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!
Great News!
22 Wednesday Aug 2018
Posted in Great News!
SCBWI 2018 Summer Conference: Striking Gold
15 Wednesday Aug 2018
Posted in SCBWI Summer Conference
By Lorian Steider Brady
SCBWI held its 47th Annual Summer Conference at the JW Marriott at LA LIVE in Los Angeles, August 3-6. The event spanned three extensive floors and was appropriately centered in the Diamond Ballroom. It was a perfect setting for the dazzling event.
Every day of the conference began with keynote speeches from well-known authors and illustrators or panel discussions with agents, editors, and authors. On August 4, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, award winning author of the middle grade novels One for the Murphys and Fish in a Tree, made us laugh, made us cry, until, finally, the audience rose en masse for a standing ovation. And that was just one of many. Outstanding keynote speakers shone throughout the weekend, reminding us again and again to write the stories in our own hearts because there are children who want, and need, to hear our stories.
Agent and SCBWI-LA WWR Faculty Victoria Wells Arms On Critiques, First Lines, and More
08 Wednesday Aug 2018
Posted in Agent's Perspective, Writers' Retreat
Tags
Candice Ransom, critiques, E.D. Baker, first lines, Han Nolan, Katherine Hannigan, Marcella Pixley, Nikki Grimes, Shannon Hale, Susan L. Roth, Susan Middleton Elya, Victoria Wells Arms, Working Writer's Retreat
Before founding Wells Arms Literary Agency in 2013, Victoria Wells Arms spent 20 years in the publishing industry, working as an editor at Penguin and Bloomsbury, where she was the founding editorial director for their U.S. children’s list. She brings her expertise to this year’s Working Writer’s Retreat (WWR) as faculty.
She’s worked with bestselling and award-winning authors, including: E. D. Baker, Susan Middleton Elya, Nikki Grimes, Shannon Hale, Katherine Hannigan, Han Nolan, Marcella Pixley, Candice Ransom, Susan L. Roth and Renee Watson. She is an MFA candidate at the Vermont College of Fine Arts’s Writing for Children and Young Adults program.
Victoria took time away from her studies to answer our questions and share her insight.
ERLINA VASCONCELLOS: The retreat will feature a panel on first pages. How do first pages make readers eager for more? What are the elements commonly overlooked by unpublished writers? Continue reading
Agent Nephele Tempest: Choosing Your Agent, Marketing Tips, Synopses, and Being an Equal-Opportunity Nerd
01 Wednesday Aug 2018
Posted in Agent's Perspective, Writers' Retreat
Nephele Tempest is on faculty for this year’s SCBWI-L.A. Working Writers Retreat (WWR). She joined The Knight Agency in January, 2005, opening the Los Angeles-area office. As an agent, she works with a number of talented writers, assisting them to hone their skills and build their careers. Nephele comes from a diverse publishing and finance background, having previously worked on the editorial side of the business, as well as for several major New York investment firms as a financial advisor and later a financial marketing and communications writer. Her previous experience provides her with insight into multiple aspects of the publishing industry and today she’s going to share some of it with us!
SARAH PARKER LEE: You’ve been involved with SCBWI events in the past. Are you there just to give back or are you actively looking for clients? If the latter, what makes someone stand out from the crowd at these fast-paced events? Continue reading
#KT250 Winning Entries, 3rd Quarter 2018
27 Friday Jul 2018
Posted in #KT250, Contests & Grants
Tags
agents, contest winners, contests, fantasy, literary fiction, middle grade, mystery, publishers, SCBWI members, seeking publisher, seeking representation, The Last Bookstore, unpublished, YA, young adult
#KT250 is a Kite Tales quarterly community contest! We’re proud to announce this quarter’s winners and share the first 250 words of their unpublished manuscripts. We encourage agents, publishers, and mentors to reach out to any they find intriguing!
To find out how YOU can enter for next quarter, check out contest info here. Entries are now being accepted for next quarter!
GRAND PRIZE WINNER: Continue reading
LitMingle Minute: Future Shock and The Query Review at Westchester Writers Mingle
25 Wednesday Jul 2018
Posted in LitMingles!
By Renee Carter
It began at a chain restaurant. I was meeting with my writers’ group, munching on a salad when suddenly a woman approached.
“That’s me,” she proclaimed, tapping the front cover of the YA novel near my elbow on the table.
I looked at the image of a Latina, teenaged girl on the book cover and turned to the woman. She must have noticed my skepticism because she promptly turned the novel over.
“I’m Elizabeth Briggs,” she smiled. “Do you like my book?” Continue reading
SCBWI Central Coast Regional News: Writer’s Day Coming October 2018
18 Wednesday Jul 2018
Posted in Central Coast, Tri-Regional News, Writers Days
Tags
agents, Allison Moore, Andrea Loney, Antoinette Portis, Carol Heyer, editors, erry Pierce, Hannah Mann, Happy LaShelle, Lorin Oberweger, Lynn Becker, Maria Middleton, Mathew Rivera, Molly Ruttan, Sarah Jane Abbott, SCBWI events
By Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison
SCBWI CenCal ArtWorks Re-Cap
By Laura-Susan Thomas, CenCal Illustrator Coordinator
Our amazing and talented faculty this year at ArtWorks were Maria Middleton, Art Director for Random House Children’s Books, and Antoinette Portis, author-illustrator of Not A Box, an ALA Geisel Honor book, and Not a Stick, one of the New York Times Ten Best Illustrated Books of the Year. Maria Middleton kicked off the day with lots of creative energy, informing us how a middle grade cover gets created, coming up with unique characters and world building, and including a live drawing exercise for all our illustrator attendees. Antoinette inspired us all to get creative, explore, find and work out those perfect picture book images and storytelling. Continue reading
The Winners of the 2018 Sue Alexander Grant Are Announced!
11 Wednesday Jul 2018
Posted in Contests & Grants, Writers' Retreat
Tags
Cambria Gordon, Helena Ku Rhee, Julia Edwards, Moni Ritchie, R.S. Mellete, SAG, Sue Alexander Grant
By Karol Ruth Silverstein, SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator
To deem the results of the 2018 Sue Alexander Grant a “close call” would be putting it mildly. The top five manuscripts all ranked within a point of one another, with this year’s winner just edging out the runner-up.
Speaking of the winning manuscript, one of our anonymous judges noted, “It has all the pieces: Great voice, unique world-building that is nicely integrated into the storytelling, a cliff hanger ending, great humor mixed with tension and good dialogue.” Another judge added that it was the “most original manuscript of the group” and a “perfect middle grade” story.
The cherry on top? This year’s winner was last year’s runner-up! Continue reading
HarperCollins Editorial Assistant and SCBWI-L.A. WWR Faculty Member Stephanie Guerdan on Intersectionality, Representation, and Geekery in Kid Lit
06 Friday Jul 2018
Posted in Editor's Perspective, Writers' Retreat
Tags
diversity, fantasy, geek culture, Graphic Novels, intersectionality, LGBTQIA, SCBWI events, sci-fi, speculative fiction, Stephanie Guerdan
HarperCollins Editorial Assistant Stephanie Geurdan is on faculty for this year’s SCBWI-L.A. Working Writers Retreat (WWR). She came to HarperCollins in2017 following jobs at a literary agency and as a bookseller. Some of the titles she’s worked on include New York Times best-selling author Natalie Lloyd’s ProblimChildren trilogy, critically acclaimed author Tiffany D. Jackson’s sophomore novel Monday’s Not Coming, and The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, the sequel to the Stonewall Honor-winning The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. She is interested primarily in middle grade and YA, especially in speculative genres and graphic novel formats, with a focus on inclusive stories from fresh voices. And she’s here today to share her insights and expertise!
SARAH PARKER LEE: We’re so excited you’re joining us for the WWR! At these kinds of events, what are editors hoping to accomplish? If you come away from them with a manuscript you want to acquire, what catches your eye first? Continue reading
#KTWriteOn with Agent Bridget Smith: Query Letters When You Have No Idea Where To Start
04 Wednesday Jul 2018
Posted in #KTWriteOn
Tags
As you celebrate Independence Day, why not free yourself from the agony of the query letter with the third installment of the Kite Tales Writing Prompt: #KTWriteOn? Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas and creative energy. This prompt was created by Bridget Smith, an agent at Dunham Literary, Inc., where she represents middle grade, YA, and adult novels, including contemporary fiction, historical fiction, and science fiction & fantasy. She is also the co-host of the podcast Shipping & Handling, and you can follow her on Twitter @bredalot.
By Bridget Smith
As an agent, I very often hear complaints from writers about how hard it is to write a good query. And I sympathize! I have written many pitches myself, after all. But unfortunately, it’s a necessary skill – and it doesn’t stop once you get an agent, either.
Luckily, with all the pitches I’ve written, I’ve figured out a formula that can give me a workable draft quickly. This isn’t necessarily the form your final pitch needs to take: I’m always delighted to see a pitch that breaks out in interesting ways, whether it’s hauntingly minimal or a clever inversion. And, of course, there is LOTS of room here for adding flavor: voice! Jokes your characters would make! Emotion! Tension!
But if you have absolutely no idea where to start, here’s a handy map:
