Minnesota Authors and Illustrators

A directory of Minnesota authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults, who present programs in libraries, schools, and community agencies.

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Lissa Johnston - Author

Contact Information

Address:

White Bear Lake, MN 55110
Phone: 651/429-6992
Cell:
Fax:
E-mail: lissaj@comcast.net
Website: http://home.comcast.net/~lissaj


Book Category: Nonfiction
Age Group:

Books



Crossing a Continent: The Incredible Journey of Cabeza de Vaca. Eakin Press, 2005. Please visit my website for information about additional forthcoming titles.

Highlights

I decided to pursue a career as a writer several years ago. I left the business world behind to raise my kids, but still needed something to occupy my mind. I decided it was time to put my master's degree in history to some useful purpose. Writing became a great combination of my interest in history and the communication skills I learned in college and in the corporate world. In addition to the Cabeza de Vaca biography, I have several other non-fiction books due out soon. I have also published magazine articles for adult readers. Current projects include a young adult historical fiction book and several other biographies.

Awards

Presentations

The Age of Exploration I would love to help you kick off your exploration unit by arranging a school visit on this fun topic. My presentation will introduce the world of exploration to your students. I will discuss the events leading up to the age of exploration including innovations in ship design, the challenges of trans-oceanic travel, and the role of Prince Henry the Navigator. Using Cabeza de Vaca’s story as a backdrop, I describe the obstacles explorers faced as they pursued their dreams of discovery. My goal is to encourage your students to delve into this topic with gusto. So You Want To Be A Writer? Do your students sometimes wonder how the skills they are learning now will help them in adult life? They may be surprised to learn that writers use some of the very same writing skills we learned in elementary school. Organizing the work, documenting research, checking for errors, first drafts - these are all the tools of our trade. I will also cover common questions such as how I sell my work, and what the dreaded term 'rejection' means in writer's terms. You Build It Do you have a social studies unit coming up that you would like to jump-start? Give me enough lead time and I will custom-design a one-hour presentation for you.

Fees

My rates are $75 per hour, with a two class maximu

Added: 9/6/2005

Updated: 2006/07/18:0