1.) When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve loved writing all of my life. While my friends were out playing soccer or doing theater, I was dreaming up stories and poems. My grandfather was a writer. While my grandmother was at the mall, he would sit and write stories about the people he saw and things he felt. He fostered my love of books and writing. When I was in third grade he came as an honored author to my class. My dream of becoming an author was solidified on that day.
2.) What do you love most about the writing process?
I love the blank page. I love the feeling of promise it brings. For me, there is peace in that moment right before the words begin. I forget about my outline. I forget about the revisions to come. There’s a little bit of magic before my thoughts come spilling forward.
3.) What do you love most about teaching writing?
I love seeing the spark in my students’ eyes when they feel encouraged to keep going. Seeing their stories take shape and how they become more confident in their critiques and writing is such a gift.
4.) What are you reading right now?
Right now in Kidlit I am digging into early reader books. I am beginning to write my own and the best way to grow as a writer is to be a reader. I am particularly enjoying Scholastic Acorn’s series- Mr. Shivers. In picture books a recent favorite is Old Friends by Margaret Aitken. In adult books, I recently read The Midnight Library for my book club and really enjoyed it.
5.) What’s your favorite writing quote?
“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”
― Madeleine L’Engle
Lisa Cloherty is teaching a six-week Writing for Young Children: Picture Books, Board Books or Early Readers in person at the workshop on Wednesday mornings this summer, beginning June 21st.
Madelin Parsley grew up in the panhandle of Nebraska. She holds an M.F.A. in fiction from Vanderbilt University, and her short stories have appeared in Ploughshares and Narrative Magazine. She’s currently working on a novel about five siblings, two small towns, and a family dynamic that is shaped and reshaped
Instructor Michael Belanger is an author and high school history teacher. His debut novel, The History of Jane Doe, was a finalist for the Connecticut Book Award and received a Kirkus starred review. More recently, his writing has appeared in Flash Fiction Magazine, Pigeon Review, Bright Flash Literary Review, and the 2025 Connecticut Literary Anthology.
