WRITERS' RUMPUS

HOW TO MIDDLE GRADE

July 21, 2026 Alumni & Guests

Hi! My name’s James Ponti, and I write Middle Grade book series such as City Spies and The Sherlock Society. I’m excited to share some pointers with you, but only with a major caveat. I know a bunch of writers and we all do it differently. I’m not talking plotting vs. pantsing, but radically different approaches.

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SKIPSHOCK by Caroline O’Donoghue: A Master Class in World Building

July 14, 2026 Laura Fineberg Cooper

For writers of fantasy, science fiction, and romance, this genre-blending novel is a master class in how to create details and imagery that pull readers into the plot and keep them riveted from first page to last, and importantly, leave them eager for more.

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Writing Side by Side: Adriana Mather and James Bird on Books, Family, and Finding the Magic

July 7, 2026 Hilary Elizabeth Margitich

Writing is often described as a solitary pursuit. Most of us spend our days alone with our thoughts, our characters, and a blinking cursor. Yet

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Celebrating America’s Birthday with a talented author/illustrator team!

July 3, 2026 Marcia Strykowski

We’re just in time to celebrate America’s 250th birthday with Roxanne Troup and Jennifer Doehring. They have a beautiful new picture book, Happy Birthday America,

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Meet the Amazing HELEN KAMPION, Debut #Kidlit Author

August 13, 2024 Carol Gordon Ekster

CAROL GORDON EKSTER: I met Helen at one of my book launches in 2017. She’s an amazing supporter of other authors and reached out to

Jory John’s Cool Series

August 6, 2024 Joyce Audy Zarins

Jory John’s Food Group series of books is fun-tastic. With animated, edible protagonists and scads of legume puns (has-bean, A Tale of Two Chickpeas, Ray

August Picture Book Opportunities

July 30, 2024 Marianne Knowles

Online courses, challenges, contests, and opportunities for picture book creators in August, 2023.

A Touching Story of Sibling Conflict and Understanding in a Recently Released Picture Book: Terrible Horses

July 23, 2024 Keri Demers

Don’t let the title fool you. Terrible Horses by Raymond Antrobus, illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max (Candlewick, 2024) is a terrific new picture book, described by

NEED SOME CRAFT-FOCUSED MOTIVATION?

July 16, 2024 Marti Johnson

I know I do! I am fretting over the fact that I haven’t written creatively in several months. While I haven’t abandoned my writing career,

IT WAITS IN THE FOREST by Sarah Dass

July 9, 2024 Laura Fineberg Cooper

It Waits in the Forest by Sarah Dass is a deeply atmospheric YA thriller that will sink its bloody teeth into you and refuse to let go … until you read through to the spine-tingling conclusion. Is this a creepy mystery? Is the plot realistic, mystical, mysterious, and drawn from Caribbean folklore? Does it include a love triangle with two hot guys? YES to all those tantalizing questions and so much more!!