Denise Doyen took several quarters of Writing for the Youth Market with instructors including Ann Whitford Paul, Barney Saltzberg and April Halprin Wayland. Her first picture book, Once Upon a Twice (Random House), was a Junior Library Guild selection and a Kirkus Reviews’ “Best Children’s Book(s) of the Year.” Her second picture book, The Pomegranate Witch (Chronicle) is out now. Publishers Weekly’s starred review calls the rhymes “luscious” and the book is currently an Amazon Pick of the Month.

Denise recalls, “My UCLA Extension teachers really knew their craft and helped me begin to understand the true art of picture books. I’ll never forget April H. Wayland’s assignment: evaluating 10 picture books a week, every week, (faves of local booksellers and librarians whose lives are entwined in children/books) to expand our appreciation of the form, to glean just why those books were so successful. All my instructors helped me hone my skills, edit my stories, and were so very generous with their encouragement and insights about just how to enter the children’s publishing arena. They put me on the right track and I’m forever grateful for that helpful push at the start.”

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