Teaching the Versatility of Novels-In-Verse for Grades 3-8

Tina Cane, Author

Tina Cane is the founder and director of Writers-in-the Schools, RI, for which she works as a visiting poet. Over the past twenty-five years, Tina has taught French, English, and creative writing in public and private schools throughout New York City and Rhode Island. Her poems and translations have appeared ​in numerous publications. Her books include The Fifth Thought,Dear Elena: Letters for Elena Ferrante, Once More With Feeling, and Body of Work. Alma Presses Play, Tina's debut novel-in-verse for young adults readers, was released in September 2021 with Penguin/ Random House Books.

Sharon G. Flake, Author

Sharon G. Flake writes about African-American youth. She takes on tough topics and shine light onto people and places that society doesn’t always care to see. She is an inner city baby at heart, and communities like the one she grew up in shall forever remain in her blood. Voices from those communities can be heard in her novels. The challenges some of those teens face show up as well, along with their determination, ingenuity, and wit.

Mae Respicio, Author

Mae Respicio is author of the middle grade novels The House That Lou Built, Any Day With You, and How to Win a Slime War (out September 2021). She is the past recipient of a PEN Emerging Voices Fellowship and has been a writer-in-residence at Hedgebrook and the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Her writing & photography has been featured in many publications including Pregnancy Magazine, Working Mother Magazine, Patagonia, Pottery Barn Kids, Red Tricycle and The Bigger the Better the Tighter the Sweater: 21 Funny Women on Beauty, Body Image, and Other Hazards of Being Female (Seal Press), and she worked with the Filipino-American community of Los Angeles to edit the nonfiction book Images of America: Filipinos in Los Angeles (Arcadia Publishing). For many years Mae also worked at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, developing, implementing, and overseeing top notch literary events, creative and screenwriting courses, and helping to build a thriving literary community. Mae lives with her family in the suburban wild of Northern California.