Sunday, August 1, 2010

Gennifer Choldenko-Kill the Bunnies: Writing Novels for Today’s Kids



Gennifer Choldenko‘s first novel, Notes from a Liar and Her Dog, was a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and a California Book Award winner. Her second novel, Al Capone Does My Shirts, was a Newbery Honor Book and School Library Journal, Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of the Year. Her most recent picture book, Louder Lili (illustrated by SD Schindler) was published in 2001. She also has several other books and novels.



The theme of Gennifer's keynote is publishing sideshows—after all, who’d want to kill bunnies??? And the pictures she's clicking through are very fun to look at!

Why is a book like A Wrinkle in Time still so timeless? Wonderful characters, original stories and no fat.

With the changing world, books are needed with more diverse characters. Kids need to hear voices that reflect their own circumstances.

Can your book compete with Xbox? Action is always a good thing, but it can’t be all there is.

As a writer, we need to make sure every word matters. The children book industry is hard to break into. But nowadays there are more ways to get your foot in the door.

“Truly great characters reveal something to us about ourselves”. I really loved this quote!

If Gennifer starts to lose interest in a scene, she'll go back to a place where she was engaged and start again.To make your novel fulfilling, you have to get to the emotional core. Know what your writer self needs.

In January of 2011, Gennifer has a new novel coming out called No Passengers Beyond This Point.

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