Birthdays: Mary Kingsley (1862), Conrad Richter (1890), Arna Bontemps (1902), Richard Howard (1929), Dalene Matthee (1938), Mollie Katzen (1950), Colin Channer (1963), Emily Gould (1981)

Conrad Richter won the 1952 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “The Town”

Richard Howard won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for “Untitled Subjects”

Quote: “Give your teachers the respect they deserve, because they are the ones who can help you get where you need to go.” – Richard Howard

 “To some extent the shorter the writing assignment is, the harder it is to accomplish, and a blurb is 200 words max.” – Emily Gould

Tip: If an agent or publisher is charging you to print your book—run in the other direction. You should not have to pay, unless you’re getting the printing done by yourself.

Jumpstart: One Saturday in the fall, it finally happened… (use: peppermint, library, clock)