10 Wednesday Sep 2025
Posted in Great News!
Tags
Caroline L. Perry, Dan McCauley, Laura Segal Stegman, Margaret Finnegan, Molly Ruttan, PB Rippey, Rosalind Barden, Sasha Mayer, 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 reading03 Wednesday Sep 2025
Tags
author-illustrator, authors, CenCal Writer's Day, Enchanted Realms Book Festival, Fall Harvest, Fall Into Books Fest, illustrators, Los Angeles Kids Book Festival, Los Angeles Libros Festival, middle grade, National Centre for Writing, Nikkei Children's Book Festival, PAL, published, Rare Books LA, Reedsy, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, scholarship, volunteer, Working Writer's Retreat, workshop, Writer's Digest, young adult
OPEN NOW
Register for the annual SCBWI Los Angeles Working Writers Retreat 2025 today! This space-limited event will take place from Friday, October 31, 2025, to Sunday, November 2, 2025, at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, CA. Throughout the weekend, there will be opportunities to learn from our on-site and remote faculty members: Editor Adam Blackman, Assistant Literary Agent Analía Cabello, Editor Matt Phipps, and Agent Moe Ferrara. Registration spots to stay on-site or commute are very limited so sign up now to avoid disappointment. We hope to see you there!
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Registration for SCBWI CenCal’s 2025 Writers & Illustrators Day – CATCHING THE CREATIVE WAVE is still open! Join us at the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District Auditorium in Camarillo on Saturday, September 20, 2025, for a wonderful opportunity to connect with writers, illustrators, and agents! This two-day event will take place in-person on Day 1 and will feature an optional online Pitchfest over Zoom on Day 2. To learn more about what’s in store, click the link here.
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Grab your spot for the SCBWI SoCal 2025 Fall Harvest Writers and Illustrators Day! We have a wonderful lineup of speaker presentations, critiques, pitches, and opportunities to mingle with fellow creatives! This hybrid event will be held on October 4, 2025, at the California State University Fullerton, Titan Student Union, AND via Zoom. Attendees will have access to the videos for 30 days following the event.
13 Wednesday Aug 2025
Posted in Central Coast, Great News!, Los Angeles, SoCal, Toot Your Horn!, Tri-Regional News
We’re Going Fishin’ … but First, a Deadline for YOU
Today (Wednesday, August 13) is the last day to submit your news for Kite Tales’ September Great News and Toot Your Horn columns.
Follow the link, fill out the forms, upload an image (no larger than 2MB), and shine some light on your recent and upcoming work and achievements. Let the community help you celebrate!
Continue reading06 Wednesday Aug 2025
Posted in Ask an Editor, Tips and Tools
Tags
#AskanEditor, Amanda Davis, author, authors, books, business, Christine Van Zandt, community, editor, Events, Jocelyn Rish, Keila V. Dawson, marketing, Micky O'Brady, Moni Ritchie Hadley, publicity, publishing, R.S. Mellette, Tina Athaide, Tracy Gold, websites
“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered quarterly as part of our Kite Tales blog.
Hi Christine – I’m selling my book for the first time at an event. What tips can you share? I’m looking for things that have worked well for sales and that were cost-effective.
– Ellie, Pasadena
Hello Ellie – You’ll have fun! That’s one of the great things about being a kidlit author.
Authors who have been there and done that share their tips:
Continue reading30 Wednesday Jul 2025
Tags
author-illustrator, authors, CenCal Writer's Day, Enchanted Realms Book Festival, Fall Harvest, illustrators, Los Angeles Kids Book Festival, middle grade, National Centre for Writing, PAL, published, Rare Books LA, Reedsy, SCBWI Annual Summer Conference, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, scholarship, volunteer, workshop, Writer's Digest, young adult
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The SCBWI Virtual Summer Conference 2025 starts tomorrow! From July 31, 2025, to August 3, 2025, “dive into every aspect of the children’s book world, from writing and illustrating to translating, marketing, and self-publishing.” Attendees will have access to all 50+ sessions up until September 14, 2025. Click here to see the conference schedule and invest in your passion today!
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Registration for SCBWI CenCal’s 2025 Writers & Illustrators Day – CATCHING THE CREATIVE WAVE is now open! On Saturday, September 20, 2025, at the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District Auditorium, 1605 E. Burnley St. in Camarillo, attendees will have a wonderful opportunity to connect with writers, illustrators, and agents. The day will be filled with prizes, photo opportunities, a writing contest, and a catered lunch. To learn more about what’s in store, click the link here.
OPEN NOW
Save your seat for the SCBWI SoCal 2025 Fall Harvest Writers and Illustrators Day! “Writers and illustrators are invited to a full day of speaker presentations, written critiques, pitches and mingling with fellow creatives!” This hybrid event will be held on October 4, 2025, at California State University Fullerton, Titan Student Union, AND via Zoom. Attendees will have access to the videos for 30 days following the event and receive submission guidelines from all our faculty.
16 Wednesday Jul 2025
Posted in Illustrators Day, SoCal, Tri-Regional News, Writers Days
Tags
Amanda Gaglione, Ariel Richardson, author-illustrators, authors, Brett Duquette, Brian LaRossa, illustrators, Kelly Dyksterhouse, Lauren Kisare, Marie Chan, Olivia Guimarães, Rebecca Sherman, Robert Mellette, Robin Preiss Glasser, Sally M. Kim, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, Shelly Romero, Tina Athaide
by Beverly Plass, RA SCBWI SoCal
When: Oct. 4, 2025
Where: Cal State Fullerton, Titan Student Union and virtual
Join us for a full day of speaker presentations, critiques, pitches, and mingling with fellow creatives!
Continue reading09 Wednesday Jul 2025
Dive into visual storytelling for the modern picture book market with agent Kait Feldmann!
Kait Feldmann is an agent with KT Literary and was previously an editor with HarperCollins and Scholastic, overseeing an award-winning editorial list. Join us as she brings more than decade of experience and her unique perspective on kidlit art to SCBWI-L.A.’s Illustrators Day at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, CA, on July 13, 2025, 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Continue reading02 Wednesday Jul 2025
Tags
Aram Kim, author-illustrator, authors, Beyond the Brush, Fall Harvest, illustrators, Kait Feldmann, Los Angeles Kids Book Festival, middle grade, PAL, Penguin Random House, portfolio reviews, published, SCBWI Annual Summer Conference, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, UCLA Extension, UCLAxOpen, volunteer, We Need Diverse Books, workshop, young adult
OPEN NOW
Be sure to grab your spot for the SCBWI Virtual Summer Conference 2025! “Put your art in front of industry pros in the career-launching Portfolio Showcase and get inspired by sessions tailored for” everyone at this four-day-long event! Folks who register will have access to all 50+ sessions up until September 14, 2025. Click here to see the conference schedule and register today!
OPEN NOW
Registration for the SCBWI SoCal 2025 Fall Harvest Writers and Illustrators Day is now open! “Writers and illustrators are invited to a full day of speaker presentations, written critiques, pitches and mingling with fellow creatives! We’ll have agents, an editor, an art director, published authors and an illustrator.” This hybrid event will be held on October 4, 2025, at California State University Fullerton, Titan Student Union, AND via Zoom. Click here to get more information and sign up today!
25 Wednesday Jun 2025
Posted in Central Coast, Tri-Regional News, Writers' Retreat
Tags
Andrea Brown Literary Agency, CenCal Writers and Illustrators Retreat, David Caplan, East/West Literary Agency, Farah Shaw, Harshini Vankineni, illustrators, Jim Averbeck, Joan Bransfield Graham, Kristie Choi, Lee Wardlaw, Little Brown and Company, Sally Kim, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, Simon & Schuster, writers
by Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison
Join us for Writers and Illustrators Day 2025!
CATCH THE CREATIVE WAVE will be Saturday, September 20, 2025, at the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District Auditorium, 1605 E. Burnley Street in Camarillo (same as last year). Lunch is provided. In addition to our speakers and first pages panel, we’ll be offering written critiques, writing contests, prizes, and a chance to mingle with other writers and illustrators. There will be an optional pitchfest the following day on Sunday, September 21, 2025, online.
Continue reading18 Wednesday Jun 2025
Posted in Author's Perspective, SoCal Voices
Tags
interview, Jenny Turnbull, Kelly Pellico, picture book, picture book author, publishing, SCBWI community, writing
by Kelly Pellico
Kelly Pellico: Jenny, welcome to Kite Tales and congratulations on the one-year anniversary of your debut picture book, Tate’s Wild Rescue!
Jenny Turnbull: Thank you, Kelly. It’s exciting to be here celebrating Tate‘s first book birthday!
KP: What was the initial spark for this story?
JT: Tate’s story is rooted in my lifelong love of animals and feeling wild animals are happiest free in the wild where they can thrive, while companion animals deserve the love and comforts of home. Commitment to our furry family members, and animal welfare, has always been so important to me.
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