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Beth Volkmann

@bethvolkmann.bsky.social

2.2K followers 1.2K following 2.7K posts

M.Ed. Children's Book Writer. Picture Taker. Nature Lover. Anglophile. Curious about flora and fauna of all kinds but particularly fond of elephants, wolves, birds, insects, and trees. #SCBWI. #12x12 #kidlit #naturalist elizabethvolkmannauthor.com

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Reposted by Beth Volkmann

Emma @emmasartworks.bsky.social · 46m

Shells - ancient and modern - from the beach at Redcar. The modern oyster was considerably more battered than the 200 million year old ones. Watercolour painting.
#fossils #shells #art #nature
🐡

Watercolour painting of shells found on the beach at Redcar, northeast England; there is a modern oyster shell on the left, showing outside and inside, though it is very sea-worn. The remainder are fossils from the lower Jurassic period (c200mya) - Cardinia bivalves, a fragment of Ammonite and Gryphaea oysters.

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Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 14h

Thank you, Jane!

Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 14h

That could be an interesting technique. I usually form the story in my head for weeks and don’t come to a draft until it’s fixed in my mind. So I like this idea of three or four ‘possible’ beginnings! Thank you!!!

Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 17h

I’m a ‘get stuck’ type. i work so hard on that first draft that I am locked in. I need to figure out how to let it be ‘rough’.

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Reposted by Beth Volkmann

Emma @emmasartworks.bsky.social · 1d

Bright honey fungi
Conceal bitter truth beneath -
death in black laces.

#haikuSaturday
#fungi

Photo of a clump of honey fungus (Armillaria sp.) growing among grass on a forest floor. The fungus spreads through black bootlace-like structures underground which infect tree roots, causing them to rot, and eventually can kill even the largest forest trees.

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Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 23h

❤️

Kelly Dyksterhouse @kellydhouse.bsky.social · 23h

Many #writers get stuck because they mentally treat their #roughdraft like a more finished draft. Let go of that. It’s called a ROUGH draft for a reason. Give yourself permission to write poorly, explore the story, go down rabbit holes. There will be time to perfect the story later.

#writinglife

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Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 1d

Fabulous in every way!

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Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 1d

I've been sensing a collective need in folks seeking out nature more intentionally in these trying days. It's a good thing. It's renewing and consoling. 💚

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Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 1d

single fallen leaf
a spark of inspiration
Henri's second life

#haikuSaturday #haiku #Matisse #nature #art

(Matisse drew inspiration from nature and it is thought that some of the shapes in his scissor-paintings are reminiscent of oak leaves.)

Bur oak leaf turning from green to yellow.

Henri Matisse artwork: The Sheaf (La Gerbe) 1953. Leaf like cut out of several bright colors.

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Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 1d

My morning glories, too, are wilted but for the ones that had climbed onto the porch. I'm sad to have lost them with that small dip in temperatures. But they were - glorious!

Reposted by Beth Volkmann

Kirsten W. Larson @kirstenwlarson.bsky.social · 1d

Hooray! Our first review is in. Kirkus calls THIS IS HOW YOU KNOW “a soaring paean to the scientific method in all its messy, uniquely promising glory.” @cornelia-illo.bsky.social
🔗 https://tinyurl.com/5azscyp4

#KidLit #STEM #PictureBooks #ScienceEducation #Curiosity

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Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 1d

Love the concept of autumn wings in reference to Monarchs. Really lovely. Very meditative.

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Reposted by Beth Volkmann

Lorraine Sime @lorrainesimeart.bsky.social · 1d

A wee drawing of a bolete for #fungifriday. #fungi #nature #drawing

Drawing of a bolete mushroom that has been uprooted. It has mostly brown shades with bits of grass at the bottom from where it was taken out the ground.

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Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks, Abbie, for sharing this!

Reposted by Beth Volkmann

Abbie James @abbiewjames.bsky.social · 2d

SCATTERGOOD by @hmbouwman.bsky.social is one of the best books I've read this year! Such an authentic and nuanced discussion about the existential questions that I suspect many of us share. Lovely cover art by Angie Kang. Thanks for the recommendation, @pollyf.bsky.social!
#kidlit upper #MGlit 📚👍

cover of SCATTERGOOD has a light orange (as if sunset) background; the top left corner is a chess board pattern and these squares morph into a flock of birds in flight as they continue down the page; the bottom shows a girl in a blue dress walking to the left on a lane towards a large building with a few lights on inside; there are trees/bushes on the sides of the building; the book title and author are above the building

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Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 2d

Be transported by tremendous actors reading snippets of short-listed #BookerPrize finalists.

I promise you will forget the 'noise of the news' and remember that ART is absolutely crucial to the human spirit.

Gorgeousness abounds! Prepare to be moved!

The Booker Prizes

Welcome to the home of the Booker Prize and the International Booker Prize, the leading literary awards for works of fiction published in the UK in English

thebookerprizes.com

Reposted by Beth Volkmann

Alison Weiss @alioop7.bsky.social · 2d

Opening #askkidlit if there are any takers. What do you desperately need to know about the swirling publishing world? If you'd rather DM, just let me know!

a man wearing glasses and a plaid shirt is holding a piece of paper that says do you have any questions

ALT: a man wearing glasses and a plaid shirt is holding a piece of paper that says do you have any questions

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Beth Volkmann

Betsy Bird @fuse8.bsky.social · 3d

"I was gobsmacked by the new research of awe—how it can change the way you think and feel, lessening our anxieties and making us more generous and kind. And I knew I had to write a book for kids..." A talk with @chanastiefel.bsky.social & Susan Gal #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2025/10/09/a...

Awe (and) Inspiring. A Cover Reveal and Q&A with Chana Stiefel and Susan Gal

afuse8production.slj.com

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Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 3d

If you’re scrolling, consider this an invitation to pause.

Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.

💚

Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 3d

I am so over the moon to see your pitches out in the world! I love every single one!❤️

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Reposted by Beth Volkmann

Vanessa Gillings @vanessagillings.bsky.social · 3d

My twelfth piece for my solo show at @gallerynucleus.bsky.social!

#kidlitart #illustration #watercolor #watercolour #gouache #originalpainting #fantasyart #fantasyillustration

watercolor and gouache painting of a girl in a feather cloak floating midair above a standing stone as a crow and a storm come to greet her

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Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 4d

This gets talked about in screenwriting, too, as 'tone' comps. How the story is meant to make someone feel.

Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 4d

I love a fall garden. Next year I’m going to have a majority of fall blooms. Watching the bees guzzle the nectar right now makes me feel very happy.

Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 4d

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Beth Volkmann @bethvolkmann.bsky.social · 4d

I was actually taking a picture of the flower (late bloomer) and the bee just zoomed right in! 💜