Writer's Workshop with Alison McGhee

How to Write for Children When You’re a Grownup

Children’s literature is one of our most beloved and valued genres –just ask an adult what their favorite book was as a child and watch their face light up—and it also presents a conundrum of sorts. How do you write a book for a child when you yourself are no longer a child? How do you avoid an adult attitude or voice? Tricking yourself into forgetting you’re an adult is one way to do it, and that means traveling to the invisible place within that holds all the experiences and all the ages you ever were, all the selves you’ve grown out of and into, worlds both new and old at the same time.

In this workshop, we’ll discuss a few short passages from wonderful works of children’s literature (from picture books to middle-grade and young adult novels) and experiment with a few writing prompts designed to unlock the child who lives within us all. Our goals: surprise, delight and insights from whatever comes shimmering up on the page.

Alison McGhee is the New York Times bestselling writer of novels, novellas, poems, and picture books for all ages, including the internationally loved Someday and the Pulitzer Prize nominee Shadow Baby, along with its followup Never Coming Back. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages. She also loves live storytelling and is a Moth Grand Slam winner and a frequent storyteller elsewhere and in comedy clubs. Alison founded the creative writing program at Metropolitan State University and taught there for many years. She is the recipient of five Minnesota Book Awards, a McKnight fellowships, two State Arts Board grants, and many other awards. For more information about her books, her online teaching, her podcast, and her Poem of the Week, please check out alisonmcghee.com.