Works in Progress -- An Online Experiment

[Aaron Shepard <AaronShep@AOL.COM>]

If you are working with young people in grades 3-6 in the first quarter of
1995, I invite you to take part in a collaborative online experiment in
literature and education.

Works in Progress is a program in which educators and librarians will receive
stories as email from an established children's author. These "works in
progress" have not yet reached final form. Participants will be asked to
share the stories with young people and to relay comments back to the author,
as well as to comment themselves.

While the author gains valuable feedback, kids will gain interest in and
appreciation of the creative process -- and both kids and adults will enjoy
the opportunity to influence stories headed for publication. There is no
charge for the program.

My publications include current and forthcoming books from Scribners,
Atheneum, Whitman, Clarion, Lothrop, Dial, and H. W. Wilson. I also appear
often in _Cricket_ and the _Cobblestone_ group. I live near San Jose,
California.

The stories selected for this program are "The Man Who Knew Everything: A
Tale of Iran," and "Nonviolence: A Buddhist Fable." Participants may respond
to one or both of the stories, with no obligation. Supplementary materials
include a letter to the kids, suggested questions for discussion, and an
author profile.

The requested response date is March 1. In March, I will send a note about
the comments I received and how I plan to use them. By May, I hope to send
revisions of the stories to show how they've changed.

To receive the materials, just send me an email request at one of the
addresses below. Unless I sent you this message personally, DO NOT REPLY
DIRECTLY TO THE MESSAGE SOURCE. (But please tell me what it was.) Stories
will be sent to the return address at the head of your email message, unless
you instruct me to ignore it. I regret I cannot send stories by regular mail
or fax.

This message is being posted to a number of lists and newsgroups, and I
apologize for duplication. Please feel free to repost it elsewhere,
especially on local networks I may not know about or have access to.

Aaron Shepard
AaronShep  (America Online)
AaronShep@aol.com  (Internet)
"If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where
they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay
alive." -- Barry Lopez

v. 1.0