Sundays are not known for being EPIC, and isn’t that a shame? By EPIC, I mean Extraordinarily Positive In Capacity. I mean Excitedly, Preposterously, Incurably Celebratory. Here at 826michigan, we think it’s time. And so, we present, for your consideration, Sunday, September 25. A Sunday so EPIC, we present it to you in THREE parts.
1. Philip and Erin Stead present “Basic Structures: Understanding the Picture Book Form.”
Join us as we continue our How to Write Like I Do series of writing workshops for adults! Picture books can be wildly different from one another in theme and tone. Yet their underlying structures remain the same. In this workshop, participants will explore the restrictions of the picture book format, then develop a simple story arch to fit within the most common format, the thirty-two page book. The workshop will include a question and answer session with the author and illustrator.
Philip C. Stead and illustrator Erin E. Stead are the co-creators of A Sick Day for Amos McGee, which was awarded the 2011 Caldecott Medal, the Charlotte Zolotow Honor for excellence in a picture book text, and was selected as a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2010. Philip and Erin live and work in Ann Arbor.
Tickets are $25 in advance (click here), or $30 at the door. This workshop takes places at 826michigan from 1-4pm. And yes, there will be Zingerman’s goodies as well as coffee and tea.
True enough, dear reader, that workshop in-and-of-itself is an epic event (as fans of Amos — I am raising my hand emphatically here as one of you — certainly know). But that’s not all, because this workshop will be followed by:
2. The official book release party for the 826michigan OMNIBUS, Vol. 3!
It’s no secret that the day one of our new publications is delivered is one of the most exciting days of the year for me. Welcome to today, then, friends; this very morning I opened one of the boxes that contains the 826michigan OMNIBUS, Vol. 3, and it is GORGEOUS.
This edition features work from all of our programs. It ALSO features: a poem that lists all kinds of cats (including dead ones), an ode to a football, and a poem about Photosynthesis Pizza, by a fifth grader named Francisco. Francisco’s been coming to 826michigan since he was six years old, and Sunday marks the day he will see the dream he’s had since then realized: Being published in the 826michigan OMNIBUS, Vol. 3.
Francisco will join nine of his newly published young writers Sunday night as our stellar line-up of student readers. The line-up, which we just put together, is, among other things, EPIC. It features several students who’ve been coming to 826michigan practically since we opened and highlights the very best work from this collection of our very best work. It is: Not. To. Be. Missed.
The 826michigan OMNIBUS release party will happen from 5-7pm, right here at 826michigan. And if Phil Stead and ten student readers isn’t EPIC enough for you, there will also be juice and snacks aaaaand:
3. Our annual Open House!
Come one, come all to our annual Open House! Learn about our clever and multifaceted programs from staff and volunteers. Watch slideshows of 826michigan in action! Eat snacks! Enjoy student readings! Revel in the glory that is an 826michigan book release party!
Our Open House will happen from 5-7pm at 826michigan. The public is invited to this free event, so feel free to bring along a friend or two.
Phew! EPIC, right? If you enjoy things like proud, excited young people; enthusiastic, creative adults; and cookies, 826michigan is almost certainly THE place for you this Sunday. Hope to see you all there!