11 Friday Mar 2016
Posted in Author's Perspective
Tags
Antonio Sacre, local, marketing, multiculturalism, parent, Spanish speaking, speaker, storyteller, UCLA, writer
Meet LA-region SCBWI member, Antonio Sacre, a storyteller and author of four children’s books. Multiculturalism is an important word in the marketplace today. In his three children’s picture books and one YA collection of stories (memoir and traditional folktales), Sacre incorporates this theme using his own mixed ethnicity.
09 Wednesday Mar 2016
Posted in Industry News
By A.J. Cosmo
Amazon offers two types of formatting options when creating books for the Kindle platform. The options allow for much different reading experiences and require different preparation before publication. It’s important to know the differences and limitations of the formats and choose one before you start work on the illustrations. Why’s that? Let me explain.
Re-Flowable Format
Re-flowable books allow users to change font sizes and even font selection at any time. It allows for links to websites, annotations, bookmarks, highlights, and more—stuff that makes an eBook different from a print book. Continue reading
09 Wednesday Mar 2016
Posted in SoCal, Tri-Regional News
by Francesca Rusackas, Regional Advisor
Happy Spring! Here in the SoCalRegion we are all looking forward to our annual Spring Retreat at the South Coast Winery Resort and Spa in Temecula. It will be held May 20 – 22. The winery gardens should be in full bloom by then.
Our guest list includes: Stacy Cantor Abrams, Executive Editorial Director of Entangled Teen; Jenne Abramawitz, Senior Editor at Scholastic; Deirdre Jones, Associate Editor, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and Deborah Warren, Co-Founder of East West Literary Agency. Continue reading
12 Friday Feb 2016
Posted in Author's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective
In honor of Valentine’s Day weekend, we’re going to share the love and offer our readers a chance to win Victoria Jamieson’s awesome book, Roller Girl. Post a comment through February 19, 2016, to be entered in this random drawing.
SCBWI member Victoria Jamieson shares her process for creating the Newbery Honor book, Roller Girl. This middle-grade graphic novel has scored more than a dozen accolades including New York Times best seller, Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of 2015, and an ALA Notable Children’s Book of 2016.
Roller Girl is Jamieson’s fourth children’s book and her third publication with Dial Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group. Her three picture books are Bea Rocks the Flock (Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books, 2009), Olympig! (2012) and Pest in Show (2013).
CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome! Why did you change your focus from picture books to a graphic novel?
05 Friday Feb 2016
Posted in Author's Perspective, Community Corner
Tags
We all love a success story. By success, I mean Drew Daywalt’s book, The Day the Crayons Quit, with over 1.1 million copies in print in 17 languages. TIME magazine named this book one of “100 Best Children’s Books of All Time.” It was on the New York Times best-seller list for 100+ weeks (No. 1 in its category for more than half that span) until recently, when bumped from this spot by its sequel, The Day the Crayons Came Home.
It gets better! This talented, amazing author is an SCBWI member who writes, lives, and raises his kids here in Los Angeles. You may have seen him on the cover of this month’s Writer’s Digest magazine.
27 Wednesday Jan 2016
Posted in Central Coast, Tri-Regional News
by Ann Rousseau Smith, CenCal News Liaison
Writer’s Retreat, January 15-17, 2016
SCBWI CenCal Announces Its First Mentor Program
The SCBWI CenCal Digital Mentorship intends to match well-published, knowledgeable local CenCal PAL members* with promising mentees to provide one-on-one writing feedback and guidance. Three mentorships will be offered in 2016: one each for picture book, middle grade, and YA.
24 Sunday Jan 2016
Posted in Contests & Grants, SAG
By Marcelle Greene, LA Contest Coordinator
Sue Alexander
After three years of favoring novels, the judges for the region’s most prestigious annual contest have awarded the Sue Alexander Grant to a picture book:
Woodland Dreams by Karen Lyn Jameson
In rhythmic writing that is sparse and word perfect, Jameson develops a gentle repetitive call to a range of forest creatures to bed down for the night. The text is “more than a bedtime story,” judges say, “offering just enough flora and fauna to spike a young listener’s interest and to create wonderful illustration potential.” Following are the first two stanzas:
22 Friday Jan 2016
Posted in Author's Perspective
Tags
Alexandra S. D. Hinrichs, Getty, historical fiction, nonfiction, parent, picture book, Two Views, Same Book, writer
Today, we present Part Two of the series featuring the author and illustrator of the historical fiction children’s picture book, Thérèse Makes a Tapestry.
Alexandra S. D. Hinrichs, an SCBWI member, is the author of this beautiful book. Set in the time of King Louis XIV’s reign of France (1643-1715), Thérèse’s father is a painter who travels with the king; their family lives at the Gobelins Manufactory where world-famous tapestries are made (and are still being made today!). Although women and girls are not permitted to weave, Thérèse practices at home. The book reveals how Thérèse surprises those around her.
Alexandra’s background includes historical researcher for American Girl, substitute youth services librarian, and children’s bookseller. She has two young boys. This is her debut children’s picture book.
20 Wednesday Jan 2016
Posted in Illustrator's Gallery, Illustrator's Perspective
Tags
Getty, historical fiction, illustrator, local, nonfiction, parent, picture book, Renee Graef, Two Views, Same Book
Today, we present Part One of the series featuring both the illustrator and author of the historical fiction children’s picture book, Thérèse Makes a Tapestry.
Renée Graef, an SCBWI member, is the illustrator of this beautiful book. Set in the time of King Louis XIV’s reign of France (1643-1715), Thérèse’s father is a painter who travels with the king; their family lives at the Gobelins Manufactory where world-famous tapestries are made (and are still being made today!). Although women and girls are not permitted to weave, Thérèse practices at home. The book reveals how Thérèse surprises those around her.
13 Wednesday Jan 2016
Posted in Community Corner, Great News!, Industry News
Each quarter we try to spotlight something helpful to writers and provide them with appropriate information. This week I have an interview with BRENDA DRAKE, founder of PITCH WARS. Read on to find out more about this interactive and free service for writers.
Brenda Drake
CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: What is Pitch Wars?
BRENDA DRAKE: Pitch Wars is a contest where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each, read their entire manuscript, and help the writers to shine it up for agents. The mentors also help with their mentees’ pitches to get them ready for the agent round. Writers send applications (query and first chapter of manuscript) to the four mentors that best fit their work. The mentors then read all their applications and choose the writer they want to mentor for the next two months. Then we hold an agent round with tons of amazing agents making requests.
Kite Tales 