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Cathy C. Hallhttps://cathychall.wordpress.com/I write, write, write. Then I rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. THEN I submit all those polished-up words out into the world and sell 'em. It's a plan that's worked pretty well.

A Keeper Interview in ENCOUNTER

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What I like most about writing for kids is the way I look at the world. There are so many stories around me, I wonder why I didn’t notice before!

DSC00462Take for instance when I met Sydney Lewis at the Decatur Book Festival last year. She was selling Vernacular, a publication full of stories and poems written by high school students in the Atlanta area. I might not have been too impressed by that had Sydney not told me about the Wren’s Nest connection.

The Wren’s Nest is the home of Joel Chandler Harris, author of the B’rer Rabbit stories, to name just a few of his writings. I’d taken my kids to the Wren’s Nest; it’s a museum, not a publishing company. So now, she’s piqued my interest.

Turns out the Wren’s Nest has a special program that reaches out to high school kids who might want to submit to this yearly publication. But that’s just the tip of the program. Because a staff of high school kids is involved in every step of the production of this yearly magazine.

How cool is that, I thought. That’s a terrific teen story if I ever heard one. Luckily, Encounter felt the same way.  So, my interview with Sydney is in the fall issue. You migDSC00461ht want to look into Encounter if you have an interesting story for teens. You can email and ask for guidelines and an editorial calendar. Or just send your idea, like I did.

And keep an eye out. You never know when you’ll run across a great story! (P.S. Thanks, Sydney!)

Yeah, I’m Tooting my Horn on Wednesday. So, Sue Me

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Where does the time go?

One minute, I had a list of things to do on Tuesday (including writing a Tooting My Horn post for the Hall of Fame) and the next minute, I’m out to lunch (literally, not figuratively). So, here’s the post that would have been here yesterday if I hadn’t been out to lunch (figuratively, not literally).

Last year, I met the most delightful young teen at the Decatur Book Festival (which is right around the corner). Sydney Ann Lewis was hawking The Vernacular, a publication of stories and poems by Atlanta high school students. The magazine had been produced in conjunction with The Wren’s Nest, and all the work had been done by a staff of high school students, including Sydney. The more we talked, the more I was impressed. I thought I could sell her story. And happily, Encounter bought it.

Encounter Magazine loves stories about youth. They love stories written by teens, too. So, if you know a teen with an interesting story, why not go out to lunch and have a little chat? I heartily recommend it.