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An Evening with the Authors
Tuesday, Mar. 14 | 6:30–8:00pm | All ages | WSEC, Board Room | 500 Washington St., Chelsea
Once again, CDL is pleased to host award-winning authors for children! The general public is invited to An Evening with the Authors, our community event where you will hear from all three nationally-known Authors in Chelsea, have a chance to ask questions, and purchase books to be signed (courtesy of Serendipity Books). Have you ever wondered what the writing process is like for a published author? How do they develop characters and setting? What’s it like writing for young children, versus tweens and adults? An Evening with the Authors is your chance to find out! Come ready with your questions about reading and writing for this very special community event! Read on to learn about this year's lineup.
FREE BOOKS for the first 20 families at An Evening with the Authors! Be one of the first families to arrive at this community event, and receive a coupon to select one free book from Serendipity Book's table. One per household; valid only at An Evening with the Authors.
Meet the 2023 lineup!
Every year, Authors in Chelsea endeavors to bring in authors that are engaging for both children and educators alike. Our goal is to encourage children to explore the art and craft of writing in order to better read and appreciate literature and explore the “power of writing.” Through close personal contact with award-winning authors, students work to improve their creative writing and reading skills and be inspired to excellence.
David LaRochelle
David LaRochelle has been creating books for young people for over thirty years. First and second grade students at North Creek Elementary will be delighted by his many picture book and early reader titles, including The Best Pet of All, How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans, See the Cat: Three Stories about a Dog, and Moo! Mr. LaRochelle is the recipient of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, the Sid Fleischman Humor Award, and multiple children’s choice awards. A former elementary school teacher, David still visits many classrooms around the Midwest and across the country each year, talking with students about books, writing, and illustrating. When he is not creating new books, he loves to go geocaching, play board games, and carve unique jack-o’-lanterns. He lives in White Bear Lake, MN. Learn more on David's website.
Naomi Shihab Nye
Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet and author of more than 30 works for children, teens, and adults and was honored as the 2019-21 Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. Ms. Nye uses stories to find the shared humanity that connects us all, and her work is heavily influenced by her Palestinian-American heritage and world travels. Amongst many other honors, her 2002 poetry collection 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East was a finalist for the National Book Award. South Meadows students will be reading some of Ms. Nye’s more recent works for children, including the novels Turtle of Oman and Turtle of Michigan, and the poetry collections Cast Away and Everything Comes Next. Ms. Nye travels to Chelsea from Texas, and previously she has also called St. Louis and Jerusalem “home.” Sample some of Ms. Nye's work via her page on the Poetry Foundation.
Pablo Cartaya
Pablo Cartaya is an internationally acclaimed author, screenwriter, speaker, and educator. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, and NBC. Mr. Cartaya has worked with Disney, Apple+, and Sesame Street on projects adapted from television series and movies. He has taught creative writing workshops and spoken at various universities and conferences throughout the world. He calls Miami home and Cuban-American his cultura. The Beach 6th graders will be reading The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora, which was a 2018 Pura Belpré Honor book for outstanding youth literature as written by a Latino/Latina author. Catch up with his latest works on his website.
2023 Events
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Authors in Chelsea – An Evening with the Authors
The whole community is invited to meet our 2023 Authors in Chelsea as they chat about writing, finding inspiration and new ideas, and so much more, followed by a book signing session. Come ready with questions! Books will be available to purchase courtesy of Serendipity Books.
6:30–8:00pm | All ages | WSEC Center, Board Room | 500 Washington St., Chelsea
March 14-15, 2023
In the Classroom
During the school day, Chelsea students in grades 1-6 will attend presentations and workshops led by their school's author.
Click on each author's name to visit their websites for teacher resources and more information.
North Creek Elementary — David LaRochelle
South Meadows Elementary — Naomi Shihab Nye
Beach Middle School — Pablo Cartaya
Learn about the History of Authors in Chelsea
Every year, Authors in Chelsea endeavors to bring in authors that are engaging for both children and educators alike. Over the years, a wide variety of writers have been invited to Chelsea, including award-winning authors Jennifer Holm, Kenneth Oppel, Gary Schmidt, Nancy Shaw, and many others! Click here to discover more about past Authors in Chelsea.
Special Thanks to the following organizations for their support of this program.
