Close Up with #KTIllustrates 2022 Contest Winner: Imelda Hinojosa

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artist tips, illustrators, Imelda Hinojosa, SCBWI members

Kite Tales welcomes artist Imelda Hinojosa to share her inspiration and process with the community in creating her work. Her piece for #KTIllustrates2022 displayed a joy for movement and color that best displayed the idea of the prompt: When we begin to play…

Congratulations again to our winner and read on to learn more about Imelda and to view her wonderful work.

Attention Picture Book Writers: SCBWI-L.A.’s Mentorship Contest Is Now Open!

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contests, illustrators, Joseph Taylor, mentorship, picture book, Sarah Gottlieb, SCBWI members, writer

by Sarah Gottlieb

About this time last year, I was drowning in “champagne rejections.” I had a wonderful but complicated idea and had spent a lot of time working on a manuscript and query letter. What was causing agents to write complimentary emails but not take the plunge? Or worse, to say, “Call me if someone makes you an offer!” I knew I had a great idea—the agents said as much—but I didn’t know why they wouldn’t bite. 

I thought of all of the writers I’d met and wondered if a mentor could help. I checked SCBWI-L.A. to see if they had any information on mentorships and, to my delight, this very mentorship contest was open for submission. AND the mentor was Joseph Taylor, the editor of MUSE, the children’s science magazine. I couldn’t believe my luck. 

#KTIllustrates 3rd Annual Contest: And the winner is…

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#KTIllustrates, contest winners, illustrators, Imelda Hinojosa, play, SCBWI members

Thank you to all who participated in our annual #KTIllustrates Contest! While the judges had a tough time choosing between the entries for the prompt, “When we begin to play,” the vote went to the image that captured the spirit of the prompt the best. The contest was open to any form (spot, spread or cover design) and in any medium, so long as it kept the interpretation of the prompt as it would apply to children’s books.

SCBWI-L.A. Writers Day Contest: And the Winners Are…

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authors, Laurie L. Young, middle grade, Nicholas Ponticello, Patricia Toht, picture book, Ronna Mandel, SCBWI events, Vincent X. Kirsch, young adult

by Brenda Scott Royce, Contest Coordinator

A highlight of Writers Day every year is the announcement of the winners of the writing contest. It’s not only exciting for the lucky ones called to the stage—hearing what the judges had to say about the stand-out manuscripts can also be instructive and inspiring for the rest of us. While cheering on our fellow writers, we just may hear something that sparks an idea for a revision or a whole new story.

Please join us in celebrating the 2022 Writers Day Contest runners-up and winners, who were announced at the SCBWI-L.A./CenCal Writers Day event on Saturday, October 23. Excerpts from the judges’ comments are included in the list of honorees below. If you’d like to contact any of the winners to request their manuscript or discuss publication, please let us know!

Calling All Illustrators: Be a Mentor in 2023! But First … a Word from This Year’s Mentor

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illustrators, Joseph Taylor, mentor, mentorship, nonfiction, PAL Illustrators, Sarah Gottlieb

by Joseph Taylor

Editor’s Note: Mentorship proposals are now open to PAL Illustrator members of the Los Angeles Region for the 2023 Mentorship program! Read on to find out more about this rewarding experience and how you can help champion the next mentee!

A few months after starting a new job as editor of Muse magazine, I got the chance to focus on book writing with 2022 SCBWI-L.A. mentee Sarah Gottlieb. I was grateful to SCBWI-L.A. for offering a mentorship focusing on nonfiction for the first time and delighted to get the chance to work with Sarah.

Finding Theme: The North Star for You and Your Story

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authors, Danielle Davis, Mags DeRoma, picture book author, picture books, SCBWI members, school visits, theme, To Make, writing tips

by Danielle Davis

The North Star has always been a beacon for travelers, all over the Northern Hemisphere. A barely drifting constant. A guide. 

I believe theme functions as that same kind of beacon for every story—and storyteller.  

I’m not a mariner by any stretch, and sea sickness prevents me from even wanting to be one, but here goes: 

SCBWI CenCal Save the Dates: Fall and Winter Events 2022

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authors, CenCal, Critique Day, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, small press, webinar

by Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison

Join us for a couple of fun programs this coming November and December. If you have ever wondered what it would be like to write for a small press, be with us in November for our Small Press Webinar. Also, we will be holding a Critique-a Thon, online, in December. Please see the details below for both events.

3rd Annual #KTIllustrates Contest: Call for Entries

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book covers, contest, illustrators, interior art, KTIllustrates, middle grade, picture book, SCBWI members, spot illustration, young adult

Calling all Illustrators! Kite Tales invites you, our illustrator members, to participate in our annual #KTIllustrates Contest: we give you a prompt and you show us your best take. The illustration can be in any medium, for any age range, and any genre. It can be conceptual or literal, spot or spread, as long as it keeps the idea of the prompt as it would apply to children’s books. (If you’re inspired to create a cover illustration instead, go for it!) All are welcome, as long as the final entry follows the guidelines posted on the entry page.

Crossing Borders and Letting Go with Mitali Perkins

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authors, editing tips, Hope In The Valley, intercultural, middle grade, Mitali Perkins, nonfiction, picture books, plotting, SCBWI events, Writers Day 2022, writing tips, young adult

Joining us as keynote speaker for Writers Day 2022 is Mitali Perkins! An explorer of boundaries both physical and literary, she has written books for all ages of young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near (nominated for a National Book Award) and Rickshaw Girl (adapted into a film by Sleeperwave Productions) and the upcoming picture book, The Story of Us (Beaming Books, 2022). She seeks to make readers laugh and cry, all while opening their hearts to understanding the mysteries of the wider world.

Jessica Chrysler: Welcome Mitali, and thank you for taking the time to interview with Kite Tales! As an author of picture books, YA and nonfiction for adults, your work crosses categories as fluidly as you explore the theme of crossing borders. What inspires you in your work? And what gives you that spark to take on the next project?

Book Banning: What YOU Can Do to Stop Censorship

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American Library Association, banned books week, book banning, censorship, Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson, EveryLibrary Institute, SCBWI community, SCBWI members

The recent rash of documented complaints against specific books in schools and libraries have grown to an overwhelming number. Not only are the numbers concerning, but the complaints are also targeting books on the shelves of public libraries and bookstores all over the country. Books that have helped children learn more about themselves and others in the world are being removed from their hands. Books that have been created by authors who share the same identities of these kids are being censured into silence.

So what can we do about it?