Tags
By Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison
2016 WRITERS’ DAY REFLECTION BY IAN FOUTZ:
I have attended Writers’ Days in the past, but the 2016 Writers’ Day was special. Not only because I was awarded a scholarship grant, but also because the day seemed custom-tailored to my current state as a writer. Stephanie Pitts’ amazing talk about “Writing Irresistible Picture Book Characters” provided a lot of wonderful examples from existing PBs that helped to make her points very easy to understand. By addressing topics such as character personalities, voice, and the idea of non-transformative change, she provided actionable advice to authors of all kinds. Continue reading
Having a published mentor who helps you improve your work could be the greatest gift you receive on your path to publication. Through its Mentor Program, SCBWI-L.A. has offered this gift to three members in the past two years, and is now running a contest for a 2017 illustration mentorship. (
Winning the 2015 mentorship changed illustrator Matthew Rivera’s goals. “Writing my own stories to illustrate wasn’t something I considered before the mentorship,” Rivera says. But mentor 
Upcoming Events
Long-time SCBWI member 
We love our volunteers at SCBWI and couldn’t exist without them! “Volunteer Spotlight” is a great way to get to know them for yourself and learn more about what they do and how you can volunteer too. Now meet Jill Tuckman, digital artist and the Los Angeles region’s webmaster.
At conferences, one of the things I hear many writers and artists talk about is that their biggest fear/worry/stumbling block/insecurity (besides their craft – because hey, we all know how that is), is how to use social media. I’m writing this quick article with some tips because while I’m not officially a paid social media person, I’m really good at it. Really. 
Meet SCBWI member and illustrator Lauren Gallegos in this quarter’s “Illustrator’s Gallery.” Read on to hear Lauren’s story and see some of her amazing illustrations!
In one of my early illustration classes in college, a professor gave us a quiz to see if we were more cut out for being an in-house illustrator or a freelance illustrator. The test placed me VERY much in the camp of in-house illustrator based on my personality and working style. I was pretty discouraged by this. I was still new to the illustration world (I started out in Graphic Design), but was already on my way down the path of wanting to become a children’s book illustrator. In my mind, that could only mean that I had to do freelance. So what did I do? I set out to prove that quiz wrong! No one was going to put me in a box and tell me what I was destined to be! 
Kite Tales 