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Tag Archives: SCBWI events

Break In with Work-For-Hire Webinar

05 Friday Apr 2019

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee in Central Coast, Tips and Tools, Tri-Regional News

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Christine Peterson, educational writing, literacy support, nonfiction, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, webinar, work-for-hire, write for hire

By Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison

Wouldn’t it be nice if editors approached you, asking if you’re available to write a book? That’s the reality of the work-for-hire market, for fiction, nonfiction, or illustration. If you’d like to learn the secret to breaking in through work-for-hire, what to send and how to be successful, SCBWI-CenCal and Capstone Senior Managing Editor, Curriculum Strategy Christine Peterson have a webinar made just for you!

Capstone is a publisher of K-8 children’s books and digital solutions for libraries, classrooms, and consumers headquartered in Mankato, Minnesota. Christine has been with Capstone for 16 years, and has specialized in nonfiction content for K-5 students, including supplemental nonfiction texts, guided reading and literacy support materials, and curriculum instruction. They need writers and illustrators for their projects, but what are the benefits to you? Continue reading →

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Los Angeles SCBWI Writers Day 2019 Manuscript Contest: And The Winners Are…

13 Wednesday Mar 2019

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee in Contests & Grants, Writers Days

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middle grade, nonfiction, picture book, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, young adult

By Karol Ruth Silverstein, Contest Coordinator

It was another year of very strong entries in the SCBWI L.A. Writers Day Contest. As usual, manuscripts were submitted in four categories: 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 Writer’s Day, as well as a manuscript critique from one of this year’s faculty members. If you’d like to contact any of the winners to request their manuscript or discuss publication, please let us know!

Our much-appreciated anonymous judges selected the following 10 honorees: Continue reading →

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SCBWI Webinars: Query Letter Help, Professional Manuscript Critiques, and More!

30 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee in Tips and Tools

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critiques, query letter, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, webinars

By Kim Wildman, SCBWI-L.A. Assistant Regional Advisor

One of the things I love about being a writer is that I’m constantly learning. Yes, I’m writing, but I’m also reading books, studying other writers’ sentences, and listening to authors talk about their craft or their challenges. Learning together is one way SCBWI is a community to me.

Recently, I’ve taken advantage of SCBWI webinars, a resource that helps me learn in a relaxed and easy way. How easy? Bathrobe-at-my-kitchen-table easy. Continue reading →

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Authors Lee Wind and Alexis O’Neill on Meeting Your Readers and Writing the Hard Stuff

23 Wednesday Jan 2019

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

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Alexis O'Neill, Lee Wind, Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, The Recess Queen

Alexis at a school visit.

This year’s SCBWI-L.A. WritersDay boasts some fantastic faculty members, all dedicated to helping attendees get to know the kids, editors, and others who make up their target audience. Two of those faculty members are former SCBWI Regional Advisors and current authors, Alexis O’Neill and Lee Wind. Alexis is a veteran teacher, author, and popular school visit presenter. Her books include The Recess Queen, Loud Emily, The Kite That Bridged Two Nations, and more. Lee is the author of the young adult novel, Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill, named a BookLife Prize Semi-Finalist, one of Publishers Weekly’s Top Five Independently Published Middle Grade and Young Adult Books of 2018, and is the founding blogger and publisher of I’m Here. I’m Queer. What The Hell Do I Read?, an award-winning website about books, culture, and empowerment for Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Questioning and Queer youth, and their Allies. And it’s our lucky day because both of them agreed let us pick their beautiful brains leading up to Writers Day!

SARAH PARKER-LEE: We’re so excited to have you both as faculty this year! Alexis, whose column for the SCBWI Bulletin, “The Truth About School Visits,” has been helping members since 2006,is doing a breakout session about new research on school visits. Interacting with readers is a universal experience for kid lit authors. Can you both tell us about one of your most meaningful ones? Or one of your early blunders, so we can learn from your mistakes?  Continue reading →

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Story Coach and SCBWI-CenCal Workshop Leader Lisa Cron on Plot vs. Story and Why Backstory is Crucial to Both

04 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee in Author's Perspective, Central Coast, Tips and Tools, Tri-Regional News

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Lisa Cron, SCBWI events, Story Genius, Wired for Story, workshop, writing workshop

By Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison

Lisa Cron, story analyst, speaker, UCLA Extension Writers’ Program instructor, faculty member of the School of Visual Arts MFA program in New York City, and author of Wired for Story and Story Genius, will be leading a workshop, Wired for Story: Becoming a Story Genius with Story Coach Lisa Cron, on Saturday, February 16, 2019, in Santa Barbara.

Lisa has worked as a story consultant for Warner Brothers and the William Morris Agency. As a story coach, she has helped writers, nonprofits, educators, and organizations master the power of story.

Lisa agreed to answer some questions ahead of her February workshop.

ANN ROUSSEAU SMITH: We are looking forward to your visit to the SCBWI CenCal region. What is a story coach? Continue reading →

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Calling All SCBWI-L.A. PAL Illustrators: Be a Mentor In 2019!

12 Wednesday Dec 2018

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee in Contests & Grants, Mentorship Contest

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Andrea J. Loney, Catherine Linka, Kathy Kottaras, mentoring, mentors, mentorship, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, Wade Bradford

By Karol Ruth Silverstein, SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator

For the past four years, SCBWI-L.A. has been offering mentorships to pre-published members, switching between writers and illustrators. It will be illustrators’ turn again in 2019, and that’s where out PAL illustrators come in!

As past mentors can tell you, the experience is incredibly rewarding. We asked some of them to share about why they decided to throw their hats in the ring and how they’ve benefitted themselves from being mentors.

Here’s what they had to say: Continue reading →

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Enter the 2019 Writers Day Contest! Past Winners Scored Agents and Publishing Deals!

23 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee in Contests & Grants, Writers Days

≈ 1 Comment

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agents, awards, contests, published, SCBWI events

By Karol Ruth Silverstein, SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator

As your humble SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator, I can tell you that entering Writers Day contests is not only fun and exciting — it can also be helpful in getting your manuscripts polished and noticed. I love deadlines and have always used Writers Day contest deadlines to force myself to work on my various projects. As a result, my work has placed a few times and won twice: a picture book in 2011 (LA region) and a YA novel in 2010 (Central-Costal CA region). My winning picture book attracted my agent, Jen Linnan, who subsequently sold my winning YA. (Look for my YA debut Cursed from Charlesbridge Teen on June 25, 2019!)

Still not convinced? Here’s a little more evidence of the value of entering Writers Day contests from one of last year’s honorees, Colleen Paeff:

“There’s nothing like winning a writing contest to confirm that you’re heading in the right direction. When I won my first Writers Day contest in 2014, I’d been dabbling in writing picture books for a decade. The award was exactly what I needed to convince myself it was time to get serious. If I gave it my all, I thought, I just might end up a published author. Two years, more manuscripts, lots of workshops, a couple conferences, tons of reading, and several revisions later, the same story caught the interest of an agent who eventually took me on as a client. Continue reading →

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Working Writer’s Retreat 2018: Revisions, Connections, and Karaoke

24 Wednesday Oct 2018

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

≈ 4 Comments

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E. Katherine Kottaras, Jessica Chrysler, Katya Dove, Kelsey Horton, Nephele Tempest, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, Stephanie Guerdan, Victoria Wells Arms, Working Writer's Retreat

By JESSICA CHRYSLER and KATYA DOVE

WWR_EditingSeshThis year’s Working Writer’s Retreat brought together writers of all skill levels and backgrounds to the Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, Sept. 28-30. From actors to teachers, newbie writers to seasoned veterans, participants had something to gain from the faculty and each other. In workshops, writers were grouped by category and genre and had ample opportunity to mix and mingle throughout the weekend, including a karaoke party.

Faculty included agent Nephele Tempest, agent Victoria Wells Arms, Delacorte Press associate editor Kelsey Horton, Harper Collins assistant editor Stephanie Guerdan, and author E. Katherine Kottaras.

In this post, writer and illustrator Jessica Chrysler and writer Katya Dove share a conversation about their experiences at the retreat.

Jessica Chrysler: It was so great to see you again at the retreat this year, Katya. As much as I love getting to know new people, it’s always nice to find friendly faces. Every year the organizers try to change up the panels and workshops, so I’d like to know, what was the highlight of your weekend?

Katya Dove: I thought the critique sessions were amazing. Listening to other writers read their work, sharing my own, and bonding over words was by far one of the most powerful experiences. There’s so much talent among the attendees. I was blown away by how focused and committed everyone was. Though I must say, the karaoke party brought out a whole new side to fellow writers and faculty—a wild and vivacious side!

WWR_KaraokePartyJC: I have to agree on the karaoke! It’s always my favorite part of the retreat since it gets everyone out of their quiet, writerly shell. I also really enjoyed the presentation by Katherine Kottaras on “The Joy of Revising.” It’s important to love revision as part of the writing craft and it felt like everyone had similar challenges when facing editing demons. It was great to share and learn different strategies to tackle those obstacles. Continue reading →

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Polish and Pitch Beach Retreat with SCBWI-CenCal

17 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee in Central Coast, Tri-Regional News, Writers' Retreat

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Karen Grencik, query, query letter, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, synopsis

By Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison and Rebecca Langston-George, SCBWI CenCal Regional Advisor

Join us for a weekend of writing, revising, and crafting your pitch at an ocean side resort. In addition to craft workshops and the opportunity to pitch your work to an agent, you’ll enjoy sunset fire pits and s’mores overlooking the ocean, life-size checkers and chess games atop the cliff, and strolls on the sand.

Continue reading →

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LitMingle Minute: Prepping for Mingle Season

10 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee in LitMingles!

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SCBWI community, SCBWI events

By Renee Carter

What happens when Southern California Mingle Coordinators gather together? Magic. A few weeks ago, Jennifer S. Pitts and SCBWI-L.A. provided the venue for this special meeting.

Being a Mingle coordinatorcan be challenging. We research children’s literature, secure guest speakers, send out email invitations to SCBWI members and network to encourage the public to attend Mingles. Sometimes meetings are attended by large numbers and sometimes attendance is small. There are times we receive feedback from guests and other times we are left to interpret how the meetings are perceived. Our annual meeting allows us to brainstorm, recharge, and make sure YOU get the best mingle opportunities for the 2018- 2019 Mingle season. Continue reading →

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What is SCBWI?

Founded in 1971 by a group of Los Angeles-based children's writers, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is a non-profit, 501 (c)3 organization. There are currently more than 22,000 members worldwide, in over 70 regional chapters writing and illustrating in all genres for young readers, making it the largest children's writing organization in the world.

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Members of SCBWI receive exclusive access to tools, information, and industry professionals as well conferences, workshops, and critiques. Click HERE to find out more. Join us and take your writing to the next level!

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