A Charmed Life / Una Vida con Suerte, by Gladys E. Barbieri, illustrated by Lisa Fields, Arte Público Press, ages 4-8, bilingual picture book, ISBN: 978-1-55885-827-5, released 05/30/2016.
Toot Your Horn!
09 Friday Sep 2016
Posted in Toot Your Horn!
Tag Archives: authors
Great News!
07 Wednesday Sep 2016
Posted in Great News!
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!
Andrea Ellickson is thrilled to sign with agent Tricia Lawrence at the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. They met through #DVpit twitter pitch that promoted diverse voices. Her novel, Blanca and the Ruins, also won for best YA manuscript at the SCBWI LA Writer’s Day 2016 conference. Continue reading
LitMingle Minute: Hollywood
24 Wednesday Aug 2016
Posted in LitMingles!
Tags
authors, community, critiques, illustrators, middle grade, mingles, picture books, publishing, query letters, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, tools, volunteers, writer, writing tips, YA, young adult
Minglers discussing plot.
The SCBWI L.A. Hollywood LitMingle started humbly. For the past three years, Deborah Blum and Jean Perry (that’s me) have taken the mingle from a living room to the meeting space at the Hollywood Fairfax Library. It’s absolutely delicious to meet with other children’s writers. We who gather on those special Thursdays “get” each other. We find friends whose eyes don’t glaze over at the mention of plot and inciting incident. When we talk about crisis and climax, we can ask which is which. Picture book, middle grade, young adult, and new adult writers are welcomed to this free event every month. We usually start out full group, and then break into small groups based on genre, to get the specific support we need. Mingles are open to the public.
Getting Your Geek On: Why You Should Check Out Comic-Con
19 Friday Aug 2016
Posted in Industry News, Tips and Tools
Tags
authors, Cindy Pon, Comic Con, Elizabeth Briggs, Emerge, Future Shock, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, published, Romina Russell, San Diego Comic Con, SCBWI members, SDCC, Serpentine, Tobie Easton, writing tips, YA, YA Fantasy, young adult, Zodiac series
Author Tobie Easton signing “Emerge” for fans in the signing area.
As a debut author, I have spent this year—and the time leading up to it—learning as much as I could about the publishing industry and about all the different ways to build a successful career as an author. One lesson that has stood above all the rest so far is that publishing is about finding your people. That team of people who really gets your writing—and who falls in love with it. It starts out with just you, then your critique partners, then (if you pursue traditional publishing) your agent, editor, and other members of the team at your publisher, then booksellers, and finally readers. No matter what stage of your writing career you’re at right now, here’s why conventions are so beneficial: They help you find your people. Continue reading
SCBWI Community Corner with Deborah Fletcher Blum
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.
Volunteer Spotlight: Chester Perryess
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.
Kite Tales at Book Con 2016
27 Friday May 2016
Posted in Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools
Tags
authors, BEA, Book Con, Book Expo America, illustrator tips, Justin Cronin, Laini Taylor, middle grade, Naomi Novik, Pierce Brown, Sarah J. Maas, Victoria Aveyard, writing tips, YA, young adult
Did you know there is an entire convention dedicated to books? Book Con is the public part of Book Expo of America, or BEA. Professional authors, publishers, book sellers, book buyers, etc. come together to share must-read books, delve into upcoming market trends, and build relationships with other literary professionals. There are panels with authors from all genres and a showroom full of major, indie, and niche publishers who sell or give away their books. (FREE BOOKS!) I went for the first time this year and came home with some amazing advice and insights from bestselling authors, including Naomi Novik, Pierce Brown, and Sarah J. Maas. And I’ll share them with you below! (My paraphrased versions unless specifically quoted.)
John Nez: Illustrator Perspective
25 Wednesday May 2016
Posted in Illustrator's Perspective
Tags
agents, authors, illustrator tips, illustrators, John Nez, picture books, publishing, tools, writing tips
Prolific illustrator John Nez shares with us about the tools he uses, why life as a working illustrator really is work, how to be your own best advocate, and how to keep that “little mouse of creative happiness” alive and thriving through it all. Read on for some great insight, tips, and illustrative goodness!
Toot Your Horn!
20 Friday May 2016
Posted in Toot Your Horn!
Eleven and Holding, by Mary Penney Hershey, HarperCollins, ages 8-12, Middle grade fiction, ISBN: 978-006-240-5740, released 6/07/2016.
Great News!
18 Wednesday May 2016
Posted in Great News!
Tags
authors, awards, children's literature, illustrators, middle grade, news, picture books, SCBWI members, young adult
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!
Cylin Busby’s new MG novel, The Nine Lives of Jacob TIbbs, has received two starred reviews so far (from SLJ and Booklist) and was just picked as an Amazon “Best Book of the Month.” Thank you to all the wonderful supportive SCBWI members!
Kite Tales 