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LOUISE
NEW downloadable STUDY GUIDES
check out the Study Guides section below
A founding faculty member of the nation’s first MFA Program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, Louise currently teaches at Vermont as well as at Meredith College's annual women's writing retreat, Focusing on Form, and at Mainely Writing, a small-group summer workshop on beautiful Penobscot Bay in Maine. She has presented at SCBWI retreats, colleges and conferences nationwide, and has served as a Writer in the Schools at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels. She brings energy and excitement about writing into every classroom and lecture hall. Whether addressing a group of teachers, adult writers, or students, Louise talks with her audience, not at them.
Dear Ms. Hawes,
If it wasn't for this workshop, I never would have realized that I had the potential to write fiction. Neither would I have had the tools and knowledge to exploit that potential. Thank you for giving them to me.
Scott T.
Dear Ms. Hawes,
I really enjoyed Author Day with you. I'm still working on my story. I'm thinking about being an author when I grow up or a weather person I have not decided. I told all my friends about you they said I was lucky to get your autograph!
Sincerely, Janet L.
Dear Louise,
We had a media specialists' meeting yesterday and I
wanted you to know that everyone was gushing about how great you were at
the Young Author's celebration...Also, the fact that your talk was directed
towards the kids was very cool...You rock!
Many people have been singing your praises!
Adrienne B, Media Specialist
Louise talks to a teen library reading group.
Large Groups
Louise is a former actress, and makes every talk a fun performance. Laughter, warmth, and learning characterize her addresses, whether she’s dealing with two or two hundred listeners. In her large group discussion, "I Led Two Lives," she tells audiences about the financial security and celebrity she enjoyed as the author of a best-selling series, Sweet Valley Twins. Then she reports on her less wealthy, less famous, and much happier life as the author of literary novels like Rosey in the Present Tense (Walker and Company), Waiting for Christopher (Candlewick Press.), and The Vanishing Point (Houghton Mifflin). Sprinkled with readings from both the series and the novels, this presentation makes clear the difference between formula and serious fiction. By the end of the session, students are able to pick out clichés and stereotypes, as well as to identify sensory detail, fresh language, and interior monologue.
Small Writing Workshops
There are several ways to approach the workshops Louise gives at schools. Teachers often pass out sign up sheets in advance of Louise’s visit, securing the most interested new writers for these special sessions. Others prefer to choose the top writers from several classes. However your school recruits students for these small (12 to 14 students works best) labs, participants are in for a fun, intense, and future-changing experience: Young writers will learn how to develop fully dimensional characters, using free writes to flesh out strengths and weaknesses. Each student will leave the session with a compelling story of their own well underway. (Louise loves working with new writers as young as four and five! Kindergarten and elementary teachers, please ask about her sessions for this age group.)
Libraries, Conferences, Book Clubs
Louise has presented overseas, across the country, and throughout her home state of North Carolina. Her appearances as guest author, lecturer, and teacher have included sessions at ALA, NCTE, AWP, Suncoast Writers Conference, Southern Festival of Books, the University of New Mexico, Staten Island College, American schools in Italy, Novello, NC Reading Association, NC Literary Festival, NC Writers Network, NC English Teachers Association, Durham Public Library's Summer Reading Festival, Bookmarks Festival of the Book, UNC-Chapel Hill and Charlotte, and Duke University.
Sometimes it takes a literary critic to show an author what she's writing about! A few years ago, a student sent Louise an essay comparing and contrasting three of her novels. The student reported that a common theme of "strong women" united these books. Now groups frequently request Louise's presentation, "Go, Girl!" This lively survey includes discussions of several of the strong women characters Louise has created: Lavinia Fontana, the Italian Renaissance painter and protagonist of her historical novel, The Vanishing Point; 14-year old Feena Harvey, who kidnaps an abused toddler in Waiting for Christopher; Rosey Mishimi, the unforgettable teen whose death is mourned in Rosey in the Present Tense; and Muti, the Egyptian slave girl who triumphs in Muti's Necklace. Louise reads scenes from these books to illustrate the obstacles each young woman faces, as well as the determination and courage with which she overcomes them. An engaging, informative presentation, this session should appeal to both teens and adults.
Conferences, libraries, junior high and high school groups interested in this presentation should contact Louise at: mail@louisehawes.com.
Study Guides
Please Note: To download study guides for Louise's books, you'll need a free copy of the
Adobe Acrobat reader.●
If you work with junior high or high school students, download the Houghton Mifflin Study Guide for The Vanishing Point.●
If you work with kindergarten or elementary students, download a study guide for Louise's picture book, Muti's Necklace.More Information
WHAT IT COSTS
Louise does a limited number of free visits to inner city schools whose budgets will not accommodate author visits. Otherwise, her honorarium is the same, $1200 a day, regardless of the venue or the program. Each school visit should include no more than one large-group presentation and two small class or workshop sessions. Louise also requests that schools and clubs order two of her titles from a local bookstore at least six weeks before her visit. She will gladly sign her books (not pieces of paper, please!) for any student who purchases one. E-mail her via the link above for a brochure, and for ways you can customize a visit for your school or group.
PAYING THE PIPER
After your school has seen how much school visits excite students and boost reading and writing skills, you'll want to make sure your annual budget includes an allotment for your Visiting Author Program. If you don't yet have one, though, and Title I funding isn't available, you might want to consider raising money through PTA sales and events or through grants. Be sure to check out http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/ ; this is the website of the Library of Congress' Center for the Book. Just click on the link to State Center Affiliates to find the Center in your state and to apply for opportunities in your area. And for helpful information about writing grants and other grant opportunities, refer to your State Arts Council or to School Grants at http://k12grants.org/. Good luck!