Category: Uncategorized
-
Upcoming Songwriting Workshops
Write a Song as a Gift Two online sessions: Nov 10 and Nov 17 at 5:00-5:40 EST Create a song for someone you love in this two-part online workshop. We’ll create a rough draft during the first session and then refine that draft in the second workshop. We’ll be assisted in crafting our lyrics (something…
-
Holiday House
When my first book, The Word Eater, was published back in 2000 with Holiday House, I received a hot-off-the-press copy with a handwritten note from John Briggs, the publisher. John has retired, and Holiday House–the first publisher in the U.S. dedicated to only publishing books for children–is growing and changing in many ways. But in…
-
Writer’s Studio
“Each mini-workshop is like a gem.” For published pros as well as for those who have the desire to write and are just now giving themselves the permission. Join award-winning author Mary Amato and the company and community of writers via ZOOM for an unusual series of writing and revising sessions. Starting in September–Fridays…
-
Get Your Game On!
A book sale & fitness event to benefit nonprofit DC SCORES Game On! is the first book in a new series for ages 8-12 by award-winning author Mary Amato about a young athlete who is recruited to play in an interplanetary soccer tournament and must learn to train both mind and body for this high-stakes,…
-
Star Striker Trilogy
Star Striker is a series about thirteen-year-old Albert Kinney who is abducted by aliens to play in a high-stakes interplanetary sports tournament. Best for ages 10-12. Themes: cooperation vs competition, social and emotional learning, mindfulness, compassion, and social justice. Book One: Game On! (Holiday House, 2021; ISNB 978-0-8234-4911-8) Book Two: Touch and Go (Holiday House, 2022;…
-
Postcards from Mars
March 2021 Imagine you are an alien from another planet and you travel to earth. You see kids playing basketball. How would you describe it? You taste a cheese sandwich. How would you describe that? I gave West fifth graders the following challenge: choose an object and then describe it as if you are an…
-
Free Zoom/Skype Day
Free Zoom/Skype Day Every year, I offer on free Zoom/Skype day. During the year, I take reservations for time slots for free 15-minute Q-and A on a first-come, first-served basis. To schedule a free Q&A session, please email me info (at) maryamato (dot) com from your school/library email address with all of the following info listed…
-
Writing Devices
Introducing a new series of entertaining and educational videos, each focused on a different rhetorical device that you can employ to make your writing pop. These videos are brought to you by Firefly Shadow Theater. Watch them all and share them with writers, students, and teachers. We’ll be posting more videos as we create them. Stay…
-
Overcoming the Dragon of Fear
West Education Campus Residency December 11, 2020 When I join the first online session for my writing residency with West Education Campus, a handful of fifth graders are already on, talking to their teachers Ms. Wolf and Ms. Snell about the new video game they’re enjoying. The moment I pop into an online class always…
-
Introducing the Creative Momentum Collective
What is it? The Creative Momentum Collective is a membership-based collective of working artists who are each committed to a long-term creative project, such as a novel, a stage play, a series of paintings, etc. Each member joins with a specific project in mind and the intention to move that project forward. Once per month,…