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All I Want for Christmas Is a Highlights Foundation Workshop My husband hates to shop. He hates shopping for all occasions—anniversaries, birthdays, and especially Christmas. One year, he gave me a Cross pen set. That's a decent gift, mind you—it's at least two steps up from a vacuum cleaner. But c'mon, who ever got excited about a Cross pen set? Last year, though, my husband discovered the perfect solution—a gift he didn't even have to shop for. One trip to Honesdale, Pennsylvania, got him off the hook for Christmas, birthday, and anniversary combined. He breathed a huge sigh of relief, and this gift made my heart pound like Rudolph on the roof. So hop aboard Santa's sleigh and visit Honesdale with me. Our first stop will be the Highlights house (it really is a beautiful old house), where we'll join the other authors attending our workshop. On our tour, we'll meet the jolly elves (editors), who appear on the Highlights masthead. Science editor, Andy Boyles, is particularly engaging! No volcanoes, please. Mr. Boyles has enough of those articles for Santa's sleigh. Next we'll whisk away to the farmhouse on Calkins Creek. There we'll attend workshops on what editors are REALLY looking for from children's writers and illustrators. Be sure to bring a large sack because there'll be enough take-home reading to choke the abominable snowman. There will be gifts, of course—one-on-one critiques with industry pros—for good little girls and boys. And we'll polish our manuscripts until they shine like ornaments on a tree. We'll sleep in individual cabins with our very own writing desks. And best of all, the food is always stupendous—real honest-to-goodness meals made from scratch. Rumor has it the chef is a graduate of The Culinary Institute. That's right fellow writers; there are no chores except writing at a Highlights Foundation workshop! No meals to make, houses to clean, snow to shovel, children to tend, or bulging trashcans to lug to the curb. It's just you and your writing—a Christmas wish come true. So when your spouse says, "Honey what do YOU want for Christmas?" Go to www.highlightsfoundation.org and select the workshop of your dreams! Shannon Hitchcock attended her first Highlights Foundation workshop in 2006, her second in 2008, and she's shamelessly hinting to attend another one! Her Web site is www.shannonhitchcock.com
Psst . . . The Elves Want to Share a Special Offer!
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