Shadra Strickland – The Parallel Universe

After the Summit each year, we survey our attendees to see what they liked, what we can improve, and who they’d like to see at future events. In last year’s survey, one of our Summiteers recommended picture book creator Shadra Strickland saying, “her advice was game-changing!”

The more we got to know Shadra, the more excited we were to bring her expertise to you in one of this year’s Summit workshops!

Shadra’s workshop is The Parallel Universe of Authors and Illustrators.

What does it mean to “leave room for the illustrator?” What tools can writers use to think visually while writing? Likewise, how can illustrators pull words from their images? Author/Illustrator and Agent* Shadra Strickland shares how to get at the heart of your story by making sure both the text and the illustrations do an equal job in the storytelling—for both authors-only and author-illustrators.

Get to know Shadra:

Shadra Strickland studied, design, writing, and illustration at Syracuse University and later went on to complete her M.F.A. at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. She won the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2009 for her work in her first picture book, Bird, written by Zetta Elliott. Strickland co-illustrated Our Children Can Soar, winner of a 2010 NAACP Image Award. She has published with Lee and Low Books, Simon and Schuster, Random House, Candlewick, Chronicle Books, and Little Brown. Her books have received recognition from the American Library Association, Junior Library Guild, and other prominent literary lists. Shadra currently works and teaches illustration at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. She also developed an online picture book class at Craftsy.com.

Shadra is a delight, and we can’t wait to introduce her at The Write Stuff: Creating Picture Books That Are Out of This World on October 8, 2022.

If you’re ready to navigate the worlds of authors and illustrators, now’s the time to reserve your spot at Picture Book Summit 2022 with our special Early Bird pricing!