Mark your calendars: the 37th annual Printers Row Lit Fest is next weekend! This year’s two-day literary extravaganza in Chicago takes place on Saturday and Sunday, September 10 and 11. The fest features close to 150 presenters, And I’m one of them. Date: Saturday, September 10 Time: 11am to 11:45 a.m. Location: Grace Place (637 […]

You know those “Questions Kids Ask” lists I post here after visiting third-grade classrooms with Luna? Those visits are arranged by a disability awareness program called “Educating Outside the Lines,” and every one of the schools they have me visit is located in…Highland Park, Illinois. ”Is your dog blind, too?” they ask. “Is it scary […]

Check out this free online presentation I’m giving next week: Unlocking Memories and Uncovering Stories< Sponsored by the Oak Park Public Library and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Oak Park Illinois Network DATE: Thursday, May 12 TIME: 7 to 8:30 pm central time, Author, journalist and teacher Beth Finke will lead […]

The last assignment I gave my memoir-writing classes before we took our spring break was to choose one of the movies nominated for an Oscar for best picture this year an have its title be the title of their essay. “You don’t have to see the movie,” I assured them. “Just use one of the […]

When the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) selected Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound as the winner of its Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award back in 2008, my sisters accompanied my second Seeing Eye dog Hanni and me to the American Library Association convention in Anaheim to receive the award. […]