Strange and Familiar Places in Young Adult Fiction, with Eliot Schrefer and Rita Williams-Garcia, at Drexel University

I'm honored to be included among friends in an upcoming YA panel—open to the public—at the Drexel University Week of Writing event. To see all the offerings, go here. (I am particularly intrigued by the panel that will help those of us who receive unusual comments from anonymous commenters know, um, what to do or think.) To join Rita Williams-Garcia, Eliot Schrefer, Dee McMahon, and myself for a discussion about research, time, and place in young adult fiction, make room for us on May 22.

See you there?

Strange and Familiar Places in Young Adult Fiction

Explores the complexities of conducting and incorporating research to create a sense of time and place in YA fiction. Attention to setting is crucial for any writer, but readers often overlook the breadth of historical, scientific, and philosophical inquiry that culminates in successful settings.  Panelists include: Beth Kephart, who will speak on the surprises and challenges of bringing 19^th-century Philadelphia to life in Dangerous Neighbors (2010) and Dr. Radway’s Sarsaparilla Resolvent (2013); Eliot Schrefer, whoseEndangered (2012) depicts a bonobo sanctuary as war breaks out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Rita Williams-Garcia, who will describe her research process in recreating the Black Power Movement in 1968 Oakland forOne Crazy Summer (2011) and its sequel in Brooklyn P.S. Be Eleven (2013).  Join us to discuss the craft of translating not just physical and geographical detail, but larger social and political contexts to the page.

2:00 pm – 3:20 pm
Lobby of Drexel University Recreation Center
Moderator: Dee McMahon
Panelists:
Beth Kephart, Eliot Schrefer, Rita Williams-Garcia