Category Archives: Writers Days

Treasure Chest: August 2024

31 Wednesday Jul 2024

Posted by in Contests & Grants, Illustrators Day, Industry Conferences, SCBWI Summer Conference, Treasure Chest, Tri-Regional News, Writers Days, Writers' Retreat

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

OPEN NOW
Registration is open! Learn about craft and book publishing, connect with professionals in the industry, and mingle with creative people at the SCBWI SoCal Fall Harvest Writers and Illustrators Day! This full-day conference will take place in-person at the California State University Fullerton Titan Student Union OR online, on Saturday, October 5, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and will include agents, an art director, local authors, and an illustrator. There will be critiques, portfolio reviews, pitches, and contests. Click here to register!

OPEN NOW
Join SCBWI in celebrating World Kid Lit Month in September by submitting your book recommendations now! The Official SCBWI Blog is hosting a month-long celebration of “children’s and YA literature from around the world,” and your short book reviews are invited. There will be four blog posts, each focusing on a different continent: the Americas, Africa, Asia & Oceania, and Europe. For more information, click the link here. All submissions should be emailed to World Kit Lit (worldkidlit@gmail.com).

ONGOING
Submit your book now for the SCBWI Impact & Legacy Fund (ILF) Russell Freedman Award or apply for a grant from The ILF Encouragement Fund! No SCBWI membership is required. However, you must be traditionally published. Submissions will close on September 15, 2024.

ONGOING
Sign up for the SCBWI CenCal’s 2024 Writers and Illustrators Day! Regular pricing registration for SCBWI members is $137 and will remain open until all seats are filled. The event will be held in-person at the Camarillo Community Center on Saturday, September 21, 2024. There will be an additional “optional online Pitchfest via Zoom” on Sunday, September 22, 2024.

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Treasure Chest: July 2024

03 Wednesday Jul 2024

Posted by in Contests & Grants, Illustrators Day, Industry Conferences, SCBWI Summer Conference, 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

ONGOING
There are lots of opportunities for PAL and self-published SCBWI members in the coming months! Snag one of the few remaining slots at the SCBWI’s Orange County Book Fair booth. The event takes place in Old Town Tustin on Saturday, July 13, 2024. Register here.

The Los Angeles Kids Book Festival has limited seats available for published SCBWI members and will take place in West Hollywood Park on Sunday, September 8, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information about registering, click here.

Additionally, if you are a published SoCal member and would like to be put on the waitlist for the SoCal booth at September’s Orange County Children’s Book Festival, email Bev Plass at: SoCal-RA@scbwi.org.

ONGOING
Registration for the Virtual Summer Conference is still open! The online event will take place from August 1–August 4. Registration is $195 for premium members and $295 for non-members. There will be 50 jam-packed sessions to choose from on the topic of craft and the business of children’s book creation. Every attendee will have access to all content sessions for up to one month after the conference.

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SCBWI CenCal Writers and Illustrators Day 2024

26 Wednesday Jun 2024

Posted by in Central Coast, Illustrators Day, Tri-Regional News, Writers Days

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by Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison

Join us for Writers and Illustrators Day 2024!

CONNECTING THE CREATIVE DOTS is Saturday, September 21, 2024, with an optional online pitchfest/portfolio review the following day, Sunday, September 22, for an additional fee. The first day is in-person at a new venue, the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District Auditorium, 1605 E. Burnley Street in Camarillo. Lunch is provided.

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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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Liz Garton Scanlon on Growing Your Craft and Your Community—A Writers Day Preview

28 Wednesday Feb 2024

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Writers Days

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Author Liz Garton Scanlon

Liz Garton Scanlon is the author of numerous beloved books for young people, including picture books Everyone Starts Small; Full Moon Pups; Kate, Who Tamed the Wind; the Caldecott-honored All the World; and many others, all illustrated by some of the very best artists in the business. She’s also co-authored several books with her pal Audrey Vernick, including the hilarious Bob, Not Bob and The World’s Best Class Plant. Scanlon’s middle grade novels are The Great Good Summer and Lolo’s Light, and her chapter book series Bibsy Cross debuts this June. Liz has taught at Austin Community College, Whale Rock Workshops, the Writing Barn, and at countless schools and conferences. She serves on the faculty of the Writing for Children and Young Adults program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and lives in Austin, Texas. Find more at Liz’s website.

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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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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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