01 Friday Apr 2016
Posted in Toot Your Horn!
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Hillary Rodham Clinton: Some Girls Are Born to Lead, by Michelle Markel, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, ages 4-8, picture book, ISBN: 978-0062381224, released 01/05/2016. (image: Hillary.jpg)
30 Wednesday Mar 2016
Posted in Great News!
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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!
Joan Bransfield Graham’s book The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices was selected as a CRA Eureka! Silver Award winner for Excellence in Nonfiction. In October 2015 The National Geographic Book Of Nature Poetry, edited by J. Patrick Lewis, and Amazing Places, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins, both featured poems by Joan.
25 Friday Mar 2016
Posted in Community Corner
Top row: Colleen Paeff, Joseph Taylor, Phephe Rose, Frank Acosta, Anne-Marie Campbell; Bottom row: Eloise Freeman, Susan Burritt, Jill Tuckman, Jennifer O.
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.
I’d been an on-again off-again SCBWI member for more than fifteen years when I decided to get serious about writing picture books. My son had recently moved out and I chose to fill my empty nest by digging into the world of children’s publishing. Naturally, I turned to the SCBWI.
23 Wednesday Mar 2016
Posted in Industry News
by Christine Van Zandt
Last month, Amazon implemented important changes wherein books which appear to have “quality issues” are being flagged. Quality issues include typos, unsupported characters, cover issues, image quality, formatting, links, table errors, duplicated text, missing content, wrong content, content unsuited for reading on Kindle, and disappointing content.
Heated debate has ensued. Is Amazon infringing on our rights and acting like Big Brother? Or, is it about time they enforced restrictions to ensure mostly error-free books? Continue reading
16 Wednesday Mar 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 Catherine Lee, Kite Tales Illustrative Liaison:
11 Friday Mar 2016
Posted in Author's Perspective
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Antonio Sacre, local, marketing, multiculturalism, parent, Spanish speaking, speaker, storyteller, UCLA, writer
Meet LA-region SCBWI member, Antonio Sacre, a storyteller and author of four children’s books. Multiculturalism is an important word in the marketplace today. In his three children’s picture books and one YA collection of stories (memoir and traditional folktales), Sacre incorporates this theme using his own mixed ethnicity.
09 Wednesday Mar 2016
Posted in Industry News
By A.J. Cosmo
Amazon offers two types of formatting options when creating books for the Kindle platform. The options allow for much different reading experiences and require different preparation before publication. It’s important to know the differences and limitations of the formats and choose one before you start work on the illustrations. Why’s that? Let me explain.
Re-Flowable Format
Re-flowable books allow users to change font sizes and even font selection at any time. It allows for links to websites, annotations, bookmarks, highlights, and more—stuff that makes an eBook different from a print book. Continue reading
09 Wednesday Mar 2016
Posted in SoCal, Tri-Regional News
by Francesca Rusackas, Regional Advisor
Happy Spring! Here in the SoCalRegion we are all looking forward to our annual Spring Retreat at the South Coast Winery Resort and Spa in Temecula. It will be held May 20 – 22. The winery gardens should be in full bloom by then.
Our guest list includes: Stacy Cantor Abrams, Executive Editorial Director of Entangled Teen; Jenne Abramawitz, Senior Editor at Scholastic; Deirdre Jones, Associate Editor, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and Deborah Warren, Co-Founder of East West Literary Agency. Continue reading
02 Wednesday Mar 2016
Posted in LitMingles!
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Author Sheri Fink with LitMingle Member
Writers and illustrators meet on the second Thursday of every other month in Redondo Beach for the South Bay LitMingle. The local group is in its second year, resurrected by Mingle Co-Chairs, Stephanie Dreyer and Anna-Mari Lija, who are thrilled to bring together local writers and illustrators in the South Bay. Read on for more on their recent mingle with award-winning and best-selling author, Sheri Fink, and how you can join in. Non-SCBWI members are welcome to LitMingle too!
The Mingle meets at a local pre-school, Mi Casita (1603 Aviation Blvd., #107, Redondo Beach 90278), that generously allows the group to use the space for free. It is a perfect atmosphere for children’s writers and illustrators to connect with their target audience and get inspired by the child-like surroundings.
26 Friday Feb 2016
Posted in Agent's Perspective
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agent, agents, how-to, Jane Cowen Hamilton, Michelle Zeitlin, query, query letters, social media, writing tips
I sat down with agents Michelle Zeitlin and Jane Cowen Hamilton of More Zap Productions and Management to talk about their new literary division, discuss why an author must know their brand, and how children’s literature fits into their multi-media, and currently acquiring, agency. I was curious how an agency that represents dancers, directors, and other specialty talent got into the literary world and what their unique platform had to offer. Turns out, a lot.
Kite Tales 