January 6 - 8, 2012 4:30 p.m. Friday – 2:00 p.m. Sunday

Old Mission Santa Barbara		Old Mission Santa Barbara, Mission Renewal Center 2201 Laguna Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105 for published and not-yet-published authors and author/illustrators MANUSCRIPT DEADLINE: Postmark: November 15, 2011. Space limited to 20. (Registration payment may be sent in advance of November to secure a place.) Click Here to Register

About the Retreat
The purpose of this retreat is to offer you an opportunity to work closely with successful authors, who are also master teachers, on crafting and shaping your works of fiction and nonfiction, picture books to YA.

Because this retreat is designed for maximum participation, you will be assigned to a Core Group led by a faculty member and will read your group members’ manuscripts in advance of the retreat. 

You will submit one copy of your picture book manuscript or portion of your novel no later than November 11, 2011. We will send a copy of your manuscript to the faculty member who is facilitating your Core Group. Author/Illustrators are invited to bring a dummy to the retreat in addition to the typed manuscript submission.

Submission Guidelines
Click here for a manuscript submission checklist and manucript formatting sample.

For picture books – send the whole manuscript. 
For longer works - send 15 pages plus a one-page synopsis of the whole work. 
Manuscripts must be double-spaced and written in a 12-point type font.
Synopses may be single-spaced, 12-point font.

	Old Mission Santa Barbara Bell Tower

When your Core Group is assigned in November, you will send a copy of your manuscript to each Core Group member. This can be done by either email or snail mail. Mailing information will be provided to you.

During the retreat, one of your manuscripts will be examined
in-depth in your Core Group (with a faculty member) to see how you can shape it best for publication. You will also have time to meet in the Core Group (without the faculty member) to discuss revisions with other attendees. You are also invited to participate in optional sessions that will be announced later.

Beyond your "in-depth manuscript" review, you’ll have a chance to share, as time permits, First Pages in small groups. Illustrators are invited to bring their portfolios for display.

Rate
Double: $395 per person. Single: $435. Commuter rate: $295. 
Dormitory accommodations. Shared bathrooms. Meals are included.

Click Here to Register

Deadline
You will be assigned to your choice of a Fiction Core Group or a Nonfiction Core Group. Send one hard copy of your manuscript to the retreat coordinator by November 11, 2011 (address on the registration form). Then send your manuscript by email to all members in your Core Group (The retreat coordinator will send you email addresses.)

Refund Policy
Cancellations prior to December 23, 2011 are subject to a $50 processing charge.
No refunds after December 23, 2011.

For More Information
Call Alexis at (805) 581-1906 or email: AlexisInCA@aol.com

About the Faculty

		KATHI APPELT is the award-winning author of more than thirty books for children and young adults. Her picture book, Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers: How a First Lady Changed America (HarperCollins, 2005) was given the “Growing Good Kids Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature.” In 2003 Appelt won the Irma and Simon Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, given by the Bank Street College of Education, for her picture book Bubba and Beau, Best Friends (Harcourt Brace, 2002). Her memoir, My Father’s Summers (Henry Holt, 2004) won the Paterson Prize for Young Adult Poetry.  Her first novel, The Underneath, a haunting story of love and survival in the pine forests of East Texas, has been described by reviewers as a “classic.”  It was named a National Book Award Finalist, a Newbery Honor Book, and most recently awarded the PEN USA Literature for Children Award.  Ms. Appelt was presented with the A.C. Greene Award by the Friends of Abilene Public Library, which named her a “Texas Distinguished Author.” In addition to writing, Ms. Appelt is on the faculty in the Masters of Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her newest book is Keeper, published by Atheneum, 2010. She and her husband Ken live in College Station, TX with four adorable cats — Django, Peach, Hoss and Jazz. They are the parents of two even more adorable sons, Jacob and Cooper, musicians who both play the double bass. For more information, check her website:  www.kathiappelt.com.

MELISSA STEWART is award-winning author of more than 100 nonfiction books for young readers. Her recent picture book, Under the Snow, is a Junior Library Guild Selection; a Charlotte Zolotow Award honoree; a Society of School Librarians International, Best Book, Science; and a Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year. After earning a bachelor’s degree in biology from Union College in Schenectady, NY, and a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University, Melissa worked as a children’s book editor for nine years before becoming a fulltime writer in 2000. She has written everything from board books for preschoolers to magazine articles for adults. Melissa is on the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ Board of Advisors and is a judge for the American Institute of Physics Children’s Writing Award. She lives in Acton, MA. For more information, check her website: www.melissa-stewart.com
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