The Winners of the 2018 Sue Alexander Grant Are Announced!

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Cambria Gordon, Helena Ku Rhee, Julia Edwards, Moni Ritchie, R.S. Mellete, SAG, Sue Alexander Grant

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

To deem the results of the 2018 Sue Alexander Grant a “close call” would be putting it mildly. The top five manuscripts all ranked within a point of one another, with this year’s winner just edging out the runner-up.

Speaking of the winning manuscript, one of our anonymous judges noted, “It has all the pieces: Great voice, unique world-building that is nicely integrated into the storytelling, a cliff hanger ending, great humor mixed with tension and good dialogue.” Another judge added that it was the “most original manuscript of the group” and a “perfect middle grade” story.

The cherry on top? This year’s winner was last year’s runner-up!

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Target Marketing: Writing for the Whole Family

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family, marketing, R.S. Mellete, target marketing, writing, writing tips

by R.S. Mellette

While the publishing world argues over what’s Middle Grade, what’s Young Adult, and what’s New Adult, I’m asking; whatever happened to “good for the whole family?”

Target marketing has been around long enough that most people think it’s the only way it’s ever been, but if you take a longer view of commercial art, you’ll see that excluding the majority of your potential audience is a brand new concept. Yes, I said “excluding.” If you write, or edit, or make acquisitions, or shelf for one specific age group, then you are limiting your audience. And by “brand new” I mean since the turn of the previous century.

SCBWI Los Angeles at LA Times Festival of Books: Location, Location, Location

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Book Festivals, LATFoB, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, PAL, R.S. Mellete, volunteers

By R.S. Mellete

In 2015, when we first decided to have a booth at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, I had no idea where we should request our booth. When I looked at the map of the festival, I saw Childs Way and figured that’s where the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators should be, right?

I’m not from Los Angeles. I didn’t go to USC or UCLA. The most time I’ve ever spent on either campus has been working on movie locations, so I had no idea that Child’s Way was the name of a street, not a section of the festival — which ended up being in the “Hero Complex.”