Who doesn’t want to write a picture book? It’s simple, right? But this genre can be tricky, at best. A picture book is shorter than most short, short stories, usually under 1000 words.

In this hands-on workshop Katharine will help you learn how to get to the essence of your story quickly, as well as how the interplay between text and illustrations work.  What the author needs to understand is that a Picture Book is also a Story Book, and thus the two aspects of those skills need to come together in order for the book to work, for it to relate to children.

Katharine Crawford Robey is the author of four picture books and numerous short stories for children. Come with an idea and she’ll help you develop it into a traditional picture book.

Katharine loves to write for children because she believes that early reading is the pathway to success in life. Katharine was first published in “Cricket” magazine in 1992. That story, “Fireworks!” set in Frankfort, Michigan, USA, was reprinted in Milkweed Edition’s anthology, “The Great Lakes: A Literary Field Guide.” “Fireworks!” has been read by over 300,000 young students on standardized tests.

“Fireworks!” and Katharine’s other short stories (likewise anthologized or published in literary magazines) can be found in her book, “Cardinal Coat: A Collection for Everyone.” Katharine has published four picture books to date, with more on the way. “Hare and the Big Green Lawn” (illustrated by Larry MacDougall; Rising Moon 2006) is about a rabbit who moves from the country to the suburbs and decides to turn his big green lawn into a meadow. ”Where’s the Party?” (illustrated by Kate Endle; Charlesbridge, 2011) is about Kate who finds a party for ducklings by listening for clues the birds give her. “Where’s the Party?” is also available as an ebook, complete with audio birdsongs. “The Sleeping Bear Wakes Up” (Illustrated by Julie Copiz; Mission Point Press, 2019) is a sequel to the Native American legend “The Sleeping Bear.” “Tor & Raven Are Friends” (Co-Author Tracy Mikowski; Mission Point Press, 2022) is about an unlikely friendship between a large white dog and a raven. The story was inspired by the real friendship of the two characters. Katharine also writes short stories and plays for adults. She is seeking the production of her latest play, “First Harvest.” Katharine is currently working on a new picture book, “Little Rabbit and the Moon;” and a screen play about John and Lucy Audubon, “Sky Dance. Katharine teaches creative writing to children in summers in Empire, Michigan. The remainder of the year, she leads a workshop for adults in her hometown, Atlanta, Georgia. Her hobbies include birdwatching and playing the violin. Katharine and her husband, Ron, have two grown married children and four grandchildren. Included in the Robey family is their mischievous standard poodle, Willa Cather Robey, who devours literature literally!

A craft-based creative writing workshop for all genres and levels.

There are the things we write, and the things we want to write, and the divide between. We know when we have reached the divide when we stop typing at a precipice, when pens are set down, when we say, “No, I can’t write that.” Or worst of all, hitting the delete button! In this generative class, we’ll build a bridge over the “divide.” Using a variety of guided, craft-based creative writing experiments and prompts, we’ll cross over to the other side into “dangerous” ways of writing. We’ll explore some dangerous writings of Terrance Hayes, Pamela Painter and Han Kang. Whether personally prohibited content, or style, we’ll find methods of exploring through technique. Participants will depart the class with newly opened writing landscapes, more freedom of movement in their work, and liberty to travel on new and necessary maps. This session is open to writers of all genres and levels.  

Robin McLean worked as a lawyer and then a potter in the woods of Alaska before turning to writing. Her first story collection Reptile House won the BOA Editions Fiction Prize and was noted as a best book of 2015 in Paris Review. Her debut novel Pity the Beast was noted as a best book of fiction of 2021 in The Guardian and Wall Street Journal, and long-listed for the Reading the West Prize.  Her second story collection, Get'em Young, Treat'em Tough, Tell'em Nothing was an Editors' Choice 

She is currently the 2023 Visiting Writer in the MFA program at the University of Montana. When not wandering the American Mountain West, she's found in Canada on the edge of the Salish Sea.

This workshop is be based on my  “Grist to the Mill” online creative events, which are aimed both at writers seeking as many different exercises and games to open up new characters, new settings, voices and story ideas, and at teachers who seek to bring new inspirations to their students. A balance to the necessary academic disciplines, my specialism is reminding writers both old and new of the power of our imaginations when set free. The participants will engage in the given tasks, and will also write a lot. The book, 51 and a Half Games and Ideas for Writers, with Example Responses will be utilized in the workshop for both exercises and examples.

In this workshop, we will read and study the first two pages of sample short stories, asking ourselves if the author has satisfied The Golden Rule of Writing: “until readers know what the main character wants, they don't know what the story is about; until they know what's at stake, they don't care."  Participants are encouraged to bring their own original story for comments that will, hopefully, assist the author in developing the main character, the pacing, and “”what’s at stake” in the storyline.

Her work has been published in Remnants, The Moth, Another Chicago Magazine, Lakeview International Journal of Literature and Art, as well as numerous anthologies. Her flash fiction stories, Never Again and Peachy were short-listed for the Ventral Review Award and the Bath Flash Fiction Award, respectively. Her memoir, Blood Sisters, was a finalist for the Breadloaf Prize and won the Lewes Clark Discovery Prize. Her edited work includes: On the Mason-Dixon Line: An Anthology of Contemporary Delaware Writers, Teaching Troubled Youth: A Practical Pedagogical Approach, and No Place Like Here: An Anthology of Southern Delaware Poetry and Prose. She received the Governor’s Award for the Arts (2014); the Delaware Division of the Arts Masters Award in Literature (2018), and the National Federation of Press Women Communicator of Achievement Award, the organization’s highest award (2019).  She teaches creative writing at Wilmington University, advocates for at-risk kids and the mentally ill, and co-founded and coordinates the Lewes Creative Writers Conference, now in its 17th year. You can find her online at http://www.btravalini.com

Bring your notebooks with your fragments, your unfinished stories, and ideas that just wouldn't launch, this workshop will talk you through a method of making them work. Using examples from his work Paul will show you how he has used his method to create powerful narratives then you can try it on your broken stories. You'll get feedback and input into your ideas. Because he is also a playwright and has written thirteen short stories for BBC Radio 4, Paul will also show you how to write that story for radio. Be prepared to work and learn a lot.