Dialogue: Grotto Nights @ the Library - Writing Children’s Books

Grotto Nights is a monthly series at the Library featuring The Writers Grotto members who will showcase and discuss their writing around a theme of their choice. This month features Lisa Lerner, Britta Stromeyer, and Stephanie Wildman for a discussion of writing books for children, moderated by Matthew Felix. Lisa, Britta, and Stephanie will explain their own paths to publishing books in the children’s literature field, including their most surprising and most challenging discoveries. They will describe the children’s publishing landscape and how the field has changed. Lisa, Britta, and Stephanie will talk about the books that have inspired their own work and each read from one of their books. Finally, they will offer tips for aspiring kid lit authors and conclude with time for audience questions.

Lisa Lerner has been writing children’s fiction and nonfiction for educational publishers such as Scholastic and McGraw Hill for over 25 years. She is also the author of the crossover YA novel Just Like Beauty (New York Times Notable Book of the Year, currently in development with Lars Von Trier as a movie shooting in 2025). Long ago, Lisa was a professional rubber stamp cutter, children’s party entertainer, and NYC performance artist. Currently, she is a proud member of The Writers Grotto, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and serves as a juror for the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Competition, and trustee on the board of the Kingston Public Library in New York. In her spare time, she enjoys petting rabbits and eating cake. 

Connect: Lisa Lerner - Website | Lisa Lerner - Instagram 

Stephanie Wildman, author of five children’s books, Breath by Breath (2024) (illustrated by Estefanía Razo; translated into Spanish as Respiro a Respiro by Cecilia Pópulus-Eudave); Treasure Hunt (2022) (illustrated by Estefanía Razo; translated into Spanish as Búsqueda del Tesoro by Cecilia Pópulus-Eudave); and Brave in the Water (2021) (illustrated by Jenni Feidler-Aguilar; translated into Spanish as Valiente en el Agua by Cecilia Pópulus-Eudave), all from Lawley Publishing, became a Professor Emerita after serving as the John A. and Elizabeth H. Sutro Chair at Santa Clara Law. She directed the school’s Center for Social Justice and Public Service. Lawley will publish her fourth picture book Ghost Writer (co-authored with Cecilia Pópulus-Eudave and illustrated by Estefanía Razo) in 2024. Kar-Ben Publishing will release her fifth children’s book, Miri’s Moving Day (co-authored with Adam Chang, illustrated by Dream Chen) in 2024. Stephanie is a grandmother, mother, spouse, friend, good listener, and she can sit “criss-cross apple sauce” thanks to her yoga practice.

Connect: Stephanie Wildman - Website | Stephanie Wildman - Instagram 

Britta Stromeyer is the author of Look At Me. Who Do You See? praised by Maia Kobabe, author of Gender Queer as a “A sweet, sparkly story about letting your true self shine.” Britta’s first book Raina’s (Un) Happy Birthday is a picture book with a timely and empowering message—the importance of voice—to our children and youth. Raina’s story received the Gold Seal of the Mom’s Choice Awards and the Reader Views Literary Awards Honor for 2018-2019. It was also a StoryMonster Inc. Award recipient. Kirkus praised Raina’s story as “an excellent book for sensitive young readers.” Her flash appears in Flash Fiction Magazine, Bending Genres Journal. She was a finalist for the Bellingham Review Tobias Wolff Award for Fiction. Her nonfiction articles & essays have appeared in a variety of print & online magazines & journals including OCWW’s About Write, & Marin Independent, and Necessary Fiction (Oct 2024). She’s a member of the Writers Grotto, National Book Critics Circle, & PEN. Britta holds an MFA from Dominican University, CA, a Masters from American University, and a Certificate in Novel Writing from Stanford University. 

Connect: Britta Stromeyer - Website | Britta Stromeyer - Instagram 

Matthew Félix, moderator,  is the author of four books, a certified life coach, and a speaker. Publishers Weekly called his debut novel, A Voice Beyond Reason, “(a) highly crafted gem;” his With Open Arms was an Amazon Hot New Release and topped its Africa category; and, his most recent book, Porcelain Travels, was a Foreword INDIES Humor Book of the Year finalist. The former host of the San Francisco Writers Conference Podcast, Matthew regularly conducts interviews at San Francisco Bay Area bookstores and cultural institutions. He also ghost-writes, edits, designs, publishes, and markets books for other authors.

 Connect: Matthew Félix - website | Matthew Félix - Instagram

The Writers Grotto is a community of working writers and narrative artists who connect in physical and virtual space, pooling our talents to support each other, mentor and teach others, and engage the wider world. The Grotto fosters a literary culture that is generous in spirit and deeply inclusive, elevating writers of all backgrounds.

Conenct: The Writers Grotto - Website | The Writers Grotto - Instagram | The Writers Grotto - Facebook