Harold Underdown

@hunderdown.bsky.social

2944 Followers 276 Following

I'm a children's book editor, teacher and workshop presenter, owner of The Purple Crayon website -- www.underdown.org --and part of Kid's Book Revisions Plus: @kbrplus.bsky.social. I post about #kidlit and other things.

Graphic for The Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing, showing the course title and faculty: Harold Underdown, Sera Rivers, Leah Henderson, and Pamela Courtney.
A graphic for The Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing, a 10-week onlike workshop presented by Boyds Mills. Portraits show the faculty: lead faculty Harold Underdown, and special guests: agent Sera Rivers, author Pamela Courtney, and author Leah Henderson
Kid's Book Revisions Plus logo: KBR +
A purple crayon
A purple crayon, the logo of Harold Underdown's website.
A purple crayon, the logo of The Purple Crayon, Harold Underdown's #kidlit website.
Banner graphic for The Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing, an online workshop via Boyds Mills.
The cover of "Children's Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling" Shows a large butterfly with ruby wings holding a book it what would be its lap, with pictures on the book of various caterpillars, chrysalises, and butterflies facing us.
The jacket of The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition. Subtitle: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers
A cluttered desk, with a laptop open in the middle, a #kidlit manuscript to the left, handwritten notes on the right, and various objects scattered around them.
Banner for "Successful Strategies for Submitting Your Manuscript to Agents and Editors" on January 27 and 29, online, via boydsmills.org, with photo of Harold Underdown
A large leafless tree covered in snow, with a blue sky with a few wispy clouds behind it. In upper left corner, a branch with red berries and snow descends into the frame. In the lower background, picnic tables are visible on a grassy expanse, with two peaks of a building visible behind them.
Banner for online workshop on "Successful Strategies for Submitting Your Manuscript to Agents and Editors" presented by Harold Underdown via the Highlights Foundation on January 27 and 29.
Images of Wicked by Gregory Maguire, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan, available signed as part of the Kindling Words auction.
The cover of "Zohran Walks New York," featuring the skyline, a street scene, and a smiling, bearded politician waving to people in front of a row of houses.
A purple crayon, the logo of my website.
A desk crowded with papers, a laptop, postits, a bell, and various paperweights.
A video of Harold Underdown talking about his upcoming workshop, "Publishing Trends, Market Shifts, and Opportunities"
Banner graphic for "Publishing Trends, Market Shifts, and Opportunities." October 14 and 16, 7-8:15 PM Eastern with Harold Underdown
Banner for "Publishing Trends, Market Shifts, and Opportunities"--online workshop on Tuesday October 14 and Thursday October 16 via the Highlights Foundation.
Dragonfly resting on concrete. White tail, black head. 4 rings transparent except for black patch in middle third.
Screenshot from a FB Group of a photo of Donald Trump with the caption "Trump's Nobel Peace Prize nomination withdrawn."
The first paragraph of Natalie Babbitt's "Tuck Everlasting": The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn...
A banner for the workshop "Big Picture Revision," a two-night online mini workshop with editor Harold Underdown. Dates August 19 and 21, 7 PM Eastern. Sponsored by the Highlights Foundation
A banner for a Kindling Words retreat at the Highlights Foundation.
A laptop, papers with notes, and other items on a cluttered desk.
Graphic for the "Revision Retreat" Details: Many writers say that their favorite part of writing is revision. Whether this opinion matches your feelings, the reality is that revision is part of the writing process and we’ll all need a toolbox full of strategies to meet each book we create. This workshop combines “filling that toolbox” and time to implement the revision strategies on your work(s)-in-progress. Included in this program are pre-retreat presentations that you can engage via Zoom or watch as your time allows, a 1:1 consultation to discuss where you are in your current project(s) and what support you need at this stage in the process, opportunities to ask questions of working editors in the field of children’s books, and, importantly, time and space to revise at the Highlights Foundation retreat center. At the retreat center, days will be spent on individual projects. You choose what that means for you! Maybe you’ll revise on the porch of your cabin, sketch in the Art Coop, research, rebuild, or rest. Emma Dryden and Eileen Robinson will join you at the retreat center, with Harold Underdown supporting you virtually through presentations and 1:1 consultations.
Banner for "The Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing" Details: This ten-week online course covers all aspects of children’s book publishing, from genres and types of books to working with a publisher (and everything in between). Material will be covered via six live Zoom sessions, and pre-recorded content in our online learning platform. You’ll also have access to weekly live “drop-in” hours with Harold Underdown. You’ll also learn details about the editorial development process, including what to do once you have a finished book. The goal of the course is to demystify children’s publishing and answer ALL of your questions about the process. You will: Explore genres of books, types of publishers, types of markets; fiction vs. nonfiction, flat fee vs. royalties, schools and libraries, etc. Find out how to get help before you submit from books, conferences, critique groups, beta readers and children. Find out how to get started as a professional and find your community. Use writing exercises to get to know your characters and develop your stories. Understand submissions rules and practices, including which mistakes to avoid. Learn about how publishers sign up manuscripts and how to make sense of contracts. Discover the publishing process: developmental editing, line editing, copyediting and proofreading, design, illustration, production, marketing and distribution.
Banner for the Practical Matters in Children's Book Publishing online mini-workshop on March 18 and 20: A smart, engaging 2-night course covering everything from book types to contracts—plus a chance to ask your pressing questions! Key topics covered during the program will include: • A guide to types of children’s books; • Getting support and feedback; • Researching types of publishers, editors, and agents; • Understanding the submission process; • How manuscripts are acquired; • Key terms in contracts and how they work; • What to expect in the publishing process.
Graphic for the "Practical Matters in Children's Book Publishing" online workshop on March 18 and 20. Details: It's for anyone getting started in the world of children's book publishing, which can be be both wonderful and frustrating. It covers all the *practical* stuff someone needs to know, from kinds of books and who they are intended for, through submissions, all the way to contracts and the publishing process. There will be a bonus handout with web and print resources, and a time to answer burning questions. Please share to #kidlit writer and illustrator friends who might benefit! And let me know if you have questions. This is likely to be the only time I give this workshop in 2025.
The jacket of "The Unraveller" by Frances Hardinge. Arranged around title and author's name are 5 key objects from the story: the moon, a feather, seed pods, a spider, and a fish hook. A spider web printed in metallic copper appears behind them, over a dark purple/black background.
Clouds in the sky at sunset, some tinged with orange, with a bare tree standing on the right edge of the photo.
A graphic for the "Practical Matters in Children's Book Publishing" workshop, March 16 and 18. Key topics covered during the program will include: • A guide to types of children’s books; • Getting support and feedback; • Researching types of publishers, editors, and agents; • Understanding the submission process; • How manuscripts are acquired; • Key terms in contracts and how they work; • What to expect in the publishing process; • and so much more! There will be time saved for a Q&A on the final night of the program.
A possum sniffing around in a snowy yard with a rosemary plant in a pot next to it.
An oppossum with its back to the viewer and tail visible, looking for food on a concrete patio with a bench and bag of potting soil behind it.
Act 1: A young Tire, torn cruelly from it's wheel, left with the trash. [A car tire sitting on a few trash bags on the curb. The street, with parked cars and trees, stretches from lower left to upper right.]
The cover of Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul
Banner for "Successful Strategies" workshop.
Visual for the "Successful Strategies for Submitting Your Manuscript to Agents and Editors" online workshop
A banner for Harold Underdown's online workshop, Successful Strategies for Submitting Your Manuscript to Agents and Editors
Four tires on a sidewalk, stacked 2 x 2
A small plane circling with a message.
Early fall foliage, blue sky, in Von King Park, Brooklyn.
The cover of the book "Checkups, Shots, and Robots," written and illustrated by David Rickert.
Banner image for "Practical Matters in Children's Book Publishing"
Banner for "3 Questions" with Harold Underdown, Instagram Live at noon on Monday September 9th.
Successful Strategies for Submitting Your Manuscript to Agents and Editors--A Two-Night Mini. Monday, July 15 and Wednesday July 17, 7-8:15 PM Eastern
A young raven perched on a concrete bird bath in an overgrown backyard garden.
A view of snow in a backyard.
A picture of the announcement from PW for "The Many Lives of Paper" by Beth Kephart, illustrated by Julia Breckenreid.
The cover of A Family of Readers, a book recommended for anyone working in children's books--writers, illustrators, editors, marketers, agents...
Graphic for the workshop "Successful Strategies for Submitting Your Manuscript to Agents and Editors"
A Brooklyn community garden in the rain.
A panoramic view of the New York Harbor and lower Manhattan.