Writing Picture Books
Tuesdays: September 16 - October 14
7:30 - 9:30 p.m. EST
Led by KYO MACLEAR
with guest authors Minh Lê, Matthew Burgess, X. Fang, & Jillian Tamaki
$400
Please register with the email to which you’d like to receive class correspondence and readings.
The modern picture book has become one of the most popular and protean of literary forms, ranging from playful biographies to contemporary fables to arty concept books, captivating child and adult readers alike.
Whether you’re a prose writer with your first picture book idea, or an illustrator hoping to pair your art with words, this five-week course is a practical and inspirational plunge into the world of visual storytelling, led by celebrated picture book writer and award-winning essayist Kyo Maclear.
Students will explore the unique relationship between text and illustration in picture books and examine a variety of examples, including Maclear’s own books and works-in-progress as well as the wide-ranging works of four celebrated guest authors. Students will learn techniques specific to picture books, such as the use of page turns, counterpoint, paratext, lettering, and design; gain a grasp of the philosophy and practice of making books for children; and get a chance to pose nitty-gritty questions about the path to publishing.
Class sessions will feature conversations with four celebrated picture book authors—Minh Lê, Matthew Burgess, X. Fang, and Jillian Tamaki; we’ll closely examine and discuss these authors’ popular works. We’ll also do brief writing exercises in each session, all of which will help students generate material and hone their picture book concept(s). This is a generative/discussion-based class, so there is no workshop component, but students will have ample chance to ask questions and kickstart or deepen their own works.
Together, we will examine the picture book from every angle—formal, literary, allegorical, biographical, physical, and interactive—and engage with some of the leading storytellers in the picture book genre.
In this course, you will:
Examine and discuss exemplary picture books to gain a better understanding of the form’s main features
Engage with celebrated picture book authors and author-illustrators and have the chance to pose questions to them directly
Generate new approaches to picture book writing and find playful ways of “getting started”—inspired by both weekly writing prompts and group discussions
Build community among writers in the picture book niche
About the Instructors
Kyo Maclear
X. Fang
Jillian Tamaki
Matthew Burgess
Minh Lê
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Kyo Maclear is an essayist, editor, novelist, and children’s author whose books have been translated into 18 languages, published in over 25 countries, and garnered a myriad of award nominations. Her nonfiction books include the hybrid memoir Birds Art Life, a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction and winner of the Trillium Book Award, and Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets, winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction. Her work has appeared in Orion Magazine, Brick, Border Crossings, The Millions, LitHub, The Volta, Prefix Photo, Resilience, The Guardian, Lion’s Roar, Azure, The Globe and Mail, & elsewhere. She teaches writing at University of Guelph Creative Writing MFA and Humber School for Writers, and is editor-at-large with Tundra Books.
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X. Fang is a visual artist and maker of books for young readers, including Dim Sum Palace, winner of the 2023 Society of Illustrators’ Dilys Evans Founder’s Award among other honors, and We Are Definitely Human, an Indie Next Pick and the recipient of five starred reviews. She exhibits her art throughout the United States and internationally and has worked professionally as a graphic designer and art director for film and television studios.
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Jillian Tamaki is an illustrator and comics artist. She is the co-creator, with her cousin Mariko Tamaki, of Skim and This One Summer, the latter of which won a Caldecott Honor and Printz Award in 2015. Her own graphic novels include SuperMutant Magic Academy and Boundless. Her first picture book, They Say Blue, which explores our perception and experience of the natural world, was released in March 2018 and just won the Boston Globe-Horn Book award.
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Matthew Burgess is a poet, educator, and the author of many children's books, including Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring, The Bear and The Moon, Sylvester’s Letter, and most recently, As Edward Imagined: A Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts and The Purple One: A Story of Prince. Matthew edited an anthology of visual art and writing titled Dream Closet: Meditations on Childhood Space, as well as a collection of essays titled Spellbound: The Art of Teaching Poetry. More books are forthcoming, including: Words With Wings and Magic Things and Fireworks. An Associate Professor at Brooklyn College, Matthew was a poet-in-residence in New York City public schools for many years and he currently serves as a senior editor of Teachers & Writers Magazine.
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Minh Lê is the award-winning author of picture books including Drawn Together (winner of the 2019 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature), The Blur, Real to Me, and the Eisner-nominated Lift,and graphic novels such as Green Lantern: Legacy and Enlighten Me. In addition to writing books, he is on the faculty of the Hamline MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults, serves on the board of We Need Diverse Books, and has been a contributor to a variety of national publications, including NPR, HuffPost, and the New York Times.
Class Schedule
We'll be joined by guest authors Minh Lê on September 23; X. Fang on September 30; Matthew Burgess on October 7; and Jillian Tamaki on October 14.
Details
This course will take place on Zoom on Tuesdays September 16 - October 14 from 7:30 - 9:30 EST. Participants will receive a Zoom link prior to the course as well as a recording of the course afterward.
After you take a course with Off Assignment, you’ll be invited into our private writing community for alumni on Slack. It includes channels for publication opportunities, reading recommendations, meet-ups, and more—not to mention literary companionship that outlasts the course itself.
There is a 10% cancellation fee if you cancel your enrollment more than 1 week before the start of the course. No refund will be given if cancelling within less than a week of the course start date (or after the course has begun).
Please email courses@offassignment.com with any questions.
FAQs →
Financial Aid
The full price for this course is $400, with early bird pricing at $340 available until May 22.
A limited number of scholarships for this course are available. Please fill out this form by August 25, and we’ll get back to you within a week after the deadline.
Off Assignment’s Masters’ Series courses are unique five-session courses that delve deep into a specific writing topic by harnessing the expertise and craft tactics of a renowned writer in a particular niche, plus four celebrated authors. Participating writers gain a wealth of advanced techniques while benefiting from a cohesive community of disciplined writers.