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.
06 Wednesday Dec 2023
Posted in Central Coast, Community Corner
Image by Maddie Sandell
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.
29 Wednesday Nov 2023
Posted in Contests & Grants, Los Angeles, Writers Days
Tags
authors, middle grade, Nicholas Ponticello, Patricia Toht, picture book, SCBWI community, Vincent X. Kirsch, writing contest, young adult
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.
Continue reading22 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
15 Wednesday Nov 2023
Posted in Toot Your Horn!
Tags
board book, graphic picture book, picture book, published, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI members
SCBWI members’ publishing news is something to celebrate here at Kite Tales! Check out whose book is coming to a platform near you or around the world. Horn-tooting and digital high fives welcome in the comments!
08 Wednesday Nov 2023
Posted in Great News!
Tags
Alva Sachs, Caroline Arnold, Diane de Anda, R.S. Mellette, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, Sherry Shahan, Tim Cummings
SCBWI loves celebrating our members’ successes and noteworthy news, and there are many! Read on to find out who’s got something to shout about. Digital high-fives welcome in the comments!
Continue reading01 Wednesday Nov 2023
Posted in Ask an Editor, Tips and Tools
Tags
#AskanEditor, authors, Christine Van Zandt, editor, middle grade, nonfiction, novel, picture book, publishing, query letters, writing tips, YA
“Ask an Editor” is a quarterly forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our Kite Tales blog.
Hi Christine—I’ve finished the first draft of my middle-grade mystery but still have a ways to go before it’s ready for me to submit it to literary agents. When do I start writing my query letter?—Ava, Los Angeles
25 Wednesday Oct 2023
Posted in Contests & Grants, Los Angeles, Mentorship Contest
Tags
authors, Cara J. Stevens, Jeff Creely, mentorship, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, writing
by Cara J. Stevens
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.
Continue reading18 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 reading11 Wednesday Oct 2023
Posted in Central Coast, Community Corner, Writers' Retreat
by Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison
Recharge your writing life beside the sea. Join us January 19–21, 2024. The CenCal get-away-to-write retreat will be held at the Cavalier Oceanfront Resort in San Simeon, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Enjoy writing time, beach walks, ten-minute TED-style talks, campfire chats, and optional critique group sessions.
Continue reading
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