Midwest Writers Workshop is pleased to announce the addition of Martha Brockenbrough to the MWW15 faculty.

Martha Brockenbrough (rhymes with broken toe) is the author of two books for adults and five books for young readers. She’s the founder of National Grammar Day (every March 4), and she’s written game questions for Cranium and Trivial Pursuit. The former editor of MSN.com, Martha has interviewed lots of celebrities, including the Jonas Brothers and Slash (his favorite dinosaur is the diplodocus). Her work has been published in a variety of places, including The New York Times. She also wrote an educational humor column for the online encyclopedia Encarta for nine years. Her debut novel Devine Intervention, was one of Kirkus Reviews Top 100 books for teens in 2012, and was a Kansas State Reading Circle selection. Her books include the middle grade nonfiction opus Finding Bigfoot, and a picture book called The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy. Her YA novel The Game of Love and Death was released April 2015 by Scholastic. Martha has taught writing for children at the University of Washington continuing education program and elsewhere. She lives in Seattle with her family.

Martha will teach a Part I Intensive Session, “The Writer’s Survival Kit.”

Making it as a writer is a combination of craft and cunning. This intensive will be broken down into parts: a two-hour session on the first 500 words of your book, focusing on the six elements you must master; an additional two hours on revising like a master; and a final hour on the 10 things a writer needs to know in order to persist in an often lonely, highly competitive business.

Her Part II sessions include “When Bad Grammar Makes for Good Writing,” “Secrets of the Synopsis – How to Make This Dreaded Thing Work for You,” and “Adding Humor to Your Writing.”

Welcome, Martha!