"The Hook, the Twist, and the Cliffhanger" Workshop with Todd Borg

Have you ever wanted to write a novel and not known how to begin? Or maybe you've written fiction and you'd like help polishing your manuscript?

Regardless of where you are in your writing process, you may find Todd Borg's next writing workshop helpful.

"The Hook, the Twist, and the Cliffhanger" workshop is designed to help you from the beginnings of your story, then to a completed novel, and from there to publication and finding an audience.

The workshop is a 3-day weekend, November 16th - 18th at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center.

More information is below, and complete details including how to sign up are on the "Workshops" at http://toddborg.com/Workshops.htm

P.S. The last two workshops filled up and we had to turn people away, so try not to delay if you are interested.

P.P.S. Several people who attended past workshops have gone on to publish novels!

Featuring Great Valley Bookfest Author Todd Borg - Tahoe Chase Book Signing and Event Schedule

Some of you have wondered where and when I'll be signing my new book TAHOE CHASE.

I'm also doing several talks, at Sundance Books in Reno, the South Lake Tahoe Library, Shelby's Books in Minden, the Cameron Park Library, and the El Dorado Arts Council gallery in Placerville. All are free to attend.

Below is my schedule for the next few weeks, with more many more events including the Bay Area and Sacramento on the “Events” page of my website: http://toddborg.com/Events.htm

Thanks very much for your support!

Todd

P.S. My next writer's workshop is November 16th - 18th at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center. If you've ever wanted to write a novel, please visit my workshop page for all the details:
http://toddborg.com/Workshops.htm


July 26, 2013 4 - 7 p.m. Premier booksigning for TAHOE CHASE at Artifacts 4000 Lake Tahoe Blvd (in the Raleys Village Center just southwest of Heavenly Village)

July 27, 2013 11 a.m., Talk and Signing for TAHOE CHASE, Sundance Bookstore at 121 California Avenue, Reno, NV

July 27, 2013 3 p.m. Signing TAHOE CHASE at Geared for Games, Boatworks Mall, Tahoe City, CA

July 31, 2013, 6:30 p.m.Talk and Sign TAHOE CHASE at the South Lake Tahoe Library, Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, CA

August 1, 2013, 3 p.m. Signing TAHOE CHASE at The Bookshelf,11429  Westgate Shopping Center, Truckee, CA

August 1, 2013, 5-8 p.m.signing at "Truckee Thursdays" downtown Truckee, CA

August 2, 2013 6:30 p.m. Talk and Signing for TAHOE CHASE, at Shelby's Books, 1663 Lucerne St., Minden Village, Minden, NV

August 4, 2013 8:30 a.m.Signing TAHOE CHASE at The Red Hut Cafe at Ski Run and Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, CA

August 10, 2013, 1 p.m., I'm giving a talk about my books at the Cameron Park Library, 2500 Country Club Dr., Cameron Park, CA

August 11, 2013 8:30 a.m.Signing TAHOE CHASE at The Red Hut Cafe Reno, 3480 Lakeside #1, Reno, NV

August 17, 2013 3 p.m. Talk and Signing TAHOE CHASE at El Dorado Arts Council Gallery, 459 Main St., Placerville, CA

August 18, 2013 8:30 a.m. Signing TAHOE CHASE at The Red Hut Cafe Carson City, 4385 S. Carson, Carson City, NV

Good news! The class-authored book entries have been judged! Class books were submitted from schools and summer programs in Tracy, Manteca, Ripon, and Stockton. Judges awarded five prizes: best primary book, best 3rd-4th grade book, best 5th-6th grade book, best high school book, and best K-12 cross-age collaboration. 

In September, we'll work with school sites and districts to notify the winners, and we will post details about the winning books on our website. 

At the Bookfest, an author and/or dignitary will present the winning classes with their awards.

Deadline Extended for Class Book Contest! (June 28th)

Some teachers jumped directly from their school contracts into summer programs, and they told us that they have not had time to submit their class book entries. To provide a little extra time for binding and submission, we have extended the deadline to Friday, June 28th.

Hopefully, this will motivate you to finish compiling or binding your students' work, and to complete the VERY simple entry form!

Sharing Another Great List of Ideas for Class Books (K-3)

I found some great ideas for class books posted in the ProTeacher Community boards at ProTeacher.org. The sidebar ads are slightly annoying, but many contributions were worth a peek.

"Luv2Teach77" offered this long list of ideas for class books to make throughout the year.

I make several class books throughout the year. I love that these books get my students into writing about things they enjoy and reading each other's writing. They always ask, "When's it my turn to take the book home?"

Here's a list of some of the class books we make throughout the year:

*Our Names are Very Special (written after reading Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes and researching how they got their names)
*Our Weird Parents (written after reading Weird Parents by Audrey Wood...students write about weird things their parents do)
*Our Apple Picking Trip (written after a field trip to the apple orchard)
*Our Pets are Special (written after reading Henry and Mudge from our reading books)
*What We Like About October
*Can You Guess What We're Going to be for Halloween (students write a description of their Halloween costume without revealing what it is...then they illustrate themselves wearing the costume which we cover up with a little ghost cut-out that lifts up to reveal the costume)
*Our Pumpkin Picking Trip (written after a field trip to pick a pumpkin)
*Our Favorite Kinds of Candy (students can bring in a wrapper from their favorite candy to use in their illustration, great to do right after Halloween when there's plenty of wrappers)
*We Are Thankful for Many Things
*Our Favorite Kinds of Pie
*Why We Love December
*Our Christmas Wish List
*If We Were Gingerbread People
*2013 is Going to be a Great Year
*Winter is Wonderful
*Why We Love Snow Days!
*Our 100th Day of School
*Will the Groundhog See His Shadow?
*People We Love
*If I Were the President...
*If I Were a Leprechaun...
*I Feel Lucky
*Our Favorite Kinds of Weather
*Three Things We Can't Bear (students write about 3 things that really bother them)
*What We Want to "Bee" When We Grow Up (students write about what they want to be when they grow up on bee-shaped paper)

View original post: http://www.proteacher.org/a/143880_Class_Books.html

Great Article About Creating Class Books (Grades 3-8)

The National Writing Project Archives are a great place to find inspiring articles and resources for teaching writing. I recently found this article about one teacher's process of creating a class book; I think that many teachers will find it interesting and helpful.

"Growing Writers Through Collaboration" by Kathy Brody (recommended for teachers in grades 3-8)
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2174

In this online article, a teacher explains how she helped her 4th graders create an award-winning book. (...also offered as a print-friendly download.)

Class Book Ideas for K-1 Teachers @ "Kids Count" Website

Class Books webpage at "Kids Count" website - by Shari Sloane

This webpage provides brief ideas and sample images for 20 class book projects that are appropriate for students in grades K-1. (The "Batman" book makes me want to teach a K-1 class!)

http://www.kidscount1234.com/class.html

Teachers: Share Lesson Ideas for Class-Authored Books!

Do you create whole-class books with your students (or would you like to do so)? Join the blog—with everyone's help, we can make our new "Class-Authored Book Contest" a success!

Let's use this blogspace to share ideas, resources, weblinks and questions about class-book projects. For teachers who have never attempted collaborative writing or book publishing projects, we'd like to provide specific lesson ideas and guidance. For veteran classroom publishers, we'd like to provide fresh inspiration and exciting new tricks.

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE IDEAS:

First, "Follow by email" in the right hand corner. (An invitation to join will be sent to the email address you submit.) You can unfollow whenever you wish.

We'll add your email address to our authorized list of bloggers, and you'll receive an invitation to log on. Note: Blogger is a Google App feature, so if you don't have a gmail account, you'll be asked to create one for free. I'll also send my personal email address, just in case you prefer to send your contributions to me via email.

What kinds of posts do we need?  If it seems interesting and useful to you, it will probably seem interesting and useful to someone else. Some examples:

• start-to-finish lesson guides for writing & publishing projects
• online articles that describe teachers' experiences with class book projects
• lists of published books to use as "mentor texts" 
• real-life group activities that inspire kids to think, draw, and write 
• lesson ideas to guide kids through the writing process
• simple, easy-to-manage art projects that can be used as book illustrations
• crafty ideas for hand-binding class books
• ideas for producing multiple copies of the same book
• user-friendly internet resources for digital publication and printing
• how class book projects address the new Common Core State Standards
• other tips that might help...

Your post may contain just a brief explanation + weblink, or you may copy and paste entire lesson plans and images. (If you'd like to submit PDF or Word documents, you may send them via email.)

Together, we will compile a wide range of resources. Once we get several ideas, Bookfest volunteers will start to organize them on a separate, easy-to-reference page!

—Melissa King, Great Valley Writing Project / Great Valley Bookfest Volunteer

Class-Authored Book Contest for Local Schools

Exciting news for teachers and students!

In April, 2013, Great Valley Bookfest and Great Valley Writing Project will launch a "Class-Authored Book Contest" in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. We want to promote reading and writing in local schools, and we want to provide recognition for the amazing classroom-created books that teachers produce every year.

In late April, contest details will be distributed to schools. Rules and teacher resources will be posted on our websites and social media pages. Completed books may be submitted in May and June. Contest winners will be announced in the summer.

Award-winning books will receive public recognition at the October 19th Bookfest; student authors will be announced, and teacher-publishers will receive kudos and prizes.

We hope that all classes will submit an entry.... By submitting their own book to outside readers, kids can finish this school year with a real feeling of accomplishment.

Start planning your book project, and check back for full details in late April!

BOOK IT!

Great Valley Bookfest returns to Manteca!

On Saturday, October 19, readers and revelers will once again gather at Great Valley Bookfest—a fun-filled festival for all! Visitors will enjoy great food and beverages as they meet authors, savor cooking demos, attend live performances, and browse diverse vendor displays. More than 30 authors will speak on six different stages; self-publishing consultations and mini-workshops will be provided for teachers and aspiring writers… and it’s free!

The Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley Shopping Center provide a beautiful park-like setting for the festivities. The greenspace around the manmade lake is dotted with authors’ tables and tents; the amphitheater is transformed into Storytime Theater. Gourmet food trucks and workshops line the wide pedestrian walkways, and the promenade near the roundabout fountain becomes a street faire filled with a variety of vendors.

Last year’s inaugural Bookfest attracted more than 20 authors and 2500 attendees. This year, we expect to draw even more authors, more vendors, and more visitors!

To support reading and writing in public schools, the Bookfest leaders are adding many activities for teachers and students, starting with a bookmark design contest in April, a class-authored book contest in May, lesson-planning sessions for teachers in summer, and classroom activity guides for September. On October 19th, our friends at Great Valley Writing Project will offer free workshops for teachers who attend the Bookfest. (Find more information, click here.)

Bookfest festivities begin at 10:00 a.m. with a costume parade; people of all ages are invited to dress up as characters from their favorite books and join the pageant! There’s something for everyone, so mark your calendar and join the fun!

Saturday, Oct 19th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Free admission!

The Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley
aka Bass Pro Center
Hwy 120 @ Union Road exit
280 Lifestyle Rd., Manteca