By Gwen Dandridge
I’m the manager of the listserv in the CenCal region.
For those of you unfamiliar with a listserv, let me explain: a listserv is a program that automatically redistributes e-mail to names on a mailing list. This allows the quick flow of information to like-minded people. On an SCBWI listserv you get information about local children’s writers’/illustrators’ events, achievements, sorrows, and joys. Continue reading
By Emily Asaro
How the Stars came To Be, written and illustrated by Michael Bayouth, Self-Published, ages 6-10, Picture Book, ISBN: 978-0692711224, released 12/01/16. (Stars Photo)
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!
On April 29, 2017, Maria Alexander’s debut YA novel, Snowed, won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel. Presenting the honor at the 2017 Bram Stoker Awards banquet were authors Gretchen McNeil (Ten, I’m Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl) and JG Faherty (Ghosts of Coronado Bay, The Cure). Snowed, a paranormal mystery, was published by Raw Dog Screaming Press on November 2, 2016. Maria is repped by Alex Slater at Trident Media Group.
SCBWI members have a legendary reputation for being friendly and supportive. Working the SCBWI
Steve Ross has worked at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena since 1989, but chances are good that if you call the store and ask for him by his first and last name, the employee on the phone will think you have the wrong number.
Mia Turner and Cindy Marcus have taken over leadership of the Santa Clarita chapter of SCBWI, after Laurisa White Reyes and Mary Cerny stepped down. Laurisa and Mary are a hard act to follow–both warm and supportive advocates for all things writing–but Mia and Cindy will do their best. 

I went to Wonder Con this year and it was the messy, funny, crowd-filled, creative mish-mosh that it always is. I also realized that as I get a little older, enjoying a convention, or “con,” requires a bit more preparation. But cons are great places to network with other authors, illustrators, editors, and publishers, not to mention the kid lit audience, so they’re worth it. Since there are