Tag Archives: SCBWI members

Great News!

30 Wednesday Mar 2016

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GreatNewsSCBWI loves celebrating our members’ successes and noteworthy news, and there are many! Read on to find out who’s got something to shout about. Digital high-fives welcome in the comments!

 

 

 

Joan Bransfield Graham’s book The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices was selected as a CRA Eureka! Silver Award winner for Excellence in Nonfiction. In October 2015 The National Geographic Book Of Nature Poetry, edited by J. Patrick Lewis, and Amazing Places, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins, both featured poems by Joan.

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SCBWI Community Corner with Colleen Paeff

25 Friday Mar 2016

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Top row: Colleen Paeff, Joseph Taylor, Phephe Rose, Frank Acosta, Anne-Marie Campbell; Bottom row: Eloise Freeman, Susan Burritt, Jill Tuckman, Jennifer O.

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is a dynamic community of professionals and aspirings. Read on for a member’s story about how SCBWI has influenced their work and connected them to publishing professionals, life-long friends, and the tools they need to share their stories with children of all ages.

I’d been an on-again off-again SCBWI member for more than fifteen years when I decided to get serious about writing picture books. My son had recently moved out and I chose to fill my empty nest by digging into the world of children’s publishing. Naturally, I turned to the SCBWI.

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Volunteer Spotlight: Catherine Lee

16 Wednesday Mar 2016

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IMG_0590We love our volunteers at SCBWI and couldn’t exist without them! “Volunteer Spotlight” is a great way to get to know them for yourself and learn more about what they do – and how you can volunteer. Now meet Catherine Lee, Kite Tales Illustrative Liaison:

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SCBWI Community Corner with Sarah Parker-Lee

03 Wednesday Feb 2016

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The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is a dynamic community of professionals and aspirings. Here’s one member’s story about how SCBWI has influenced their work and connected them to publishing professionals, life-long friends, and the tools they need to share their stories with children of all ages.

SCBWI 2013 Summer Conference

SCBWI 2013 Summer Conference

My name is Sarah Parker-Lee. I joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in 2013, at the suggestion of an editor from Simon and Schuster, who is also a member. She told me, if I was serious about writing for children, and I wanted publishers and agents to know it, I needed to be here. And she was right. Nothing has influenced my work more or guided me on my career path like the SCBWI.

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Volunteer in the Spotlight: Beth Navarro, Co-editor of Kite Tales

16 Wednesday Dec 2015

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Beth Navarro6847 100dpi copyWhen I joined SCBWI I was still a bit hardened from working the grind as an actor in Hollywood. Though it did have its good moments, acting really wore down my love for storytelling. I was desperate to find it again. I knew it was there. While working at Vroman’s bookstore I finally realized that writing for kids and teens was my medium.

The first SCBWI event I attended was LA Writer’s Day, and the warmth and support I felt from the get go was exactly what I needed (even though I’m pretty sure I didn’t speak to one person and was happy the outfit I chose matched the walls). Not long after that, the opportunity arose to become a co-editor of Kite Tales, the newsletter for the Southern California tri-regions. Continue reading →

SCBWI’s Working Writers’ Retreat: Kes Trester Interview (Sue Alexander Award Winner); and Insider View from Writer Sara Bayles

18 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by in Contests & Grants, SAG, Writers' Retreat

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Kes TresterOn September 11-13, 2015, writers from all around the globe attended SCBWI’sAnnual Working Writers’ Retreat; this year in a secluded Encino, California, location. As usual, tickets for this event sold out quickly.

I met up with the 2015 Sue Alexander Award winner, Kes Trester, on that Friday. Most retreat attendees share simple rooms with another writer. Kes and I sat together outside her room. In the still-humid LA evening, Kes imparted insight about writing, the retreat, and how writers can apply for this coveted SCBWI award.

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Toot Your Horn and Great News!

11 Wednesday Nov 2015

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Kite Tales loves to celebrate our SCBWI members. Congratulations to all listed below!

TOOT YOUR OWN HORN!

A Girl Undone by Catherine Linka, St. Martin’s Press, ages 12+, dystopian, ISBN: 978-1-2506-8675, released June 24, 2015

Undone

Hotel Transylvania 2 Movie Novel by Stacia Deutsch, Simon Spotlight, ages 3-7, movie tie in, ISBN: 978-1-4814-4819-2, released August 18, 2015

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Los Angeles Regional News

04 Wednesday Nov 2015

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LitMingles: Our new name for the Schmoozes. LitMingles are free meetings throughout L.A. County on a variety of topics. To learn more about one in your area, please visit: http://losangeles.scbwi.org/mingle-calendar/

2016 Contests:

Mentor Contest: Win a 6 month Mentorship for a MG or YA Author. Contest opens for entries from March 1-31, 2016. Watch for more information on the Mentor and contest details coming soon. SCBWI-L.A. members only. http://losangeles.scbwi.org/contests/mentor-contest/

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A Farewell to Schmoozes by Karol Ruth Silverstein

28 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by in LitMingles!

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Change is good, right? Everyone says so. It’s generally thought of as a necessity for growth. Adapt or perish and all that.

As writers and illustrators of material for children, we count on our audience changing, “graduating” from picture books to easy readers and chapter books, and then onward to the ever-expanding and constantly shifting world of novels for young readers and teens.

Similarly, SCBWI has made lots of changes as an organization over the years, and recently they made another one – they decided to rename our Schmoozes. The idea was to switch to something that sounded a bit more professional, and didn’t carry with it the possible negative connotation of gossip.

SchmoozeGroup

West Side Schmooze

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Before & After with Matthew Rivera: Our Mentorship Program in Action

21 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by in Contests & Grants, Mentorship Contest

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The best advice aspiring author-illustrator Matthew Rivera received during the mentorship he won from SCBWI-L.A. was to wear a short tie. That’s because he’s working on a story about a dapper, yet fussy giraffe who finds a tie he really likes, but it’s too short for his long neck. Mentor Deborah Nourse Lattimore suggested that Matthew wear a short tie and, as he went about his day, ask himself questions: “How do I feel when I see myself in the mirror? Do I feel self-conscious in public? How do people look at me?” The exercise proved tremendously helpful for putting Matthew into the mind of his main character in order to better illustrate personality.

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From The Dapper Giraffe, a work-in-progress by Matthew Rivera

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