Yup, it’s that time of year again! It’s the time for kid-lit authors and illustrators to congregate in the depths of the Century City Hyatt Hotel and plan world domination! Yes, I’m talking about the 2011 SCBWI Annual Conference in Los Angeles (which is this weekend)! I’m going to be there — hopefully with newly…
Writing Conferences
2011 LA Times Festival of Books
The LA Times Festival of Books is this weekend (April 30th – May 1st)! If you live in the Southern California area this is a wonderful FREE event filled with hundreds of authors, artists, and book lovers! There’s even a children’s book stage (bring your kids) and a YA Stage! Not to mention the plethora…
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The Quick Take Away: 2011 SoCal SCBWI Writer’s Day
It’s been awhile since I reported on a conference event, but never fear I’ve got lots of good information coming your way. I attended the 2011 Southern California SCBWI Writer’s Day this past Saturday with a variety of speakers from Susan Patron to Bruce Coville. Here’s a few quick take-away’s from the event: Susan Patron…
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2011 Summer SCBWI Conference Registration Open!
I wanted to let everyone know that the 2011 SCBWI Summer Conference information has just been posted on the SCBWI website! This years amazing speakers include: John Green, Laurie Halse Anderson, Libba Bray, Gary Pulson…the list goes on and on! If you’ve never been to an SCBWI Conference I highly suggest it. It will be…
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Nurturing the Creative Life
I didn’t attend the New York SCBWI Conference this past weekend. Yes, it’s true. (Sometimes you’ve got to nurture your creative life and get down to writing. Plus I was just at a 10 day VCFA residency…). Sara Zarr was the keynote speaker at the SCBWI Conference in New York, and I hear she was…
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Why Do You Write?
The following notes and bits of wisdom come from author Bruce Coville and were jotted down during his 2008 SCBWI LA Keynote Speech: Ask Yourself… “Why do you write?” After you’ve asked yourself why you write, push the “why” as far as you can! (i.e. I like to tell stories. WHY? Stories help us to…
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The Master List: 2010 SCBWI LA Conference
I’ve finally posted all of my notes from the 2010 SCBWI LA Conference! For your convenience I have listed below and linked all of the keynote speeches and breakout sessions I attended to their corresponding posts. Be sure to bookmark this page for future reference! 2010 SCBWI LA Conference Keynote Speech and Breakout Session List:…
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A View From The Top
From the top things look pretty good! But from such a high angle one has a different point of view of the marketplace. Four senior editors were kind enough to share their view of the current children’s book marketplace at the 2010 SCBWI LA Conference. This star studded cast included editors: Stephanie Owens Lurie (Disney/Hyperion), Francesco Sedita (Grosset…
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October KidLit Events in Southern California (2010)
Fantastic Kidlit events are happening all over Southern California this October! If you can, come out for some spooky literary adventures and support your fellow writers and illustrators! Friday, Oct 1st 4 pm: Gitty Daneshvari shares the second book in her book series School of Fear: Class Not Dismissed! at Mrs. Nelson’s Toy and Book…
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Recap of the 2010 SCBWI LA – Agent Panel
Agents Ginger Clark (Curtis Brown), Josh Adams (Adams Literary), Lisa Grubka (Foundry), and Ken Wright (Writer’s House), all spoke at the 2010 SCBWI LA Conferences. They discussed what they are looking for, the state of the market, and how the rights landscape is changing. The following are my notes from the event: MODERATOR: Introduce yourself,…