Authors ink their way to Newport-Mesa schools

Deirdre Newman

NEWPORT-MESA -- The school district is a literary mecca today since 30

children’s authors are visiting the various elementary schools as part of

the annual Authors Festival.

The authors-in-residence for the day will share with students the

process they use to write their books, including galley proofs and

publishing strategies.

The festival, which began six years ago, enables students to learn the

ins and outs of writing from the experts.

“It builds a bridge between the writer and the child who suddenly

realizes that books are made by people,” said Joan Hansen, festival

co-chair.

The festival begins with a breakfast program at Newport Beach Public

Library, which will feature the three student winners of the districtwide

Authors Festival Bookmark Contest.

Then the authors will disperse to the different elementary schools to

give their presentations.

Joan Pizzo, who has written about the Back Bay area, will visit Sonora

School in Costa Mesa. Last week, Principal Lorie Hoggard sent her

students on a field trip to Shellmaker Island to prepare for Pizzo’s

visit.

The festival also boasts its own poet laureate, Michael Glueck, who

writes an annual poem based on the theme of the festival. This year the

theme is “Get Carried Away . . . Read.”

FYI

The winners of the Bookmark Contest are: Makenna Flotron, a

kindergartener at Newport Elementary; Elena Valeriote, a second-grader at

College Park; and Jasmine Werdel, a fifth-grader at Harbor View.