Gael Lynch has been a writer, a student of writing and a writing teacher for nearly 35 years. She spent her early years in the Newbery Award-winning author, Patricia Reilly Giff’s writing workshop amongst many children’s writers who would soon become published themselves. Pat had published over a hundred children’s books by then. She knew how to get a children’s book over the finish line. It’s taken Gael many years to finally chase her dream and get her own book, "IVY LEIGH EVER AFTER" over the finish line and out into the world. In this presentation, Gael will talk about the ups and downs of publishing today. 

She’ll visit the process of writing a picture book, a middle grade novel and a young adult book. She’ll talk about critique groups and organizations that will help you get started in your own work. She’ll discuss Querying Agents and the websites that will be helpful in doing so. She’ll also discuss Indie Publishing and how the gates have opened for authors who want to see their work out in the world sooner than the traditional world can do so.  After that, Gael will prompt you to get going! She’ll tempt you with a few ideas that will help you mine your memories and get them down on the page. She’ll also share some of the mentor texts and how she’s used them to study craft and grow an understanding about how the work gets done! Following the presentation, Gael will be available to sign copies of her book.