“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered quarterly as part of our Kite Tales blog.
Hi Christine – What’s the best way to research nonfiction picture book topics?
—Bria, Los Angeles
Hello Bria – While everyone has their own styles and preferences, I’ll share some techniques I’ve used for the nonfiction picture books I’ve had published.
Events, Opportunities, and Resources happening now and coming soon for the Tri-Regions and beyond
OPEN NOW Registration is open! Learn about craft and book publishing, connect with professionals in the industry, and mingle with creative people at the SCBWI SoCal Fall Harvest Writers and Illustrators Day! This full-day conference will take place in-person at the California State University Fullerton Titan Student Union OR online, on Saturday, October 5, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and will include agents, an art director, local authors, and an illustrator. There will be critiques, portfolio reviews, pitches, and contests. Click here to register!
OPEN NOW Join SCBWI in celebrating World Kid Lit Month in September by submitting your book recommendations now! The Official SCBWI Blog is hosting a month-long celebration of “children’s and YA literature from around the world,” and your short book reviews are invited. There will be four blog posts, each focusing on a different continent: the Americas, Africa, Asia & Oceania, and Europe. For more information, click the link here. All submissions should be emailed to World Kit Lit (worldkidlit@gmail.com).
ONGOING Submit your book now for the SCBWI Impact & Legacy Fund (ILF) Russell Freedman Award or apply for a grant from The ILF Encouragement Fund! No SCBWI membership is required. However, you must be traditionally published. Submissions will close on September 15, 2024.
ONGOING Sign up for the SCBWI CenCal’s 2024 Writers and Illustrators Day! Regular pricing registration for SCBWI members is $137 and will remain open until all seats are filled. The event will be held in-person at the Camarillo Community Center on Saturday, September 21, 2024. There will be an additional “optional online Pitchfest via Zoom” on Sunday, September 22, 2024.
Events, Opportunities, and Resources happening now and coming soon for the Tri-Regions and beyond
ONGOING There are lots of opportunities for PAL and self-published SCBWI members in the coming months! Snag one of the few remaining slots at the SCBWI’s Orange County Book Fair booth. The event takes place in Old Town Tustin on Saturday, July 13, 2024. Register here.
The Los Angeles Kids Book Festival has limited seats available for published SCBWI members and will take place in West Hollywood Park on Sunday, September 8, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information about registering, click here.
ONGOING Registration for the Virtual Summer Conference is still open! The online event will take place from August 1–August 4. Registration is $195 for premium members and $295 for non-members. There will be 50 jam-packed sessions to choose from on the topic of craft and the business of children’s book creation. Every attendee will have access to all content sessions for up to one month after the conference.
CONNECTING THE CREATIVE DOTS is Saturday, September 21, 2024, with an optional online pitchfest/portfolio review the following day, Sunday, September 22, for an additional fee. The first day is in-person at a new venue, the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District Auditorium, 1605 E. Burnley Street in Camarillo. Lunch is provided.
SCBWI members’ publishing news is something to celebrate here at Kite Tales! Check out whose book is coming to a platform near you or around the world. Horn-tooting and digital high fives welcome in the comments!
Events, Opportunities, and Resources happening now and coming soon for the Tri-Regions and beyond
ONGOING Registration for the Virtual Summer Conference is now open. The online event will take place from August 1–August 4. Early Bird Registration for members before June 21 is $175. There will be 50 jam-packed sessions to choose from on the topic of craft and the business of children’s book creation. Attendees will have access to all content sessions for up to one month after the conference.
It was Friday, the day of the writers retreat. Part of me wants to add an exclamation point to that sentence, but that’s not how I felt that morning.
Everything had been packed. I had done my preparations. I had justified my lack of preparations. It was too late to do anything else. I was never one for cramming before a test. I preferred to stew . . .
The weekend was a big opportunity—I would get to meet picture book agents and editors in person, face-to-face! They would read my work. (Gulp, they would read my work?!)
“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered quarterly as part of our Kite Tales blog.
Hi Christine – I’m pre-published and wonder if I should have a website or be on social media.
—Deneice, Northridge
Hi Deneice – When I started on this journey writing children’s books about seven years ago, I was unagented and unpublished. Now I’m represented by the fabulous Liza Fleissig and am the proud author of two nonfiction picture books, Milkweed for Monarchs (Beaming Books, 2024) and A Brief History of Underpants (becker&mayer! kids, 2021). If I can do it, so can you!
The SCBWI Central-Coastal California Region offers free meet-ups known as Mingles, where writers and illustrators share knowledge, good news, fellowship, and improve their craft. Four of the Mingles are geared toward our writers, one for each of our four counties—Kern, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. We also have a Mingle for our illustrators, hosted by Jaime Zollars, CenCal’s Illustrator Coordinator.
Events, Opportunities, and Resources happening now and coming soon for the Tri-Regions and beyond
ONGOING A video and transcript of the Children’s Book Changemakers Special, presented by the SCBWI Impact and Legacy Fund, are currently available on the SCBWI YouTube page.
Kite Tales 