Announcing the Winner of the 2021 Sue Alexander Grant!

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authors, contest winners, middle grade, nonfiction picture book, SAG award, SCBWI members

by Brenda Scott Royce, SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator

Christine Van Zandt, 2021 Sue Alexander Grant winner

We’re thrilled to announce this year’s Sue Alexander Grant winner—Christine Van Zandt—for her nonfiction picture book, Butterfly Dreams. The book’s inspiration came in May 2020, when Van Zandt and her daughter bought their first milkweed plant, “unaware that a mother monarch had sent us home with a surprise—actually 26 surprises,” she says. “Soon, our plant was covered in adorable caterpillars. We excitedly watched them grow, . . . until all perished.”

The sad turn of events led Van Zandt to research monarch declines, plant milkweed, and educate others by writing this lyrical story. 

Here’s what our judges had to say about her manuscript: 

The Sue Alexander Grant is Open for Submissions!

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call for submission, contest, Nicholas Ponticello, Nick Ponticello, SAG award, submissions, Sue Alexander Grant, Working Writer's Retreat

by Brenda Scott Royce 

The 2021 Sue Alexander Grant contest opens today, offering one SCBWI-L.A. writer a guaranteed spot and free tuition to the Working Writers Retreat (to be held virtually this year on October 9). Winning a golden ticket to this always popular event is not the only reason to enter. Since COVID-19 sidelined last year’s event, 2020 winner Nicholas Ponticello will be among the attendees at the 2021 virtual retreat. But winning the prestigious prize has already impacted his career:

The 2020 Sue Alexander Grant Winner Has Been Selected!

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contest winners, contests, SAG, Sue Alexander Grant, writing contest

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

Though the SCBWI-Los Angeles isn’t able to schedule any in-person events for the remainder of 2020 due to the pandemic, the Sue Alexander Grant competition is a constant we felt was important to keep in place. 

The Sue Alexander Grant Is Open For Submissions March 30-May 11, 2020

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call for submission, Jennifer Rawlings, Sue Alexander Grant, writing contest

by Jennifer Rawlings

I know applying for the Sue Alexander Grant is scary, but ignoring your dreams and goals is even scarier.

Not only did I not tell a single soul I was applying for the Sue Alexander Grant, I wrote an entire novel in secret. That’s right. Not even my husband knew I was writing a YA Novel—I just wanted to do the work then hope and pray someone liked it.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

The 1, 2, 3’s of the SCBWI-L.A. Working Writer’s Retreat

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Jennifer Rawlings, networking, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, Sue Alexander Grant, Working Writer's Retreat

by Jennifer Rawlings, 2019 Sue Alexander Grant Award Winner

I remember where I was sitting, red club chair in my living room, when I opened the email from SCBWI-L.A. letting me know that I had won the Sue Alexander Grant. I cried when I read the email. I was so happy that someone liked the words that I had typed in secret. I had not told anyone, not even my husband, that I was writing a YA novel.

Needless to say, he was pretty surprised when I told him I had won an award for a book he knew nothing about.

Here are the Winners of the Fiercely Competitive 2019 Sue Alexander Grant!

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contests, SAG, Sue Alexander Grant, writing contest

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

The 2019 Sue Alexander Grant drew nearly 60 manuscripts, making the anonymous judges’ decisions all the more difficult. In fact, in the final scoring, the winning manuscript edged out the runner-up by a single point!

We’re thrilled to announce this year’s winner:

Sue Alexander Grant is Open for Submissions! Here’s Why You Should Apply!

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agents, critiques, critiquing, Julia Edwards, published, publishing, SAG, SCBWI community, SCBWI events

By Julia Edwards 

If you are thinking about applying to SCBWI-LA’s Sue Alexander Grant, JUST DO IT! It was the best thing I could have done for my middle grade manuscript — twice! In 2017, I applied with a very early draft of Anno Catti: In the Year of Our Catand was lucky to be the first runner-up. Then, in 2018, after major rewrites, I applied again and received top honors and a free ride (!) to the coveted Working Writers Retreat weekend.

For those who have never been to WWR, here’s the deal:

The Sue Alexander Grant is Open. Why Should You Submit Your Writing?

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Andrea Custer, contests, critique groups, critiquing, pitching, SAG, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, Sue Alexander, Sue Alexander Grant, writing

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

It’s time once again to polish up those manuscripts and submit to the Sue Alexander Grant, the winner of which receives a guaranteed spot and free tuition to the SCBWI-L.A. September 2018 Working Writers Retreat.

The WWR is an intense critiquing weekend with critique sessions, revision time, and parties ­­— including karaoke! The retreat culminates in a first-pages pitch session with four acquiring editors and agents.

I recently caught up with last year’s Sue Alexander Grant winner, Andrea Custer, for her insight on the retreat, how it influenced her writing, and why you should apply for this grant to attend.

KAROL RUTH SILVERSTEIN: Did you put in a lot of work on your manuscript before submitting it to the Sue Alexander Grant or did you have a polished manuscript ready to go?

ANDREA CUSTER: I workshopped it with my critique group as I was writing the first draft. They are an amazing group, quite astute, and so I had the benefit of their comments early on and had already revised the first half of the manuscript based on their feedback. Submitting it for consideration for SAG was actually a bit of an impulse! I saw the reminder on Facebook that the submission deadline was coming up, and thought why not go for it? I had about a week to re-read, polish, and get it ready. I found out I’d won on my birthday! It was the best gift I’ve ever gotten.

KRS: What was your favorite part of the retreat? What was most valuable?

Sue Alexander Grant Contest Opens! Where Are Past Winners Now?

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Amanda Hollander, authors, contest winners, contests, grants, Karen Lyn Jameson, Kes Trester, Melody Mansfield, Penelope Merrell, published, SCBWI events, SCBWI members

By Marcelle Greene

The 2017 Sue Alexander Grant contest opens today, offering one SCBWI-L.A. writer free tuition to the Working Writers Retreat. We asked five previous recipients of this prestigious award how winning impacted their writing careers.

Picture Book Manuscript Wins Sue Alexander Grant

By Marcelle Greene, LA Contest Coordinator

Sue Alexander

After three years of favoring novels, the judges for the region’s most prestigious annual contest have awarded the Sue Alexander Grant to a picture book:

    Woodland Dreams by Karen Lyn Jameson

In rhythmic writing that is sparse and word perfect, Jameson develops a gentle repetitive call to a range of forest creatures to bed down for the night. The text is “more than a bedtime story,” judges say, “offering just enough flora and fauna to spike a young listener’s interest and to create wonderful illustration potential.” Following are the first two stanzas: