October 29, 2011

What: Kid-lit Writing for Children Workshops
When: Saturday October 29
Where: 5035 de Maisonneuve West, Montreal

Writing for Children Workshops
Led by Dr. Kari-Lynn Winters
Saturday October 29, $25 for one workshop, $40 for both
5035 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Montreal (Vendome metro)

Workshop 1, 11am to 12pm, Genre Transformations: Moving between Plays, Graphic Novels, and Picture Books:

Finding the most apt genre for your story is no easy task. Writing for the stage is different than writing for the page. Similarly, a play is distinct from writing a picture book or writing a graphic novel — not only the format, but in the composing itself. As an award-winning children’s author and playwright who has had experience writing across these three genres, Kari-Lynn Winters can say that each transformation requires its own unique organization, thought pattern, and communicative expression. Ideas such as text purpose, writer/reader relationships, rhythms, and benefits/limitations of different genres will be explored. Illustrators are invited to attend this interactive session.

Workshop 2, 1 to 2pm, Keep ‘em Laughing: Writing Funny Fiction:

Humour is a tremendous tool for writers. When done well, it can make your stories more memorable, improve your chances of being published, and earn you financial and personal rewards. In this workshop, award-winning children’s author and playwright Kari-Lynn Winters will draw on her own books as well as the writing of others in order to demonstrate concrete ways to hone your humour writing skills and to keep your audiences giggling.

A maximum of 30 people will be accepted per workshop.

Email Carol-Ann Hoyte to register.

About the workshop leader: Dr. Kari-Lynn Winters is an award-winning children’s author, playwright, performer, and academic scholar. Sixteen of her picture or poetry books have been published or are in press. An experienced teacher of writing, she has worked with students across Canada and the United States, including pre-school, special education, primary and intermediate, high school, and university teacher education. Kari-Lynn is an assistant professor at Brock University in St. Catharines, ON. Her research interests include drama in education, children’s literature, literacy, and multimodal forms of learning. More information about Kari-Lynn can be found at www.kariwinters.com.