21 Wednesday Aug 2019
Posted in Toot Your Horn!
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 hi-fives welcome in the comments!
07 Wednesday Aug 2019
Posted in Great News!
SCBWI 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 poem Nurse: Healing Hand was featured in Lee Bennett Hopkins’ I Am Someone Else: Poems About Pretending, which debuted July 2. Kirkus called her poem a “standout.” Continue reading
10 Wednesday Jul 2019
Posted in Writers' Retreat
Tags
agents, editing, Jennifer Chen Tran, queries, query, revision, SCBWI events, Working Writer's Retreat
Agent Jennifer Chen Tran is on faculty for this year’s SCBWI-L.A. Working Writers Retreat (WWR).
She joined the Bradford Literary in 2017, and represents fiction and nonfiction. She’s interested in diverse writers and #ownvoices from underrepresented/ marginalized communities, strong and conflicted characters who are not afraid to take emotional risks, stories about multi-generational conflict, war and post-war fiction, and writing with a developed sense of place. In non-fiction, she loves books that broaden her world view or shed new light on “big ideas.”
Originally from New York, Jennifer was an associate agent at Fuse Literary and served as Counsel at The New Press before becoming an agent at Bradford Literary. She obtained her Juris Doctor from Northeastern School of Law and her B.A. in English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis.
She took some time to answer our questions about her work, how first-time authors can shine, and her wishlist.
ERLINA VASCONCELLOS: What are the biggest mistakes made by first-time authors?
03 Wednesday Jul 2019
Posted in #KTWriteOn, Tips and Tools
Tags
character exercise, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, exercise, voice, voice exercise, writing exercise, writing prompt
Welcome to the Kite Tales Writing Prompt: #KTWriteOn. Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas and creative energy. This prompt was created by author and illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi.
By Debbie Ridpath Ohi
I’ve always been a fan of sequential art – art forms that use images for the purpose of graphic storytelling. Back in childhood, the first comic I created was about a baby named Boppy, and I shared it with my family. Sadly, I didn’t keep any samples. I kept working on different comics over the years, just for the fun of it. I loved the challenge of trying to distill the essence of a story or story scene in just a few panels. My focus was on the story, not the art, and connecting with readers. You can see samples of my early webcomics at Waiting For Frodo, Will Write For Chocolate, and My Life In A Nutshell.
When I read sequential art nowadays, I read more graphic novels than regular comics – I like the longer form. I may work on my own someday. Who knows? But meanwhile, I have found sequential art is also a wonderful way to brainstorm ideas for character, plot, and dialog.
Here is a writing prompt for you all. Take a look at the following:
12 Wednesday Jun 2019
Posted in Critique Day
By Amber June Davis
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked into the Skirball Cultural Center on June 2, for my first Peer2Peer Critique Day. I’d been to critique groups and workshops over the years, but none with a professional reputation like SCBWI’s. My hands shook a little. Who would be there? Would they all be vastly more experienced than me? But I knew I was ready to take this step, and had six copies of a picture book manuscript I was proud of tucked under my arm. I pushed through the courtyard door.
22 Wednesday May 2019
Posted in Author's Perspective
Tags
By Catherine Linka, author
Getting an agent is about finding the right fit, because the agent who will sell your work successfully is the person who loves to sell what you love to write.
Agents champion books they believe in. They work unpaid until they get you a book contract.
And they are also human beings. They may love rom coms, but not horror. If you write rom coms and they love to read rom coms, they’ll be more likely to read your submission. They’ll be more likely to have sold rom coms and to know which editors are fans of rom coms. They will be more aware of the other rom coms in the marketplace.
17 Friday May 2019
Posted in Toot Your Horn!
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 hi-fives welcome in the comments!
12 Friday Apr 2019
Posted in Author's Perspective, Writers Days
Tags
Abigail Samoun, Cornelia Funke, Frances Gilbert, Lee Wind, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, Steve Mooser
By Charlotte Offsay
On March 9, writers swarmed the Skirball Cultural Center for SCBWI’s annual L.A. Writers Day conference. The day was packed with wisdom, tips, and motivation. Here are some of my favorite takeaways from the event.
The publishing industry is subjective, do your research and don’t give up!
Doubleday Books Editor Frances Gilbert cited being bored, an overly complicated plot, or an over-published topic among her reasons for rejecting manuscripts. She shared her own journey as an author and highlighted the subjective nature of this business – one of her manuscripts was called too specific by one publisher and too vague by another. She encouraged authors to do their research before submitting to find the right home and champion for their manuscript.
03 Wednesday Apr 2019
Posted in #KTWriteOn
Tags
Jay Kristoff, Joe Ballarini, Lisa Greenwald, mixed media storytelling, Stephanie Guerdan, Tehlor Kay Mejia, writing exercise, writing tips
Welcome to the Kite Tales Writing Prompt: #KTWriteOn. Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas and creative energy. This prompt was created by Stephanie Guerdan of HarperCollins Children’s Books. Stephanie acquires and edits middle grade and teen books. Some of the books she has worked on include the acclaimed debut We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia and the Soldier Dogs series. She likes queer fiction, weird science, and Star Wars.
By Stephanie Guerdan
There are so many different ways to tell a story — even if you narrow that down to just the format of a book. From traditional prose novels to full-color graphic novels, from highly illustrated to photographic, and everything in between.
One format that’s particularly close to my heart is mixed media. This kind of storytelling eschews traditional prose and instead tells a story through a collection of various kinds of media. In a way, it’s taking Marilyn Cram Donahue’s collaging prompt to the next level. Instead of using your collage images as inspiration, you’re creating your own media and using them to tell the story itself.
06 Wednesday Mar 2019
Posted in Toot Your Horn!
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 hi-fives welcome in the comments!
Butterflies in Room 6, by Caroline Arnold, photographs by Caroline Arnold, Charlesbridge Publishing, ages 5-9, nonfiction, ISBN: 978-1-58089-894-2, released 05/12/2019.
Kite Tales 