Calling All Illustrators: Be a Mentor in 2023! But First … a Word from This Year’s Mentor

26 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by in Contests & Grants, Mentorship Contest, Tri-Regional News

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by Joseph Taylor

Editor’s Note: Mentorship proposals are now open to PAL Illustrator members of the Los Angeles Region for the 2023 Mentorship program! Read on to find out more about this rewarding experience and how you can help champion the next mentee!

A few months after starting a new job as editor of Muse magazine, I got the chance to focus on book writing with 2022 SCBWI-L.A. mentee Sarah Gottlieb. I was grateful to SCBWI-L.A. for offering a mentorship focusing on nonfiction for the first time and delighted to get the chance to work with Sarah.

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Finding Theme: The North Star for You and Your Story

19 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by in Author's Perspective, PAL, Tips and Tools

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by Danielle Davis

The North Star has always been a beacon for travelers, all over the Northern Hemisphere. A barely drifting constant. A guide. 

I believe theme functions as that same kind of beacon for every story—and storyteller.  

I’m not a mariner by any stretch, and sea sickness prevents me from even wanting to be one, but here goes: 

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SCBWI CenCal Save the Dates: Fall and Winter Events 2022

12 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by in Central Coast, Critique Day, Tri-Regional News

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by Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison

Join us for a couple of fun programs this coming November and December. If you have ever wondered what it would be like to write for a small press, be with us in November for our Small Press Webinar. Also, we will be holding a Critique-a Thon, online, in December. Please see the details below for both events.

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3rd Annual #KTIllustrates Contest: Call for Entries

05 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by in #KTIllustrates, Contests & Grants

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Calling all Illustrators! Kite Tales invites you, our illustrator members, to participate in our annual #KTIllustrates Contest: we give you a prompt and you show us your best take. The illustration can be in any medium, for any age range, and any genre. It can be conceptual or literal, spot or spread, as long as it keeps the idea of the prompt as it would apply to children’s books. (If you’re inspired to create a cover illustration instead, go for it!) All are welcome, as long as the final entry follows the guidelines posted on the entry page.

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Crossing Borders and Letting Go with Mitali Perkins

28 Wednesday Sep 2022

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Writers Days

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Joining us as keynote speaker for Writers Day 2022 is Mitali Perkins! An explorer of boundaries both physical and literary, she has written books for all ages of young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near (nominated for a National Book Award) and Rickshaw Girl (adapted into a film by Sleeperwave Productions) and the upcoming picture book, The Story of Us (Beaming Books, 2022). She seeks to make readers laugh and cry, all while opening their hearts to understanding the mysteries of the wider world.

Jessica Chrysler: Welcome Mitali, and thank you for taking the time to interview with Kite Tales! As an author of picture books, YA and nonfiction for adults, your work crosses categories as fluidly as you explore the theme of crossing borders. What inspires you in your work? And what gives you that spark to take on the next project?

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Book Banning: What YOU Can Do to Stop Censorship

21 Wednesday Sep 2022

Posted by in Community Corner, Industry News

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The recent rash of documented complaints against specific books in schools and libraries have grown to an overwhelming number. Not only are the numbers concerning, but the complaints are also targeting books on the shelves of public libraries and bookstores all over the country. Books that have helped children learn more about themselves and others in the world are being removed from their hands. Books that have been created by authors who share the same identities of these kids are being censured into silence.

So what can we do about it?

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#KTChat with Jorjeana Marie: Getting Clear on the Career You LOVE

14 Wednesday Sep 2022

Posted by in #KTChat, Author's Perspective

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by Jorjeana Marie

Editor’s Note: On Twitter this Friday (9/16/22) from 12-1PM PST, Jorjeana will take your questions and discuss ways on how to define your writerly goals. Log into your Twitter account during our chat hour and use the hashtag #KTChat or @mention @jorjeanamarie and @SCBWISOCALLA to join the discussion! If you aren’t on Twitter, leave questions in the blog comments before the chat! 

Brainstorming isn’t just for coming up with ideas or solving story solutions. If you’re at all unhappy with any aspect of your writing life, brainstorming can help. It can connect you with your deepest desires—and what better way to brainstorm than by playing some fun games with your inner kid. 

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Interview with Author Barbara Bietz

07 Wednesday Sep 2022

Posted by in Author's Perspective

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Barbara Bietz, SCBWI Central California’s Assistant Regional Advisor, is here today to talk about her journey writing kid’s books. Her latest picture book, Apples, Apples, All Year Round: A Celebration of Jewish Holidays, is co-authored with June Sobel, and illustrated by Ruth Waters(2022, Apples & Honey).

CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome to Kite Tales! Your five books have Jewish themes or characters. Why is this important to your work? Can you please speak to Jewish representation in children’s books today?

BARBARA BIETZ: Thank you so much for having me on Kite Tales. In terms of the books I write, I gravitate toward characters and topics that feel familiar to me. I feel very connected to the Jewish community and I love creating stories that might offer a unique insight for readers of all backgrounds.

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Ask an Editor: How to Write a Graphic Novel

31 Wednesday Aug 2022

Posted by in Ask an Editor, Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog.

Hi Andy – I enjoy graphic novels and want to write one but don’t know how to make the jump. (I write YA.) Any suggestions? I’m not an illustrator.

—Will, Los Angeles

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Great News!

24 Wednesday Aug 2022

Posted by in Great News!

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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!

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