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| FOCAL Panel: Caroline Arnold, Michelle Markel, Hope Anita Smith at the Los Angeles Public Library |
Last Sunday I spent a very enjoyable afternoon at the Los Angeles Public Library in downtown Los Angeles with friends and fellow authors Michelle Markel and Hope Anita Smith
participating in a panel discussion of "Why I Write for Children"
sponsored by FOCAL, the support group of the Children's Department at
the library. (FOCAL stands for Friends of Children and Libraries.) We had an enthusiastic audience and a book signing
afterwards.
Some of the questions we fielded included:
- When did you first think about becoming a writer?
- What inspired you to write for children?
- Do you find yourself drawn to certain topics? Why?
- What is the most difficult thing and/or the most exciting thing about being a writer?
- What is the most surprising thing a child has asked you at a school visit or bookstore event?
A big thank you to all the volunteers at FOCAL--especially
Renny Day, Caroline Gill, and Lauren Okayama for organizing the event.
