About Us

Hey Everyone!

Carol Lynch Williams here. Lisa Hale, Cheri Pray Earl (who’s taking a sabbatical this year, but still working part-time with us) and I just wanted to let you know about the 2010 Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers conference.

For the last 10 years we ran the BYU Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers workshop at Brigham Young University. This year, however, we decided to leap off on our own. The 2010 Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers—which is not affiliated with BYU Conferences and Workshops—will be held in Sandy, Utah, at the Waterford School, June 14-18. And we couldn’t be more thrilled with this venue! We have a dedicated art room for the illustration class, morning workshop rooms that are filled with natural light, and plenty of space to host a range of afternoon sessions. There’s space everywhere, right down to the massive 500+ seat auditorium!

Afternoon sessions will have more speakers to choose from, morning attendees will enjoy a paid lunch with their workshop group and faculty member, as well as there being a few specialized give-aways and prizes. We are pleased to say that The King’s English Bookstore is working with us! I am sure many of you have had the chance to visit this marvelous independent bookstore. (There’s a link to their website at the bottom of the webpage.)

This year we talked long and hard about which terrific illustrator and amazing writers would be fun to work with at our 2010 conference. This year’s faculty is dedicated to helping you get the best writing and illustrating done—and they are dedicated to teaching you what that kind of writing and illustration that is. The editors and agent are here—coming in from New York—to find new talent. 

Lisa, Cheri, and I have more than 40 years combined experience in teaching creative writing and running workshops. Fifteen years ago, Cheri and I worked on our first workshop together here in Utah, with author Rick Walton. Prior to that, Cheri worked on SCBWI-affiliated conferences in Texas. Together and separately we have managed several different kinds of gatherings each year—from 3-hour workshops to week-long conferences, and everything in between. It’s been an exciting time working with writers and illustrators (both published and unpublished) and editors and agents from around the country.  

We are excited for the 2010 Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers workshop and look forward to spending the week with you.

Carol, Lisa, Cheri

For Young Readers | 2010 Writing & Illustrating Workshop

 

Carol Lynch Williams is the author of more than 20 novels for the middle-grade and young adult readers. Her titles include The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson; If I Forget, You Remember; and The Chosen One, her most recent title from Griffin (St Martin’s Press). Carol has two books coming out in 2010. Glimpse (Paula Wiseman Books) and Miles from Ordinary (Griffin). She has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. Her biggest successes are her five gorgeous daughters. You can read more from Carol on the blog she shares with Ann Dee Ellis—www.throwingupwords.wordpress.com.

Lisa Hale enjoys helping students explore, develop, and deepen their novels for young readers. Lisa earned an MA in English with a creative writing emphasis from BYU, where she now teaches creative writing and composition courses. She has published in several children’s magazines, including Spider and Highlights for Children. Her workshop group shares writing prompts and information at mmssociety.blogspot.com.

Cheri Pray Earl
Cheri earned her M.A. in Creative Writing from BYU and has taught Honors writing and literature there for seventeen years and creative writing for ten years. She was awarded Honors Professor of the Year in 2005. Cheri writes young adult novels and has won the Utah Original Writing Competition and an honorable mention for two young adult novels. Her first publication, though, is for younger readers: an American Girl non-fiction book (Psst! Secret Instructions Every Girl Should Know, March 2009) co-authored with Rick Walton. Cheri and her husband have five children and two grandchildren and they live in Provo, Utah.