The Parallel Universe of Authors and Illustrators

Get to the heart of your story.

What does it mean to "leave room for the illustrator?" What tools can writers use to think visually while writing? Likewise, how can illustrators pull words from their images? Author/Illustrator and Agent Shadra Strickland shares how to get at the heart of your story by making sure both the text and the illustrations do an equal job in the storytelling - for both authors-only and author-illustrators.

Your purchase includes lifetime access to the 1-hour video, a handout, and a transcript of the full presentation!


"This has been stunning and thank you so much!! I actually had an idea come into more focus while I was watching this!!"

- Melanie Conrad


Your Instructor


Shadra Strickland
Shadra Strickland

Shadra Strickland studied, design, writing, and illustration at Syracuse University and later went on to complete her M.F.A. at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. She won the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2009 for her work in her first picture book, Bird, written by Zetta Elliott. Strickland co-illustrated Our Children Can Soar, winner of a 2010 NAACP Image Award. She has published with Lee and Low Books, Simon and Schuster, Random House, Candlewick, Chronicle Books, and Little Brown. Her books have received recognition from the American Library Association, Junior Library Guild, and other prominent literary lists. Shadra currently works and teaches illustration at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. She also developed an online picture book class at Craftsy.com.


Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

"Oh, Shadra, thank you BUNCHES and BUNCHES for your fabulous, eye-popping, brain-tweaking presentation!"

- Evelyn Dunbar Webb


"That was FANTASTIC! Like a creativity transfusion!"

-Sandra Markle


"Shadra is a STAR in the STORYTELLING UNIVERSE."

- Marsha Wright



Get started now!