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I’m doing something a bit different for 7-Imp today. <\/p>\n
This March, I had the pleasure of being a faculty member (well, sorta — I was a Special Guest instructor) at a Highlights Foundation<\/a><\/strong> writers’ workshop up in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. The Foundation is changing the way they’re doing things, given the construction of a new facility at their Honesdale site, and wanted folks to help get the word out, and I said I’d be happy to contribute with a short Q & A with Kent Brown<\/a><\/strong>, Executive Director of the Highlights Foundation. <\/p>\n (If you’ve ever wondered about the Foundation faculty—for their writers’ workshops, that is—go no further than here<\/a><\/strong> and prepare to be impressed.) <\/p>\n So, here’s the deal, dear Imps: The Highlights Foundation<\/a><\/strong> has led in the past a week-long writers\u2019 workshop at the Chautauqua Institution<\/a><\/strong> in New York state. However, at the Honesdale campus in Pennsylvania, they are happy to have completed work on a brand-new facility. As a result, they decided to focus on what they can provide writers and illustrators using the Honesdale space alone. “We have had many Chautauqua alum (faculty, too) ask us about a ‘substitute’ for Chautauqua,” said Alison Green Myers, who works for the Highlights Foundation. “While there can be no exact replica of Chautauqua, we feel we have come up with three week-long courses to satisfy our Chautauqua patrons, and, hopefully, encourage new writers and illustrators to join in our tradition of congeniality and excellence.”<\/p>\n So, essentially, they’re moving their week-long course from Chautauqua to three week-long courses this summer at their Honesdale campus. (I’ve been there, as I said, and can vouch for how lovely it is.) <\/p>\n At the bottom of this post are descriptions of the three courses, for interested folks. <\/p>\n And, as I said, I briefly chatted with Kent Brown about the changes … <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you tell 7-Imp readers a bit more about the new facility and what it has to offer?<\/font><\/p>\n But these are not what writers care about. They like the space, the nooks and crannies, the food (always popular with starving writers and artists!), and the outdoor fireplace. <\/p>\n With The Barn added to our farmhouse and 21 cabins (a cabin is pictured top-left), it’s proven to be a great place for writing and receiving craft, critique, and inspiration.<\/p>\n Kent<\/font><\/strong> (pictured right with Ms. Cowley)<\/em>: I almost said: Joy Cowley<\/a><\/strong> (who introduced me to the concept of writing from the heart). Joy has been a friend of the Foundation and of writers and illustrators. No ego, plenty of accomplishment. <\/p>\n But, of course, Joy will be joined by a great team of writers and editors and other helpful folks. Focusing on writing emerging and early readers, we will focus on writing with compassion, humor, and child-like wonder. One of my colleagues says its a writer’s journey thorough the heart.<\/p>\n Christine French Cully<\/a><\/strong>, Jillian Sullivan<\/a><\/strong>, and Lori Ries<\/a><\/strong> have honed their skills with Joy.<\/p>\n Special guests, one-on-one sessions, and mentoring are part of our tradition. Craft and marketing are important to help you connect with readers.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: You’ve worked with many faculty members<\/a><\/strong> over the years. Could you share a favorite Chautauqua memory? <\/font><\/p>\n Kent<\/font><\/strong>: Early on in our Chautauqua program, Wendy Pye, who founded Sunshine Books<\/a><\/strong> in New Zealand and took it around the world, served on our faculty. On the last night, she was telling me what a moving experience it had been for her but that she was not the right person to teach there. “Well, who is?” I asked. “Joy Cowley,” she replied.<\/p>\n And so began a long tenure that has enriched so many authors.<\/p>\n Thanks to Kent for visiting. I’ve met him in person, and he’s a dynamo. <\/p>\n Below are the three courses offered at the Honesdale facility: <\/p>\n Writing from the Heart<\/em><\/font><\/font> — <\/p>\n Workshop Leaders: Joy Cowley<\/a><\/strong>, Jillian Sullivan<\/a><\/strong>, Christine French Cully<\/a><\/strong>, Lori Ries<\/a><\/strong> Fiction Writing for Children and Young Adults<\/em><\/font><\/font> — <\/p>\n Workshop Leaders: Patti Gauch<\/a><\/strong>, Jillian Sullivan<\/a><\/strong>, David Richardson<\/a><\/strong>, Robert J. Blake<\/a><\/strong> Nonfiction Writing for Children and Young Adults<\/em><\/font><\/font> —<\/p>\n Workshop Leaders: Peter P. Jacobi<\/a><\/strong>, Candace Fleming<\/a><\/strong>, Larry Dane Brimner<\/a><\/strong>, Lionel Bender<\/a><\/strong>, Stephen R. Swinburne<\/a><\/strong> All images used with permission of Alison Green Myers \/ The Highlights Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Highlights Foundation writing session(including an Eric Rohmann sighting — he’s also seated with Suzanne Bloom, Lindsay Barrett George, Melanie Hall, and Floyd Cooper) I’m doing something a bit different for 7-Imp today. This March, I had the pleasure of being a faculty member (well, sorta — I was a Special Guest instructor) at a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-etcetera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/cabinBed1.jpg\")
Kent<\/font><\/strong>: The Barn (as it was informally named) has hosted two dozen workshops since we occupied. We built it inside the old foundation of a huge 19th-century barn that burned 90 years ago. All of the wood you can see comes from my grandparents’ woods; the stone is quarried from nearby, and recycled beams from the early 1800s make the trusses. We have several classrooms-like areas, all homey, and a Great Hall. And a giant kitchen.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/Barn1.jpg\")
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Jules<\/font><\/strong>: For those who aren’t familiar with it, can you elaborate on what the “Writing from the Heart” workshop offers?<\/font><\/p>\n
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\nSpecial Guests: Kathleen Hayes<\/a><\/strong>, Alyssa Capucilli<\/a><\/strong>, Patricia Lee Gauch<\/a><\/strong>, Suzanne Bloom<\/a><\/strong>, Tim Gillner<\/a><\/strong>, Bernette Ford<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nSpecial Guests: Joy Cowley<\/a><\/strong>, Peter P. Jacobi<\/a><\/strong>, Abby McAden<\/a><\/strong>, Nancy Mercado<\/a><\/strong>, Holly McGhee<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nSpecial Guests: Carolyn P. Yoder<\/a><\/strong>, Laurence Pringle<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n