EVENTS — Ann Jacobus

Events & Appearances

2025

February 21-22 - Teen Bookfest By the Bay, Corpus Christi, TX

2024

November 21-24 - Boston, MA, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual convention: Panel presentation “Teaching With Books That Open Hearts, Offer Hope, and Provide Connection Around Mental Health” sponsored by SCBWI.

July 16 - Edgartown Yacht Club Lunch With a View, Edgartown, MA

April 16-19: Texas Library Association panel, San Antonio, TX

March 12-15: Writers Week, Los Altos High School, Los Altos, CA, school visit

February 7: WORLD READ ALOUD DAY! Foster High School in Richmond, TX

2023

November 28: Guest host on Reimagine’s100th Virtual Vigil on Giving Tuesday, “Gathering of Grief”

October 21: Faculty for SCBWI SF North & East Bay OKTOBERFEST conference in San Ramon, CA. Character and Crisis Writing Workshop

October 4: Jason Dehart Podcast interview @ Words, Images & Worlds

September 27: “The Art, Craft, & Business of Writing,” on the Dartmouth College Eighty-One Network

August 20: The Writing Barn Craft Presentation with Nancy Bo Flood: Writing About Mental Health in Fiction for Young Readers

July: KALW San Francisco New Arrivals and Cross Currents feature The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent

June 28: Faith and Grief Podcast Interview

June 24: American Library Association conference book signing, Chicago, IL

April 27: Faith and Grief Podcast interview with Shelley Craig

April 19-21: Texas Library Association signing and panel, Austin, TX

March 23: Young Entertainment Magazine Twitter Takeover

March 21: The Society of Young Inklings virtual classroom visit

March 18: LAUNCH PARTY for The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent and signing in San Francisco

March 15: VCFA (Vermont College of Fine Arts) Book Birthday Party

March 10: Writers Week, Los Altos High School, Los Altos, CA, school visit

September—December 2022: 10-week course, “Building a Young Adult Novel: Plot and Structure as the Blueprint of Your Story” for Stanford Continuing Education

Presentations

BOOK CLUB or CLASSROOM SKYPE/ZOOM visits for Author Q & A's or brief mental health discussions may be arranged FREE of CHARGE.

I LOVE visiting Book Clubs, especially mother/parent-daughter/teen clubs!

Rates for Presentations

Contact me for rates.

California Bay Area/Massachusetts Cape and Islands high school presentations can usually be arranged at negotiable rates.

Out of State: Mileage, Meals, and Motel, plus honorarium. Contact me for rates and packet of information.

High School and Adult Writing Workshops

Writing About Mental Illness in Stories for Young Readers
Putting Your Characters in Crisis: Why This is Important For Good Story-Telling
Good Writing is Re-Writing (Revise to Get Published)
Fight it Out: The Role of Conflict in Fiction
How Plot Crisis and Climax Drive Your Story
Exceptional Mental Health Books for Young Readers: A List Curated With Dr. Nancy Bo Flood, Ph.D

*Western Connecticut State University MFA in Professional Writing Program, Danbury, CT*

Younger Writers

Character and Plot
Cooking a Book: From Idea to Bookstore Copy
How to Be a Writer in Two Easy Steps
Short and Sweet: Fibonacci and Haiku Poetry

What librarians and teachers say…

“What inspired the students were your stories about why you write what you write, and what excited them were the writing exercises.To me, the whole day was really successful because the students continue to talk about characters in crisis and the element of surprise. And frankly, anytime one gets to hear about an author's inspiration and process is a little bit magical!”
—Joyce Sherry, Counselor For Student Health & Well-Being, English Teacher, York School, Monterey, CA

“Ann's professionalism is such a great example for high school kids. From the materials she sent beforehand to her ability to answer questions spontaneously, Ann is a treat to host.”
—Elizabeth (Betsy) Snow, CJE, Media Specialist | Library, Sequoia High School, Redwood City, CA

“I have invited Ann to speak to my Young Adult Literature class at San Jose State University on several occasions. My students love her presentations. She speaks passionately about writing and discusses the YA books she has written. Students love her describing her writing process. She also brings her personal insights about teen suicide. Most young adult librarians deal with this issue and Ann is a wealth of information when speaking about her experiences working on a suicide crisis line. For me personally Ann is an incredible person to have in my sphere of professional friends.I look forward to a long friendship and professional relationship with her.”
—Beth Wrenn-Estes, Instructor, School of Information, San Jose State University, Business Manager for the California Library Association (CLA)

“Ann Jacobus is an excellent writer and speaker, able to discuss issues that affect teenagers' lives honestly and with sensitivity. For the past three years, she has been a featured speaker at our high school’s Writers Week, where Bay Area writers visit classrooms to discuss their work and their writing process. Ann always gets raves from her student audiences, who love her book, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light and the personal stories that inspired it. Ann draws on both her personal and professional experiences to help students understand issues of depression and suicide in a safe way that encourages dialogue and provides resources for support.”
—Gordon Jack, Teacher-Librarian at Los Altos High School, Los Altos, CA

What students say…

"I think getting to hear about why she wrote her novels and how she used her past situations to create a unique story was very inspirational."

"The writing that we did was really fun and enjoyable."

"The most successful part of the presentation was getting to hear the description of ideas that led to the creation of the main character in RDCOL."

"I liked how she established a connection with her stories as a way to show her inspirations."

Past Events

2022

March 16, Los Altos High School WRITERS WEEK author visit

*AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) Conference, 2019.*

2021

January 12, SCBWI NEW MEXICO, presentation, “The Invisible Elephant in the Great Green Room of Children’s Literature.” With author Nancy Bo Flood.
March 1, Minnesota Occupational Therapists Association, “Using Children’s Literature With Mental Health Patients”
March 2, WRITERS WEEK: Los Altos High School
August 26, The Writing Barn Creative Connections Online Panel: Writing About Mental Health-Creating Relevant Literature for Kids and Teens
September 20—December 3, “Building a YA Novel: Plot and Structure as the Blueprint of Your Story.” Ten-week course, Stanford Continuing Studies.
November 4, Author Visit, The York School of Monterey, CA
CANCELLED November 18-21, NCTE Conference, Louisville, KY. Panel: “Mental Health: The Invisible Elephant in the Great Green Room of Children’s Literature.”

*YALSA YA Panel (Young Adult Library Services Association/American Library Association) Portland, OR 2016*

2020

January 24 & 25, San Mateo County Libraries Young Adult Novelist Convention (#YANovCom), Millbrae, CA. Teens and Mental Health
March 2: WRITERS WEEK, Los Altos High School, Los Altos, CA
March 4-7, AWP20-The Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference in San Antonio, TX, moderating panel "Prayers on the Page: Faith as the Last Taboo in Children's Literature"
November 19-22, (postponed) National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) panel on mental health in children’s literature. Denver, CO

*Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in WCYA Program 2016*

2019

January 26, SCBWI North and East Bay, "Other Paths to Publishing: How to Crowd-Fund Your Story." How we published LILY LO AND THE WONTON MAKER by our friend and colleague, the late Frances Lee Hall. Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore, Berkeley, CA
March 4-7: WRITERS WEEK, Los Altos High School, Los Altos, CA
March 27-30: AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) Conference. Moderating Panel "The Big Black Dog: Children's Literature Takes on Mental Illness," and sitting on the panel "Building a Mystery:The Craft of Thriller-Writing for Young Adults." Portland, OR.
May 4-5: Bay Area Book Festival
November 12: Marketing for Authors with Author Annemarie O'Brien. Book Passage Ferry Building in San Francisco, for SCBWI SF South.÷
November 14: Live podcast interview with the Society of Young Inklings.