Let’s Get Rhyming!

29 Wednesday Mar 2023

Posted by Judy Y Faulkner in Author's Perspective, Central Coast, Tips and Tools

Tags

authors, CenCal, craft, Patricia Toht, poetry, publishing, rhyming, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, writing, writing tips

by Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison

*Author and Rhyme Doctor Patricia Toht is on call in April to help you take your rhyme to the next level.*

Join us on Thursday, April 13, at 6:30 p.m. for a webinar with Patricia Toht titled “Let’s Get Rhyming!” Despite what some may insist, it’s not a crime to write in rhyme! But it does take effort to master your verse. Join author and Rhyme Doctor Patricia Toht as she shares her new releases, Together With You and Pick a Perfect Egg, along with other wonderful books in rhyme, and reveals key elements that make them shine. The price will be $12 for SCBWI members.

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Always Go to the Workshops

15 Wednesday Mar 2023

Posted by Judy Y Faulkner in Author's Perspective, Industry Conferences, Los Angeles, PAL, Tips and Tools

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

authors, craft, Creative Toolbox, Henry Lien, publishing, R.S. Mellette, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, writing

by R.S. Mellette

Warm-up for the workshop’s “hawt” writing tips includes homemade cookies and hot coffee.

Before attending Henry Lien’s Creative Toolbox Workshop in January, I wasn’t much of a workshop person. I’ve got a theatre (with an “re”) degree. I’ve studied all the great playwrights from the inside out—meaning I’ve played their characters, and there is no better teacher about what works and what doesn’t than a live audience. I have written screenplays. I’ve won awards for TV and film. I have books published with glowing reviews. I have earned my snobbish attitude!

But I’ve also been locked inside for two years, like the rest of us, so any chance to see another person face-to-face is a joy these days. Also, I know Henry. Author of the Peasprout Chen middle grade fantasy/adventure series, he sat on a panel I put together for L.A. Comic Con. He’s a really nice guy, so I should go wave the flag of the SCBWI-L.A. board, right?

Fine. I went.

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Plant a Seed of an Idea and Watch it Blossom into Your Next Book

08 Wednesday Mar 2023

Posted by Judy Y Faulkner in Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

authors, Fina Mendoza Mysteries, Kitty Felde, MG, middle grade, novels, publishing, writing, writing tips

by Kitty Felde

Kitty Felde at Literary Hill BookFest on Capitol Hill 2022

There is nothing more scary than a blank screen. Starting a new novel from scratch is more terrifying than any roller coaster in any amusement park anywhere in the world.

That’s why I avoid an empty page.

Instead, I’m a great believer in germination. Instead of starting from bare earth, I plant the tiniest of ideas, giving them time to take root and put up shoots. I never know which seeds will fully blossom, but I’m willing to be surprised.

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Join Author-Illustrator Molly Ruttan for a Walk on the WILD Side

22 Wednesday Feb 2023

Posted by Judy Y Faulkner in Author's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

authors, illustrator tips, illustrators, Molly Ruttan, picture book, publishing, SCBWI members, Something Wild, writing tips

Molly Ruttan’s gorgeously illustrated, award-winning picture books often feature gently humorous, fantastical happenings cast within real-life settings. This unique perspective is at the forefront in the forthcoming Something Wild, which publishes next week (2023, Nancy Paulsen Books / Penguin Random House). Something Wild is the recipient of a Kirkus starred review.

Judy Faulkner: Welcome back to Kite Tales, Molly! You’ve been super busy since your appearance in 2019, when your illustrator debut, I Am a Thief!, came out. Now your fourth book is about to launch—your second as author-illustrator. Tell us about it!

Molly Ruttan: Thank you so much for having me back! It’s always such a pleasure to connect with my SCBWI family.

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An Interview with Karen Jameson, Picture Book Author

01 Wednesday Feb 2023

Posted by Michelle Lin in Author's Perspective, Central Coast

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

A Llama is not an Alpaca, authors, Karen Jameson, Moon Babies, picture books, rhyming, Time to Shine, Where the Wee Ones Go, Woodland Dreams

by Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison

After publishing a couple of picture books, Karen Jameson retired from teaching and became a full-time author. Karen Jameson’s books include Moon Babies, illustrated by Amy Hevron (Putnam, 2019); Woodland Dreams, illustrated by Marc Boutavant (Chronicle, 2020); and Farm Lullaby, illustrated by Wednesday Kirwan. Woodland Dreams is a Keystone to Reading List Award winner and is included on Bank Street’s The Best Children’s Books of the Year List 2021.

Two more books came out last year: Where the Wee Ones Go: A Bedtime Wish for Endangered Animals, illustrated by Zosienka (Chronicle, April 2022), and Time to Shine: Celebrating the World’s Iridescent Animals, illustrated by Dave Murray (Groundwood, May 2022). Karen has books coming out in 2023 and 2024.

It’s been two years since Kite Tales interviewed her. It’s time to check in!

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Disability Inclusion 101: Five Tips for Writing Disability “Right”

18 Wednesday Jan 2023

Posted by Judy Y Faulkner in Author's Perspective, PAL, SoCal, Tips and Tools, Tri-Regional News

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

authors, disability, illustrators, inclusion, Karol Ruth Silverstein, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, writing tips

by Karol Ruth Silverstein

Disability is everywhere, sometimes hidden, sometimes unmistakable. Disabled people make up the largest and most diverse minority group in the world. So—yes—disability should be abundant in our children’s literature as well. But is “bad” (i.e., inaccurate, inauthentic, insensitive) representation better than no representation at all?

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Interview with Author-Illustrator Benson Shum

11 Wednesday Jan 2023

Posted by Michelle Lin in Author's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Anzu the Great Listener, authors, Benson Shum, illustrator tips, illustrators, picture books, writing tips

Benson Shum is a Southern California author-illustrator of more than five children’s books. His latest, Anzu the Great Listener, came out January 10. It is the sequel to Anzu the Great Kaiju (2021) and a Kids’ Indie Next pick for January/February 2023.

Kite Tales: Welcome to Kite Tales, congratulations on Anzu the Great Listener! What was the original inspiration for Anzu?

Benson Shum: Thank you so much! I always loved the world of Kaijus, the idea that these monsters tower over cities and are larger than life. But I wanted to know more. What was going through their heads? Did they all want to be destructive? What if they’d rather talk to their city rather than destroy it?

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Attention Picture Book Writers: SCBWI-L.A.’s Mentorship Contest Is Now Open!

04 Wednesday Jan 2023

Posted by Jessica Chrysler in Author's Perspective, Contests & Grants, Mentorship Contest

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

contests, illustrators, Joseph Taylor, mentorship, picture book, Sarah Gottlieb, SCBWI members, writer

by Sarah Gottlieb

About this time last year, I was drowning in “champagne rejections.” I had a wonderful but complicated idea and had spent a lot of time working on a manuscript and query letter. What was causing agents to write complimentary emails but not take the plunge? Or worse, to say, “Call me if someone makes you an offer!” I knew I had a great idea—the agents said as much—but I didn’t know why they wouldn’t bite.

I thought of all of the writers I’d met and wondered if a mentor could help. I checked SCBWI-L.A. to see if they had any information on mentorships and, to my delight, this very mentorship contest was open for submission. AND the mentor was Joseph Taylor, the editor of MUSE, the children’s science magazine. I couldn’t believe my luck.

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10 Inspiring Kite Tales Quotes from 2022

28 Wednesday Dec 2022

Posted by Judy Y Faulkner in Author's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective, Tips and Tools

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

authors, Barbara Bietz, Britta Lundin, Emily Asaro, Faith McClaren, illustrators, Jessica Chrysler, Jorjeana Marie, R.S. Mellette, SCBWI community, Toni Gallagher, Victoria Fulton

As calendar year 2022 winds to a close, here are some things I have noticed this season: friends and family gathering together more frequently, people traveling for vacations, and folks going out to the movies again.

Do you sense it, too? That life in general has recovered some of its vivid color? And that our own—and our community’s—creative focus has reawakened?

Call it a holiday gift. (It is!) But renewed spirit has also been a trend all year long. Read or re-read these 10 favorite quotes and stories from Kites Tales 2022 to see—and to get ready for a “trending terrific” 12 months ahead.

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Writers Day 2022 Back in Person: Craft, Community, and Book-ish Costumes

30 Wednesday Nov 2022

Posted by Michelle Lin in Author's Perspective, Writers Days

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Alex Slater, Andrea J. Loney, Joseph Taylor, Mitali Perkins, Natasha Khan Kazi, Orlando Dos Reis, Rebecca Langston-George, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, Sue Ganz-Schmitt, Toni Gallagher

By Natasha Khan Kazi

October 22, 2022, marked the return of Writers Day at the Skirball Cultural Center, hosted by SCBWI Los Angeles and CenCal. I was thrilled to be back in person with the SoCal kid lit community. With smiles, under our masks, we welcomed a day of craft, community, and book-ish costumes.

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