Kids’ author shares tips, stories on genre


April Halprin Wayland Courtesy photo

April Halprin Wayland Courtesy photo

April Halprin Wayland, an award-winning author of children’s books and young adult novels, will present “How Many Books Do You Write in a Week? The Adventures of a Children’s Author” at 1 p.m. Sat., Jan. 12 at the San Fernando Valley chapter of the California Writers Club.

The chapter meets in the Saban Community Room on the Motion Picture and TV Fund campus, 23388 Mulholland Drive, Woodland Hills.

The author of seven picture books, poetry and a young adult novel, Wayland will tell the behind the-scenes story of some of her books and how she motivates herself to continue writing.

“If you’ve always wanted to write for children, this could be your golden ticket to this genre,” said Wayland. “And if you haven’t ever wanted to write for children, come peek over the garden wall anyway. Find out what it’s like to live in the ‘Kidlosphere.’”

Wayland taught at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program for 20 years and received the Outstanding Instructor of the Year Award.

The author’s books include “More Than Enough: A Passover Story,” “It’s Not My Turn to Look for Grandma!” and “New Year at the Pier, A Rosha Hashanah Story,” which was named Best Jewish Picture Book and winner of the Sydney Taylor Gold Book Award.

In addition, she won the Myra Cohn Livingston Award for “Girl Coming in for a Landing: A Novel in Poems” and has received seven poetry awards from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

She blogs with five children’s authors at TeachingAuthors.com.

Born and raised in Santa Monica, Wayland graduated from UC Davis with a degree in human development. She has traveled to Europe and worked on a kibbutz in Israel.

After working for a Fortune 500 corporation, she left her job to write full time.

The California Writers Club is open to writers in all genres. Monthly meetings are held on the first Saturday. Guests who attend will be asked to donate $5.

For details, visit cwc-sfv.org. For more about the author, go to aprilwayland.com.