Nancy Garden
Selected Works
*MEETING MELANIE
*DOVE AND SWORD: A NOVEL OF JOAN OF ARC
*HOLLY'S SECRET
*THE YEAR THEY BURNED THE BOOKS
*ANNIE ON MY MIND
*THE CASE OF THE STOLEN SCARAB(A Candlestone Inn Mystery)
*MOLLY'S FAMILY (coming in 2004)
Fee
Please inquire
Homepage
http://www.nancygarden.com
Program Description
I love visiting schools and have enjoyed talking with young people (usually in grades 4 and up) in a number of states, including Maine, Colorado, Michigan, and Nebraska, and I've been a writer-in-residence in several Massachusetts schools. When I talk with kids about writing and about my books, I usually tell them I'd rather answer questions than make a speech, but I also say that I'll start by answering the one question most people always ask anyway: Where do you get your ideas? I explain how what I found in the fridge one dark night when I was hungry led to my vampire books, and how four little silver circles in an old jewelry box helped lead to my Fours Crossing fantasy sequence. I usually go on from there to the kids' own writing, to some of my other books, to how a book is made, to how writers are paid, to the writing process (including revision!)--whatever the group seems to want to know about. If they're interested, I show them book contracts, research material, proofs, messy revised manuscripts, and so on. Sometimes I've used creative dramatics (which I used to teach), or intriguing props to help kids develop their own story ideas and/or characters. I have also talked informally with high school students in gay-straight alliances and addressed school assemblies as part of "diversity day" and similar programs--an aspect of my work that is also very important to me. Because I encourage a lot of interaction with any group I address, I prefer small groups to large ones, although I do occasionally make exceptions. When I go to a school, I find I tend to run out of steam after about four 40-45-minute class sessions, so I prefer not to exceed that. But regardless of the place or the situation, staying in touch with my readers is one of my greatest pleasures! With adults and older kids, depending on the group, I focus on specific books--Dove & Sword, for example, if the group is interested in historical fiction, Annie On My Mind and/or The Year They Burned the Books if they're interested in my books about gay and lesbian characters and themes, and/or in censorship issues. Because I was deeply involved in combating the censorship attempt in relation to my book Annie on My Mind (my nonfiction book Witches has also been under fire), I've done a good deal of speaking about censorship and books (other authors' as well as my own), primarily to regional and state library associations in many parts of the country, and in conjunction with the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom. I've also spoken before such groups as the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for Multicultural Education, and I've both spoken and run workshops at writers' conferences. Wherever I go, I always enjoy meeting new people, talking with them, and learning from them.
