Thank you, Mississippi Arts Commission!

For years, I have received various types of support from the Mississippi Arts Commission. This week I learned I had received a mini-grant to defray some costs associated with attending the  2018 Summer Conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Held in Los Angeles each summer, the conference offers terrific sessions on all aspects of creating books for young people.

This year I am going into the conference with a manuscript in revision at Boyds Mills Press. Soon enough, I will be turning my attention to marketing the new book. I know I will learn new strategies from my colleagues. I will also be soaking up everything I can by way of inspiration from the best nonfiction writers in the field. The Mississippi Arts Commission is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mississippi Legislature. I am grateful for the public resources that help me produce engaging texts for children — all from the nature I find around me in Mississippi.