FWA River City Writers Group
(Jacksonville)

The speaker for our November meeting on the 10th is Author-Illustrator-Musician-Encourager Chris Rumble.

School visits are a great way to market your book. Whether you are a pro at school visits, or a novice, Chris will bring a boat load of ideas and tricks of the trade to our November meeting.

The last 45 minutes of our meeting will be for 2 page critiques. Please bring 2 double spaced pages if you would like to participate.

As young, quirky child plagued with a speech impediment, Chris Rumble dreamed of growing up to be a cartoonist or a singer. Through a series of mind-boggling events that converged during his mid-twenties, Chris was enabled to overcome the stuttering that had for so long held him back. Since then, he has spent his days seeking to encourage young people, to convince them of their immense value, beauty and potential.

Today, as a school-visiting author-illustrator, his childhood dreams of cartooning and singing and the deeper dream of speaking fluently have all materialized to open doors for him to inspire hundreds of thousands of young people across the nation on a scale that he never could have imagined.

Chris’s most popular program is his one-of-a-kind READING PEP RALLY. With guitar in hand, he uses live music, live cartooning, character education, audience participation and loads of laughter to get students FIRED UP about reading and their own potential! Chris performs sing-alongs, the tunes of which your students will recognize. I'm a Believer becomes I'm a Big Reader. Twist and Shout becomes Read and Shout!, etc. They will join right in! Download music samples at chrisrumble.com!

Kids love his highly-illustrated Adventures of Uncle Stinky series (especially designed for reluctant readers!). Chris has taken his “ALL-IN-ONE” author event to over 500 schools and libraries coast to coast in the last six years

Our next meeting is October 13, 2009.

We are thrilled to have award-winning author Robyn Gioia speak on Traditional Publishing. Robyn, the author of America's REAL First Thanksgiving, will speak from 7 to 8 pm. Since the critiques of first pages were popular last month, from 8 until 8:45 pm we will break into small groups for critiques. Please bring 4 copies of any two pages (double spaced) from a work in progress.

Robyn teaches full time in Ponte Vedra, a community bordering St. Augustine, Florida, America's oldest city. It was the city's historical lure that enticed her to begin a nonfiction series for middle grade students. Her mission is to bring learning to life for her students. To bring it home so to speak so the child internalizes what’s being taught. She loves the journey as much as the kids.

Robyn has been active in children's literature since joining an eclectic group of writers during a three year stay in England. Since being introduced to the world of words, she has been penning tales and works ever since. St. Augustine, Florida Robyn has judged several national writing contests.

She has spoken at different national and local venues on a variety of children’s subjects ranging from an inside look at the popular Harry Potter Series to writing nonfiction. . She is currently a reviewer for "School Library Journal" where she enters the imaginary worlds created by rising and notable authors.

As a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and former Board Member of the Florida Writer's Association, she belongs to a core group of writers dedicated to advancing children’s writing.

If you have any questions about the FWA October neeting please contact Gregg Golson at 379-9839 or at gtgolson@comcast.net