I would love to come talk at your school, either in-person or virtual! Please email me at doanphuong.h.nguyen @ gmail.com for more information!
I have a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and I offer presentations, readings, workshops, and Q&As for your children centered around my books, storytelling in general, how to become an author and more!
My middle grade novel, Mèo and Bé (published May 2023 from Lee and Low/Tu Books) is a historical fiction, set during the Vietnam War, about an eleven-year-old girl and her three-footed kitten, who rise above the injustices of war and lost family to find their happy ending.
I can speak about what life during the Vietnam War was like; my inspiration, how my family history tied into the writing of this novel; and more. There are also two Vietnamese fairy tale/myths that I used and shared in this novel, so I can share those stories with your students!
STORYTIME with Doan Phuong Nguyen
A presentation that includes an introduction about me, a reading from my book, the inspiration and the real story behind the novel and how I fictionalized my family history to create a completely different story, and Q& A with the kids!
HOW AN IDEA BECOMES A PUBLISHED BOOK
In this presentation, I will discuss the journey of how an idea (even a seed of an idea) can become a published novel. I will discuss my own journey, my educational path, and the steps I took to become a published author. I will also discuss the important steps in the writing process – how to get inspiration, how to transform that seed of inspiration into an idea, drafting and outlining (pantsers vs outliners), revision, editing, and publishing. The session ends with an author Q&A.
VIETNAMESE FAIRY TALES
In this presentation, I will introduce children to some popular Vietnamese Fairy Tales and myths, including the two that made it into my novel, Mèo and Bé. I will briefly discuss the roots of why fairy tales are told, and give examples and ideas on how to craft their own stories.
CINDERELLA STORIES ACROSS CULTURES AND TIME
My thesis in grad school for my MFA degree was about Cinderella retellings and how they’ve changed across culture and time. I traced the earliest written Cinderella tale in Ancient China, and discussed how it changed as it moved across different cultures (like Vietnam) in Asia, and then how it changed when it found its way to Europe and became the version that you know today. I can adapt this for your students, depending on their age level.
CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS
Because I have an MFA in Creative Writing, I would love to run workshops for children of all ages on writing topics. Below are some ideas of workshops that I could run for children:
* Developing a well-developed character
* Setting and world building
* Story arcs and the structure of stories
* A nature walk and using what we find to write description
Please email me at doanphuong.h.nguyen @ gmail.com for more information!
