teach about query letters.”
However, the focus of the weekend
is critique and revision. Brown says
this rigor and focus leads to little “mir-
acles” by the time the weekend is over.
“Some people come in on Friday
thinking they’re picture book writers
and leave Sunday thinking they’re
middle-grade writers,” Brown says.
“Some have been writing in first per-
son, and they realize their story is
much better in third person. They
experiment during the weekend, and
then go home and concentrate on what
they have to do in order to make their
work more publishable.”
Featured Presenters
The Cape Cod workshop, held in May
2020, features New York Times bestsell-
ing author David Elliott, series author
Debbi Michiko Florence, young adult
novelist Sarah Darer Littman, and
author/illustrator Anne Sibley O’Brien,
among others.
Editor Nikki Garcia from Little,
Brown Books for Young Readers and
editor Jennifer Ung from Simon Pulse/
Simon & Schuster will attend, as will
Charlesbridge editorial director
Yolanda Scott and Page Street Publish-
ing YA editor Ashley Hearn.
Agents Jennifer Laughran, Jennifer
Mattson, Kelly Sonnack, and Jennifer
March Soloway will be on hand, along
with Brown. Each agent represents pic-
ture and chapter books, middle grade,
and young adult fiction.
In December 2020, the workshop
takes place in Monterey rather than in
Big Sur. Brown suggests that writers
leave time before and after the week-
end to take advantage of the Monterey
Bay Aquarium and beaches and shop-
ping. “We want writers to come and
hole up for the weekend and focus on
their writing,” she says. “Most people
take the revising time really seriously.
In the evenings, we end by 8:30 so
that they can write at night, and then
there’s time to revise on Saturday
afternoon. That’s when we see the
miracles,” she says.Advice for first-time attendees
Brown urges first-timers to show up
with an open mind and to focus on
craft and revision rather than on find-
ing an agent. “We don’t want you to be
there to pitch,” she explains. “This is
boot camp for writers. Here, you find
out what you still have to do to make
your manuscript publishable.”
She cautions writers to avoid being
defensive during critique sessions.
“We’re not here to pat you on the back
but to tell you what your weak spots
are in your manuscript,” she says.
“Then, you can spend the weekend
working on a few pages, or a particular
character, or dialogue.”
Brown asks attendees to bring a
laptop and a thumb drive with works
in progress, as well as three picture
book manuscripts if available, or four
to six chapters of a novel. “I like
everyone to start Friday’s two-hour
critique group with just the first two
to four pages of a manuscript,” she
says. “That first page or two is so
important; that’s what hooks an agent
or editor. If you don’t knock our socks
off on page one, we’ll never get to see
how great page four is.”Contributing editor Melissa Hart is the
author of Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books
to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Accep-
tance in Tweens and Teens (Sasquatch, 2019).
Twit ter/Instagram @WildMelissaHar t.Conference: Big Sur Children’s
Writing Workshop
Dates: Cape Cod, May 8-10,
2020; December 4-6, 2020
Cost: $995
Contact:
[email protected],
bigsurchildrenswriters.com1
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