In The Spotlight
A “Just Write” Interview with Author, Educator, Editor Emma Walton Hamilton
We’re welcoming a return visitor to By Word of Beth today, Emma Walton Hamilton. I got to know Emma in 2010 when I took her Just Write for Kids online/home study course in writing picture books. We’ve since become friends and colleagues, working together in the Children’s Book Hub Facebook Group and on the Hub…
Read MoreMarcie Colleen — Interview with Teacher’s Guide Expert
I am delighted to bring this interview with writer and teacher’s guide creator Marcie Colleen to you today. Marcie is, as you will see, a woman of many talents, and I’m grateful to call her friend (although we haven’t yet met in person). I got to know Marcie through our mutual involvement in Julie Hedlund’s…
Read MoreIn the Spotlight — Past Interviewees
Do you enjoy watching those “where are they now” shows on TV? I do, especially when they feature people who were once the kids on TV programs I used to enjoy. It’s interesting to see how their lives have changed, and what interesting projects they might be involved in now. In previous years on this…
Read MoreIn the Spotlight — Mary Aalgaard, On the Page and Off the Page
Some of you may remember that in 2012 I participated in the amazing blogging challenge, the A to Z Challenge, in which bloggers post every day in April using the letters of the alphabet as their daily prompts. I made some great friends through that challenge. One of those friends is Mary Aalgaard, who is…
Read MoreIn the Spotlight — Teresa Robeson and Fiction for a Cause
My friend Teresa Robeson is multi-talented. She’s a homeschooler, a homesteader, and a writer in several genres. And you should see her sketches of birds! I got to know her because of her interest in writing for kids, and particularly writing picture books, but the books we’re focusing the spotlight on today are collections of…
Read MoreCelebrating Tony Walton!
I’ve recently read a wonderful book about the amazing stage and film designer (of both costumes and sets), stage director, and illustrator Tony Walton, and I wanted to share both the book and some thoughts about a few of his design projects with you. Title: The Designs of Tony Walton Author: Delbert Unruh Publisher:…
Read MoreTurning the Spotlight on “Fireflies and Shooting Stars”
When I went to the SCBWI LA conference (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) in 2011, one of the first people I met was a tall, friendly man named Ed Raarup. I was immediately impressed by his warmth and his enthusiasm for his writing project, which he was working on with my friend and…
Read MoreSusan Verde, Debut Author — Interview
I met Susan Verde last summer, on the first day of the Stony Brook Southampton Children’s Literature Conference, when Pat Tilton eagerly introduced us to each other as fellow Children’s Book Hub members and picture book writers. I soon learned that Susan was looking forward to the publication of her first picture book, and I…
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