- Inside the Insiders’ Guide® to the Greater Tampa Bay Area
- Writing & Drama Workshops
- Why Grownups Should Read KidLit
- News Literacy / Children & the News Media
- Religious Drama: Yes! In Church!
- And more
I’m a bit of an anomaly.
I’ve read newspapers cover to cover for as long as I can remember. And, at a time when many news journalists made mid-life career decisions – voluntarily or not – out of the field, I jumped into the field of news journalism. For four years I wrote as a regular correspondent and columnist for Tampa Bay Newspapers, the weekly papers that are part of Times Publishing.
My other professional background is in small-business financial management in the construction industry and non-profit education field. My undergraduate degree, however, is in creative writing. Since 1989, I’ve also been a professional freelance writer. Many of my children’s stories, several of my church dramas, and some poetry have been published. And I write ad copy.
My graduate studies focused on the relationship between news organizations and the children in the communities they serve.
Did you know that one of the longest-running and most-widely read news publications of the 19th and early 20th century began from the children’s page of The Boston Recorder? Or that for 14 years Newsday published, in its ‘A’ section, the Student Briefing Page, an eight-page, ad-free insert targeted to upper-elementary and middle-school students that generated tens of thousands of letters to the editor each year from readers of all ages?
Did you know that much of the innovative work in producing news in print and online for and about children is being done in countries other than the United States?
Need more information about children’s news pages, writing for children, community journalism, or other writing services? Call or email me.
Books
Insiders' Guide® to the Greater Tampa Bay Area published by Globe Pequot Press (2010)
Liturgical Dramas published by CSS Publishing Company:
- Destination: Bethlehem (2004)
- Traveling Calvary’s Road (2007)
B.F.A. Creative Writing * Eckerd College, 2006
M.A. Community Journalism * University of Alabama, 2008
Knight Foundation Fellow in Community Journalism 2007-2008
Correspondent and Columnist for Tampa Bay Newspapers
Staff Writer The Anniston Star (Alabama)
Freelance Writer : St. Petersburg Times, Pockets Magazine for Children, KidMagWriters.com, et al. Member: Florida Press Club, International Reading Association, National League of American Pen Women, Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators
M.A. Community Journalism * University of Alabama, 2008
Knight Foundation Fellow in Community Journalism 2007-2008
Correspondent and Columnist for Tampa Bay Newspapers
Staff Writer The Anniston Star (Alabama)
Freelance Writer : St. Petersburg Times, Pockets Magazine for Children, KidMagWriters.com, et al. Member: Florida Press Club, International Reading Association, National League of American Pen Women, Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators
Ghostwriting, Copy Writing & Editing Services
Contact me at aander8130@gmail.com for more information
