Class

2024 Year-Long Children's Literature Writing Project with Lisa Bullard—June Online Cohort

Books can play a profound role in influencing children’s curiosity, understanding, and imagination—and the writers who create these titles often help shape the lives of children they will never meet. This year-long program will immerse adults who are interested in writing children’s books in a study of this dynamic and challenging arena. Writers will explore the possibilities inherent in creating books at the intersection of exceptional craft and the distinctive demands of a young audience.

If you have ever dreamed of writing a children’s book, this deep dive into writing for young readers will give you a solid foundation for pursuing that goal. Class sessions will focus on what goes into creating appealing picture books, easy readers, chapter books, and middle grade books. We’ll explore fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid, and graphic approaches for readers/listeners ages newborn to twelve. We’ll evaluate a diverse and inclusive assortment of contemporary published children’s books. We’ll discuss students’ works-in-progress in a way that provides constructive and respectful feedback. Class lectures will focus on techniques and real-world examples of how you can make your own writing more powerful. Small-group sessions and guest lecturers will add to your sense of being part of a writing community. Out-of-class assignments will stretch you as a writer.

The teaching mentor is committed to creating a classroom environment where every student is welcomed and valued, with a goal of helping each student reach the next level with their writing. The program is open to writers who are already writing for children and those who are new to this arena. The program is not a guarantee of publication, but we’ll definitely talk about how you might shape your work so it is more likely to be appealing to today’s publishers. However, the program also has much to offer individuals who are writing for other purposes, including the creation of family stories or self-publishing. The element that will bring us together as a cohort is a commitment to creating work that engages and inspires young readers.

Please see the Children's Literature Writing Project page on the Loft website for program specifics and schedule.

One-on-one meetings with Lisa Bullard will also be held over the course of the year. These include one introductory meeting before the program begins, and one manuscript consultation session with Lisa after the program concludes (and you submit your final manuscript) on April 3, 2025.

Your program orientation meeting is scheduled to take place Tuesday, June 4, 2024, at 6pm online via Zoom.

Your final public reading will be Thursday, April 24, 2025, at 7pm online via Zoom.

In order to sign up for Lisa's cohort, you have a few options.

1. Register in full on the website (full payment is due at the time of registration) or pay via Sezzle at check out

2. Fill out the Payment Plan Request Form: https://forms.gle/zGiR3nQs1os4bzw16

3. Once registered, the Loft will schedule an introductory meeting between you and the teaching artist to ensure your project is a fit for the program. In the rare instance the teaching artist or student decide this is not a fit, the student is eligible for a full refund. See the refund and payment policies for more information.