2014 Teen Writing Contest at Brooklyn Public Library


 Teen Writing Contest Winners with Guest Authors

I had the honor of being a guest author this past Monday for the 2014 Teen Writing Contest Reception at the Brooklyn Public Library.  The program honored the winning teen writers who submitted to the Brooklyn Public Library’s annual contest.  The young writers submitted both prose writing and poetry.  The reception was lovely.  The students and their families arrived and mingled with the notable guest authors: DuEwa Frazier, Matt de La Pena, Jason Reynolds and Una LaMarche.  It was great to talk with the teen writers and fellow young adult and children’s authors.

The photo above shows all of the contest winners and guest authors.  Each talented student writer read their work at the podium.  After the reading, I participated in a panel discussion about writing and publishing with the other authors.  The teens and the program coordinator asked us some pretty good questions such as:
  • What is the best writing advice you’ve received?
  • When did you start writing?
  • When did you decide to pursue publishing?
  • What do you do when you have writers block?
The students also asked us questions about how we feel about putting ourselves into characters.  I had flashbacks to my time as an M.F.A. in writing grad student workshopping my stories.  The teens also asked, “What advice would you give?”  My reply was, “Never let anyone invalidate your voice, your perspective.  Know that your voice is valuable, you are of value.”

Follow DuEwa on Twitter @duewafrazier1

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Barbecue & Books Go Hand in Hand: 5 Crazy Ways to Promote Your Book!

Image
 How do author's promote? Well there's the good ole' word of mouth, and then there's email blasts, postcards, in person signing/readings and TV/radio talks (if you're really big time). And what about if you're on a budget? Or your publicist quit? Or you've realized that the world that was formerly round to authors is now flat before there's no more "The Oprah Show?" If you're an author (self published or not), who has ever wanted to think outside of the box to promote your book but just didn't know what the heck would make your sales "POP!" this post is for you! Here are humorous yet totally doable event ideas, for the writer who's book marketing game really needs a boost. *****5 Crazy Ways to Promote Your Book!***** (Warning, some of these may tickle your funny bone) 1. Host a Book Signing Barbecue - Hey it's summertime and who doesn't love a reason to gather for good food, drinks, laughs and a BOOK REA
Read more

After the MFA: 10 things I learned

Image
My journey as a full time graduate student in the MFA in Creative Writing degree program at The New School in NYC, has come to an end.    I'm a graduate!! So many people asked me, "DuEwa, why another Master's degree - you already have one?" and "Why an MFA, you're already a writer."  I felt the need to immerse myself in the writing life in a different way.  I wanted to study the craft and expand my knowledge in ways that I hadn't before.  I wanted to be linked to serious writers and learn from esteemed professors who have published or at least have taught writing for many years.  Did I expand my knowledge? Yes.  Did I study and link up with writers I did not previously know?  Yes.  Was the journey difficult at times?  Of course.  Am I glad I applied to the program, went through it and finished?  TOTALLY!!!   A mentor once said to me, "Anything worth having is worth struggling for."  And I did.  I was lucky to have already been publish
Read more

Jazz, Books & Talking to Strangers in DC

Image
So during my Maryland/DC excursion this past weekend, I had to step inside of a few local bookstores.   The geek that I am wouldn't allow me to pass up a chance to browse through books, some new, some used, all valuable of course.  I first stopped into Busboys & Poets located at 14th and V. St. in DC. I wasn't in the mood to sit down and have a drink. I went straight for the poetry section. There I found books that I've never actually seen because my nose has been in my MFA books for the last 2 years. While in the poetry section, flipping through the glorious pages of several books of poetry I made a list of the books I planned to purchase and read : Femme du Monde: Poems by Patricia Spears Jones , Life on Mars: Poems by Tracy K. Smith, The new black by Evie Shockley, Totem by Gregory Pardlo, Blood Dazzler by Patricia Smith and many others. Some of the books I picked up were signed by the author, others weren't. I found myself feeling like a book groupie. I
Read more