Chris Baron is the award winning author of Novels for young (and young at heart) readers including All Of Me an NCTE Notable Book, The Magical Imperfect a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book/ a SLJ Best Book of 2021 The Gray (23) a ProjectLIT 23-24 Selection, Spark (25) from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, and The Secret of the Dragon Gems, a Middle Grade novel co-authored with Rajani LaRocca from Little Bee Books (23) and editor of ON ALL OTHER NIGHTS: A MIDDLE GRADE PASSOVER ANTHOLOGY, from Abrams (24), and the author of Lantern Tree: (2012 CityWorks Press), winner of San Diego Book Award. He is a Professor of English at San Diego City College and the director of the Writing Center. He grew up in New York City, but he completed his MFA in Poetry in 1998 at SDSU. He lives in San Diego with his family. He is represented by Rena Rossner from the Deborah Harris Literary Agency.
Twitter: @baronchrisbaron
Instagram: @christhebearbaron
Stories of Our Hearts: Fictional Retellings with Chris Baron
Using our deepest experiences to tell compelling stories of hope and wholeness for young people.
In this workshop, we will explore how we can write fictional stories for young people that come from the most authentic places in our lives. Through discussion, writing exercises, QandA, and collaboration, we will learn about how Middle Grade and YA fiction can make an impact in the world, and why your story is one worth telling–whether you are just starting, or anywhere along the way, we will investigate and practice how to deepen the stories of our hearts.
Beginning Fall 2025