Welcome Scribblers, Writers, Dreamers!
ANNOUNCEMENT:
World-Building with Heart in Fantasy & Magical Realism
with Jennifer Givhan
Saturday, November 15, 2025 1pm - 4pm PST on Zoom
Award-winning author and poet Jennifer Givhan invites children’s book writers on a journey into the heart of worldbuilding and myth-making. In this generative, craft-focused session, Givhan—whose upcoming middle-grade novel Pi Luna and the Turquoise Palace reclaims Mexica (Aztec) storytelling and centers Indigenous girlhood—will guide participants in creating immersive worlds and unforgettable characters rooted in cultural authenticity and emotional truth.
Together, we’ll explore:
- Techniques for building atmospheric yet accessible magical worlds
- Creating spunky, deeply human characters young readers will love
- Drawing from personal, ancestral, and mythological sources to enrich fantastical narratives
- Weaving oral storytelling, history, and tradition into modern children’s literature
Whether you're writing fantasy, magical realism, or contemporary with a touch of the otherworldly, this workshop offers tools and inspiration to craft stories that honor the past while dreaming fiercely toward the future.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
JENNIFER GIVHAN is a Mexican-American and Indigenous poet and novelist from the Southwestern desert and the recipient of poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and PEN/Rosenthal Emerging Voices.
She holds a Master’s degree from California State University Fullerton and a Master’s in Fine Arts from Warren Wilson College. She is the author of eleven books of poetry and fiction, including Girl With Death Mask (chosen by Ross Gay as the winner of the Blue Light Book Prize/Indiana Review Press), and the novel Trinity Sight, which was a finalist for the Arizona-New Mexico Book Awards and won The Southwest Book Award. Her latest novel River Woman, River Demon was chosen for Amazon’s Book Club and as a National Together We Read Library Pick and was featured on CBS Mornings. It also won an International Latino Book Award in the Rudolfo Anaya Latino-Focused Fiction category.
Her poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction have appeared in American Poetry Review, The New Republic, The Nation, POETRY, TriQuarterly, The Boston Review, The Rumpus, Salon, Ploughshares, and many others. She’s received the Southwest Book Award, New Ohio Review’s Poetry Prize chosen by Tyehimba Jess, Phoebe Journal’s Greg Grummer Poetry Prize, the Pinch Journal Poetry Prize chosen by Ada Limón, and Cutthroat’s Joy Harjo Poetry Prize.
Givhan has taught at the University of Washington Bothell’s MFA program as well as Western New Mexico University and has guest lectured at universities across the country. She is currently the Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at The University of New Mexico.
Her newest novel SALT BONES is coming this July from Mulholland/Little, Brown.
JENNIFER'S NEW BOOK
Purchase Jennifer's books here:
Register for the workshop here
Whether you seek a community of like-minded authors, dream of becoming a published author, or simply want to pursue and explore your writing hobby, joining a writing group like the Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles will help you. CBW–LA offers critique groups and sessions, writing workshops, guest lectures, write-ins at local coffee shops, networking, writing support, and even publishing opportunities for our members and guests. Every month, there's something interesting on our calendar! Once you've had a look around, be sure to check out OUR NEWSLETTER at medium.com for thoughts on writing. | Upcoming events
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HISTORYAlthough the group's main focus is on writing for children, we welcome writers of all kinds, as well as those who love to read children's books. Founded in 2010, we branched out to start publishing our members in 2013 through our annual Story Sprouts Writing Day Workshop. We have two Writing Resources and Anthologies under our belt: Story Sprouts and Story Sprouts: Voice as well as a collaborative Middle Grade novel called Kayla Wayman, Teen Time Traveler: Lost in the Stream. Story Sprouts: Setting and Story Sprouts: Conflict are currently in development, as well as a yet-unnamed Middle Grade collaborative novel about a boy who gets sucked into his video game. Look for those soon. We encourage you to attend the annual workshop and buy a copy of the previous Story Sprouts; they make an excellent writing resource, brimming with high quality poetry, short fiction and nonfiction by our Story Sprouts authors. MISSION AND PURPOSEOur workshops provide tips and lessons on the craft and business of writing. You'll learn how to create characters so real, they practically jump off the page, weave storylines to make an interesting plot, revise and edit your manuscript, write and submit query letters to agents and editors, and how the publishing industry works. You can get helpful feedback on your manuscript through our critique sessions, and our creative writing sessions help in sparking the next great idea, or simply help you improve your writing skills so you can find your voice and style. MEMBERSHIP AND EVENTSEvents are open to members and non-members alike. Members get great discounts on our workshops and free access to our critique sessions. Be sure to RSVP to reserve your space at any event. We offer many takeaways and have limited space, so we want to make sure you get the most out of your experience. HOW TO JOIN(Online form currently down) To send a check, download the membership form below and mail it along with your payment to: CBW-LA
| OUR BOOKS
Kayla Wayman, Teen Time Traveler: Lost in the Stream A Story Sprouts Middle Grade Collaborative Novel
Story Sprouts |
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