Talks & Etc.
Here you can find some professional and personal speeches I've given, all in PDF form. I write all my talks in bullet points to keep myself loose as I'm speaking, and I often borrow from my previous work in writing a new talk. If you read everything here, thanks for bearing with these peccadilloes. (And if you enjoy my talks on writing, especially, you would probably also like The Magic Words.)
If you’re interested in having me give a talk to your writing group, I have many, many presentations available that are not listed below, as nearly every chapter in The Magic Words either started from a talk or has evolved into one. I also offer an in-depth workshop on picture book writing. You can reach out to me via the information on my Contact page for subjects, availability, and rates.
A Few Things Writers Can Learn from Harry Potter -- a 2008 speech for the Terminus Harry Potter fan convention, where I analyze some of the writing strategies that J. K. Rowling employs to such great effect.
Black and White and Read All Over: Diversity and Inequity in Children's Publishing -- a 2010 talk on the causes of the lack of diversity in children's literature, and a consideration of the many elements that need to change in order to increase the numbers of diverse books. (I am glad to say that much progress has been made in this subject since I wrote this talk.)
The Wand Chooses the Wizard: On Carleton, Children's Books, and Creating Yourself -- a 2010 reflection for my alma mater, Carleton College, on being a reader, my post-collegiate depression, and finding my way into a generally happy grown-up life.
Raised by Reading: A Life in Books from the Children's Literature Festival to Harry Potter -- another 2010 speech given at the Children's Literature Festival (founded by my grandfather) at the University of Central Missouri.
Some Observations on Electric Eels -- a 2012 talk for the Kindling Words conference on outsider stories in children's and YA books, and in real life.
A Sermon on Anger -- a sermon I gave at Park Slope United Methodist in the summer of 2017, as part of a lay series on the Seven Deadly Sins. The Biblical text (which I include at the beginning here) was the Book of Jonah, chapters 3 & 4, and Mark 3:1-6.
Picture book thumbnails template -- a simple template for laying out thumbnails of a 32-page picture book (Word doc).