Ann writes about history for readers of all ages from her home in southern Wisconsin, but she grew up in Lexington, Virginia, where state history textbooks and family lore told her a distorted and false history of Virginia and the South's Civil War past. And this is Ann's first of six ways to start confronting misinformation, pay attention to the stories you've grown up with. The more Ann learned the actual histories the more she felt compelled to share these and other harsh truths.
Ann's next recommendations are on how to use 'breadcrumbs' in your nonfiction writing and the importance that must be paid to language usage with sensitive topics. Using passages from her book, White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History, Ann walks us through how she organizes disparate primary sources using the design and structure of the book itself with a system of sidebars and other graphic elements. We are introduced to the false and true stories behind the 'Lost Cause of the Confederacy'.
Ann's accompanying slideshow went passage by passage through her chapter showing how it was built to include primary source quotes, related editorial imagery, and Ann's authorial voice. Books confronting misrepresented histories are confronting state or culturally sanctioned propaganda, so historical context, language or author's notes, and media literacy tips may all be necessary elements to include for a nonfiction book to succeed and impact young readers.
To view this session and hear the rest of Ann's six tips (along with every other conference session!) you can still register at https://www.scbwi.org/events/virtual-summer-conference-2026. Replays of the sessions will be available until mid-September 2026.
