The Room to Write

 

The Room to Write's annual Young Writers and Illustrators Meet, Greet, & Create! felt like a beehive filled with everything that could possibly inspire a young person to want to be curious, experiment, and create.  There were words being typed, pictures being glittered, acorns with eyes, animals to draw, rocks to dig deeper into, field journals, a graphic arts portfolio to amaze, and a master class in character illustration. All in one really fun space provided by the Boys & Girls Club of Metro North 's Saugus Teen Center "The Club" location inside the Square One Mall. What a bright and beautiful space! Tuesday, March 25th, seemed like an ordinary weekday night, but if you happen to be at The Club or strolling through the mall, there was something much more extraordinary to discover: 13 local authors (which included 3 author/illustrators), 1 local kids art organization: Kidcasso , tons-o-snacks, 100+ free books to give away to kids ages toddler (babies, too:) ...

 

We are always glad when Mother Nature cooperates (mostly:) and we are all able to enjoy a beautiful day by Lake Q for the annual Festival by the Lake, which took place on Saturday, June 8th this year!  With five local authors, three typewriters and two guest poets under our tent, there was something for everybody. Our guest authors were Susan Sabbatelli, Regina Mouradian, Sally Chetwynd, Karin Gertsch, and Christine Ricci-McNamee. Three children's authors and three adult authors (only possible with five authors because the talented Karin Gertsch writes for kids and adults!  A new feature at our tent this year was  the very popular and really fun poetry on demand fundraiser where passersby were able to talk briefly with our Poet for Hire.  Colleen Getty kicked it off at the beginning of the day, but the real stars waxing poetic for most of the day were Paul Angelosanto and Kerri Bonner Leonard pictured below. Our poets raised just over $100 for TRtW's programming...

We had so much fun bringing back our Young Writers and Illustrators Meet, Greet & Create event from its post-pandemic hibernation on Tuesday, March 12th at the Boys & Girls Club of Wakefield.  The authors who participated were,  in alphabetical order, are: Janet Costa Bates ( Rica Baptista: Llamas, Iguanas, and My Very Best Friend ), Rebecca Caprara ( Spin ), Carol Gordon Ekster ( Trucker Kid ), Betsy Ellor ( My Dog is  NOT  a Scientist ), Fred Gracely ( Misfit’s Magic ), Samantha Lewis ( Nature Activity Book for Little Ones ), Kari Percival ( How to Say Hello to a Worm ), Shawn M. Peters ( The Unforgettable Logan Foster  Book #1), Lisa Stringfellow ( Comb of Wishes ), Susan Tan ( My Kingdom of Darkness : A Branches Book, Pets Rule! #1), Dirk Tiede ( Paradigm Shift ) and Kip Wilson ( One Last Shot ). We were eager to welcome  TWELVE  local authors and give away over  100 BOOKS for FREE  to all ages, preschool to h...