Janice Repka

I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My dad, Edward Frank Repka, was a television sales and repairman. My mom, Frances Repka, (formerly Butera) was a homemaker. They had eight kids. I was their seventh. I was raised in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, a predominately Italian/​Polish blue-collar town, and graduated from Carlynton High School.

My writing career began a few years later as a U.S. Army journalist in Fort Hood, Texas. I covered everything from training exercises to rattlesnake hunts for a weekly military newspaper. After the Army, I returned to Pittsburgh and earned a B.A. in Journalism & Communications at Point Park University. During a magazine internship in New York City, I developed an interest in the law. In 1987, I earned a J.D. degree, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.

I married, had children and practiced law for many years, but never lost the desire to be a writer. Then one day it hit me -- dodgeball! I made up pie-throwing clowns, bicycle-riding poodles, and the unofficial dodgeball capital of the world. Sometimes I would laugh so hard, it was difficult to type.

The Stupendous Dodgeball Fiasco was my first book. If kids have half as much fun reading it as I had writing it, I’ll consider it a huge success. My second novel, The Clueless Girl's Guide to Being a Genius, will be published by Dutton Children's Books in Summer 2011. In addition to writing middle grade fiction, I like to write short stories. My short stories have appeared in the Antietam Review and Writer’s Journal.

Years ago, I began a new chapter in my life by moving to Lousiania, where I earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Fiction and Masters in English from McNeese State University. For more about my professional career as a writer and writing teacher, see My Credentials, below.

Education

M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Fiction), 2010
McNeese State University, Lake Charles, Louisiana. G.P.A.: 4.0.

M.A. in English Literature, 2010
McNeese State University, Lake Charles, Louisiana. G.P.A.: 4.0.

J.D., Law Degree, 1987
University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia. Honors.

B.A. in Journalism and Communication, 1984
Point Park University. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. G.P.A.: 3.87.

Teaching Experience: English

2009-2010 ENGL 102, English Composition II, Graduate Teaching Assistant, McNeese State University.

2008-2009 ENGL 101, English Composition I, Graduate Teaching Assistant, McNeese State University.

2007-2008 ENGL 090, Developmental English, Graduate Teaching Assistant, McNeese State University.

Teaching Experience: Creative Writing

2010 Navigating the Publishing Maze. Instructor, McNeese State University Leisure Learning Course.

2010 Flash Fiction. Instructor, McNeese State University Leisure Learning Course.

2009 Advanced Creative Writing: the Writer’s Workshop Experience. Workshop Leader, McNeese State University Leisure Learning Course.

2009 Advanced Creative Writing for Teens. McNeese State University "Kid's College" course.

2009 Write for Children and Get Published. Instructor, McNeese State University Leisure Learning Course.

2007 Writing the Short Story. Instructor, East Berlin, Pennsylvania, Adult Education Program.

Teaching Experience: Conferences

2009 “Writing for Children: How to Banish Boredom from your Prose,” and “Wars for Words: Exploring Motivational Reading Competitions,” presented at the McNeese State University Teaching and Learning Conference 2009.

2006 “Better Beginnings” workshop, presented at the Pennwriters Annual Conference.

2006 “The Organized Writer,” presented at the MD/​DE/​WV Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Annual Summer Conference.

Editorial Experience

2008-2010 Editorial Board, Fictionweekly.com

1986-1987 Articles Editor, University of Pennsylvania Law Review.

1984 Editor-in-Chief, Cavalcade student magazine.

1982-1984 Editor-in-Chief, The Pioneer student newspaper.

1980-1982 Assistant Editor, The Fort Hood Sentinel newspaper.