28 Wednesday Nov 2018
Posted in Toot Your Horn!
HAPPY HANNUKAH! There is a lot to celebrate this season, including SCBWI members’ publishing news! Check out whose book is coming to a platform near you or around the world:
Hanukkah Hamster, by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Andre Colin, Sleeping Bear, ages 5 – 7, Picture Book, ISBN: 978-1-58536-399-5, released 09/15/2018.
23 Friday Nov 2018
Posted in Contests & Grants, Writer's Days
Tags
By Karol Ruth Silverstein, SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator
As your humble SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator, I can tell you that entering Writers Day contests is not only fun and exciting — it can also be helpful in getting your manuscripts polished and noticed. I love deadlines and have always used Writers Day contest deadlines to force myself to work on my various projects. As a result, my work has placed a few times and won twice: a picture book in 2011 (LA region) and a YA novel in 2010 (Central-Costal CA region). My winning picture book attracted my agent, Jen Linnan, who subsequently sold my winning YA. (Look for my YA debut Cursed from Charlesbridge Teen on June 25, 2019!)
Still not convinced? Here’s a little more evidence of the value of entering Writers Day contests from one of last year’s honorees, Colleen Paeff:
“There’s nothing like winning a writing contest to confirm that you’re heading in the right direction. When I won my first Writers Day contest in 2014, I’d been dabbling in writing picture books for a decade. The award was exactly what I needed to convince myself it was time to get serious. If I gave it my all, I thought, I just might end up a published author. Two years, more manuscripts, lots of workshops, a couple conferences, tons of reading, and several revisions later, the same story caught the interest of an agent who eventually took me on as a client. Continue reading
07 Wednesday Nov 2018
Posted in Tips and Tools
Tags
Author Tips, illustrator tips, in-store events, Katie Orphan, marketing, promotions, published, The Last Bookstore
By Katie Orphan, manager of the Last Bookstore
One of the best aspects of working in a bookstore is making author events happen. We want them to be great for the author as well as the audience, and I’ve got some tips to help.
Before the event happens, there’s a lot to do. If you’re an illustrator, partnering with your author for the event, or vice versa, can help a lot. You each bring a special part of the creative process to the table, and being able to use your individual talents during the event makes it extra special. If you’re flying solo, don’t despair, there’s still plenty more you can do. Continue reading
29 Wednesday Aug 2018
Posted in Toot Your Horn!
SCBWI members’ publishing news is something to celebrate! Check out whose book is coming to a platform near you or around the world:
06 Wednesday Jun 2018
Posted in Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools
by Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh
Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh’s daughter
You may have heard these rules about getting published: Don’t pitch as a team with an illustrator. Don’t pitch directly to the publisher. And do not write in rhyme. I followed those rules until I didn’t. Here’s why breaking the rules was so good for me.
I started as a rule-follower. I joined SCBWI and formed a writers group. I read most of THE BOOK, SCBWI’s definitive guide to kid lit, agents, and publishers. I thoroughly researched agents and I penned cover letters.
Then I waited for responses. Continue reading
11 Friday May 2018
Posted in Toot Your Horn!
SCBWI members’ publishing news is something to celebrate! Check out whose book is coming to a platform near you or around the world:
Los Angeles Is…, by Elisa Parhad, illustrated by Alexander Vidal, Cameron Kids, ages 0-6, Board Book, ISBN: 978-1-944903-23-7, released 04/24/2018. Continue reading
02 Wednesday May 2018
Posted in Community Corner, Contests & Grants, Writers' Retreat
Tags
awards, published, publishing, SAG, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, Susan Lendroth, Working Writer's Retreat
By Susan Lendroth
In 2010, I submitted the picture book Not So Loud, Natsumi! to the Sue Alexander Grant contest sponsored by SCBWI-LA. Little did I realize the winding road my story and I would take over the next eight years from contest entry to manuscript submission to eventual publication. Continue reading
09 Friday Feb 2018
Posted in Writer's Days
Five-Minute True Stories: Animal Rescue, by Aubre Andrus, Scholastic, ages 4-8, Nonfiction, ISBN: 1-338-20006-2, released 03/27/2018
07 Wednesday Feb 2018
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!
Hatching Chicks in Room 6 by Caroline Arnold was named a 2017 Eureka! Honor book by the California Reading Association. The Eureka! awards are for excellence in nonfiction.
29 Wednesday Nov 2017
Posted in Author's Perspective, Contests & Grants
Tags
agents, Alexis O'Neill, Ann Whitford Paul, Dianne White, Karen Jameson, Lynn Becker, published, publishing, SAG, Sue Alexander Grant
By Karen Jameson
Sometimes the person who’s about to change your life has been there all along!
Children’s author and friend, Dianne White, and I met way back in 1996 when I joined the teaching staff at Peachland Elementary. A well-respected primary teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge of children’s literature, Dianne pursued her love of children’s writing after hours. Sixteen years later, when Dianne announced plans for an early retirement (and a move to Arizona), I knew that it was now or never. I finally summoned my courage and shared my own secret writing dreams. I never could have imagined what happened next!
