27 Wednesday Jul 2016
Posted in Volunteer in the Spotlight
Tags
community, Gina Capaldi, illustrator, illustrator tips, illustrators, picture book, SCBWI members, volunteers
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 Gina Capaldi, Illustrator Coordinator for the SCBWI’s Inland Empire, also known as SoCal.
20 Wednesday Jul 2016
Posted in Central Coast, Tri-Regional News
Tags
by Ann Rousseau Smith, CenCal News Liaison
ArtWorks 2016, Report by Tricia Candemeres Continue reading
15 Friday Jul 2016
Posted in Community Corner
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is a dynamic community of professionals and aspirings. Read on for a member’s story about how SCBWI has influenced their work and connected them to publishing professionals, life-long friends, and the tools they need to share their stories with children of all ages. Read on for former Hollywood LitMingle Coordinator Deborah Fletcher Blum’s story!
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators launched my career as a filmmaker. It may sound odd to credit a children’s writers and illustrators group with this, but writing and filmmaking are integrally connected artistic disciplines. As an artist and English teacher, who wrote poetry and non-fiction, I embarked on a middle grade novel in the Summer of 2010 and joined SCBWI soon after.
13 Wednesday Jul 2016
Posted in Illustrator's Perspective
Tags
Carl Angel, how-to, illustrator, illustrator tips, illustrators, Julius Lester, local, picture book, SCBWI members, The Girl Who Saved Yesterday
Our local Angelino and SCBWI member Carl Angel is the illustrator of the beautiful new picture book, The Girl Who Saved Yesterday. In this book, Angel takes on the daunting task of illustrating Julius Lester’s poetic lines in a book that straddles myth, magic realism, and folklore. 
CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome! Please tell us a little bit about how you illustrated trees that talk, lights that felt “as thin as a raindrop,” and stones of the ancestors which “glow a pink as gentle and soft as a first kiss.”
CARL ANGEL: The poetic nature of Julius’s words resonates on both an emotional and literal level, and in such a way where both are equally appealing as imagery. As an illustrator, I chose to address, primarily through color and composition, the aspect on which to best focus for the image. The text is rich enough that some of the words, I felt, were beyond illustrating and were best left in the reader’s imagination, which only added to the depth of the book. The way Julius connected those two dimensions so delicately with such great lyricism was so inspiring that I wanted to share that with the reader visually. Continue reading
08 Friday Jul 2016
Posted in Ask an Editor
Tags
Welcome to “Ask an Editor” where our wonderful SCBWI members send in questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog. 
Dear Editor – I am writing and illustrating a picture book. Do my illustrations need to fit a vertical (tall) layout? I can’t find a book that’s horizontal, but that’s my preference when painting. —Ann, Los Angeles
Dear Ann – Great question! Industry experts respond. Continue reading
06 Wednesday Jul 2016
Posted in Los Angeles, Tri-Regional News
by Nutschell Anne Windsor
SCBWI-L.A.’s New Regional Team
From left to right: Sally Jones Rogan (Co-Regional Adviser), Kim Wildman (Asst. Regional Adviser), and Nutschell Anne Windsor (Co-Regional Adviser)
29 Wednesday Jun 2016
Posted in Illustrator's Gallery
Tags
Cintiq, digital illustration, how-to, illustrator tips, illustrators, Stephanie Olivieri, tools, Wacom
Illustrator and animation artist, Stephanie Olivieri, takes us on her journey from pencil to pixel in this quarter’s “Illustrator’s Gallery.” Read on for tools, tips, and encouragement if you’re looking to switch from hand drawing to digital, are deciding if you should, or would just like to compare digital notes with another fantastic illustrator!
I made the transition from hand drawing to drawing on the computer officially in 2012. It was something that I fought against for years, saying that people still needed and loved traditional art, but now that I’m digital, I have found that it’s invaluable. I sometimes will do a mixed media piece, but the freedom that an artist has once on the computer is amazing. I find that with enough practice, an artist can mimic traditional illustration and painting, with the biggest difference being drying time and the ability to make changes easily. Continue reading
22 Wednesday Jun 2016
Posted in Author's Perspective, SCBWI Summer Conference
New York Times best-selling author Shannon Hale (and SCBWI member) has published more than 20 children’s books. Her third Princess in Black book was released earlier this month; this middle-grade chapter book is part of Hale’s latest series.
CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome! How long have you been writing books? Continue reading
17 Friday Jun 2016
Posted in Agent's Perspective, Tips and Tools
Tags
agent, Bridget Smith, Dunham Literary, query, tools, writing tips, YA, young adult
Bridget Smith is more than an agent at Dunham Literary, Inc. She also studied anthropology and archaeology, worked as a radio DJ, fenced on the varsity team at Brown University, and helped design an experiment that she later performed in microgravity at NASA. So, she’s kind of awesome and you want her to represent your books.
Read on for Bridget’s insights into the kid lit community, how to include diversity in your books, and what happens after you get a full manuscript request.
15 Wednesday Jun 2016
Posted in Volunteer in the Spotlight
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. Now meet Chester Perryess, Central/Coastal CA regional Schlepper and Minion:
I’m an introvert. I’m happiest at home making those characters come to life, or sequestered in my “shedio” narrating audiobooks, or researching etymologies for Wordmonger, my blog about words. Still, I volunteer out in the Big Scary World and encourage my fellow introverts to consider doing the same.
