Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Author Stephanie Campisi Talks Mentor Texts


By Carrie Charley Brown

Many of you are in withdrawal after the whirlwind of daily education from ReFoReMo in March. So why not get down to business again? Today, we talk mentor texts with debut picture book author, Stephanie Campisi. 


Welcome, Stephanie, and thanks for joining us!  Happy Book Birthday!
Do you utilize picture books as mentor texts?  If so, how? 

I don’t use them as mentor texts as such, but I read widely, deeply and voraciously, and there’s no doubt that each book changes and affects me in some way. When you steep yourself in reading, it’s hard not to come away with new insights and ideas to apply to your own work – whether consciously or unconsciously.

How has reading picture books helped you discover who you are as a writer?

Picture books have helped me as a writer in all sorts of unexpected, delightful ways. They’ve given me permission to tap into my inner sense of whimsy, and to really think about what parts of a story need to be told explicitly, and which parts can be created through the reading process. They encourage you to put your trust in the reader rather than trying to assert your authorial voice all the time.

Between picture books, poetry and working as a copywriter specializing in packaging copy, I’ve become a lot better at focusing in on the essence of what I’m trying to convey or explore. (Well, except in interviews.) Given all the verbose, overwrought novel manuscripts I have hidden under my bed, it’s been an exciting turning point.



Were there any particular mentor texts that inspired you in the creation of your debut picture book, THE UGLY DUMPLING?

Hans Christian Anderson’s The Ugly Duckling was the inspiration behind The Ugly Dumpling, although I’ve taken just a few liberties with the text - I’m not sure that Hans would have been on board with a cockroach as a supporting character, but oh well! I was also – and still am – on a poetry kick at the time I began working on the book, which explains the free verse nature of the text. I love the way that the form of a poem can shape its reading, and I think that it lends itself perfectly to the picture book format, so it was exciting to be able to explore this at (relative) length.

Thanks for joining us today, Stephanie! Best wishes with your blog tour! To gather more about why you'll want to check out Stephanie's book as a mentor text, click HERE.


 
Stephanie Campisi is an Australian-born, Portland-based author who writes twisty odysseys involving strange characters and stranger plots. She credits shameless eavesdropping with the majority of her ideas, and is small and quiet enough that people readily share with her their tall tales and darkest secrets, which she then makes taller, darker, and occasionally more handsome. She suspects she might have made an excellent spy. She has slept in a cemetery, has a friend who was bullied by a prince, and has travelled from one end of Malaysia to the other on a very hot train with a pungent durian in her lap. Two of the three statements in the previous sentence are true. Or maybe they all are. The Ugly Dumpling is her picture book debut. You can follow her at www.stephaniecampisi.com or on Twitter @stephcampisi.

15 comments:

  1. Congratulations! This looks like a fun book!

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  2. Stephanie, thanks for a great interview. I can't wait to read your new book! It sounds like so MUCH fun!

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  3. Thanks for being our guest, Stephanie! This is such a fun read with deeper layers! Love it!

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  4. Wow! This looks like a great book. Can't wait to read it.

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  5. This book looks so cute-can't wait to read it! Thanks, Carrie :)!

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  6. Thank you, Stephanie, for sharing your writing tips. I look forward to reading your book :)

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  7. This book sounds like fun, and well, let Hans roll over in his grave. Perhaps he did that while you were sleeping there. :D

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  8. Enjoying all the stops on your book blog tour. The posts always make me crave dumplings!

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  9. Congratulations, Stephanie! Thank you for giving us a peek at your writing style.

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  10. Congratulations, Stephanie! I look forward to reading The Ugly Dumpling!

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  11. Thank you for your insights! I look forward to reading your book! Congratulations!

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  12. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about reading and writing picture books. Your book sounds wonderful! Can't wait to read it. :) Happy writing and reading!

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  13. I found your honest comments refreshing and I'm pleased to know you were born in Australia where we spent a year in 1978-79.We were in Canberra anc I taught high school then. As a result I now write for children so your title and reference to a cockroach friend is intriguing. I shall look for it.I love the way many writers use the old tales in anew way.

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  14. Hi Stephanie, i loved what you said about the parts of a story and putting the trust in the reader. It's so true and so hard to do! Thanks for sharing your wisdom!

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  15. Take a view at this app to explore tips and articles on spying and security issues.

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