whatwason…

Category Archives: Tailor-Made Meaning

What Was on My . . .

Posted on December 30, 2013 by sandranickel • 19 Comments

The 30th of the month is always and forever my turn up. So, if you are curious about my December, read on for What Was on My . . . Agenda: Vals—a tiny village in the alps, on the other end of Switzerland. Reached only after 5 1/2 hours on the train, passing through one valley … Continue reading →

what was on…

A blog about the writers, illustrators, editors & agents of children’s and young adult literature. Here, we get to the heart of their work and lives by asking What Was On their . . . minds, desks, playlists, refrigerators, and more.

Sandra Nickel

Sandra Nickel is an award-winning author of picture books. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has presented workshops on writing for children and young adults throughout Europe and the United States. She is honored to be the winner of a Christopher Award, the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Crystal Kite Award, a two-time winner of the Katherine Paterson Prize for picture books, and a finalist for the Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction for Younger Readers.

Please visit Sandra’s website at sandranickel.com

Sandra is represented by Victoria Wells Arms of the Wells Arms Literary Agency.

★ OUT NOW ★

★ COMING SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 ★

★ CHRISTOPHER AWARD WINNER ★

I’m so unbelievably honored that Nacho’s Nachos was named a Christopher Award winner. The Christopher Awards celebrate producers, directors, authors, and illustrators whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit.” Sending forever thanks to the Anaya family, the de los Santos family, Sandra Martinez, the Piedras Negras Oficina de Convenciones y Visitantes, Oliver Dominguez, Lee & Low Books, Victoria Wells Arms, and the Christopher Awards Committee.

The National Air & Space Museum ★ Online Story Hour ★

Join Aimee Sicuro and me at The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for its Online Story Hour. I read The Stuff Between the Stars, we talk about Vera Rubin, and Aimee demonstrates how to paint the most beautiful galaxy. You can watch HERE.

GENEROUS WORDS AND BEST WISHES FROM ★ Hillary Clinton ★

Thank you Secretary Clinton for your generosity and kind words.

“Thank you for sending me a copy of your book, The Stuff Between the Stars: How Vera Rubin Discovered Most of the Universe. I appreciate your thoughtfulness in sharing it with me, and have such fond memories of my time with Vera. Thank you for telling her story and for helping to ensure that her life and accomplishments are celebrated and remembered. You have my gratitude and best wishes for a successful publication.”

★ VCFA Alumnx Success Series ★

Vermont College of Fine Arts featured me as part of its Alumnx Success Series. I talk about The Stuff Between the Stars, the importance of writing about historical female figures, the importance of Nacho’s Nachos being named a finalist for the Golden Kite Award, and what we can learn by looking at the stars in the way Vera Rubin did. The interview is HERE.

Poetry . . .

‘The Sun Has a Secret,’ my poem about the sun falling for the moon, is in SCOOP’s 1st anniversary issue. If you haven’t yet picked up an issue of SCOOP, do. It’s a brilliant children’s magazine that counts among its contributors Neil Gaiman, Sir Tom Stoppard, Herbie Brennan, and Jacqueline Wilson.

Antagonists . . .

I started thinking about antagonists when I was working on my MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts. It wasn’t too long before I came to the conclusion that antagonists—yes, antagonists plural—were at the core of the very best stories. In fact, as I examined my favorite stories more closely, I realized that there are 13 Antagonist Archetypes, each capable of producing different reactions in the protagonist and reader. This realization turned into a presentation I gave in Amsterdam, morphed into a three-hour workshop I gave in Switzerland, and then was condensed into a breakout session for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrator’s Annual Summer Conference in Los Angeles. For those of you who missed it, you can find it here: Enter the Antagonist–no scratch that–Enter the Antagonists, Plural.

THE PARIS REVIEW . . .

The Paris Review celebrated James Fenimore Cooper’s birthday by picking up and republishing portions of my April 30, 2014 blog–The Voracious Child Readers of Russia. If you would like to read the Paris Review’s Natty Bumppo, Soviet Folk Hero (September 15, 2014), click below.

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