Yesterday I returned from a three day retreat for Writers and Illustrators called Kindling Words. It was so inspiring to be surrounded by such a creative group of people from all over the country.
Don Weisberg, President of Penguin Group, spoke about the state and future of publishing (both in good shape, he felt). He looks at the advent of electronic media as an opportunity, not a threat, for publishers. We need to learn to work with the changes not against them.
Betsy Partridge, a nonfiction writer, spoke about writing nonfiction and also about just writing. Most interesting to me is how she would find a way into her subject in unexpected places through her research.
Chris Raschka was the presenting illustrator. He spoke about his process and projects, gave us an assignment and we even had an opportunity to workshop with him.
I had a wonderful room of my own at the Inn at Essex, we ate delicious food, and I had our puppy pick up on Sunday, which made leaving a little easier.
Here are some sketches of Emerson that I did while listening to our presenters:
