The most important people at Kindling Words are you–the attendees. We choose speakers each year to inspire and challenge you. We like to invite professionals who have experience teaching at a mastery level, and often choose people who have been to Kindling Words before, as they understand the unique atmosphere. We welcome recommendations from our attendees, and discourage self-solicitation.
Theme for 2018
“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing–and keeping the unknown always beyond you.” ~ Georgia O’Keeffe
“To know ahead of time what you’re looking for means you’re then only photographing your own preconceptions, which is very limiting, and often false.” ~ Dorothea Lange—Marcel Proust
Eric Rohmann, Guest Illustrator Illustrator
Eric Rohmann is the author/illustrator of seven books, including My Friend Rabbit (which won the Caldecott) and Time Flies (which won a Caldecott Honor). He has also illustrated many other books, some in collaboration with Candace Fleming, and created several jackets for novels, including His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman and Bless This Mouse by Lois Lowry. Eric’s artwork has been featured in various exhibitions and in permanent collections throughout the United States.
He lives in a little house just outside of Chicago with a dog, a cat and a tarantula. They all seem to get along just fine.
Candace Fleming, Guest Author Author
Candace is the author of more than forty books for children, including picture books, middle grade novels and biographies. Among her nonfiction titles are Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart, The Family Romanov, Giant Squid and most recently Strongheart Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen. She is the recipient of the Children’s Book Guild of Washington D.C.’s Nonfiction Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and a two-time recipient of the ALA Sibert Honor Award.
Candace lives in Oak Park, Illinois with one dog, two cats and her partner and sometimes-collaborator, Eric Rohmann.
Maggie Lehrman, Guest Editor Editor
Maggie Lehrman is an executive editor at Abrams Books, where she has worked on young adult, middle grade, picture books, and graphic novels since 2005. Some of the books she has acquired and edited include the New York Times bestselling Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series of graphic non-fiction, and the Morris Award nominated In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters, among many others. She has an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the author of the novels The Cost of All Things and The Last Best Story.
Second Guest Author tk Author
The author and illustrator strands have two guest speakers who present individually, then join together for the Sunday morning workshop.
Second Guest Illustrator TK Author
The author and illustrator strands have two guest speakers who present individually, then join together for the Sunday morning workshop.