02 Wednesday May 2018
Posted in Community Corner, Contests & Grants, Writers' Retreat
Tags
awards, published, publishing, SAG, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, Susan Lendroth, Working Writer's Retreat
By Susan Lendroth
In 2010, I submitted the picture book Not So Loud, Natsumi! to the Sue Alexander Grant contest sponsored by SCBWI-LA. Little did I realize the winding road my story and I would take over the next eight years from contest entry to manuscript submission to eventual publication. Continue reading
25 Wednesday Apr 2018
Posted in Contests & Grants, SAG, Writers' Retreat
Tags
Andrea Custer, contests, critique groups, critiquing, pitching, SAG, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, Sue Alexander, Sue Alexander Grant, writing
By Karol Ruth Silverstein, SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator
It’s time once again to polish up those manuscripts and submit to the Sue Alexander Grant, the winner of which receives a guaranteed spot and free tuition to the SCBWI-L.A. September 2018 Working Writers Retreat.
The WWR is an intense critiquing weekend with critique sessions, revision time, and parties — including karaoke! The retreat culminates in a first-pages pitch session with four acquiring editors and agents.
I recently caught up with last year’s Sue Alexander Grant winner, Andrea Custer, for her insight on the retreat, how it influenced her writing, and why you should apply for this grant to attend.
KAROL RUTH SILVERSTEIN: Did you put in a lot of work on your manuscript before submitting it to the Sue Alexander Grant or did you have a polished manuscript ready to go?
ANDREA CUSTER: I workshopped it with my critique group as I was writing the first draft. They are an amazing group, quite astute, and so I had the benefit of their comments early on and had already revised the first half of the manuscript based on their feedback. Submitting it for consideration for SAG was actually a bit of an impulse! I saw the reminder on Facebook that the submission deadline was coming up, and thought why not go for it? I had about a week to re-read, polish, and get it ready. I found out I’d won on my birthday! It was the best gift I’ve ever gotten.
KRS: What was your favorite part of the retreat? What was most valuable? Continue reading
18 Wednesday Apr 2018
Posted in SoCal, Tri-Regional News
By Beverly Plass, Co-Assistant SoCal Regional Advisor
Into the Woods: May 4-6, 2018
Our weekend writer’s retreat sold out in one week! YA and middle-grade writers will gather in scenic Idyllwild to spruce up their manuscripts with the guidance of professionals. And what better theme for this year than “Into the Woods?” Attendees will participate in four critique-group sessions led by an editor, agent, or published author, hear speaker presentations on the craft of writing, and mingle during meals and a happy hour.
Our faculty includes: Continue reading
11 Wednesday Apr 2018
Posted in Central Coast, Contests & Grants, Tri-Regional News
Tags
book talk online, illustrators, Lynn Becker, Mary Ann Fraser, Mary Penney Hershey, mentorship, picture books, SCBWI events, workshops
By Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison
A Changing of the Guard
By Mary Ann Fraser
Change seems to be one of the few reliable constants at play in the universe, and so it is with our region. I will soon be moving, and since regional advisors must live within the areas they serve, as of March 1, 2018 I officially stepped down from my post. Thankfully, the talented, hard-working, and did I mention best Assistant Regional Advisor a region could ask for, Rebecca Langston-George, stepped up to take my place. I have no doubt that she will do an outstanding job. I have thoroughly enjoyed serving our region for the past many years, first as Regional Kite Tales Editor, then as Illustrator Coordinator, and most recently as Regional Advisor. Before all of that, along with Lisze Bechtold, I also coordinated several local SCBWI Illustrator Retreats. As a result, I have had the joy of meeting and working with so many people I admire and the honor of calling many of them friends. I will miss you all, but please know that in my heart I will forever be a CenCal Gal!
Wishing you all endless inspiration and great success in all you do,
Mary Ann
SCBWI Cen-Cal 2018 Mentor Program
Our 2018 Mentee is… Continue reading
06 Friday Apr 2018
Posted in Agent's Perspective, Writers Days
Tags
agents, Eve Porinchak, Karen Grencik, Kari Sutherland, pitching, query letters, SCBWI events, Seth Fishman
By Sarah Parker-Lee and Erlina Vasconcellos
Last month brought us the annual SCBWI-LA Writers Day. Quite a few attendees took advantage of assigned one-on-one pitch sessions with the awesome literary agents on faculty. Some pitchers used the opportunity to work on their query letter or aspects of their pitch with the agent in an advisory role while others went all-in with hopes the agent would request their full manuscript – AKA be interested in representing them professionally. Several folks did get a partial or full request and everyone walked away with some great feedback.
After the pitch sessions were over, we asked our agents how things went, what they liked, and what they recommend so you can put their answers in your toolbox for your next pitch! Continue reading
23 Friday Mar 2018
Posted in Contests & Grants, Writers Days
Tags
Alison A. Baker, Brenda Scott Royce, Chelsea Lin Wallace, Colleen Paeff, Debbie Friedman, Heather Schmidt, Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh, Kendra Kurosawa, middle grade, nonfiction, PB Rippey, picture book, Sarah Parker-Lee, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, young adult
Every year, SCBWI Los Angeles opens our Writers Day contest to all members attending the event. This year, our anonymous judges chose 10 honorees in Young Adult, Middle Grade, Picture Book, and Other (which includes poetry and non-fiction). First place winners in each category receive free tuition to next year’s Writers Day, as well as a manuscript critique from one of this year’s faculty members. There were a lot of wonderful entries and a “20% of total entries” guideline was used to determine how many manuscripts were honored in each category. As Contest Coordinator Karol Ruth Silverstein so aptly put it, “Regardless of whether you win or lose, putting your work out there to be judged by entering the contest is a courageous act in itself. So let me first congratulate all of you who entered.”
And now, our 2018 Writers Day winners! (If you’d like to contact any of the winners to request their manuscript or discuss publication, please let us know!) Continue reading
16 Friday Mar 2018
Posted in SASE Award, Volunteer in the Spotlight
Tags
Cursed, Karol Ruth Silverstein, SASE, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, Sue Alexander Service and Encouragement Award, volunteering, volunteers
Each year, the Sue Alexander Service and Encouragement Award is presented to a regional volunteer who has shown exceptional dedication to SCBWI Los Angeles. This year’s winner, Karol Ruth Silverstein, credits her time volunteering as Schmooze/LitMingle Meister with signing with an agent and subsequently selling a book. She’s since moved on to be our Contest Coordinator and is so dedicated, she was just featured in our previous “Volunteer Spotlight” (here). So instead of the usual spotlight fare, I thought we’d do something a little different and ask Karol some fun questions.
SARAH PARKER-LEE: If you could volunteer for anything you wanted to, other than SCBWI, what would you choose? Continue reading
23 Friday Feb 2018
Posted in #KTChat, Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools
Tags
chat, Danielle Davis, Q&A, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, Twitter, writing exercise, writing tips, Zinnia and the Bees
On Twitter today (Friday, 2/23/18) from 4-5 PM PST, Danielle will be taking your questions and discussing her article on the writing process, how to find value in your work, and ways to keep moving forward, even when you don’t feel like it. Log into your Twitter account during our chat hour and use the hashtag #KTChat or @mention Danielle (@writesinLA) to join the discussion! If you aren’t on Twitter, leave your questions in the comments before the chat begins! Find SCBWI-LA on Twitter: @SCBWISOCALLA
By Danielle Davis, author of Zinnia and the Bees
Process fascinates me, in part because I find it challenging. It’s tempting to focus on other things that start with p: publication, perfection, panic, pretzels (snacks, help, right?) and, of course, the desire to polish off a manuscript and be finished.
Before my debut middle grade novel, Zinnia and the Bees, was published, I always thought that I wouldn’t have that “second book problem” because I had two manuscript drafts I already planned on pursuing.
But then I did have that second book problem. I had it big time. Continue reading
24 Wednesday Jan 2018
By Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison
SCBWI Cen-Cal 2018 Mentor Program: Matching Successful PAL’s with Promising Writers
Our 2018 Middle-Grade Mentor is Mary Hershey.
About Mary: Mary Penney Hershey (a.k.a. Mary Penney) is the author of five humorous (and heartfelt, she hopes) middle grade novels. Her next novel, entitled Green Eyes & Ham will be published by HarperCollins in winter 2018. Mary holds a Master’s Degree in Education and is a certified personal and executive coach. She is a long-standing SCBWI Cen-Cal member and served on the board for our region for a number of years. She has taught workshops for Cen-Cal events and served on the faculty at SCBWI nationals. She is profoundly grateful for all the guidance she has received over the years from other writers and is thrilled to serve as our 2018 mentor.
About the Program: Continue reading
10 Wednesday Jan 2018
Posted in LitMingles!
By Jean Perry, SOLA LitMingle Coordinator
*EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was accidentally emailed before Christmas, but was not scheduled to post on the blog until today. So just in case you missed it or were looking for it on Kite Tales… Here it is again!
Left to right: Karen English, Marjorie Smith, Jean Perry at Meeting #1
The idea for a South LA LitMingle was born where so many great ideas in Los Angeles are born: in traffic. When construction projects increased traffic congestion, my drive-time from South LA to Hollywood, as the then-Hollywood LitMingle Coordinator, went from thirty-five minutes to one hour. Returning time wasn’t much shorter. If it was too much of a commute for the coordinator, what about potential attendees coming from the same area? The answer seemed reasonable: set up a South LA Mingle.
I was surprised to find the shorter commute didn’t exactly bring in the minglers. Where did all the people go? My first meeting consisted of two friends plus me. The second meeting was me with a woman who wandered by during the last fifteen minutes. My third meeting is coming up on January 25th. One writer is interested in writing about her family, another about a trip to West Africa, another about a childhood experience. None have shown up more than once. Continue reading
Kite Tales 