Exploring Childhood Through Stories: Writing Picture Books and Early Chapter Books

This is a workshop for writers interested in writing picture books and early chapter books, and also for illustrators who would like to hone their writing skills.

Writing a good picture book requires the storytelling ability of a novelist and close attention to a clear, simple, and often poetic language pared down to arrive at the essential.

In this workshop we will explore:

• Visual literacy as well as verbal literacy, since picture books and early readers rely heavily on both.
• Short writing exercises in class to inspire ideas, to reignite the emotions of childhood, and to revisit the landscapes of childhood.
• Longer writing exercises at home.
• Reading and studying picture books for their structure and the balancing act of words and pictures.
• Revising, editing, and submitting manuscripts, including the state of the children’s book publishing industry and new technologies.

Participants should emerge with one or two drafts of a picture book or a first chapter of an early reader.

Bring one or two of your all-time favorite picture books to the first meeting. Be prepared to present each book, read a short passage and explain why it appeals to you.

Bring writing materials. We will be doing short writing exercises that will test your imagination and creativity and awake the visual awareness of childhood.

If you have a picture book manuscript in progress that you would like to submit for discussion and comments, please send a copy (four pages maximum) to [email protected] by March 1. The subject line should read “For Marie-Louise Gay.”

Marie-Louise Gay studied graphic design at L’institut des arts graphiques, animation at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts School, and illustration at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. She has written and/or illustrated over seventy books for children: board books, picture books, and chapter books. Her books have been published in twenty languages and have won many awards.

She has also written three puppet plays for which she created the sets, puppets, and costumes. Marie-Louise worked as a creative consultant on the scripts and animation of the television series that was created based on her Stella and Sam books. Over the years she has given writing and illustration workshops to children and adults.