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Tag Archives: Cassandra Federman

10 Inspiring Kite Tales Quotes from 2025

31 Wednesday Dec 2025

Posted by Judy Y Faulkner in Agent's Perspective, Author's Perspective, Community Corner, Editor's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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#AskanEditor, Adam Blackman, Alexander Vidal, Analía Cabello, authors, Brenda Scott Royce, Cassandra Federman, Christine Van Zandt, craft, Ellen Hopkins, Harshini Vankineni, illustrators, inspiration, Jaime Zollars, Jennifer Rofé, Jennifer S. Pitts, Jenny Turnbull, Judy Faulkner, Kelly Pellico, Micky O'Brady, Paige Vinten Taylor, Philana Marie Boles, publishing, publishing tips, quotes, SCBWI community, Sherry Shahan, writing tips

Photo by Tairon Fernandez on Pexels.com

January is not just right around the corner—it’s tomorrow! But don’t panic. We still have time to make our resolutions or More/Less lists (see below and linked), and to dream big for 2026. Hopefully, revisiting some of the ideas and insights in Kite Tales’ 2025 posts through the quotes and article links below will provide a fresh sprinkle of information and inspiration to help you get started. Write on. Draw on. Read on!

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Can a Mentor Be the Boost You Need to Succeed?

19 Wednesday Mar 2025

Posted by Judy Y Faulkner in Contests & Grants, Los Angeles, Mentorship Contest, Tri-Regional News

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Cassandra Federman, contest, Edward Underhill, illustrating, mentorship, Monica Mancillas, publishing, Sarah Gottlieb, Sherry Shahan, writing

As the 2025 mentorship contest deadline approaches, SCBWI-L.A.’s Contest Coordinator checks in with a few past winners who’ve gone on to score major successes…

by Brenda Scott Royce

2020 Mentee Edward Underhill’s adult debut is in bookstores now

A few months ago, I was perusing the new release display in my local bookshop when a title called The In-Between Bookstore caught my eye. (I’m a sucker for any book about books, libraries, or bookstores!) I stared at the author’s name for a few moments before it struck me why it seemed so familiar—Edward Underhill won SCBWI-L.A.’s mentorship contest in 2020. The manuscript he worked on with mentor Nicole Maggi, Always the Almost, was published in 2023 by Wednesday Books, an imprint of Macmillan. Ed summarized the mentorship for Kite Tales in 2021, concluding: “Nicole’s mentorship gave me gifts I didn’t even know I needed, and I would not have gotten here without it.”

The In-Between Bookstore is Ed’s adult debut, and it’s garnering rave reviews (and a cover blurb by mega-bestseller Jodi Picoult!). Seeing it on the bookshelves made me wonder about other past mentorship contest winners. How many are enjoying similar achievements—and did their mentorship experience contribute to their success? I reached out to a few to find out. 

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What Cassandra Federman Wants You to Know About Writing and Illustrating Your First Book

28 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee in Author's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective

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Albert Whitman, author, Cassandra Federman, illustrator, picture books, publishing, This is a Sea Cow

author-shot.jpgAuthor/illustrator Cassandra Federman was born and raised in Massachusetts, where she spent her childhood reading comic books, playing action figures, drawing superheroes, and participating in all things nerdy (before that became cool). She is also the SCBWI Los Angeles 2017 Mentorship Contest winner. Her book This is a Sea Cow hits shelves on September 1, 2019. Today she’s here to share some of her recent experiences and takeaways on her path to becoming published.

SARAH PARKER-LEE: What things do you wish you’d known/learned before you started this new chapter of illustrating? Continue reading →

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10 Inspiring Kite Tales Quotes from 2018

14 Wednesday Nov 2018

Posted by Erlina Vasconcellos in Author's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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Aaron Reynolds, Cassandra Federman, Dan Santat, Danielle Davis, Garret Weyr, illustrator tips, inspiration, Kayla Cagan, Kent Culotta, Melody Mansfield, Victoria Wells Arms, writing tips

nick-morrison-325805-unsplash.jpgI’m always grateful for the community and connection that comes from being a member of SCBWI. There’s no shortage of people willing to share advice, tips, and knowledge. And lucky for us, so many in the kid lit community have shared their stories and wisdom on the Kite Tales blog.

Whenever I need a creative boost, I like to reread Kite Tales posts for nuggets of inspiration.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Kite Tales stories this year. Hopefully they’ll inspire you too as you set your 2019 writing goals. Read on and click the links to see the full posts. Continue reading →

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Author/Illustrator Cassandra Federman on the Mentors and Digital Illustrations that Led to Her Debut Picture Book

12 Wednesday Sep 2018

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee in Author's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective

≈ 9 Comments

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Cassandra Federman, digital illustration, illustrating, mentors, mentorship, picture books, This is a Sea Cow

Author/Illustrator Cassandra Federman was born and raised in Massachusetts where she spent her childhood reading comic books, playing action figures, drawing super heroes, and participating in all things nerdy. She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University and moved to Los Angeles, where she became a hand model. When she isn’t pretending to be famous people’s hands, she’s creating art and literature for children. She is the SCBWI Los Angeles 2017 Mentorship Contest Winner, Writing With The Stars 2017 Mentorship Contest Winner, SCBWI Central California ArtWorks 2016 Promotional Card Contest Runner-up, and her first book, This is a Sea Cow (Albert Whitman), is coming fall, 2019.

SARAH PARKER-LEE: A lot seems to have gone your way in 2017, leading up to your successes this year with a book deal. Congrats! Before you won all the awards, what were you doing that got you there? Continue reading →

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