NF Fest is Here!

The wait is finally over! For the next 29 days, you are going to be spending time as a NF writer. Each day you will do three things:    

 

1. Read the day’s post.
2. Write. Comment on the post ONLY ONCE. We have so many registered that it takes several screens to show them all. If you don’t see your comment, scroll to the bottom and click “show more”. Please do not comment more than once.
 
3. Act. Complete one activity from the NF Fest Activity Grid. (see fourth tab above)

The activities are designed to empower you as a nonfiction writer. 

Tomorrow, Karen Blumenthal and Candace Fleming will kick off NF Fest with a thought-provoking post on “Getting to the Truth”.

The Nonfiction Chicks wish you perseverance, enjoyment, and lots of inspiration.

Get your notebook, pens, keyboard, and coffee cups ready! See you tomorrow!

Meet NF Fest Blogger Christy Mihaly!

Christy Mihaly loves the magic and power of words, and is convinced that writing for kids is the best job ever. She writes articles, stories, essays, poems, and children’s books. Chris is particularly drawn to nonfiction, and is a founding member of GROG, the group blog for writers and readers of children’s literature. After living in Oregon, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, New Hampshire, California, and Spain, she is settled happily with her family in rural Vermont. There, she writes at a table overlooking fields and forests, under the supervision of her dog and cat. Christy will be sharing about on-site research: the value of being where it happened.

Welcome NF Fest Blogger Lesa Cline-Ramsome!

Lesa Cline-Ransome grew up near Boston. She credits her mother with instilling her love of reading by taking her weekly to fill her arms with books at the library. When her mother gave her a diary, Lesa quickly graduated from writing about crushes and friends to writing stories.  Her husband, illustrator James Ransome, encouraged her to write for children. Today she has seven picture books, mostly biographies, four children, and numerous writing awards.

Meet NF Fest Blogger Rob Sanders

Rob Sanders was raised in Springfield, Missouri with a brother, sister, and lots of chickens. Today he teaches second graders at in Brandon, FL, by day and writes books for young readers when he returns home. The influence of his young writers is apparent in his books like Rodzilla and Ball & Balloon. And his influence on young readers is evident in books like Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights and Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution.

Meet NF Fest blogger Alice Faye Duncan!

Alice Faye Duncan loves picture books because they allow her to “sing” without a music education or singing voice. In her words: "YOU DON’T WANT ME TO SING. Really." Although she does play the ukulele on school visits. An only child, Alice grew up in Memphis where she still lives. She was introduced to picture books at library school at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Then, at the University of Memphis she took a children’s literature class that inspired her to write Willie Jerome, about a boy who plays jazz on a rooftop, published in 1995. She’s been writing ever since. And in case you were wondering, her top five favorite songs are “Harvest for the World” by the Isley Brothers, “Mister Magic” by Grover Washington, “Optimistic” by Sounds of Blackness, “Respect Yourself” by The Staple Singers and “Young, Gifted and Black” by Nina Simone. 

Welcome to NF Fest blogger Bethany Hegedus!

Bethany Hegedus always thought she’d be writing fiction. Then she found herself drawn to the lives of inspiring people and boom — she finds herself the acclaimed author of books about Mahatma Gandhi and Maya Angelou. A longtime educator, Bethany is also the founder of The Writing Barn. When she isn’t writing or presenting, she is teaching or encouraging others to teach and pursue their writing passions. We’re so happy Bethany is one of our NF Fest authors and will be sharing her ideas on Threading the Needle: Discovering the Author/Subject Overlap.

Welcome to agent Stacey Graham!

Literary Agent Stacey Graham not only represents nonfiction writers, she also writes her own nonfiction stories! As a guest of NF Fest the Red Sofa super-agent will tell how to grab an agent or editor’s attention with your nonfiction proposal. She will give tips on how to make your project stand out from the crowd and make your readers beg for more stories.

Introducing NF Blogger Vivian Kirkfield!

Vivian Kirkfield is an excitement junkie. She has jumped from an airplane, cruised down a river on a banana-boat, and soared above the water on a parasail. Most exciting was her career as a kindergarten teacher. Now retired, Vivian gets her adrenaline fix by creating fiction and nonfiction for children. Her most recent are Sweet Dreams, Sarah and Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe.