We kick off 2025 with a great Author’s Toolbox offering from a veteran SCWA leader, Storyfest faculty member, and award-winning author, Barbara Evers. Have you considered making animals characters in your story? How would you begin to craft such creatures? What do you need to know about the critter before you put pen to page? This first Author’s Toolbox will wade into the how and why of adding animals as characters instead of props.

When: February 20, 2025 | 7 p.m.

Where: via zoom link issued upon registration

Cost: Free to members | $25 for non-members

About Barbara Evers: Crafting Critters as Characters: How and Why

Animals make great characters in books, but how do you pull this off effectively? From children’s books like Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz to cozy mysteries like Spencer Quinn’s Chet and Bernie Mysteries to the quirky dog, Six-Thirty, in Bonnie Garmus’ Lessons in Chemistry , amazing animals leap off the page in wonderful narratives. This workshop will delve into how and why you might add animals as characters instead of props. We will look at examples in various genres and discuss:

• Why do you need animal characters in your story?
• How do you decide the role of the animal(s) in your story?
• What should you consider when choosing the type/breed of animal?
• How will the genre and protagonist’s role affect the way the animal is portrayed?
• What relationships do we see between animal characters and human characters? How do those relationships impact the story?
• What must the author do to ensure the animal's point of view represents an animal instead of a human personality with an animal's body?

Barbara V. Evers hails from the mysterious Dark Corner of South Carolina where she crafts fantasy stories with strong women matriarchies and clever animals. She is the award-winning author of the THE WATCHERS OF MONIAH epic fantasy trilogy (The Watchers of Moniah, The Watchers in Exile, The Watchers at War) as well as several short stories and essays. A two-time winner of the Imadjinn Best Fantasy Novel, she’s won several writing awards over the years including a Pushcart Prize nomination. Her short stories and essays have appeared in The Petigru Review, moonShine review, Child of My Child, Stupefying Stories, A Magnificent Display of Marvelous Wonders, and her own short story collection, Pieces of Her: Being a Woman is Not for the Faint of Heart.

Barbara is a supporter and advocate for animal conservation and seeks to educate others about endangered species. The giraffes in THE WATCHERS OF MONIAH trilogy are no longer endangered, but giraffes in our world are suffering a silent extinction. As an advocate, Barbara contributes a portion of her royalties to support the work of The Giraffe Conservation Foundation. When she’s not writing, Barbara uses her degrees in Zoology and Communication to conduct training workshops for businesses. Maybe she really can speak to animals!

Any other time, she can be found herding her husband, two grandchildren, and her rescue dog, Roxy (but don’t tell them).