams come true by earning $1,500 worth of Kane Miller and Usborne books for either their own school library or a library of their choice.
Additionally, Kane Miller will make 30 student writers’ dreams come true by professionally publishing their work. Kane Miller will publish these top entries in an e-book that will be free for all to read, for all to be inspired.
Ellen Hopkins*Jane Yolen*Joyce Sidman*J. Patrick Lewis* Marilyn Singer
Georgia Heard*Alice Schertle*Lisa Wheeler*Julia Durango*Joyce Lee Wong
David L. Harrison*Elaine Magliaro*Hope Anita Smith*Carol Tanzman*Alan Katz
Rose Horowitz*Hope Vestergaard*Jacqui Robbins*Jill Corcoran*Denise Lewis Patrick*
Joan Bransfield Graham* Laura Purdie Salas*Curtis Crisler*Kelly Fineman*
Tracie Vaughn Zimmer*Stephanie Hemphill*Rebecca Kai Dotlich*Janet Wong*
Lee Bennett Hopkins*Bruce Coville
Tracie Vaughn Zimmer*Stephanie Hemphill*Rebecca Kai Dotlich*Janet Wong*
Lee Bennett Hopkins*Bruce Coville
Friday, January 18, 2013
Teacher-Grants and Authors—Why We Should Care: Part 4 of the #CCSS Curriculum Guide Series
One of the things I hear from teachers is, “I’d love to teach your book, but my district has absolutely no money.” As a sixth-grade English teacher in California, it’s a situation I know well. Budgets are frozen, and where we once had department or library funds, we now have nothing. We haven’t even THOUGHT about purchasing new textbooks for years now.
But as an author and a teacher, it’s important to know that there ARE ways to get money for books: grants. I know, I know; you hear that word and think of research and forms and painstaking writing.
But it doesn’t have to be like that.
Recently, I fell in love with Jill Corcoran’s book, Dare to Dream . . . Change the World. Having worked for nearly a decade in educational publishing and developed curriculum for many companies, I couldn’t wait to use the poems in that book as the backdrop for an awesome poetry unit. A friend and I developed a teacher’s guide for it (insert link) and I was all set. Except I needed more books. I needed a grant and I needed it quickly.
Where do I find grant money?
My school is great about letting teachers know about grant opportunities. Our local rotary club and even some businesses give out yearly grants. The grant that I applied for was through Delta Kappa Gamma Society that awards money to women educators. But there are also TONS of grants available online. Check out this site: http://www.donorschoose.org/teachers. Teachers request money for a certain project and people who want to support teachers donate to those projects they think are worthy. It’s really easy.
But isn’t writing a grant difficult and time-consuming?
It took me about half an hour. I just described what I wanted to do. I came up with a catchy title and then laid out why I wanted these books and why students were going to benefit from them. I had to put in a few prices and do a little math but then it was done. Two weeks later, I had the money I needed to buy enough copies of Dare to Dream. . . Change the World to use in my classroom.
And here’s another cool part. Some companies, like Kane-Miller (Dare to Dream’s publisher), have MATCHING GRANT programs. Kane-Miller matches 50% from the first dollar, however when you reach the $200 mark, you benefit from free shipping. To find out if a book’s publisher has such a program, it’s a simple phone call to their distributor. For Kane-Miller the number is 1-800-611-1655.
But I’m an author, not a teacher. So why do I care?
It’s good to know about some of the grants available in your area. Know if your publisher offers matching grants or discounts for teachers. So when a teacher says, “I love your book but I don’t have enough funds to get a class set,” or “I’d love to have you come speak at my school but we don’t have the money,” you can immediately say, “Have you thought about applying for this grant?” and you might even have the form available for them!
In addition, consider having a well-written, CCSS-aligned teacher guide for your book. We’ve seen recently how influential teachers and librarians are when it comes to promoting kid’s literature. Every step you can take to make your book more classroom-friendly makes it that much more likely that a teacher will look at your book over the competition.
This post was written by Erin Fry, Teacher, Curriculum Creator and Author of LOSING IT, Amazon Children's Publishing
"Fry has a great ear for middle school dialogue, and her light, humorous touch will ensure that readers keep turning the pages until the uplifting conclusion." School Library Journal
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Creating Your CCSS-Aligned Curriculum Guide: Part 3 of the #CCSS Curriculum Guide Series
Where do I begin?
Your Common Core State Standards (CCSS) document—get to know the standards for your target age group. Note that the standards range from basic understanding to deep analysis (purposely reflecting Bloom's Taxonomy). Pick 5-8 standards that you think you can cover in your curriculum guide - you don't need to touch on ALL the standards as students have the entire year to meet their grade-level CCSS.
Get organized!
Figure out what sections to include in your curriculum guide. As a teacher, here's what is most useful:
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| Click on pic to see a CCSS Curriculum Guide |
- a Prior Knowledge section with discussion or writing prompts that students complete BEFORE they begin reading. A good prompt relates students' prior experiences to themes in the book, and gets them excited and motivated to read. For Dare to Dream . . . Change the World, a poetry anthology, we have students find examples of poetry in commercials, songs, greeting cards, and nursery rhymes so they realize poetry is all around them!
- a Vocabulary section that includes a list, with definitions, of grade-level vocabulary students will encounter in the novel. In addition, it is really helpful to have a handout where students decipher new words in context (using phrases from the novel). Here's an example from a "Context Clue" handout for Losing It that teachers are loving: “You have to drink when you run, Bennett. No wonder your head hurts! Most headaches are caused by dehydration, you know.” Dehydration might mean . . .
- Chapter Questions that help students process important themes, while hitting key Common Core Standards. A good set of questions spiral from basic understanding to analysis, and vary in what they ask the student to do. For instance, students might draw a response, complete a graphic organizer, or write a mini-dialogue from the perspective of a character. Here is a sample prompt for Laurie Halse Anderson’s CHAINS:
Create simple sketches for Elihu Lockton, Curzon, and Isabel. Add a large speech bubble to each character. Write the words, “The real meaning of liberty is . . .” at the top of each speech bubble. Then, do the following:
· Finish the opening sentence from the perspective of the character.
· Support your claim with examples or evidence from the text.
· Provide a concluding statement that summarizes your position.
- a Pulling It All Together section where students take what they've learned from your book and do something with it. It can be a writing assignment, a project, a debate etc. Given the push for informational text in the CCSS, this is an ideal place to include some nonfiction reading to supplement your book. For Losing It, we researched and wrote our own text about bullying and then guided students through a debate about what should be done with bullies in schools.
Get Writing!
It takes some time to create a good curriculum guide, but it's well worth it if you want teachers to be able to simply pick up your book and teach it! Books that are chosen by teachers for their classrooms have longevity, as well, since teachers tend to use them year after year.
Nicole and Erin, both teachers and curriculum developers, can help! You can contact us as commoncorespecialists@gmail.com if you have questions or would like us to create a curriculum guide for your book.
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