Ask an Editor: How to Write a Graphic Novel

Tags

Andy Narwhal, Comics, Graphic Novels, script writing, writing tips

“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog.

Hi Andy – I enjoy graphic novels and want to write one but don’t know how to make the jump. (I write YA.) Any suggestions? I’m not an illustrator.

—Will, Los Angeles

Interview with Author-Illustrator LeUyen Pham

Tags

Graphic Novels, illustrator tips, illustrators, LeUyen Pham, picture books, Shannon Hale, writing tips

Southern California author-illustrator LeUyen (pronounced Lay-Win) Pham is the 2020 Caldecott Honor winner and a NYT, Indies, and USA Today best-seller. Her successful collaborations include illustrating Julianne Moore’s Freckleface Strawberry series and Shannon Hale’s The Princess in Black chapter book series. LeUyen was also co-collaborator on Hale’s popular Real Friends middle grade graphics series. And there’s much more—over a million books in print more!

CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome to Kite Tales! You wrote and illustrated your latest picture book, Outside, Inside (Roaring Brook Press, 2021). The book beautifully addresses how weird it was when everyone suddenly had to be inside. Even though the pandemic isn’t mentioned until the back matter, the way we felt during that time is clearly communicated. Was it harder writing this book than some of your others?

Ask an Editor: The Difference Between a Comic Book and a Graphic Novel

Tags

Comics, Graphic Novels

“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog.

Dear Christine – I’ve always loved reading comic books and have an idea I’ve been thinking about but it’s pretty long. So would that be considered a graphic then? Thanks.

—Ryan, Rancho Cucamonga

Dear Ryan – It sounds like your book would be categorized as a graphic novel. Here’s a recap.

COMIC BOOKS: The term “comic book” may remind older readers of the spinning racks where you picked up the latest issue of a favorite story. Comic books originated about 90 years ago in the United States. Today, the choices are vast—there truly is something for everyone.

HarperCollins Editorial Assistant and SCBWI-L.A. WWR Faculty Member Stephanie Guerdan on Intersectionality, Representation, and Geekery in Kid Lit

Tags

diversity, fantasy, geek culture, Graphic Novels, intersectionality, LGBTQIA, SCBWI events, sci-fi, speculative fiction, Stephanie Guerdan

HarperCollins Editorial Assistant Stephanie Geurdan is on faculty for this year’s SCBWI-L.A. Working Writers Retreat (WWR). She came to HarperCollins in2017 following jobs at a literary agency and as a bookseller. Some of the titles she’s worked on include New York Times best-selling author Natalie Lloyd’s ProblimChildren trilogy, critically acclaimed author Tiffany D. Jackson’s sophomore novel Monday’s Not Coming, and The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, the sequel to the Stonewall Honor-winning The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. She is interested primarily in middle grade and YA, especially in speculative genres and graphic novel formats, with a focus on inclusive stories from fresh voices. And she’s here today to share her insights and expertise!

SARAH PARKER LEE: We’re so excited you’re joining us for the WWR! At these kinds of events, what are editors hoping to accomplish? If you come away from them with a manuscript you want to acquire, what catches your eye first?  

Interview with Booki Vivat, Author and Illustrator of Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom

Tags

authors, Booki Vivat, Graphic Novels, HarperCollins, illustrators, local, middle grade

Today we’re talking with SCBWI member and former Angelino, Booki Vivat. Her illustrated middle-grade novel, Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom (HarperCollins Children’s Books), became available on September 27, 2016.

CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome! In this debut novel Abbie Wu, the middle child in her family, is about to enter middle school. What was your process as author-illustrator from idea to publication?

BOOKI VIVAT: Frazzled has a pretty unconventional origin story. It didn’t start with a traditional pitch or a query or a manuscript. It started with a doodle—or rather, a whole bunch of them. I kept a planner a few years ago to try and get my life in order, but it ended up becoming more of a creative outlet to channel all my feelings. Doodles literally took over the pages of my life!

SCBWI Members at Wonder Con: Where Many of Us Have Gone Before

Tags

authors, Comics, conferences, Graphic Novels, illustrator tips, illustrators, local, middle grade, networking, picture book, publishing, SCBWI members, Wonder Con, WonderCon, writer, writing tips, YA

Do the words “comic book convention” sound scary to you? Overwhelming? Completely irrelevant to you as a children’s book author or illustrator? Think again. Even if your work isn’t “in genre,” you can still learn a lot. If you want to know what kids are into right now, or your creative juices need a boost, there’s no better place to go than a Con.

This year Wonder Con, the smaller, gentler, but just as fun little sister of the San Diego Comic Con, was held in Los Angeles. In addition to sneak peaks of superhero movies, geektastic T.V. shows, and panels about everything from new anime to the real science in sci-fi, there were kids everywhere!