A note from Emma Wood
Dear friends—
First, I hope you’ve been enjoying December, and all of the lights, sugar, family time, and festivities it brings. I write to you from the sofa in a house that has the distinct, palpable feeling of emptiness which the departure of a houseful of family members creates. Conner is already in Ecuador, where he is spending the first few weeks of 2023 teaching his undergraduate students as a part of a study-abroad program. So, tomorrow, I will be ringing in the new year with my two young children on European time then going to bed early!
Second, I’m thrilled to be writing to you for the first time not only as Editor but also as the new President and CEO of Stone Soup. It’s a dream and an honor to have the opportunity to lead this wonderful organization into the next fifty years of its life, just as we are entering our fiftieth anniversary year.
William: Thank you for creating this project, for running it for all of those years, and finally, for trusting me with it. I hope I can bring the same energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to Stone Soup as you have.
I would also like to thank Gerry Mandel, Stone Soup’s co-founder and editor emerita, for her devotion to Stone Soup for its first forty-five years—it would not be here without you!
Lastly, a word about my plans for Stone Soup. Many people I speak to recognize the name of Stone Soup. However, many of those same people are surprised to hear that it still exists! In 2023, I will be focused on building partnerships with organizations, foundations, and individual authors to both raise more visibility for the Stone Soup of today and to help us grow into the Stone Soup of tomorrow.
As we close out the year, we are closing out our annual drive. If you haven’t yet had a chance to make a tax-deductible gift to us this year, I hope you will consider doing so today to help me realize these plans and help Stone Soup enter its next generation. Finally, I hope to see many of you ‘in person’ at the Donor Meeting on January 14th.
Happy New Year!
New year, new term!
We are happy to announce the continuation of our virtual classes for the Winter 2023 term beginning January 21st, 2023! They will run weekly through March 25th.
We are additionally thrilled to once again present Isidore Bethel's filmmaking workshop and are incredibly grateful for his continued partnership with Stone Soup. Also on offer is Conner's popular writing workshop!
For the year of 2023, we plan to alternate Conner's and William's workshops to consolidate and boost enrollment. If you were looking forward to William's class, check back in the spring and try out a course with Conner or Isidore in the meantime!
Introduction to Short-Form Filmmaking with Isidore Bethel, meets at 9 a.m. Pacific Time every Saturday. Isidore is an award-winning filmmaker who will guide students through the process of making their own film. Discussing and writing about other filmmakers and their work will complement the students' own filmmaking journeys. Sign up here for Short-Form Filmmaking.
Conner's Group: At 11 a.m. Pacific Time every week, Conner Basset will teach his writing workshop focusing on the nuts-and-bolts of writing. Conner teaches English at Albright College and has experience instructing younger writers. He is a poet and translator in addition to being a brilliant teacher. Sign up here for Conner's workshop.
Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered
in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498.
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