Category Archives: Los Angeles

You Are a Writer (And Here’s Why You Should Apply for the Sue Alexander Grant!) 

10 Wednesday Apr 2024

Posted by in Contests & Grants, Los Angeles, SAG, Tri-Regional News, Writers' Retreat

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by Julia Edwards

The 2024 Sue Alexander Grant contest opens this week—April 13. The winner receives a guaranteed spot and free tuition to the Working Writers Retreat (to be held at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, September 27–29, 2024). We asked last year’s Sue Alexander Grant recipient, Julia Edwards, to talk about her experience at the 2023 retreat.

Julia Edwards (at right) with the writers from her Retreat crit group.

“I am a writer.” 

SCBWI-Los Angeles Co-Regional Advisor Nutschell Windsor encouraged the attendees gathered at the 2023 Working Writers Retreat to write down these four words. I penned the phrase quickly, not realizing at first how much I needed to write it. How much I needed to think it. After a several-year hiatus from the retreat due to COVID and an aversion to online anything, I was finally shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow writers. Colleagues. Friends.

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Treasure Chest: April 2024

03 Wednesday Apr 2024

Posted by in Los Angeles, SoCal, Treasure Chest, Tri-Regional News

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Events, Opportunities, and Resources happening now and coming soon for the
Tri-Regions and beyond

On Thursday, April 11th at 4pm PT / 7pm ET, you’re invited to the Children’s Book Changemakers Special, presented by the SCBWI Impact and Legacy Fund. This exciting Zoom program is free to all (no SCBWI membership required) and features rare appearances from iconic children’s book thought leaders whose work has made a difference. More information or register today. 

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Ronna Mandel Receives 2023 Sue Alexander Service and Encouragement Award

27 Wednesday Mar 2024

Posted by in Contests & Grants, Los Angeles, SASE Award, Tri-Regional News, Writers Days

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Ronna Mandel (center), recipient of the 2023 SASE Award honor, stands with SCBWI-Los Angeles Co-Regional Advisors Sally Jones Rogan (L) and Nutschell Anne Windsor (R).

Under a bright blue sky, in high spirits, and representing all three Tri-Regions, a record-setting number of kidlit creators gathered on March 9 for “Bud to Blossom,” the 2024 SCBWI-Los Angeles Writers Day. 

On a day with many highlights, an especially heartwarming moment was the presentation of the annual Sue Alexander Service and Encouragement Award to 2023 recipient Ronna Mandel. 

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SCBWI-L.A. Writers Day 2024 Contest Winners

20 Wednesday Mar 2024

Posted by in Contests & Grants, Los Angeles, Tri-Regional News, Writers Days

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by Brenda Scott Royce, Contest Coordinator

SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator Brenda Scott Royce announces this year’s winners.

Please join us in celebrating the 2024 Writers Day Contest runners-up and winners, who were announced at the SCBWI-L.A. Writers Day event on Saturday, March 9. With a record number of submissions this year, the competition was very steep! Our anonymous judges chose seven honorees in four categories: Young Adult, Middle Grade, Picture Book, and Non-Fiction. First-place winners in each category receive free tuition to next year’s Writers Day event and a manuscript critique from one of this year’s faculty members. 

Excerpts from the judges’ comments are included in the list of honorees that follows. If you’d like to contact any of the winners to request their manuscript or discuss publication, please let us know!

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Treasure Chest: March 2024

06 Wednesday Mar 2024

Posted by in Central Coast, Contests & Grants, Industry Conferences, Los Angeles, SoCal, Treasure Chest, Tri-Regional News, Writers Days

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Events, Opportunities, and Resources happening now and coming soon for the
Tri-Regions and beyond

Burst into creative bloom this Saturday at Bud to Blossom. How to Grow Stories and Nurture Creative Inspiration, the in-person SCBWI-Los Angeles 2024 Writers Day conference being held at the Skirball Cultural Center on March 9, 2024. An all-star faculty—including speakers Deborah Halverson, Henry Lien, Ariel Richardson, Liz Garton Scanlon, and Karol Ruth Silverstein—will nourish your creative spirit and encourage your stories to sprout and grow. Enjoy keynotes, breakouts, an afternoon book signing, and a patio lunch by the famous lily pond. Event schedule and faculty profiles here. Online registration is now closed. Walk-ins welcome (cash or check only).

March 9 is the date for the 2024 SCBWI-Los Angeles Writers Day.
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Treasure Chest: February 2024

07 Wednesday Feb 2024

Posted by in Central Coast, Contests & Grants, Industry Conferences, Los Angeles, SoCal, Treasure Chest, Tri-Regional News, Writers Days

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Events, Opportunities, and Resources happening now and coming soon for the Tri-Regions and beyond

Tri-Region Members: Last call! Remember to share your Great News and Toot Your Horn! announcements no later than Friday, February 9, 2024, to appear in this month’s columns. All items submitted after February 9 will run next quarter. 

The C. Harrington Scholarship is accepting applications through February 17, 2024. Established in memory of Claudia Harrington—mentor, author, SCBWI-L.A. regional advisor, and friend—the scholarship awards one SCBWI-L.A. member free tuition to either the LA Region Writers Day (see March 9, below) or an Illustrator event of the current year, and includes a free editor critique or portfolio review. Claudia was the recipient of the Sue Alexander Service Award in 2015. Read more about Claudia and this special scholarship here.

SCBWI-Los Angeles members may apply for the scholarship honoring the memory of volunteer, mentor, and author Claudia Harrington.
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Treasure Chest: January 2024

03 Wednesday Jan 2024

Posted by in Central Coast, Contests & Grants, Industry Conferences, Los Angeles, SoCal, Tri-Regional News, Writers Days

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Events, Opportunities, and Resources happening now and coming soon for the Tri-Regions and beyond

Event registration opening soon! From Bud to Blossom: How to Grow Stories and Nurture Creative Inspiration. Join SCBWI Los Angeles for the in-person “Bud to Blossom” Writers Day Conference, March 9, 2024, at the Skirball Cultural Center. An amazing faculty will nourish your creative spirit and encourage your stories to sprout and grow. Already have a flourishing manuscript? Then add an Agent Pitch to your event day! Enter the manuscript contest (see below) for a chance to win a free event plus a free 10-page manuscript review. Come meet fellow SCBWI Los Angeles and Tri-Region members and enjoy a delicious al fresco lunch beside the famous lily pond. See you there! 

*Deadline extended!* Submissions are open now, and January 28, 2024, is the new deadline to enter your work into the SCBWI-L.A. Writers Day Contest. If you plan to attend the March 9, 2024, event (see Save the Date above), you can enter the contest now for the opportunity to receive a free written critique from a member of the event faculty PLUS free tuition to next year’s Writers Day (or equivalent event). The contest is open to all who register for Writers Day, and there’s no additional fee to enter. To quote Vincent X. Kirsch, one of last year’s contest winners, “You can do this!”

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Holiday Message from the SCBWI-L.A. Regional Team

20 Wednesday Dec 2023

Posted by in Community Corner, Los Angeles

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As 2023 draws to a close, we look back and celebrate our connections with friends and industry professionals, enjoying warm memories of events past. We look forward to future joys found in the myriad ways we and our colleagues bring stories to young people everywhere. And we anticipate the fun of offering programming in the coming year that will inspire, energize, and illuminate your creative path.

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Ready, Set, Enter: The Writers Day Contest Is Open!

29 Wednesday Nov 2023

Posted by in Contests & Grants, Los Angeles, Writers Days

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by Brenda Scott Royce

SCBWI-L.A.’s signature event, Writers Day, will be back in 2024—and with it comes the Writers Day Contest, an opportunity for all attendees to enter for a chance to win prizes and public recognition of their work.

Why enter writing contests? Prizes are awfully nice, and hearing your name announced as the winner is a definite thrill. A contest win can get you a step closer to publication. And just entering can be a reward in itself, providing the boost you need to polish your manuscript and send it out into the world.

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Happy Thanksgiving from the Kite Tales Team

22 Wednesday Nov 2023

Posted by in Central Coast, Los Angeles, SoCal, Tri-Regional News

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At Kite Tales, we’re thankful for the writers, illustrators, editors, agents, and volunteers who have contributed to the blog this year. And to our readers, thank you for encouraging us with your comments and helping us grow the kidlit community. We couldn’t do it without you! We’ll be back with more content and a big announcement next week.

For more fantastic content, community, events, and other professional development opportunities, become a member today! Not sure if there is a chapter in your area? Check here.

Illustration by Judy Y Faulkner