They re Poets & They Know It: Writing and Publishing Projects for Kids

Transcription

1 Kim Becnel and Gayle Simpson, Union County Public Library, ext. 238 They re Poets & They Know It: Writing and Publishing Projects for Kids Benefits of writing and publishing programs: Sense of accomplishment & confidence Feeling of community with the library as the focal point Sense of audience Reading and use of collections is promoted Way to draw in older kids and tweens Publication possibilities: Collection you produce Oral presentation to peers, parents, public Library website Library newsletter Local newspapers Online venues and print magazines Tried and True Programs: 1. Pen, Perfect, & Publish: How to Get Your Poems into Print 3-part workshop, guidelines attached 2. Why the Library is Our Someplace Special Essay Contest and Book Release Parties Compile all submissions into your own collection Host a party to announce winners and hand out copies of book Successful at getting whole family participation Adapt this idea for summer Water-themed picture, poem, story contest The Make a Splash Collection tell us about a time you did something that really made a difference 3. Writers group or club with regular publication opportunities Rough Draft UCPL s regular comic/graphic novel publication Other ideas from the group?

2 Materials Needed: Jack Prelutsy s Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry one copy Paper Pencils Twigs Rubber bands Mailing envelopes 3 Part Poetry Program PEN, PERFECT, & PUBLISH! Structure: You can do this program in 3 separate meetings or condense it into one or 2 meetings. Part 1: PEN Introduction: Read Writer Waiting by Shel Silverstein from Falling Up Opening discussion: What is a poem? What do poems have in common? How does a poem get written? Where are poems published? Show some poetry books (including some by Jack Prelutsky) and also some magazines which publish student work. Read a couple of selections. Introduce Jack Prelutsky s Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry & explain that you ll be talking about Prelutsy s writing tips and doing some complementary activities. Always carry a notebook or journal. *Activity: Make a journal Directions: Explain to kids as they are crafting their journals that they can use them to: Write down things you do and what happens, (how, why, what) Write about others, like your mom, dad, siblings pets, etc Write about bad experiences as well as good. Take an experience you really had and jazz it up. Go ahead. Exaggerate. Soon, you ll have lots of ideas and material to work with The only limitation is your imagination. Use Brainstorming activities to help you get ideas. *You might give the kids a list of these activities to try at home and pick out a couple to try in the program. Make a list of words that describe a certain object now pick something, like an animal, to compare it to. See pencil example, page 181. Start with one word and see what rhymes use those rhyming words in a new poem. Write the worst poem you possibly can. Now edit it and make it even worse. Write a poem with each line filling in the blanks of I used to, but now I. More ideas at: Remind participants that Not every idea leads to a poem,... The whole idea is to get you thinking creatively (Prelutsky 182).

3 Try out different poetry forms. Explain to students that there are many different types of poems. Read them an example of a couple of different kinds. Definitions of various types of poems and examples at: *Activity: Pick one or 2 of these worksheets to try at the program. Prepare some of the other worksheets as handouts for kids to try at home: Encourage everyone to write some poetry over the next week and to bring their favorite poem or poems to work on next time. Part 2: PERFECT Make sure everyone has a poem to work on. If not, hand out a simple poetry worksheet to allow them to generate something quickly. Introduction: Begin with some more of Jack Prelutsky s wisdom from Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry He says: I doubt I ve ever written a poem that came out exactly right the first time. (45) Read Fearless Flying Hot Dogs p. 43 Tell children that every Prelutsky poem is rewritten once, most a half dozen times, and Hot Dogs was rewritten several hundreds of times!! Explain that revision literally means seeing again and that writers have to be able to evaluate their own work so they can improve. This means we can t fall into the trap of falling in love with the first draft! According to Prelutsky you can ALWAYS improve your work. Give children paper, pencils, access to dictionaries, a thesaurus, etc. Ask them to consider the following questions. You might put these up on a screen or poster board. Does your poem say everything you want it to say? Do you need to add to it? Does your poem have extra lines or words that you can cut? Would your poem be better if you added more description? Can you include all five senses? Sight, sound, smell, taste and touch? Did you pick just the right word in every case? Use the thesaurus to help you find other choices.

4 Explain that revision takes a great deal of concentration. Hand out paper and pencils, place a dictionary and thesaurus nearby, and put on some classical music to set the writing mood. Give them some time to work. *Optional activities: *Next, you might explain the concept of metaphor and simile and have the group help you come up with examples. Give them some time to try including one of these in their poem. *Or, you might pair students up and have them give each other suggestions for revising their work. Before you do this, talk about how to give helpful suggestions in a respectful way. A partner should always read the poem carefully, at least a couple of times. She should make sure to mention the things she thinks that are good about the poem and tell the writer why they are good. She should also give the writer ideas for improving, but phrase them as suggestions, not demands. It s a good idea to show the group a rough draft of a poem and have them practice together how they might respond if this was their partner s poem. Remind students to bring finished poems next time. Part 3: PUBLISH Offer kids the chance to read their finished poems out loud. Explain that this type of performance is one way to publish their work. Offer to Showcase their work on the library website and display in the library. Show the participants some sample issues of kids magazines, particularly those that accept children s submissions. If possible, show them a couple of online magazines such as Read one or two pieces written by children that are published in these magazines. (Most magazines will allow you to download a sample issue if you don t have the magazine in your library.) Offer some PUBLSHING TIPS FOR KIDS: Read lots of magazines to get a sense of what types of writing are typically included in them. Do some research into the submissions guidelines for the magazines you want to submit to. Read the submissions guidelines carefully and follow them exactly! Send off your work. Be patient! If at first you don t succeed, try again!!! (Harry Potter was rejected NINE times before publication, The Princess Diaries 17 times, and A Wrinkle in Time, 26 times!) Hand out some sample guidelines and go through them to make sure the children understand. Review any potentially confusing terms like SASE. Have some envelopes ready so that the children can practice addressing the submission envelope and the SASE. Remind your participants (you might hand out a checklist) about what remains to be done. At home, they will need to revise their poem, print out the final copy or copies, put them into the envelope, and include proper postage. Then, it s time to send off the submission and wait for a reply (and write and revise more poems while waiting, of course!). Submission guidelines for several magazines/websites attached. More ideas here: Upwords Poetry is a website upwordspoetry.com featuring and promoting the poetry and writing of young artists. Includes many great poetry-related links. Young Voice Magazine publishes prose, artwork and poetry from elementary, middle and high school students. For guidelines, go to youngvoicesmagazine.com or call The Children's Better Health Institute offers 7 magazines which look for poems, jokes and drawings: Children's Playmate (ages 6-8), Jack And Jill (ages 7-10), Child Life (ages 9-11), Turtle Magazine(preschool), Humpty Dumpty(ages 4-6), U.S. Kids(ages 6-10), and Children's Digest (ages 10-12). For guidelines, go to cbhi.org or call Highlights for Children magazine publishes poetry, prose and artwork by children up to pre-teen. For guidelines, go to or call

5 SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Stone Soup How old must I be? Stone Soup welcomes submissions by children through age 13. If you are over 13 we suggest you search Google for a teen magazine where you can send your work. What to include: Include your name, age, home address, phone number, and address if you have one. Please do not include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Manuscripts are not returned. Send copies of your work, not originals. If we need the original, we will request it. You do not need to include a photo of yourself. Where to send your work: Stone Soup Submissions Dept. P.O. Box 83 Santa Cruz, CA 95063, USA What happens next: We only respond to those submissions we are considering for possible publication. If we are considering your work, you will hear from us in four to six weeks; if you do not hear from us, it means we were not able to use your work. Don t be discouraged! Try again! General information: Writers Send us stories and poems about the things you feel most strongly about! Whether your work is about imaginary situations or real ones, use your own experiences and observations to give your work depth and a sense of reality. Writing need not be typed, as long as it is legible. If you type your work, please type it double-spaced in a plain, medium-sized font. We can consider writing in languages other than English; include a translation if possible. The maximum length we can publish is about 2500 words; we have no minimum length. It s OK to send more than one piece of writing in the same envelope. Please don t send us work you are also sending to other magazines. Send your work to one magazine at a time. Illustrators If you would like to illustrate for Stone Soup, send editor Gerry Mandel three samples of your artwork, along with a letter saying what kinds of stories you would like to illustrate. Although we sometimes use simple line drawings in Stone Soup, we are especially interested in artists who can draw or paint complete scenes in color. At least one of your samples should include people, since most of the stories we publish, even the animal stories, have people in them. Send us samples that fill the entire page with detail, including the background. Please include your name, age, birthdate, address, telephone number, and a self-addressed stamped envelope for our response to you. Writers who illustrate their own stories Would you like to illustrate your own story? It s OK to send us a story illustrated by yourself or a friend. If we like the story and the illustrations, we will publish them both. If we like the story but not the illustrations, we will find our own illustrator for your story. If we like the illustrations but not the story, we will contact you to see if you d like to become a Stone Soup illustrator. Remember to send copies of your artwork, not originals. Payment All contributors whose work is accepted for publication receive a certificate, two complimentary copies, and discounts on other purchases. Contributors of stories, poems and book reviews are paid $40 each; illustrators are paid $25 per illustration. Note: We re always looking for new writers and artists, and we really want to encourage all our young readers to send us their work. However, please keep in mind that we receive an average of 250 submissions a week; we are only able to publish a small percentage of the work we receive. Send us your work with a spirit of adventure, and try not to be too disappointed if we can t use it.

6 Potato Hill Poetry Website SUBMISSION GUIDELINES To submit general poetry: Send ALL submissions to: Potato Hill Poetry PO Box 125, Natick, MA Styles, length, and forms of all poetry are open. Submit unpublished, original work only. All works must include the creator's name, address, phone number, grade, and name of school. Creative Kids Magazine A children s magazine published by Prufrock Press, this quarterly magazine includes games, puzzles, stories, and opinions, all by kids ages 8 to 14. Please follow these instructions carefully. The editors will not review or respond to materials that are improperly submitted. Improper submissions will be discarded. We are looking for the very best material by students (ages 8 16). Material may include cartoons, songs, stories between 500 and 1200 words, puzzles, photographs, artwork, games, editorials, poetry, and plays, as well as any other creative work that can fit in the pages of the magazine. All work must be original. Upon acceptance of a work, we will request that a legal guardian sign our standard contract granting copyright permission. The contract will be mailed with notification of acceptance. Work may be submitted by the author, parent, or teacher. Each piece must be labeled with the child s name, birthday, grade, school, and home address, and must include a cover letter. Each entry should be sent in its own envelope via first class mail. Do not send more than one submission in each envelope. Teachers, please do not send more than 3 submissions in each envelope. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for a response. Do not seal the SASE. Submissions without a SASE will not be considered. Submissions will not be returned. Teachers, please include a SASE for each piece of work submitted. All submissions must be typed on 8 1/2 x 11-inch white paper. Use only one side of each sheet. Include student s name at the top of each page. Materials submitted should not be under consideration by any other publisher. Items should be carefully prepared and proofread. All activities requiring solutions must be accompanied by the correct answers. Illustrations, cartoons, comics, and other graphic items should be completed in black ink and/or felt pens. We also accept color copies of paintings, watercolors, colored pencil sketches, collages, and other artwork. If artwork is mounted, it must be on flexible board. Names should be printed on the back of the artwork or photograph not on the front. Keep a copy of any work submitted. When sending artwork, send a color copy of the material. Creative Kids will solicit the original work if it is accepted for publication. We only accept gloss-finished photographs (no Polaroids). Digital photographs printed on high-quality glossy photo paper are acceptable. Students submitting accepted material will receive a free copy of the Creative Kids issue in which their work appears. Creative Kids reserves the right to edit submissions. Mail all materials to Submissions Editor, Creative Kids, P.O. Box 8813, Waco, TX Creative Kids cannot be responsible for losses in the mail or for damage due to faulty packaging.

7 SUBMISSION GUIDELINES MAGIC DRAGON MAGAZINE Full color, quarterly magazine of writing and art created by children Writing Work should be neatly printed or typed. If you type it, please double-space. Stories and essays can be up to three pages, poetry up to 30 lines. It is ok to send writing that you have also illustrated. You can write about anything that is important to you; it can be serious or funny, true or fiction. If you send originals and want them returned, enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Art You may send original art or a copy. If you want original art returned, enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope big enough for it. If you send a copy, be sure it represents fairly the original work (colors are the same, lines are clear, copy looks just like the original). Your name should appear somewhere on the artwork. You may also tell us how you created it; for example, is it made with crayon, watercolor, paper sculpture, or some other way. Submissions You may send writing by to info.@magicdragonmagazine.com You may send digital photos or scanned art in jpeg files, also. If we select your art for publication, we will need the original. Be sure your writing or art has your name and age with it and an address where you can be reached. Permission to Publish Each piece of writing or art must have a Permission to Publish form attached. Find form at: Published Work Each writer and artist whose work is published in Magic Dragon will receive two copies of the issue in which the work appears. Send your work to: Magic Dragon P.O. Box 687 Webster, NY Skipping Stones: A Multicultural Magazine Skipping Stones is an award-winning, international, non-profit magazine, now in the 14th year! We celebrate ecological and cultural diversity, facilitates a meaningful exchange of ideas and experiences. Young readers of Skipping Stones, ages 8 to 16, hail from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. We try our best to make their reading of Skipping Stones an active experience, relevant to issues confronting them locally and globally. Writings (essays, stories, letters to the editor, riddles and proverbs, etc.) should be typed or neatly handwritten and limited to 750 words and poems to 30 lines. We encourage writings in all languages with an English translation, if possible. And, we love illustrations! Please send originals of your drawings, paintings, or photos. Include your name, age, and address along with your submission. Tell us about yourself in a cover letter. What is your cultural background? What languages do you speak or write? What is important to you? What are your dreams and visions for the future? What inspired you to write or create your submission? We might even print your letter! If you would like a reply from us or your work returned, include a self-addressed envelope with postage stamps. Allow three months for our reply. When your work is published in Skipping Stones, you will receive a contributor's copy of that issue. Ideas for Submissions Share your culture by explaining why a belief or tradition is important to you. Describe your city/village/home. Write and/ or illustrate an article on an upcoming theme. Write about a community project you organized, or your experiences in a culture or country. What are your favorite ethnic foods? (Send us the recipe).

8 SUBMISSION GUIDELINES New Moon Girls Upcoming Themes Jul/Aug 2010: "Once Upon a Time (The Summer Reading Issue)" March 15, 2010 Sept/Oct 2010: "The Popularity Issue (Coming of Age)" Deadline: May 15, 2010 Nov/Dec 2010: "Sleuths and Superheroes" Deadline: July 15, 2010 Send all electronically by to submissions@newmoon.com NEW MOON GIRLS EDITORIAL GUIDELINES FOR WRITERS Objectives of New Moon Girls: New Moon Girls portrays girls and women as powerful, active and in charge of their own lives - not as passive beings who are acted upon by others. New Moon Girls celebrates girls and their accomplishments we support girls' efforts to hold onto their voices, strengths and dreams as they move from being girls to becoming women. New Moon Girls is a tool for girls to use as they build resilience and resistance to destructive societal messages, moving confidently out into the world, pursuing their unique paths in life. General Guidelines: All material should be pro-girl and focus on girls, women, or female issues. New Moon Girls was created by girls and women for girls who want their voices heard and their dreams taken seriously. It is edited by and for girls ages New Moon Girls takes girls very seriously; the publication is structured to give girls real power. The final product is a collaboration of girls and adults. An editorial board of girls aged 8-12 makes final decisions on all material appearing in the magazine. Please read a copy of New Moon Girls to understand the style and philosophy of the magazine. Writers and artists who comprehend our goals and philosophy have the best chance of publication. Include your name, address and phone number on the title page of each submitted work or query. New Moon Girls is not able to respond to queries about submissions over the telephone. New Moon Girls prints original work and buys all rights, except under special circumstances. If your work has been published previously, note the date and publication. If you are sending this work simultaneously to another publication, please let us know this, too. New Moon Girls edits manuscripts for style, length, clarity and philosophical considerations. When ing submissions, insert the text directly into your message. No attachments PLEASE! All other work must be typed, double spaced with one-inch margins. Your name and address should appear on each page. Submit only copies of your work, not originals. We are unable to return submissions. Articles should be between 300 and 1200 words. Herstory: (600 words) Profiles girls, women, or events pertaining to them from history. Herstory articles have the best chance of acceptance if they fit with an editorial theme. Women's Work: (600 words) Profiles a woman in her chosen career. Best chance of acceptance if it fits with an editorial theme. Fiction ( words): Short stories in which the main character is a girl ages 8 to 12 and includes subject matter and a plot that empowers girls of this age. Keep in mind that New Moon Girls mission is to let girls tell the world who they are-it is not our mission to tell girls who they should be. Best chance of acceptance if it fits with an editorial theme. Please note: New Moon Girls sometimes holds articles for consideration for up to two years. In the meantime, it's OK if you submit your work elsewhere. Please do not or call to check on the status of your work -we'll notify you when we make a final decision. New Moon is a magazine for girls and by girls. An article written by a girl will ALWAYS take precedence over an adult-written article of a similar nature. Adults can send in suggestions of girls to profile, but we will always ask the girl to write the article herself rather than having an adult write about her. Keep original copies of your work for your own files. Submissions from girls and women only, please. Writers must be aware that New Moon Girls will not print material that contains hate speech. We define hate speech as follows: speech that shows a prejudice or a harmful stereotype; negative speech directed at a specific group of people; speech that uses words such as "you're wrong," or "you're bad," rather than, "I disagree"; speech that could hurt someone; speech that attacks a part of a person's identity that they can't change rather than a specific opinion. NEW MOON GIRLS EDITORIAL GUIDELINES FOR ARTISTS New Moon Girls accepts a variety of artwork for publication from girls and women ages 8 and up! Some of our most popular sections for girls to submit artwork are Luna s Art Gallery, and Draw Luna. These two sections are for girls ages 8-12 only!

9 Calling all children ages 8-12! Help us celebrate the annual African American Read-In with an essay contest inspired by In 1950s Nashville, a young African American girl makes a long, hard journey to one of the few places in town that welcomes people of all races: the public library. No wonder the library is someplace special! To enter our contest, tell us why the library is YOUR someplace special. Pick up a submission form at any Union County Library and turn in your essay by January 22nd. All entries will be published in a collection called: Why the Library is Our Someplace Special Pick up your copy and hear the contest winners announced at our Release Party! Monroe Library February 22nd 5:30 pm Hear contest winners announced! Get your own copy of Why the Library is Our Special Place with your essay included! Win door prizes! Listen to Goin Someplace Special and share your own library story! Autograph the official library copy of the book! Contest sponsored by the Friends of the Library Held in conjunction with the National 2010 African American Read-In

10 Calling all children ages 5-7! Help us celebrate the annual African American Read-In with a picture contest inspired by The library is a special place to Lola because it is where she and her Mommy go to storytime and to pick out books to read at home. Why is the library your special place? Draw a picture to show us! Turn in your picture (with entry form) at the library by January 22nd. All pictures will be published in a collection called: Why the Library is Our Special Place Pick up your copy and hear the contest winners announced at our Release Party! Monroe Library February 22nd at 5:30 pm Hear contest winners announced! Get your own copy of Why the Library is Our Special Place with your picture included! Win door prizes! Autograph the official library copy of the book! Listen to Lola at the Library and other stories about the library! Contest sponsored by the Friends of the Library Held in conjunction with the National 2010 African American Read-In

11 Why is the Library Your Someplace Special Contest Entry Form What contest are you entering? Circle one: Picture Contest (ages 5-7) Essay Contest (ages 8-12) Your Name: Your Age: Your Phone Number: Essay/Picture Title: In order for a submission to be considered, permission to publish is required. Parent grants permission to publish by signing below: Parent Signature: *You may attach a photo of yourself to be printed if space allows.