...and thanks for visiting!
photo by Alison Womack
Storytime with Juno and LunaChestatee Wildlife Preserve
photo by Donna H. BowmanHaiku workshop at SCBWI Southern Breeze Fall Conference
HAPPY 2012!
I hope your new year is starting off with inspiration and plans for creative endeavors. I started off the year presenting writing workshops with fourth and fifth grade students at Dyer Elementary School in January. What a talented, enthusiastic group of students! Next it was author/movie night at Kilough Elementary in early February - with a SIR MIKE/dragon theme. That was great fun. I'll be presenting for students in a tutoring program in Forsyth County this month, too.
In
SCBWI Southern Breeze, we're gearing up for our 20th Anniversary Springmingle, Feb. 24-26 in Atlanta, which I'm coordinating....
I'm also eagerly anticipating the release of Georgia Heard's anthology of found poems,
THE ARROW FINDS ITS MARK, from Roaring Brook Press in March. Two of my poems will be included! :0)
Also in March, I'll be presenting presenting a "Haiku How-To" workshop at the
43rd Annual Children's Literature Conference at the University of Georgia in Athens.
My haiku appears in the current issue of
Notes from the Gean and will appear soon in
Modern Haiku,
The Heron's Nest, and
A Hundred Gourds.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful new year. Thanks for stopping by, and make yourself at home!
HIGHLIGHTS FOUNDERS Advanced Illustrators Worskhop in August: our first session was led by the remarkable and ever-entertaining Eric Rohman. We had to make a relief print school picture of a pig which somehow reflected our personality. This is pretty much how I felt among all the talent in that room - faculty and attendees alike!
Robyn Hood Black (yes, that's her real name) is the author of Sir Mike, a rhyming Rookie Reader from Scholastic's Children's Press, and WOLVES, a nonfiction, interactive vault book from Intervisual Books. Her fiction has appeared in Highlights, and her poetry has appeared in Hopscotch for Girls and Berry Blue Haiku (which has also featured her artwork) and has been accepted by Ladybug. She's also been named assistant editor for Berry Blue Haiku's newest incarnation as an online journal. Two of her poems are slated to appear in Georgia Heard's upcoming anthology, The Arrow Finds Its Mark, scheduled for release in March from Roaring Brook Press. Her haiku has been accepted by several haiku journals.
Robyn began writing stories and drawing pictures while growing up in Orlando, Florida. Editor of her elementary school newspaper, she later graduated cum laude as a Phi Beta Kappa English major from Furman University.
Her smartest move was getting involved with the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She coordinated the 2007, 2008 and 2009 Springmingle, the SCBWI Southern Breeze spring conference in Atlanta. She will reprise this role for 2012 and 2013, and she coordinated a poetry retreat featuring Rebecca Kai Dotlich in June 2011. Robyn is thankful for great critique group friends who are insightful, fun, and supportive. And they make yummy food.
Robyn taught middle school English for two years before diving into writing full-time with the publication of Sir Mike. She now enjoys sharing her passions for writing and art through school visits and presenatations for all ages in community, festival, and professional settings.
She and her husband of 27 years are proud parents of a daughter and son, both teenagers. As animal-loving vegetarians, the family shares life with a large assortment of dogs and cats. Robyn volunteers with wolves at a local wildlife preserve.
Animals, the endeavors of her children, and memories of her own childhood are primary influences in her writing and art. She thanks God for the opportunity to participate in the gifts of love and creativity.
Poring through picture books at a library or bookstore is still a favorite, magical activity. Her two favorite books on writing are Brenda Ueland's If You Want to Write and Nancy Willard's Telling Time.
"I like to share this quote from Brenda Ueland with kids and adults alike," Robyn says. "Everybody is talented, original, and has something important to say."
photo© Robyn Hood Black
CHESTATEE WILDLIFE PRESERVE
Robyn enjoys volunteering with wolves at the
Chestatee Wildlife Preserve in north Georgia. (See pictures on the WOLVES page.) In July 2010, the preserve was blessed with an amazing baby - a zedonk! That's right - she was born to a donkey mother and a zebra father. This photo was taken when she was 16 hours old. Isn't she something?
photo© Robyn Hood Black
Summer 2011: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Pippi! Isn't she still adorable at a year old?
photo© Robyn Hood Black
Now, hold on to your hat. In the summer of 2011, ANOTHER baby zedonk was born to Sarah the Donkey. Can you believe it? She is an absolute delight - beautiful and frisky. She will be named by school children. If you're in north Georgia, drop by and see her at
Chestatee Wildlife Preserve.
Copyright 2005-2012 Robyn Hood Black. All rights reserved. Please ask permission before using any text or images on this website, except for reproducible
"4 Kids 2 Do" and "Press Kit" pages.