FALLING LEAVES 2009: PICTURE BOOKS MASTER CLASS
Nov 13-15, 2009 >>>
Our second annual master class was held at Silver Bay on Lake George.
Our focus this year was on picture books.
Click here for pictures.
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The SCBWI Eastern NY chapter is excited to report on the success of its second Falling Leaves Master Class Retreat, a weekend of writing and inspiration with both authors and editors held in beautiful Silver Bay on Lake George in New York. This year's theme was picture books!
We had five wonderful editors: Alexandra Cooper from Simon & Schuster; Ruta Rimas from Balzar & Bray (Harper Collins); Liz Waniewski from Dial Books for Young Readers; Erica Zappy from Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; and Rotem Moscovich from Cartwheel/Scholastic.
Each participant received a one-on-one 25-minute critique from one of these editors. In addition, each editor provided a hands-on workshop and writing exercises in the evenings.
After a wine and cheese reception and dinner on Friday, we enjoyed workshops by Alexandra (What is a Picture Book?) and Ruta (What Makes a Book Great?). On Saturday evening, Rotem and Erica gave a show-and-tell presentation on Picture Book Aesthetics, which captured the attention of all. Liz dove into the business side of things with her presentation. And since the weather didn't cooperate for our bonfire, we stayed in Watson around the fireplace for cocoa and cookies!
We sat down in groups without the editors on Saturday morning for group critiques with fellow writers. And we finished out the weekend with a round-table discussion led by the editors Sunday morning.