Toot Your Horn!

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SCBWI members, published, publishing, middle grade, young adult, nonfiction, picture book, Graphic Novels, SCBWI community, board book

SCBWI members’ publishing news is something to celebrate here at  Kite Tales!  Check out whose book is coming to a platform near you or around the world. Horn-tooting and digital high fives welcome in the comments!

Great News

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SCBWI community, SCBWI members

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!

SCBWI Serves Up A Slice of Literary Camaraderie at Booth #826

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Annelouise Mahoney, authors, C.K. Malone, Caroline L. Perry, Glenda Armand, Heather Buchta, illustrators, Janie Emaus, Jennifer Pitts, LATFoB, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Molly Ruttan, PAL events, published, R.S. Mellette, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, Tina Athaide, writing

by Annelouise Mahoney

Saturday morning booth exhibitors (l-r) Glenda Armand, R.S. Mellette, Annelouise Mahoney, and Janie Emaus get a thumbs-up from SCBWI-L.A. volunteer Jennifer Pitts (r) as they all prepare to greet festival-goers.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is an annual tradition of literary wonder. It’s the Coachella of book festivals, the largest in the country.

This year, as they do each year, the SCBWI Los Angeles chapter extended an invitation for its PAL members to sell and sign their books at a festival booth. SCBWI SoCal joined the L.A. chapter at the festival for the first time ever, sharing Booth #826. PAL members of the two regions who signed up could choose a two or three-hour time slot for either Saturday or Sunday of the event.

Down On The Corner At The L.A. Times Festival of Books

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authors, illustrators, LATFoB, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, PAL events, published, R.S. Mellette, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, writing

by R.S. Mellette

The L.A. Times Festival of Books is back in person—and as in prior years, friendly SCBWI members will be there to welcome you to the event.

Like James Brown said, it’s time to “Get up offa that thing.”

If you are reading this, chances are you are an SCBWI member, quite possibly in Southern California. That means you’re interested enough in writing and/or illustrating books that you’re willing to pay dues, go to mingles, take workshops, and generally give of your time and money to improve your craft. On Saturday and Sunday, April 22 and 23, you will have that opportunity at the largest book festival in the country, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

Much of this event is FREE, and SCBWI will be there to make you feel welcome.

The Sue Alexander Grant is Open for Submissions!

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Christine Van Zandt, Milkweed for Monarchs, picture books, SCBWI members, Sue Alexander, writing contests

by Christine Van Zandt

The 2023 Sue Alexander Grant contest opens tomorrow, April 13, offering one SCBWI-L.A. writer a guaranteed spot and free tuition to the Working Writers Retreat (to be held at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, September 29 to October 1, 2023). This will be the first time this popular event has been held in person since 2019!

We asked last year’s Sue Alexander Grant recipient, Christine Van Zandt, to talk about her winning manuscript:

Christine Van Zandt, 2022 Sue Alexander Grant recipient, with western monarch.

The idea for Butterfly Dreams began in May 2020, when my daughter and I bought our first milkweed plant unaware that a mother monarch had sent us home with a surprise—actually 26 surprises! Soon, our plant was covered in adorable caterpillars. We excitedly watched them grow … until something came along one night and ate every last one.

Springing Forward with Kite Tales!

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SCBWI community, SCBWI members, volunteering, volunteers

by Judy Faulkner and Michelle Lin, Kite Tales Co-Managing Editors

The seasons are changing—at Kite Tales, too.

Jessica Chrysler and Noel Csermak, two stalwart SCBWI Tri-Region volunteers, have recently stepped away from their respective long-time roles as KT’s managing editor and proofreader. If you’ve enjoyed the blog in recent years (as we know so many of you have!), they are two major reasons why.

Let’s Get Rhyming!

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authors, CenCal, craft, Patricia Toht, poetry, publishing, rhyming, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, writing, writing tips

by Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison

Author and Rhyme Doctor Patricia Toht is on call in April to help you take your rhyme to the next level.

Join us on Thursday, April 13, at 6:30 p.m. for a webinar with Patricia Toht titled “Let’s Get Rhyming!” Despite what some may insist, it’s not a crime to write in rhyme! But it does take effort to master your verse. Join author and Rhyme Doctor Patricia Toht as she shares her new releases, Together With You and Pick a Perfect Egg, along with other wonderful books in rhyme, and reveals key elements that make them shine. The price will be $12 for SCBWI members.

Always Go to the Workshops

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authors, craft, Creative Toolbox, Henry Lien, publishing, R.S. Mellette, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, writing

by R.S. Mellette

Warm-up for the workshop’s “hawt” writing tips includes homemade cookies and hot coffee.

Before attending Henry Lien’s Creative Toolbox Workshop in January, I wasn’t much of a workshop person. I’ve got a theatre (with an “re”) degree. I’ve studied all the great playwrights from the inside out—meaning I’ve played their characters, and there is no better teacher about what works and what doesn’t than a live audience. I have written screenplays. I’ve won awards for TV and film. I have books published with glowing reviews. I have earned my snobbish attitude!

But I’ve also been locked inside for two years, like the rest of us, so any chance to see another person face-to-face is a joy these days. Also, I know Henry. Author of the Peasprout Chen middle grade fantasy/adventure series, he sat on a panel I put together for L.A. Comic Con. He’s a really nice guy, so I should go wave the flag of the SCBWI-L.A. board, right?

Fine. I went.

Toot Your Horn!

Tags

board book, middle grade, nonfiction, nonfiction anthology, picture book, published, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, young adult

SCBWI members’ publishing news is something to celebrate here at  Kite Tales!  Check out whose book is coming to a platform near you or around the world. Horn-tooting and digital hi-fives welcome in the comments!

Join Author-Illustrator Molly Ruttan for a Walk on the WILD Side

Tags

authors, illustrator tips, illustrators, Molly Ruttan, picture book, publishing, SCBWI members, Something Wild, writing tips

Molly Ruttan’s gorgeously illustrated, award-winning picture books often feature gently humorous, fantastical happenings cast within real-life settings. This unique perspective is at the forefront in the forthcoming Something Wild, which publishes next week (2023, Nancy Paulsen Books / Penguin Random House). Something Wild is the recipient of a Kirkus starred review.

Judy Faulkner: Welcome back to Kite Tales, Molly! You’ve been super busy since your appearance in 2019, when your illustrator debut, I Am a Thief!, came out. Now your fourth book is about to launch—your second as author-illustrator. Tell us about it!

Molly Ruttan: Thank you so much for having me back! It’s always such a pleasure to connect with my SCBWI family.