18 Wednesday May 2022
Posted in Author's Perspective, Community Corner, PAL
Tags
authors, Conventions, CoyCast, LA Comic Con, marketing, publicity, publishing, SCBWI members, SciFi.radio, WonderCon, writing tips
by R.S. Mellette
This blog-umentary started out as an analysis of hiring a PR firm for a small-press book, and I promise we’ll get back to that, but to assess that value for the month of April I have to fill you in on some personal backstory.
You might want to get a tissue.
Continue reading15 Wednesday Jan 2020
Posted in Industry Conferences, Industry News, Writers Days
Tags
Books Festivals, business, ComicCon, Conventions, Critique Day, Down The Rabbit Hole, LA Comic Con, LitFest, marketing, news, OC Book Fair, PAL events, SCBWI events, Working Writer's Retreat, Writers Day, writing
Need a creative pick me up? How about a new avenue for book promotion? Or maybe you just need some quality time with like-minded writers and illustrators working on their craft. SCBWI has you covered on the craft of kidlit and our region’s list of local book festivals and conventions is sure to broaden your creative perspectives!
SCBWI Sponsored Events for 2020
MARCH 28
Writers Day
Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles
Dive into craft and “Discover the Words Worth Keeping” with a full day of keynotes, critiques and agent pitch sessions. A special pre-event intensive with Harold Underdown will also give a new perspective on approaching revision to polish your work in progress. Contests, manuscript reviews and scholarships will also be available. Need more insight? Read author Charlotte Offsay’s recap of last year here.
15 Friday Nov 2019
Posted in Industry Conferences, Tips and Tools
by R. S. Mellette
On the last morning of the 2019 Los Angeles Comic Con, Sarah Parker-Lee saved the day. She handed out fliers to every kid in sight, begging them to attend our panel, “What Are Kids Reading? What Do You Wish We’d Write?”
Out of fifty or so invited, four kids showed up, along with a handful of adults. A fifth kid had to come because she was a friend of Andrea J. Loney, who was on the panel. The idea was, we authors would switch places with kids in the audience, to make them the panelist. If no kids showed up, I didn’t have a B-plan – so hats off to Sarah!
Once we had the bright, talkative, reading, kids on the panel, everyone knew we had to share their thoughts with Kite Tales readers. So, what are kids reading? What do they wish we’d write? Continue reading
13 Wednesday Nov 2019
Posted in Industry Conferences, PAL
Tags
Chris Robertson, conferences, Elisa Parhad, illustrators, Kelly McNeil, LA Comic Con, Rosalind Barden, SCBWI PAL, SCBWI Panel, Sue Berger
by Chris Robertson
Spiderman… Batman… Superman… Elephant and Piggy…Paddington Bear…The Very Hungry Caterpillar? What the…?
You may think that kid-lit does not have a place at L.A. Comic Con, right? Well, maybe 10 – 20 years ago you would’ve been right. But now, given the overwhelming popularity of Comic Cons, there certainly is a place for kid-lit authors and illustrators.
04 Wednesday Sep 2019
Posted in Industry Conferences, PAL
Tags
authors, conferences, illustrator tips, illustrators, LA Comic Con, local, networking, PAL, published, publishing, SCBWI members, writing tips
by R. S. Mellette
As we prepare for the Los Angeles Comic Con on October 11-13, I’m hearing from some PAL members, “But I don’t write science fiction…”
So?
Last year for the first time, I organized the SCBWI PAL booth at the Los Angeles Comic Con. I had no idea what to expect. The adventure started with a mass of people RUNNING through the aisles. They were not going to see a film star. They were not going to be the first to watch a new Marvel movie trailer. They were going to buy clothes – Hot Topic was having a doorbuster sale. That’s when I realized, this weekend wasn’t going to be what I expected. Continue reading
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