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.
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!
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.
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.
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!”
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.
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.
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.
I’ve been a member of SCBWI since the late ’90s, when I gave a talk on writing for children via a new platform at the time: the World Wide Web. Since then, I have been involved with SCBWI on and off throughout the years as my career took me in and out of the children’s writing world.
Last year, as I did my annual check-in at the last-100-days-of-the-year mark, I looked back on the amazingly good fortune I’ve had in working with many editors and publishing mentors. As I planned ahead for the coming year, I decided to make 2023 a year of giving back to the children’s writing community. Within the course of the next one hundred days, I embarked on a journey to self-publish a guide to writing picture-perfect picture books, started a picture book writing podcast, and reconnected with SCBWI.
Welcome back to Meet the Faculty! In anticipation of the SCBWI-L.A. Working Writers Retreat on September 29–October 1, we’re getting to know the agents and editors who will be sharing their time and expertise at the event. This week we spoke with agent Sera Rivers and editor Sydnee Monday. Read on to discover what they look for in books and tips for making the most of the retreat!
(And if you’re inspired and would like to hear more from Sera and Sydnee, you can register for the retreat here! Registration will close at 11:59pm on Thursday, September 14.)
Kite Tales 