EMC Authors Host Annual Writers Week

February 28 through March 4, Gary Anderson and Tony Romano, authors of EMC’s Expository Composition: Discovering Your Voice, are hosting the seventeenth annual William Fremd High School Writers Week. During this week-long celebration of writing, Fremd students, faculty, and staff learn about the art and craft of writing from nationally-known and local authors, as well as from Fremd student and faculty authors. Since its beginning in 1995, Writers Week has brought more than 200 writers to the Fremd campus in Palatine, Illinois.

Writer’s Week XVII guest writers include Chris Crutcher, Sierra DeMulder, Buddy Wakefield, Dave Cullen, Jonathan Eig, Billy Lombardo, Mary Fons, Julie Halpern, and Fremd alumni authors Daphne Willis ('05), Kathryn Janicek ('94), and Mark Buenning ('03).

I was lucky enough to attend a session on Writers Week presented by Gary Anderson and Tony Romano at NCTE last fall, and it was truly inspiring. To find out more about Fremd Writers Week, visit the website at http://fremdwritersweek.ning.com/.

Visit EMC Booth and Authors at NCTE in Orlando

Make sure to stop by the EMC booth at NCTE in Orlando this weekend! EMC Expository Composition: Discovering Your Voice authors Gary Anderson and Tony Romano will also be presenting Friday on topics pertinent to all language arts teachers. See the information below:

CREATING COMMUNITY THROUGH MENTORING: THE CARE AND TENDING OF NEW ENGLISH TEACHERS: Bright new colleagues enter our profession at the beginning of each school year. Most of them thrive, but some have career-threatening difficulties. We will examine why English/Language Arts teachers struggle within their first few years of teaching and discuss specific strategies that veteran colleagues can use to support them. Session: A.35 - 9:30 am to 10:45 am 11/19/2010; Format: Panel; Room: Coronado/Coronado Ballroom M Topic: Professional Development; Level(s): Middle (6-8), Secondary (9-12), College/University

WRITERS WEEK: HOW TWO SCHOOLS MAKE WRITERS INTO ROCK STARS: Writers Week transforms our schools into writing communities each year as students, faculty, and well-known authors converge to share and inspire writing. Learn how your school can develop such a program from teachers who have successfully hosted hundreds of author visits and created widespread interest in writing on their campuses. Session: D.28 - 2:30 pm to 3:45 pm 11/19/2010 Format: Panell; Room: Yacht & Beach Club/Grand Harbour Ballroom, Salon 1 Topic: Writing; Level(s): Middle (6-8), Secondary (9-12)

For more information on the conference go to http://www.ncte.org/annual

Don't miss it!!

EMC Authors present at IATE Conference

On October 22, EMC authors Tony Romano and Gary Anderson are presenting a session at the Illinois Association of Teachers of English conference: "Zapping Apathy: Creating a Sense of Community in the English Classroom." Romano and Anderson are coauthors of EMC's Expository Composition: Discovering Your Voice textbook. Romano was named 2010 Illinois Author of the year. For more information on the conference visit http://www.iateconference.org/.

Tony Romano named 2010 Illinois Author of the Year

EMC author Tony Romano has been tagged as the 2010 Illinois Author of the Year, and he'll be one of the featured speakers at Illinois Association of Teachers of English conference in October. Romano joins the ranks of esteemed authors who have previously won the award, such as Edgar Lee Masters (1974), Richard Peck (1977), Gwendolyn Brooks (1978), Carl Sandburg (1984), Sandra Cisneros (2003), Scott Turow (2007), and Li-Young Lee (2009).

Romano, who is one of the authors of EMC's Expository Composition book, has a website highlighting his published works, video, photos, etc. He includes a section on writing prompts that you can use in the classroom. http://www.tonyromanoauthor.com/Home_Page.html. Check out Tony's Facebook for updates.
On October 22, Romano and coauthor Gary Anderson will be presenting a session at the Illinois Association of Teachers of English conference: "Zapping Apathy: Creating a Sense of Community in the English Classroom."

Visit EMC at NCTE Booths 532-536

Visit the EMC Publishing booths 532-536 at the National Council of Teachers of English in Philadelphia, PA, November 19–22, 2009! Not only can you check out the Mirrors & Windows: Connecting with Literature program at the conference, but you can attend these relevant writing sessions by Gary Anderson and Tony Romano, EMC authors and teachers at William Fremd High School, Palatine.

“Creatively Bridging Nonfiction Reading and Writing to Make Learning Concrete”
SESSION: A.39 - 9:30 AM to 10:45 AM 11/20 Marriott/Franklin 5, 4th Floor • Format: Panel
Bringing high quality nonfiction experiences to the classroom helps students make connections to the world they live in. These presenters demonstrate how students can make sense of nonfiction and how it can be used as models to find their own voices.

High School Matters — “The College Application Essay: An Authentic Writing Project”
SESSION: DE.02 - 2:30 PM to 5:15 PM 11/20 Marriott/Grand Ballroom Salon G, 5th Floor • Format: Roundtable
College application essays provide teachers with a golden opportunity: motivated students combined with an authentic writing situation. Find out how to help your students write effective college essays while simultaneously providing pedagogically solid composition instruction. This is not for your college-bound seniors only! Other students can also benefit from this assignment. Participants will examine typical application prompts provided by colleges, as well as some that are a little on the wacky side. Participants will also learn how to advise students to effectively deal with any college application essay requirement they may encounter. Authentic successful student models will be provided and explained.

Gary Anderson and Tony Romano, authors of EMC's Expository Composition: Discovering Your Voice, veteran teachers, ILEMC authors, and organizers of Writers Week—the nation’s largest and most well-known high school writing celebration—present an approach to college application essays that will help students see the task as an opportunity rather than a highwire act. Anderson and Romano will demonstrate how composition concepts such as audience, purpose, mode, voice, and tone can be employed to help students confidently craft a college application essay that will not only make a favorable impression on admissions officers but also provide students with a meaningful reflection experience.