Which authors are the best speakers and which are not so good? As I’ve decided not to name names, I can’t help you much here, but I will say this: I’ve never heard an author who was a really bad speaker. And I’ll give you one hint about the three best authors I’ve ever heard speak: they were all older, well-established, almost iconic figures in the world of children’s literature. For whatever reason, the individuals you would expect to be the sages of the world of children’s literature are, in fact, sagacious! (I’m not sure whether I should be surprised or unsurprised by this.) Younger or newer authors might be plenty entertaining or even enlightening in their own ways, but to hear one of the grand old figures of our field speak is to sit at the feet of the Oracle.
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This is a sidebar to my three-part Guide to SCBWI Conferences.
Other sidebars:
