Teachers Write is a free, online summer writing camp for teachers and librarians. This summer, our program runs from July 9th to August 3rd. You can learn all about the program and sign up to join us here.
The best thing about Teachers Write is that you’ll have the opportunity to write with and learn from many of your students’ favorite authors! Here’s our amazing line-up of guest authors for Summer 2018. Please take some time before July to visit their websites, read some of their books, and get ready for a great summer of writing!
Mini-Lesson Monday – July 9 – Kate Messner shares a mini-lesson on perspective and point of view using her new novel-in-documents Breakout as a mentor text.
Tuesday Quick-Write – July 10 – Traci Sorell, author of the upcoming picture book We are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, shares a quick writing prompt to get your pencils moving (or keyboards tapping – whichever you prefer!)
Q&A Wednesday – July 11 – Guest authors Grace Lin and Emma Otheguy are your hosts for Q&A Wednesday. They’ll be answering questions about writing in the comments section throughout the day. Grace is the Newbery Honor author of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and an upcoming picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star. Emma’s debut picture book biography, Martí’s Song for Freedom/Martí y sus versos por la libertad, came out last year.
Thursday Quick-Write – July 12 – Justina Ireland, New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation, joins us for a writing prompt that challenges campers to use anachronistic historical moments for character development – a fun way to understand a character on a deeper level and provoke a more meaningful character arc in a story.
Mini-Lesson Friday – July 13 – Michelle Cusolito, author of the nonfiction picture book Flying Deep: Climb Inside Deep-Sea Submersible ALVIN, shares a mini-lesson about writing & revising nonfiction.
Mini-Lesson Monday – July 16 – Anne Marie Pace, author of Vampirina Ballerina and Busy-Eyed Day, shares a mini-lesson on revising picture books.
Tuesday Quick-Write – July 17 – Debbi Michiko Florence, author of the Jasmine Toguchi chapter book series, shares a quick-write prompt on using traditions (cultural and family) to spark story ideas and creating characters.
Q&A Wednesday – July 18 – Mike Jung and Jess Keating are your hosts for Q&A Wednesday today! Mike’s latest middle grade novel is Unidentified Suburban Object. Jess’s nonfiction titles Pink is for Blobfish and Shark Lady.
Thursday Quick-Write – July 19 – Heidi Schulz, author of Hook’s Revenge, shares a prompt that challenges writers to look at setting as a lens for character.
Mini-Lesson Friday – July 20 – Erin Dionne, author of Lights, Camera, Disaster, shares a mini-lesson that challenges writers to take a closer look at sentence structure. She’ll offer tips for getting rid of passive voice, distancing words, etc.
Mini-Lesson Monday – July 23 – Sarah Albee writes MG nonfiction like Poison and Dog Days of History. Her mini-lesson is about how history is made up of the stories we choose to tell about the past, and how each generation writes its own history from its own historical present. 
Tuesday Quick-Write – July 24 – Hena Khan will share a writing prompt inspired by the first title in her new chapter book series, Zayd Saleem: Chasing the Dream: Power Forward. Hena also writes picture books (Golden Domes & Silver Lanterns and Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets) and MG novels (Amina’s Voice).
Q&A Wednesday – July 25 – Phil Bildner and Tanya Lee Stone are guest authors today. Phil is the author of the Rip and Red series, including Most Valuable Players. Tanya is best known for her nonfiction; her new picture book is Pass Go and Collect $200: The Real Story of How Monopoly Was Invented.
Thursday Quick-Write – July 26 – Jen Petro Roy, author of P.S. I Miss You and Ammi-Joan Paquette, author of The Train of Lost Things, team up today for a conversation and quick write that focuses on writing about tough topics for kids.
Mini-Lesson Friday – July 27 – Linda Urban’s new books are an early MG novel called Road Trip with Max and his Mom and a picture book called Mabel and Sam. Today, she’ll share a mini-lesson about notebooks and how writers might use them to inspire creativity and play.
Mini-Lesson Monday – July 30 – Chris Tebbetts, co-author of the Middle School series (Middle School: The Worst Years of my Life), shares a mini-lesson called “Three Steps to Character Dimension: Internal Conflict, Contradiction, and Shadow Traits.”
Tuesday Quick-Write – July 31 – Today’s writing prompt is from Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, author of Two Naomis and the forthcoming sequel Naomis, Too, both with Audrey Vernick.
Q&A Wednesday – August 1 – Meg Medina and Ann Angel are your hosts for our final Q&A Wednesday. Meg write picture books (Tia Isa Wants a Car) and YA novels (Burn Baby Burn), and her first middle grade novel, Merci Suarez Changes Gears, comes out in September. Ann Angel writes both fiction and nonfiction, including the YA biography Janis Joplin: Rise up Singing.
Thursday Quick-Write – August 2 – Tracey Baptiste, author of The Jumbies and Rise of the Jumbies, shares a prompt that challenges writers to think about nonverbal communication.
Friday Farewell – August 3 – Kate Messner & guests
And don’t forget that we’ll have Friday Feedback with Gae Polisner, Sunday check-ins with writer-educator Jen Vincent, and amazing writing prompts from Jo Knowles, who shares her Monday Morning Warm-Ups to kick off each week, too!
Every time I look at this lineup, I get more excited about the summer to come. And it’s almost time to get writing! Have you signed up for Teachers Write 2018 yet? Go ahead and do that now!
Then take some time to check out the links above. Buy some books. Get to know your guest authors. Follow them on Twitter & find them on Facebook if you like to hang out in those places, too. We’ll be back Monday, July 9th to get started!
Really looking forward to this summer.