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From Idea to Submission: Building a Children’s Poetry Collection

$69.00 $85.00

A live 2-hour workshop with Georgia Heard and special guest editor Rebecca M. Davis

Spots fill up fast! Register today. Early bird special through Feb 1!

Date: Wednesday, March 18

Time: 7:00 - 0:00 pm (ET) on Zoom (recording provided)

Many poets write strong individual poems, but a publishable children’s poetry collection requires more: a clear, compelling book idea and a purposeful structure that editors can immediately see and imagine on their list.

In this live, two-hour workshop, Georgia Heard will guide you beyond single poems and into book thinking: how to discover the unifying vision, emotional throughline, and structural shape that turn individual poems into a cohesive, irresistible manuscript. We’ll focus on what makes a poetry collection feel intentional, distinctive, and complete.

We’ll then be joined by special guest editor Rebecca M. Davis, former editor at Astra Books for Young Readers and a longtime editor of many beloved children’s poets. Rebecca will share how editors read poetry collections, what helps a manuscript rise above the rest, and how she thinks about shaping and refining a collection from an editorial perspective. If time allows, she’ll offer brief feedback on a few participants’ collection concepts and close with a Q&A.

✨ Note: If you’ve taken Georgia’s children’s poetry collection workshop before:
This session will be entirely new, with fresh material, new examples, and the invaluable perspective of a seasoned children’s poetry editor.

You’ll leave with:

  • A stronger, clearer book-level idea for your poetry collection

  • Tools for shaping a manuscript editors can see as a book

  • Insight into how children’s editors evaluate poetry collections

  • Practical next steps for revising or developing your manuscript

This workshop is designed for children’s poets, writers, and educators from early-stage idea seekers to writers deep into a manuscript who want sharper focus and editorial clarity.

A live 2-hour workshop with Georgia Heard and special guest editor Rebecca M. Davis

Spots fill up fast! Register today. Early bird special through Feb 1!

Date: Wednesday, March 18

Time: 7:00 - 0:00 pm (ET) on Zoom (recording provided)

Many poets write strong individual poems, but a publishable children’s poetry collection requires more: a clear, compelling book idea and a purposeful structure that editors can immediately see and imagine on their list.

In this live, two-hour workshop, Georgia Heard will guide you beyond single poems and into book thinking: how to discover the unifying vision, emotional throughline, and structural shape that turn individual poems into a cohesive, irresistible manuscript. We’ll focus on what makes a poetry collection feel intentional, distinctive, and complete.

We’ll then be joined by special guest editor Rebecca M. Davis, former editor at Astra Books for Young Readers and a longtime editor of many beloved children’s poets. Rebecca will share how editors read poetry collections, what helps a manuscript rise above the rest, and how she thinks about shaping and refining a collection from an editorial perspective. If time allows, she’ll offer brief feedback on a few participants’ collection concepts and close with a Q&A.

✨ Note: If you’ve taken Georgia’s children’s poetry collection workshop before:
This session will be entirely new, with fresh material, new examples, and the invaluable perspective of a seasoned children’s poetry editor.

You’ll leave with:

  • A stronger, clearer book-level idea for your poetry collection

  • Tools for shaping a manuscript editors can see as a book

  • Insight into how children’s editors evaluate poetry collections

  • Practical next steps for revising or developing your manuscript

This workshop is designed for children’s poets, writers, and educators from early-stage idea seekers to writers deep into a manuscript who want sharper focus and editorial clarity.

Cancellation Policy: Please be advised that we cannot accommodate cancellation or refund requests for The Poet’s Studio courses.


About the Hosts

Rebecca M. Davis has been editing children’s books for thirty-five years, including approximately six years each at Greenwillow Books and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, and thirteen years at Boyds Mills Press/Astra Young Readers. Throughout her career, she has had a special love for poetry. Most recently, she was the Editorial Director of the Astra Young Readers and Wordsong imprints. Rebecca has earned a range of honors including Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Michael L. Printz Honor, Robert F. Sibert Informational Honor, and Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Awards. Authors and illustrators that Rebecca has had the joy of publishing include Nikki Grimes, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Georgia Heard, Janice L. Harrington, Chris Barton, and Matthew Cordell.

Georgia Heard received the 2023 Excellence in Poetry for Children Award which honors a living American poet for their aggregate work for children ages 3-13. She is the founder of The Poet’s Studio and has taught at Poet’s House, Teachers College, Columbia University, Gothenburg University, and in schools around the world. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Writers’ Workshop.

She is a founding member of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and the author of 19 books. Her most recent poetry book & journal is A Field Guide to the Heart: Poems of Love, Comfort & Hope (co-authored with Rebecca Kai Dotlich), and an anthology of poetry The Woman In This Poem: Women’s Voices in Poetry. She is also the author of several children’s poetry books including Welcome to the Wonder House (Random House), My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness (Macmillan), and Boom! Bellow! Bleat! Animal Poems for Two Or More Voices (Astra Books for Young Readers).