Teachers Write Wrap-Up – Sharing a Secret

I’m a little weepy today… I know you all need to get back to your classrooms and libraries if you’re not already there, but it’s tough to say goodbye after such an amazing six weeks of writing and sharing together. The good news is that your Teachers Write buddies are never far away, though. Our Facebook community lives on through the school year, and we’ll be back with another online workshop next summer!  A HUGE thank you to Jennifer, Gae, and Jo for making these six weeks so great.

If you’ll be at NCTE in Boston in November, you can meet up with Gae, Jennifer, Jo, and me in person (and participant Brian Wyzlic, too!) Please make plans to attend our session on Sunday morning.  “Teachers Write!: How Teachers Writing Now Can Build Student Writers of the Future” is officially session L-32 and it’s being held at the Sheraton, Beacon E from 8:30-9:45 on Sunday, November 24th. Also…if you know you can be there and might want to help us out with a special secret project, please let me know.

I know that I won’t get to meet many of you in person any time soon, but if you’d like personalized, signed copies of any of my books, The Bookstore Plus, a great indie in Lake Placid, NY, is hosting my WAKE UP MISSING launch on September 21st. If you give them a call at 518-523-2950, they’ll happily take your order over the phone and send your books (free for orders over $50) after I sign them in September. They carry all of my books, including my new picture book, SEA MONSTER AND THE BOSSY FISH, and you can also pre-order my fall science thriller WAKE UP MISSING. (If you do order personalized books for yourself, please let them know you’re part of Teachers Write and I’ll write a special inscription! I’m also happy to sign holiday gifts or books to your classroom.)

And now the secret I promised… Teachers Write is going to be a book! The folks at Stenhouse who published REAL REVISION: AUTHORS’ STRATEGIES TO SHARE WITH STUDENT WRITERS have been after me to work on a new book, and I told them that I’d really love to write something that celebrates what we’ve been doing at Teachers Write these past two summers…something that empowers educators to facilitate this kind of supportive writing community in their own districts. So that’s what we’re doing! I’ll be looking for a little help from some of you.  I’d love to include some of your writing from the past two summers as well as some quotes about how being part of a writing community has impacted your teaching. I won’t be able to include quotes from everyone – I wish I could – but I’d love a sampling. If  you’re game to help out with that, there’s a place in the final survey where you can let me know.

If you enjoyed Teachers Write this summer, please remember to show your support for all of our organizers and guest authors by ordering books for yourself or your classrooms or libraries. Want to do more? If you read one of our organizer or guest author books and love it, please consider nominating it for your state children’s choice award list. My writer-friend Lisa Schroeder has a creative blog post called “Supporting Authors When Your Heart Is Bigger Than Your Wallet” with even more great ideas.

And finally – please share your feedback from this summer by taking our survey here.  It’s just ten questions, asking you to reflect on what worked for you and what you’d suggest for next year, among other things. If you have a few minutes to complete it, it will be a great help. Many thanks for that – and for the gift of your words this summer. Have a great school year, and we’ll see you in June!

xoxo~Kate

katewriting

P.S. You are all so talented. Please keep writing and never forget what Jo told everyone yesterday… That thing you are writing is awesome!

9 Replies on “Teachers Write Wrap-Up – Sharing a Secret

  1. This is such great news! Thank you for your generosity in making this camp and to all the authors that participated. By involving teachers, you also make a difference in the lives of so many students, kind of mind blowing! Thanks also to Gae and Jen for their friendliness and support. It makes such a difference to have that personal connection and a support system for writing and feedback. Writing really made this summer special for me. Thank you for that!

  2. Kate,
    Congratulations on your new book! You have all been such a blessing in more ways than you can know! Thank you for being so generous with your expertise.. and…for being there as our personal workout coaches everyday! I’ll be interested to read your perspective on this process in your book. A big hug to all of you — Kate, Jennifer, Gae, and Jo (and the guest authors, too) — for sharing your lives, knowledge, and “votes of confidence” the past 6 weeks! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  3. Thank you for making Teachers Write possible! I’ve written so much this summer and am inspired to continue in the fall. Congratulations on the book–what great news.
    P.S. Dear “Do the Math,” 25 + 41 IS 66, no matter what you say

  4. Just completed the survey! I’m planning on being at NCTE, so I might be able to help with your “special secret project.” I’ll let you know for sure once I’m registered.
    Thank you again for putting so much time and effort into this amazing project!
    Catherine

  5. Kate,

    Thank you for another awesome summer of writing and learning. Also, I want to thank you for your organization, enthusiasm, inspiration, and knowledge of writing and teaching. I am already looking forward to next summer.

    Happy Writing!
    Andy

  6. Thank you for the great opportunity and experience, and I look forward to next summer. Enjoy everyone!

  7. Thank-you and your team for being so generous! Your time and skills gave me a taste of what it is like to write. When things get hectic this year I will remember the peaceful reflectiveness that I felt when writing (OK , I admit, a little challenging too.)
    Also, cheers to you on the new book!
    I can’t wait to meet you and show you our school in 2014. Our kids love your books and I know they will be so excited to meet you. Again, thanks!

  8. Congratulations to all the TeacherWriters I met this summer. I was telling Kate how thrilling it is to have watched your work and confidence grow.

    Don’t stop now! (Send us updates on Fb and Twitter (@ErinDealey) .
    And Happy Back to School to all. Your students are so very lucky!
    Best,
    Erin

  9. Kate,

    I have been missing Teachers Write already! Thank you for your enthusiasm, advice, encouragement, and support. Thank you, also, for introducing me to this community of writers, without whom I might not have had the guts to share my writing. This has been a wonderful experience, and I can’t wait for next summer!

    Congratulations on your book! I look forward to reading it when it comes out.

    Blessings on your writing,
    Heidi