Do you dream of being a writer? Do you have a vivid imagination and love to make up interesting stories and elaborate tales? DAnne Love knew she was a writer from a very young age.  Download the free video interview below and learn all about the wonderful books DAnne has written and the books she likes to read herself.

Do you remember on the video when DAnne says that she always knew she was a writer. “A writer who hadn’t been published yet, but still a writer.”

Maybe you’d like to be a published writer too. First you need a story.  The Children’s Book Council’s famous authors like Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events) and Mary Pope Osborne (Magic Tree House Series) give you the first few lines to get you started and then you finish the story. Click here for their story starters.

Do you have a completed story that you’re really proud of?  Send it to Stone Soup, www.stonesoup.com, a magazine written for and by kids. Look at their contributor guidelines for submission and send in your story. Also take a moment and listen to other young authors read aloud.

Creative Kids is the nation’s largest magazine by and for kids. The magazine bursts with games, stories, and opinions for and by kids ages 8–14.

Calling all girls!  New Moon is a magazine uniquely created by girls 8-14 filled with fiction, poetry, artwork, science, articles about the lives of girls and women around the globe. For their submission guidelines click here:

                       
And finally check out Kid Pub, www.kidpub.com, a web site for young authors from around the world.  Kid Pub Author’s Club charges a one-time fee of $6.95 for membership. Members are able to post stories, leave notes for friends, add the next paragraph to the Never Ending Story, enter their contests, and join in on other KidPub Author activities.

Recommended books from Bank Street Bookstore:

“The Puppeteer’s Apprentice” by DAnne Love
Simon and Schuster/ Margaret McElderry, 2004

“Semiprecious” by DAnne Love 
Simon and Schuster/ Margaret McElderry, 2006

Recommended movies (click on the thumbnail image to purchase):

To Kill a Mockingbird (Universal Legacy Series) (1962)
Starring: Gregory Peck, John Megna
Director: Robert Mulligan
DVD Release Date: September 6, 2005
Run Time: 130 minutes