Off the Page: So You Want to Write Kid Lit?

Fruitville Library presents the So You Want to Write Kid Lit? author panel as part of the “Off the Page Literary Celebration.” Award-winning children’s authors and writing teachers Dianne Ochiltree, Ryan Van Cleave, and Sylvia Whitman tell participants everything they need to know about writing for children—whether it is picture books, middle grade fiction, nonfiction, or young adult novels. Join them for an overview of the field, including how to seek publication. Q&A follows the panel.

Dianne Ochilitree has been writing stories and poems since she was a kid growing up in Ohio. As a children’s author, Dianne has had numerous books published for young readers, from toddlers to teens. She encourages children to fall in love with reading books, along with developing creative writing skills through her visits to schools and libraries. Ryan Van Cleave runs the creative writing major at the Ringling College of Art and Design. Ryan also serves as the Editor at Bushel & Peck, which publishes a wide range of exciting titles for kids, tweens, and teens, and is not-so-secretly known as the Picture Book Whisperer — the industry’s go-to person to help celebrities and high-profile clients write and sell children’s books. Sylvia Whitman grew up in a house full of books, She has copy edited at daily newspapers, supervised college writing centers, and taught both children and adults. Sylvia teaches professional and creative writing as a full-time faculty member at Ringling College of Art and Design.

Visit Off the Page to learn more about other festival events.

Funding is provided in part through a Florida Humanities Book Festival Grant with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities and in partnership with the Library Foundation for Sarasota County. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.