Melinda (Mindy) Hardwick 
Primary Discipline: Literary Arts
Areas of Specialty: Short stories for young adult or middle grades, poetry for middle/high school, personal essay writing for middle and high school
Based in: Lake Stevens
Phone: 425-335-4038
Email: mindywriter@gmail.com
Website: www.mindyhardwick.com
Biography: Mindy writes for children and young adults. She is a frequent school and library presenter and runs a weekly poetry workshop with youth at Denney Juvenile Justice Center in Everett. Mindy has been chosen four times to be a Blanche Miller Trust Mentor at Denney. Mindy’s published middle grade and young adult short stories include: “Ghost in the Batting Cage” published with Bridgehouse Press (UK), “Hand on the Door,” published with Crow Toes Quarterly, “I Believe,” published as an audio story at Sniplits.com, and “Hurricanes” published with Blooming Tree Press. Mindy’s article, “Rachel: The Pike Place Market Pig” was published in The Washington State History Museum’s e-zine Columbia Kids and a personal essay about teaching can be found in My First Year in The Classroom. Her articles have been published in: The Children’s Writer Guide 2008 and 2009, Children’s Writer, ALA Book Links, and The Writer Magazine. When she is not writing, Mindy teaches courses for educators on both children’s writing and children’s literature at Seattle Pacific SPIRAL.
When asked about her approach as a Teaching Artist, Ms. Hardwick wrote this: "I am most passionate about exploring the ideas of using creativity and the arts as a means of healing and learning when expressed through story, poetry, and personal essay. I pursue working with youth because they are the heart and soul of what I write! Teaching for me is both a giving and a taking. As a teen, I always loved to read, yet I never realized that there were people behind the young adult novels that I loved. It is my hope that young people realize there is both a highly skilled craft and a person with heart behind each story they read. I hope they know that writing and storytelling can be accessible to them. I work with young people and say to them, “Yes, I am a bit further than you on this path, but writing is a path you may choose to take also, and I am here to say that I believe in you and your creative talents.”
Suitable for Grades: K-12
Preferred Grades: 6-12
Curriculum Integration Possibilities: Literacy, Reading, Writing, History
Additional Interests/Experience:
- Leading Professional Development workshops for K-12 Teachers
- Working with at risk students
- Working with incarcerated individuals
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