Author Michael Morpurgo on His New Book, TOTO, and Writing From an Animal’s Perspective

06 Wednesday Dec 2017

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Today, we feature Michael Morpurgo, author of the middle-grade chapter book, Toto: The Dog-gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz. This retelling of the classic is from Toto’s point of view. Each chapter begins as he tells his tale to his puppies—only one of which usually stays awake until the end.

A former Children’s Laureate, Morpurgo has published over 150 books. His novel, War Horse, was successfully adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway play and a Golden Globe-nominated film by Steven Spielberg. Morpurgo’s books include retellings such as Pinocchio by Pinocchio (told from Pinocchio’s viewpoint), also a collaboration with illustrator, Emma Chichester Clark.

CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome to Kite Tales! What influenced your decision to rewrite The Wizard of Oz?

MICHAEL MORPURGO: We all know the original story from the film and perhaps less from the L Frank Baum book. It is a wonderful and magical tale—funny, frightening—and strange and a wonderful film, but I always felt that there was one character who had little part to play in the story. Dorothy we know and love, but her little dog, Toto, does little more than accompany her on her adventures, providing her with comfort and company, but we never know what he thinks of all that is going on. He just gets carried around a lot. So, I thought why not tell the story again, but through Toto’s eyes. But it was really my friend, the illustrator of Toto, Emma Chichester Clark, who originally had the idea of a retelling the story with her own beloved dog, Plum, as the inspiration for Toto.

CVZ: Please tell us about your writing process.

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SAG Winner Karen Jameson on Getting Published & the Mentors That Got Her There

29 Wednesday Nov 2017

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By Karen Jameson

Sometimes the person who’s about to change your life has been there all along!

Children’s author and friend, Dianne White, and I met way back in 1996 when I joined the teaching staff at Peachland Elementary. A well-respected primary teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge of children’s literature, Dianne pursued her love of children’s writing after hours. Sixteen years later, when Dianne announced plans for an early retirement (and a move to Arizona), I knew that it was now or never. I finally summoned my courage and shared my own secret writing dreams. I never could have imagined what happened next!

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Toot Your Horn!

24 Friday Nov 2017

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It’s Black Friday! Don’t forget that you can purchase books today, and small business Saturday, and cyber Monday! Here are some members whose books have recently become available!

Lint Boy, by Aileen Leijten, Clarion, ages 8-12, Graphic Novel, ISBN: 978-00544-52860-4, released 06/27/2017.

 

 

 

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Great News!

22 Wednesday Nov 2017

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SCBWI loves celebrating our members’ successes and noteworthy news, and there are many to be thankful for as Thanksgiving approaches! Read on to find out who’s got something to shout about. If you have something to be thankful for, kid-lit-related or otherwise, share in the comments! We here at SCBWI Los Angeles and Kite Tales are thankful for each and every one of you!

 

 

Rabbi the Rabbit, by Shireen Hakim, was published in the “Out of Many, One: Celebrating Diversity” anthology. It also won an award by the anthology publisher, Houston Writers Guild Press, on April 5, 2017.

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SCBWI Community Corner with Patrice Karst: Learning About Kid Lit After Becoming a Best-Seller

15 Wednesday Nov 2017

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By Patrice Karst

I fell into the children’s publishing world by accident.

Doing well with my first two adult books, God Made Easy and The Single Mother’s Survival Guide, I had sold 70K copies combined and was a popular speaker in the self-help, spiritual, New Age world. But I was also a single mom to my special needs son.

Elijah was so sad when I had to leave him in the mornings, I began telling him about an “invisible string” that connected us all day long. It so comforted him that we told his other friends. When I saw the calming effect, I thought, why not “put story to paper?” Continue reading →

The LitMingle Minute: San Fernando Valley LitMingle Picks the Brains of YA Readers

08 Wednesday Nov 2017

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By Karen Sampson (SFV LitMingle Coordinator) & Jennifer S. Pitts (former SFV LitMingle Coordinator, current LitMingle Meister) 

Have you ever wanted to pick the brain of today’s Young Adult reader? The Minglers at the San Fernando Valley LitMingle did, which is why we invited five voracious teen readers to our June LitMingle to share what they read and why. As to be expected, their answers were as diverse as their backgrounds, but listening to them was extremely insightful. It would be impossible to summarize all the insight given by these bright young readers, but here are a few highlights*:

Social Media and Web

  • Teens have Facebook accounts but prefer Instagram, YouTube, and Snap Chat.
  • Adult discussions (rants) about politics and current events are of no interest to them.
  • Popular YA websites include IndieBound (Kids Next), Epic Reads, and others that cater specifically to teen readers

What Draws Them to Particular Books?

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Illustrator Gallery with Kat Hubbs: Self-Promotion & Learning New Things

01 Wednesday Nov 2017

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By Kat Hubbs

When you are new to an industry, you have to find ways to promote yourself and get your work out there. I am not naturally inclined to self-promotion, so I decided to start a personal project that I could create and share quickly – something that was tangible, allowing people to interact with my art. To keep myself on track, I knew that I would have to enjoy the process and not have a demanding schedule. I decided a monthly calendar image would be just right for my goals.

I love learning new things, and have spent the last year creating and experimenting drawing digitally. I got an iPad Pro and threw myself into all the apps and tools. I find that the Procreate App is one of the best since it is easy to use and has great pencil brushes available. I am able to draw fast and loose, maintaining the expressive quality of my lines, while giving me the freedom to hit “undo”.  I still create on paper, and I know when I draw with my favorite brush pen I am more thoughtful as I work, and I get all the happy accidents that happen when you can’t erase. So I decided that I needed to merge the two: get the look and feel of my favorite brush pen, while having the freedom of digital drawing. Continue reading →

Author/Illustrator Stan Yan on Quitting Your Day Job, Joining the Con Circuit, & Halloween Picture Book Scares

27 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective, Industry Conferences

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I met Stan Yan, a Denver-based writer/illustrator, caricature artist, and instructor, at his booth at San Diego Comic this year. I’m a bit of a zombie-aficionado and could not resist checking out his kids’ picture book – There’s a Zombie in the Basement (Squid Works Kids). We got to talking, and, when I found out he is an SCBWI member, I knew I had to interview him. He went to school at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he got his bachelor’s degree in accounting, but gave up on financial security to become a full-time freelance cartoonist. Stan also teaches summer camps, after-school programs, workshops, and helped to develop a degree program in graphic storytelling as an adjunct faculty member at the Community College of Aurora. His other recent credits include art and colors for Show Devils (Mother Mind Studios) and writing and art for Vincent Price Presents (BlueWater Productions / Storm Comics).

Sarah Parker-Lee: You’ve written and illustrated comics and books with horror themes for adults and older readers, but There’s a Zombie in the Basement is a picture book for kids. How did that come about? Were you worried it might be too scary?

Stan Yan: Even though I spent most of my life doing more adult-oriented comic book work, some of my major inspirations growing up were picture books, including anything Dr. Seuss and Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. While many of my family continued to badger me to do children’s books, I had no interest until my son was almost 4 years old. One day, he wouldn’t come downstairs to my basement studio, and when asked why, he said he was afraid. When asked what he was afraid of, he started pointing at all of my zombie artwork decorating the walls. Over the next hour, I wrote the fast draft version of my rhyming bedtime storybook.

As I worked on the artwork I wanted it to be a bit unsettling at the beginning, not unlike Sendak’s Wild Things. And, it was precisely my fascination with these unsettling Wild Things that kept me checking that book out from the library as a kid. Of course, by the end of the story, they’re no longer scary, which is what I was going for too.

SPL: As a writer and illustrator, you’ve spent a lot of time with “horror” themes, monsters, and the like. Any advice for other kid lit writers/illustrators looking to translate some of these things into spooky stories kids can enjoy?  Continue reading →

Volunteer Spotlight: How Volunteering Helped Me Save Myself from Myself

25 Wednesday Oct 2017

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by Karol Ruth Silverstein

Editor’s Note: A “changing of the guard” has taken place recently at LA SCBWI, with our wonderful Contest Coordinator, Marcelle Green passing that baton to our equally wonderful Mingle Meister, Karol Ruth Silverstein, who has, in turn, passed the Mingle Meister baton to, yes, another wonderful volunteer: Jennifer Pitts. Read on as Karol explains the change-over, and why the contest-addiction struggle is real! Many thanks to Marcelle for all her hard work over the year. We wish her the best of luck on all her future endeavors! And welcome to the team, Jennifer!

I have a confession: I was addicted to entering contests.

Unlike casual contest entrants, who may really benefit from the manufactured deadlines and bravery required to put their work out there (not to mention the potential cash and prizes — woohoo!), it became an unhealthy obsession for me. Writers Day events weren’t about the great faculty and enjoying a fun day with my fellow children’s book writers and illustrators. Increasingly, they became about the contest. If my manuscript won — which a few have — I was high as a kite. If I didn’t win or place in the contest — which is what happens more often than not — the day felt like a total waste. Never mind the inspiring keynotes or illuminating panels. Even if I came in second or third, the initial high of being “a winner” was soon replaced by the disappointment of not having been deemed “the best.”

I’d literally dream of winning contests. Any addiction specialist will tell you that the cure for obsessive compulsion is complete abstinence. But could I do it? Could I really walk away from entering all the SCBWI LA contests voluntarily? I wasn’t sure I could. Continue reading →

SCBWI Central Coast Regional News, Fourth Quarter 2017

20 Friday Oct 2017

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By Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison

SCBWI Summer Conference Report, by Tricia Candemeres

The 46th SCBWI Summer Conference was quite a special one. I won an SCBWI grant that covered the expenses, and I wanted to both live up to the honor and embrace the opportunity.

Vanessa Brantley Newton started us off and lifted us up – first with the hokey pokey, then with her stories of diversity, adversity, and dreaming bigger, and ended with the most stunning rendition of “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught.”

From that high bar, it became one amazing keynote or breakout after another. My friends and I split up and compared notes later.

Some highlights:

  • Sean Qualls reminding us to keep showing up.
  • The “Transforming Life into Art” writers sharing tough, deeply personal stories.
  • The sneak preview for the movie based on “Shades of Gray” by Ruta Sepetys.
  • Marvin Terban’s funniest words for kids: underpants, poop, and fart!
  • The awe-inspiring Portfolio Showcase.
  • And of course, tea with Judy Blume.

Illustrator Raúl Colón demonstrates his color layering technique during his intensive.

So much to take in. I’ll just fill in some of the gaps with favorite conference quotes:

  • “If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.” – Vanessa Brantley Newton
  • “Teach children humor as a vital life skill.” – Marvin Terban
  • “The secrets that make you feel alone in the world are the very things you need to share in stories.” – Kat Yeh
  • “Storytellers have been part of the human experience from the very beginning – and I truly believe that even the ones drawing the pictures on the wall of the caves had imposter syndrome.” – Zareen Jaffery
  • “Your story matters. Great minds don’t think alike.” – Nancy Paulsen
  • “Will I still love this manuscript AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN?” – Rubin Pfeffer
  • “Kids are ready to take stuff on – go there.” – Alex Gino
  • “Make the Mommy Promise. Mommy will not save the day in my story.” – Tammi Sauer
  • “You can have all the talent in the world, and if you’re not determined, you’re going to let something stop you from doing it.” – Judy Blume

And finally:

“Team Marla” and friends: Top row: Danielle Heitmuller, Heidi Aubrey, Gail Buschman, Nicole Allin, me (Tricia Candemeres), Judy Faulkner, Molly Ruttan, and Nina Moldawsky,  Front row: Helen Yoon, Joy Dabby, Annelouise Mahoney, and April Zufelt

• Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is that quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” – Mary Anne Radmacher, as quoted by Laurie Halse Anderson in her closing keynote.

On Monday, the Illustrator’s Intensive was an information packed day of demonstrations and hands-on activities, featuring Ramon Hurtado, Vanessa Brantley Newton, Marla Frazee, John Rocco, Leuyen Pham, Raúl Colón, and Javaka Steptoe.

Over the past few years I’ve connected to a tribe of incredibly supportive SCBWI illustrators and authors, (we all met through a Marla Frazee workshop, so we call ourselves Team Marla), and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing this conference with them. We really are all on this journey together!

Tricia Candemeres is a children’s book author and illustrator living in southern California with her husband and two children. She worked in broadcast and graphic design before making the leap to illustration. A NYC transplant, she studied at FIT and School of Visual Arts in NYC as well as Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. You can visit her work at triciacandemeres.com and follow her on Instagram @tcandyart.

 

CenCal Writer Retreat 2018:

Bravely Crafting Picture Books with Heart
January 12-14, 2018
La Casa de Maria Retreat and Conference Center, Santa Barbara

Join Tammi Sauer, award-winning author, for a productive and fun picture book retreat. She will unveil her favorite picture book writing secrets. You will delve into the most important picture book components (character, conflict, word choice, among others) through discussion, examples, and engaging exercises.

Learn to build heart and humor into your manuscript.

For more information, go to https://cencal.scbwi.org/events/cencal-writers-retreat-2018/

 

SAVE THE DATES!

For information, go to http://cencal.scbwi.org

December 2, 2017
Holiday Party, Bakersfield

December 10, 2017
Holiday Party, Santa Barbara

January 12-14, 2018
Writer Retreat: Bravely Crafting Picture Books with Heart, Santa Barbara


BOOK TALK ONLINE

Book Talk is a monthly book discussion group taking place on the SCBWI Central-Coastal California listserv. Discussions begin on the first of each month, facilitated by Lynn Becker. To become a member of the listserv, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/SCBWI-CCal/

NOVEMBER: Clayton Byrd Goes Underground, by Rita Williams-Garcia (MG)
Clayton wants to play harmonica in Cool Papa Byrd’s band but, when his grandfather dies, his mom forbids him to play the blues.

DECEMBER: My Sister Rosa, by Justine Larbalestier (YA)
Che loves his brilliant younger sister, even though he seems to be the only one who knows how dangerous she really is.

JANUARY: Leave Me Alone! by Vera Bristol (PB)
An old woman wants a quiet place to knit, but grandkids, goats, bears, and aliens won’t leave her in peace.

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.

 

Images provided by SCBWI Central-Coastal Region and Tricia Candemeres.