Guest Lectures, Guest Blog Posts, And Other Engagements

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Over the years, I’ve had opportunities to meet with various groups and share my experiences as a writer. Sometimes I've joined a panel or presented papers and led workshops.

Topics for teachers, writers, librarians, and other professionals range from nonfiction writing to using wordless books in immersion schools. I’ve also appeared on KARE-11’s morning talk show, “Venture North” public-television program, and another TV show where I was interviewed by a clown (seriously, the moderator was in a full-out clown costume). I’m flexible about your ideas, too. Let’s talk.

Professional Presentations

"The Author Presence Spectrum." Presented online as part of Camp Read-A-Lot, a joint program of the Pioneerland Library System, Plum Creek Library System, Prairielands Library Exchange, virtual session, 2020. Works Cited.

"One Meandering Pathway to Publication." Guest lecture, Hamline MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults, January Residency, St. Paul, MN; 2020.

"Exploring Back Matter in STEM Picture Book Biographies." Presented as part of the panel entitled Immersed in Inquiry!: Using Picture Book Biographies to Reveal STEM Thinking and Inspire Readers, with Cheryl Bardoe, Laurie Wallmark, and Dr. Jodi Baker. NCTE National Conference, Baltimore, MD; 2019.

"The Secret Power of Science and Art in Children's Nonfiction Picture Books," Guest lecture, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA; 2019.

"What's So Funny About Children's Nonfiction?" Wisconsin Library Association Conference, Wisconsin Dells, WI; 2019.

"Writing for Hire," Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators - Minnesota Chapter, Minneapolis, MN; 2018.

"Back Matter Matters: Make Curriculum Connections and Engage Readers," Hubbs Children's Literature Conference, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, MN; 2017.

"Setting in Historical Nonfiction & Historical Fiction," Guest lecture, Hamline MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults, July Residency, St. Paul, MN; 2017.

"Seriously Fun Nonfiction," developed with Ann Matzke, Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, MN; 2017.

"Seriously Fun Nonfiction," workshop developed and co-presented with Ann Matzke, Hamline University Summer Institute, St. Paul, MN; 2017.

“Author Presence and the Art of Nonfiction Writing for Children and Teens.” Presented as part of the panel entitled The Art of Fact: Writing Nonfiction for Children and Teens with Mary Losure, Ann Matzke, Carrie Pomeroy, and Joyce Sidman. Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) National Conference, Minneapolis, MN; 2015.

“Framing Your Story: Square To Flair.” Presented as part of the panel entitled Writing Biography for Young Readers: Creating the Gallery of the Good and Great with Phyllis Root, Jacqueline Briggs Martin, and Liza Ketchum. American Association of Writing Programs (AWP) National Conference, Minneapolis, MN; 2015.

“Author Presence in Nonfiction: A Bonus for Common Core Educators and Librarians.” Presented at the Arrowhead Reading Council, Duluth, MN; 2013.

Guest faculty two-day workshop; developed and co-presented with Ann Matzke: “What Exactly Is Informational Text And Why Does It Matter?,” “Finding Meaning From Facts: Close Reading, Sourcing, and Contextualization,” “Creating Transliteracy-Based Text Sets: No Library Science Degree Required,” and “Reading Like a Historian.” Graduate Studies in History Program, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, NE; 2013.

“Be-Bop Biographies: Significant Elements of Contemporary Biographies.” Presented with Ann Matzke at the Nebraska Library Association/Nebraska Educational Media Association Annual Conference, Lincoln, NE; 2011.

“Wordless & Otherwise Wonderful Graphic Novels: Curriculum Relevancy.” Presented with Ann Matzke at the Nebraska Library Association/Nebraska Educational Media Association Annual Conference, Lincoln, NE; 2011.

"Playing for Work-Abililty," Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators - Golden Gate chapter, Asilomar Conference, Pacific Grove, CA; 2012.

“How to Use Storm Codes in the Classroom.” Presented with Christina Rodriguez at the Minnesota Reading Association conference, Bloomington, MN; 2009.

“Wordless Picture Books: Versatile Immersion Tools Beyond Third Grade.” Presented paper at the International Immersion Education Conference of the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) - University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN; 2008.

“Mining the Memories: Writing from Your Family History.” Presented at the Epsilon Sigma Alpha Minnesota Leadership Meeting, Spring Lake Park, MN; 2008.

 

Guest Blog Posts

“The Author Presence Spectrum: A Way to Understand Nonfiction’s Expansion.” Melissa Stewart’s Celebrate Science Blog, March 2, 2020.

"Samuel Morse: A STEM Success Story of Failure." For Darcy Patterson's Blog: Mim's House, as part of the NSTA Linking Literacy National Convention, 2020.

"Finding the Fun-Factor in John Deere, That's Who!" For Darcy Patterson's Blog: Mim's House, as part of the NSTA Linking Literacy National Convention, 2019.

 


“...Wonderful presentation at our recent Leadership Seminar. The subject of 'Mining Your Memories' fit in perfectly with our theme for the day and we received a lot of positive feedback from our members after the event.”

- Julene Donnay, Educational Chairperson, Minnesota Epsilon Sigma Alpha


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