Image courtesy of SCBWI SoCal
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.
13 Wednesday Dec 2023
Posted in Community Corner, SoCal
Image courtesy of SCBWI SoCal
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.
22 Wednesday Nov 2023
Posted in Central Coast, Los Angeles, SoCal, Tri-Regional News
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
18 Wednesday Oct 2023
Posted in Illustrators Day, SoCal, Writers Days
Tags
author-illustrators, authors, Betty C. Tang, Courtney Stevenson, illustrators, Laura Taylor Namey, Lauren Rille, Lisa Johnston Hancock, Lucy Hamilburg, Savannah Brooks, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, Scott Sussman, Tina Athaide
by Beverly Plass, RA SCBWI SoCal

SCBWI SoCal’s annual Fall Harvest Writers and Illustrators Day on October 7 was a big hit. The event featured speakers, critiques, pitches, first pages, contests, book signings, a portfolio table, a published book display, and a pop-up by San Marino Toy & Book Shoppe.
We started with a fun ice-breaker suggested by SCBWI member Kelly Powers—a snowball fight. People tossed balled up pieces of paper at each other—getting a lot of laughs. Afterward, each person opened their snowball to an ice-breaker question to engage with people near them.
Continue reading04 Wednesday Oct 2023
Posted in Community Corner, SoCal, Tri-Regional News
Tags
Amin Sharif, author-illustrator, authors, Bronwen Butter Newcott, Heather Buchta, illustrators, middle grade, Nazli Tahvili, OC Children's Book Festival, picture books, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, Shiho Pate, Susi Schaefer, Susie Yi, Tootie Nienow, YA
by Beverly Plass, RA SoCal SCBWI

Thousands of book-loving families flocked to the OC Children’s Book Festival at Orange Coast College on October 1. The event featured hundreds of booths as well as several on-stage presentations. SoCal SCBWI hosted a booth with its published authors, illustrators, and author-illustrators.
Continue reading12 Wednesday Jul 2023
Posted in Community Corner, Illustrators Day, SoCal, Tri-Regional News, Writers Days
Tags
agents, authors, editors, illustrators, Laura Taylor Namey, Lauren Rille, Lisa Johnston Hancock, Lucy Hamilburg, Megan Ilnitzki, Reggie Brown, Savannah Brooks, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, SCBWI SoCal, Scott Sussman, Tina Athaide, Writers & Illustrators Day
by Beverly Plass, RA SoCal SCBWI

Join SCBWI SoCal at Cal State University Fullerton or on Zoom on October 7, to learn about craft and book publishing, connect with professionals in the industry, and mingle with other SCBWI attendees.
SoCal’s FALL HARVEST WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS DAY will take place Saturday, October 7, 2023, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. You can attend in-person at California State University, Fullerton OR participate via Zoom. Lunch is provided for in-person attendees.
Continue reading10 Wednesday May 2023
Posted in Industry Conferences, Industry News, Los Angeles, PAL, SoCal
Tags
Annelouise Mahoney, authors, C.K. Malone, Caroline L. Perry, Glenda Armand, Heather Buchta, illustrators, Janie Emaus, Jennifer Pitts, LATFoB, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Molly Ruttan, PAL events, published, R.S. Mellette, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, Tina Athaide, writing
by Annelouise Mahoney

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is an annual tradition of literary wonder. It’s the Coachella of book festivals, the largest in the country.
This year, as they do each year, the SCBWI Los Angeles chapter extended an invitation for its PAL members to sell and sign their books at a festival booth. SCBWI SoCal joined the L.A. chapter at the festival for the first time ever, sharing Booth #826. PAL members of the two regions who signed up could choose a two or three-hour time slot for either Saturday or Sunday of the event.
Continue reading14 Friday Apr 2023
Posted in Industry Conferences, Industry News, Los Angeles, PAL, SoCal
Tags
authors, illustrators, LATFoB, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, PAL events, published, R.S. Mellette, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, writing
by R.S. Mellette

Like James Brown said, it’s time to “Get up offa that thing.”
If you are reading this, chances are you are an SCBWI member, quite possibly in Southern California. That means you’re interested enough in writing and/or illustrating books that you’re willing to pay dues, go to mingles, take workshops, and generally give of your time and money to improve your craft. On Saturday and Sunday, April 22 and 23, you will have that opportunity at the largest book festival in the country, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
Much of this event is FREE, and SCBWI will be there to make you feel welcome.
Continue reading05 Wednesday Apr 2023
Posted in Central Coast, Los Angeles, SoCal, Tri-Regional News
by Judy Faulkner and Michelle Lin, Kite Tales Co-Managing Editors
The seasons are changing—at Kite Tales, too.
Jessica Chrysler and Noel Csermak, two stalwart SCBWI Tri-Region volunteers, have recently stepped away from their respective long-time roles as KT’s managing editor and proofreader. If you’ve enjoyed the blog in recent years (as we know so many of you have!), they are two major reasons why.
Continue reading18 Wednesday Jan 2023
Posted in Author's Perspective, PAL, SoCal, Tips and Tools, Tri-Regional News
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?
Continue reading18 Wednesday Apr 2018
Posted in SoCal, Tri-Regional News
By Beverly Plass, Co-Assistant SoCal Regional Advisor
Into the Woods: May 4-6, 2018
Our weekend writer’s retreat sold out in one week! YA and middle-grade writers will gather in scenic Idyllwild to spruce up their manuscripts with the guidance of professionals. And what better theme for this year than “Into the Woods?” Attendees will participate in four critique-group sessions led by an editor, agent, or published author, hear speaker presentations on the craft of writing, and mingle during meals and a happy hour.
Our faculty includes: Continue reading