Baptiste Paul, Duncan Tonatiuh Headline Young Writers Conference

Baptiste Paul. File photo.

Plus, this week’s events at Write On

Writers Baptiste Paul and Duncan Tonatiuh will headline Write On, Door County’s Young Writers Conference, in downtown Sturgeon Bay, Feb. 24. 

Baptiste Paul is a Caribbean-born children’s book author whose debut picture book, The Field, was inspired by his childhood in St. Lucia. His stories are fueled by his passion for diversity, inclusion and uninhibited jwe (play.) 

Duncan Tonatiuh is an award-winning author-illustrator who grew up in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and went to college in New York City. His aim is to create images and stories that honor the past but pertain to children today.

The conference is for middle-school and high-school students interested in writing stories, poetry, games and more. 

Conference sessions will include performing poetry, movement and writing, playwriting, fiction, writing for games and podcasting. In addition to Paul and Tonatiuh, conference faculty includes Jen Aldrich, Abayomi Animashaun, Bryan Carr, Lachrisa Grandberry, Mauricio Kilwein Guevara and Janet Jennerjohn, Jane Hensge, Nicole Homer, Dan Powers and Andria Weliky.

Tuition is $80. Multiple scholarships are available, some specifically for students of color and LGBTQ+ students. Email Write On’s artistic director Jerod Santek at [email protected] to inquire about scholarship availability. 

This Week at Write On

A workshop on place-based writing will be held at Write On on Feb. 13, 10 am – 12 pm in conjunction with Door County Library’s annual winter literary festival, Door County Reads (DCR.) The workshop will explore places important to participants’ own lives, specifically the homes they’ve lived in, through generative prompts, writing time and discussion. 

The program is free, but registration is required as space is limited. Visit tinyurl.com/mrxeujkp to register.

Poets Annette Langlois Grunseth and Tori Grant Welhouse will lead a workshop on book marketing Feb. 15, 7-8 pm. The online class is $30 and will teach participants how to organize book promotion and engage readers.

Local poets Carrie and Peter Sherrill will lead Art/Speaks, a creative lab that guides participants in writing about visual art, on Feb. 16, 11 am – 12 pm. This session will be held at ARTicipation Gallery and Studio, 10 E. Oak St. in Sturgeon Bay.

For more information on Write On’s conference and events, visit writeondoorcounty.org.