Book Festival Season, Ohioana Style by Kathy Halsey

It's book festival time! They are popping up like crocuses. Last weekend, I explored the 9th annual Ohioana Book Festival in downtown Columbus and am sharing my writer take aways.

The festival boasted panel discussions by illustrators, poetry, publishing tips, and over 100 Ohio authors! Twenty-four of those authors were children's/middle grade/young adult. 

In the exhibitors' hall, I reintroduced myself to the amazing Margaret Peterson Haddix, who remembered her visit to my intermediate school library when the Shadow Children series was new. I volunteered that I wrote now, and she graciously took my business card. Connect and share with other authors...the famous ones are usually uber nice.

Marlane Kennedy, Margaret's booth mate, shared her new series DISASTER STRIKES and the fact that she'd written for 14 years before her debut book ME AND THE PUMPKIN QUEEN took off. (Persistence pays off. Great ideas that resonate w/kids -disasters- pay off in a series. Each is set in a different locale and has diverse characters, too.) I am studying the 1st one for clues on structure.

I also met Dr. Kevin Cordi, professional storyteller, professor, and co-director for the Columbus Area Writing Project at OSU. I am already devouring his newest book, PLAYING WITH STORIES. In this craft book for writers, educators and storytellers, Kevin says we forget to play with our work. He has tons of exercises to open writers up to "what if's" and different ways to approach our stories before we even commit them to paper. 

Janet w/Choose to Read Ohio Poster

M.Anne Touvell, Meg Brown, and Thurber House volunteer

I wrapped up the festival by connecting w/ librarian friend Janet Ingraham Dwyer, library consultant at the State Library of Ohio, and the directors of Thurber House. SLO, the Ohioana Library Association, and The Ohio Center for the Book has created wonderful toolkits for Ohio authors' books to be used by educators, families, and caregivers. Janet and I worked together on the teacher toolkits back in 2011. Take a gander at these for ideas for your own teacher toolkits.

The Thurber House is another great Ohio literary stop, home of humorist James Thurber, which hosts literary picnics, featured writers, and writer-in-residence programs, too. I shared my experiences of teaching and writing and pitched an adult class for beginning picture book writers. I followed up this week w/my resume and have my fingers crossed. Even if I don't teach a class there, I know I'll volunteer and get to know this fabulous resource better.

Enjoy festival season and soak up some literary goodness with the GROG. Where are YOU going this year to feed your creative soul? Let us know in the comments. 

Meet GROGger Kathy Halsey ~ by Patricia Toht

Here at the GROG, we writers come in a variety of flavors. 

If I had to choose one flavor to describe my fellow GROGger, Kathy Halsey, it would be super-duper-confetti-cake-wonder-cream. (Okay, I cheated with all of the hyphens, but Kathy is all that!) Here's your chance to get to know her a bit better.

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer? What drew you to writing for children?

Kathy: Since I was a child, books surrounded me. Both my parents read to us - MIKE MULLIGAN, MILLIONS OF CATS, and LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE, among other classics. Newspapers, Time, National Geographic, and Smithsonian magazines were everywhere.

After many years as a 7^th grade English teacher, I acquired certification as a school librarian and fell in love with books all over again. I experienced the power that reading had for K-12 students, the right book for the right reader, and I wanted to wield that power that writers have.

Now I write stories that I wish had been there for me as a child – biographies of women who knew no boundaries, adventure stories, and humorous tales to make kids laugh. Being a kid isn’t always easy. I advised many a student as an educator about big life issues, and I know they need to laugh.

 What inspires you to write? How do you come up with ideas that you want to write about?

Kathy: After my first PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) in 2011 with the amazing Tara Lazar, I found that ideas surround me and can pop up daily. I enjoy coming up with titles, and I carry a notebook in my purse for brain bursts. The sheer exuberance, honesty, and lack of artifice in children inspire me. They are society’s truth tellers.

I carry a notebook, too, Kathy. What a shame if those ideas slipped away before we wrote them down!

Can you share your author history with us? How long have you been writing?

Kathy: I wrote poetry in 5^th grade, kept a journal off and on since I was 12, and was accepted into a juried master class in poetry at Ohio State. Writing to publish began in earnest 2.5 years ago when I hit a certain birthday ending in zero. I joined SCBWI, hit Facebook, and joined every group I could for writing challenges and information. My 15 years as a school librarian gave me the deep reading background all writers need.

What authors have mentored you?

Kathy: At my first AZ SCBWI meeting, I was blessed to meet Dianne White (author of BLUE ON BLUE), who became my first mentor and part of a face-to-face critique group in Phoenix. Ada Kent, friend, librarian, and former Newbery committee member, encouraged me to go to The Mazza Museum Summer Conference in Finlay, OH, several years ago. They instituted a writers’ track that year, and Ohio author Michael J. Rosen gave me my first critique. Alayne Kay Christian, Miranda Paul, Dianna Aston, Kristen Fulton, and my agent Jodell Sadler have all made an amazing difference in my writing! My writing buddies include a myriad of GROGgers, and Pamela Courtney, Jackie Wellington, and Pam Vaughn. They inspire me.

Kathy and fellow GROGgers
kicking up their heels with Kristen Fulton

If you could invite any author or illustrator to dinner, who would it be?

Photo by manhhai

Kathy: My dad introduced me to Robert Benchley and James Thurber. I’d love to chat with Thurber. We both love dogs, went to Ohio State, and I am doing research on him for a biography now. I adore his illustrations and dry humor.

Tell me about the reading program you started at the indie bookstore in AZ.

Kathy with illustrator Lynne Avril
at Changing Hands Bookstore

Kathy: I’m always in bookstores, and I noticed how adults often looked lost when choosing books for kids. I reached out to Gayle Shanks, the owner of Changing Hands Bookstore, an indie that’s been around for 40 years, volunteering  to do book talks for adults. Her sister, another former educator, also had the same idea, and the Grandma’s Club took off!

This rewarding experience gave me a chance to hone my public speaking skills, read tons of new books from picture books to middle grade, and connect with local authors. When I go on my first book tour (I think big – Julie Hedlund taught me that), I know that Changing Hands will welcome me with open arms.

What else would you like to share with our GROG readers?

Kathy: Believe in yourself.  Surround yourself with people who share your goal to be an author. Look for opportunities – make them happen. Be bold, brave, and generous to others in the field. Remember, children’s writers write for the noblest audience there is! Give them your best.

Kathy and me at the SCBWI LA Conference,
affirming that two GROGgers are better than one!

I'm so glad to learn more about you, Kathy! Thanks for giving us a taste of your life, and best of luck with your writing.