Attention PAL Novelists: Be an SCBWI Mentor in 2020!

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Bethany Barton, Emily Asaro, mentoring, mentors, mentorship, novel, PAL novelists, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, SCBWI Mentor Program, writing

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

The SCBWI-L.A. Mentorship program alternates between picture book writers, illustrators and novelists. And this year, it’s the novelists’ turn again.

Many folks can attest to the value of having a mentor—but there’s tremendous value in being a mentor as well. From learning more about your own craft to reaffirming your love of storytelling to the simple satisfaction of giving back to the SCBWI-L.A. community, being a mentor can be incredibly rewarding.

We caught up with the SCBWI-L.A. 2019 Mentor Bethany Barton, currently mentoring author/illustrator Emily Asaro, and asked her the following:

KAROL RUTH SILVERSTEIN: What motivated you to be an SCBWI-L.A. mentor?

2019 Mentor Bethany Barton Has Selected Her Mentee!

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Bethany Barton, illustrator, mentor, mentoring, mentorship, picture books, SCBWI community, SCBWI members

By Bethany Barton, author/illustrator

Have you ever gotten a restaurant menu where everything looks so delicious, it’s nearly impossible to decide? That’s what it felt like going through the applications for SCBWI’s 2019 Mentorship contest! Too much good stuff!

First of all, I want to thank everyone who applied. It’s not always easy to share our artwork with the world, and so many of you were willing. I feel privileged to have gotten my eyes on what you create. I was blown away by the talent on display in every one of this year’s mentorship applicants. The passion for the craft of visual storytelling for children could be seen (and often felt!) in every image that popped into my inbox and I was oh-so-inspired to see the gifts you have to offer young readers. Please keep drawing, please keep painting, please keep telling stories with your images. You must. We didn’t work together this time, but I look forward to seeing your books on shelves, hearing about your successes, and high-fiving you at SCBWI events.

And now, without further ado, I’d love to introduce the world to my mentee:

Heads Up Illustrators and Author/Illustrators – the SCBWI-L.A. 2019 Mentorship is for You!

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illustrators, Jennifer Fitzgerald, mentoring, mentorships, Monica Mancillas, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, volunteering, volunteers

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

SCBWI-L.A. PAL member Bethany Barton is the 2019 Mentor! This year’s mentorship contest is for illustrators and author/illustrators and we’ll be accepting applications from February 15 through March 22.

To encourage applicants, we thought we’d check in with last year’s mentees, Monica Mancillas and Jennifer Fitzgerald, to see how their mentorship experience went.

KAROL RUTH SILVERSTEIN: What did you hope to get out of the mentorship when you first applied?

JENNIFER FITZGERALD: I am just starting out writing for children, so initially I was looking for guidance in getting started. My biggest issue is time management. I’m a business owner and a parent, which means time to sit and think can be at a minimum. I needed someone to be accountable to, someone who I could trust to send me an email out of nowhere saying, “How’s it going? What are you working on right now? Send me something.” It made making time to write more real to me and I really needed that.

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

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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:

And the 2018 SCBWI-L.A. Mentorship Contest Winners Are…

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Andrea J. Loney, Jennifer Fitzgerald, mentors, mentorship, Monica Mancillas, picture books, SCBWI community, Wade Bradford

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

SCBWI-L.A. is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2018 Mentorship Contest. These two lucky writers will each enjoy a six-month mentorship with their respective PAL member mentors. To all those who applied but were not selected, please know that our mentors considered the competition very steep. Your applications definitely made it difficult for them to choose their mentees.

“I am so honored by and grateful for everyone who submitted to be my SCBWI mentee,” mentor Andrea J. Loney said. “Everyone put a tremendous amount of thought, passion, and heart into their applications and it showed. So I encourage everyone who submitted to keep going, keep writing, keep critiquing, keep sharing, keep networking, keep revising, and once again, keep writing. I’m looking forward to seeing your words in the world.

And now for our lucky winners:

SCBWI Central Coast Regional News, First Quarter 2018

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mentorship, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members

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: 

Having a Mentor Just Might Lead to a Manuscript That Sells

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Andrea J. Loney, Karol Ruth Silverstein, mentors, mentorships, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, Wade Bradford

by Karol Ruth Silverstein, Contest Coordinator

It’s common knowledge that having a mentor can impact your writing career in wonderful ways. Sometimes the impact is immediately apparent; other times it takes a while for the coaching a mentee receives to translate into career success.

My own experience falls into both categories.

Mentor Program Dynamic Duo Delivers on Ambitious Goals

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Carmel O'Mara-Horwitz, illustrator tips, illustrators, mentors, mentorship, SCBWI members

By Marcelle Greene, SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator Emeritus

Carmel O’Mara-Horwitz & Cassandra Federman

Whether you’ve thought of mentoring, or dreamed of having a mentor – this year’s mentorship team demonstrates how a seasoned professional working with a promising newcomer benefits everyone involved.

Mentor Carmel-O’Mara Horwitz started working with selected mentee, illustrator Cassandra Federman, on May 1^st, and they set an ambitious goal: improve Cassandra’s portfolio, including the creation of a new piece, and update her website before the SCBWI Summer Conference. They had two months and six days.

SCBWI Central Coast Regional News, Second Quarter 2017

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Donald Maass, Lee Wardlaw, mentors, Robin LaFevers, SCBWI events, SCBWI members

By Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison

Congratulations to our 2017 Mentees:

Julie Dillemuth – Picture Book

Karen Jordan – Poetry Collection

Mentor Lee Wardlaw

Our 2017 mentor Lee Wardlaw, award-winning author of 30 books for children and young adults, will communicate with both Julie Dillemuth and Karen Jordan a minimum of twice a month, beginning April 1, 2017. Lee Wardlaw will provide feedback on one complete manuscript, plus comments on revisions.

And drum roll please! The winner of the SCBWI Summer Conference Grant is…

Former Mentor Contest Winners Share Experience and Advice

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authors, illustrators, mentorship, SCBWI members, writer

By Marcelle Greene, SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator

Having a published mentor who helps you improve your work could be the greatest gift you receive on your path to publication. Through its Mentor Program, SCBWI-L.A. has offered this gift to three members in the past two years, and is now running a contest for a 2017 illustration mentorship. (Entry deadline is 2-14-17.)

Winning the 2015 mentorship changed illustrator Matthew Rivera’s goals. “Writing my own stories to illustrate wasn’t something I considered before the mentorship,” Rivera says. But mentor Deborah Norse Lattimore encouraged him to do both. “I’m becoming a better writer and I’ve seen improvements in my artwork thanks to Deborah’s advice,” Rivera says. For example: “She suggested adding more movement to my scenes and to make the motion from left to right, so as to drive a page turn.”