What: Overcoming Challenges: A Program for Writers and Illustrators (sponsored by New England SCBWI)
Who: Jo Knowles, Brian Lies, Mary Newell DePalma, and Barbara O'Connor
Where: The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA
When: Saturday, March 19; 10-3:30
More info here.
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Blog: Barbara O'Connor (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: Creative Chaos II (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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1. Friday is supposed to be my writing day and I've failed miserably. After many self-admonishments to keep Friday's sacred for writing I spent most of the day editing the newsletter for my paying job. I know, relax, right? Money is a necessary evil and I had all of Wednesday to write because of the snow day and I've been keeping up with my early morning writing sessions. In fact, I'm at a point where I should just print what I have and revise through the weekend. My deadline is Tuesday and I want it to be good. So I should just chill.
2. Snow. A lot of it. It's beautiful and a heck of a lot better then the mud that's sure to follow. Enough said.
3. The NESCBWI conference registration opens on the 15th of February. Go to the website and check out information about schedule and special offerings. This is New England's 25th anniversary conference so there's tons going on. Get your manuscripts ready for Quick Queries, and Critiques.
4. I'm excited that I have some books lined up to review for the spring. March is Women's History Month and I'll be reviewing Women of the Golden State written by Linda Crotta Brennan and others. Later in the spring, J.L. Powers will be joining me in the Chaos for an interview regarding her book This Thing Called the Future which is due out May 1. I have a couple of others up my sleeve if I can get to them.
5. My boys are amazing, smart, and talented and that's just my unbiased opinion. I'm taking them to Blue Man Group on Sunday to celebrate report cards, swimming races, and performances. I am so very lucky to be their Mom.
Blog: Jennifer E. Morris (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Tutorial, NESCBWI, Adobe Photoshop, NESCBWI10, Add a tag
As I was unpacking my materials from the NESCBWI conference this week I realized that I completely forgot to cover one of my presentation topics. I'm so annoyed with myself, because I thought it was one of the neater things that I was going to cover. I can't believe I forgot it. Oh well, at least I'll post it here on my blog. Better late than never, right?
I discussed this technique a while ago in the context of creating polka dot patterns but I think it's worth repeating. Many folks like to create collage images but are concerned about the copyright implications of using other people's fabric or paper designs in their work. This is a quick way to create all sorts of repeating pattern of your own in Photoshop.
First create a new document in Photoshop. It doesn't matter what size you make it as long as the height and width are an even number of pixels. I'm going to make mine 200px wide and 200px tall. Make note of the size, you will need it later.
Next draw something. The only rule is that you can not touch the document boundaries with your drawing. You can change the background to different solid color if you want, but make sure your drawing does not touch the edges of your image.
You can add textures, shadows, what ever, get as fancy with this as you want. Here I set the background to a light blue and drew a flower.
Now I could stop right here. If I click "Select -> All" and "Edit -> Define Pattern" I will get a pattern that will look something like this...
It's not bad but I want something less grid-like. So I'm going to modify it. First if you used more than one layer to create your image (which I did) you will need to flatten it into one layer. Next, select "Filter -> Other -> Offset" You will need to set the horizontal offset to one half of the total width of your image. In my case that would be 100 pixels. You will also set the vertical offset to half of the total height, again, in my case, that will be 100 pixels. Lastly, you will check "Wrap Around" for the undefined areas. If you click on the other options you will quickly see the difference. Once I run the offset filter I have something like this...
Now I can again draw something in the middle. But again don't touch the edges of the document. I can even draw over my original drawing and modify it just as long as I stay away from the document bounds. I drew another flower and one of the green curly cues overlap my original flower.
2 Comments on Quickly Creating Patterns in Photoshop, last added: 5/21/2010
Blog: Cinda Williams Chima (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Toni Buzzeo, Cynthia Leitich-Smith, Sibby Falk, Kathleen Blasi, writing, writers, NESCBWI, Young Writer, Cindy Lord, Add a tag
I spent the weekend at the awesome New England SCBWI conference. Mostly fielding reactions like, “You drove ALL the way from OHIO? Don’t they have conferences in Ohio?” (Typical East Coast attitude.)
It was rather rash. You see, eleven hours in the car didn’t sound so bad three months ago, at registration time. It looked kind of misty and romantic, like a far-away, blurry photograph of yourself. I thought, “Road trip! I’ll be driving through the Berkshires in May; how lovely!” And it IS lovely. But still a long way. Even with the Rent soundtrack blasting through the speakers.
I ran into Paula Kay McLaughlin at the luncheon buffet. She lives in Connecticut, but I first met her at the Central Ohio SCBWI conference, where she was busy explaining why she’d driven all the way from Connecticut to Ohio for a conference. “Don’t they have conferences in Connecticut?”
This is Kindling Words East territory, so of course I saw lot of my writing buds from there, including Kathleen Blasi, Sibby Falk, and Toni Buzzeo. Some of us still smell like woodsmoke. Kathleen and Sibby and I celebrated by getting lost in the twisting roads surrounding the Fitchburg Courtyard by Marriott. As Sibby said, “Lock the doors! I think I hear the banjos starting up.”
Here are Carolyn Scoppettone, Libby, and Kathleen in happier times.
Made lots of new friends at dinner Friday night
and rubbed shoulders with Cindy Lord at dinner Saturday night. Maybe some of her Newbury-worthiness will rub off on me.
Lest you think I spent my entire time eating, Cynthia Leitich-Smith’s keynote was incredible. That girl has the Native-American equivalent of chutzpah. She told the story of her journey into print. She was living in Chicago and working as a lawyer when an epiphany hit—she wanted to be a children’s writer. At this point she had absolutely nothing on the page. So she and her husband both quit their jobs and moved to Austin. Two years later, Cynthia published her first book.
Cynthia and I put our heads together after her interview on Sunday. Actually, I was hoping some of her chutzpah would rub off on me.
In Liza Ketcham’
Blog: Picture Book Junkies (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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This past weekend I attended the annual regional conference for the New England Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (aka, NESCBWI). I contribute to 3 blogs, and since I took just 3 workshops I thought I'd share one on each.
I highly recommend checking out Jennifer's blog and this page on her website for links to painting demos on her blog. She is very generous to share so much of her process. You'll find both a painterly technique and her scratchboard/chunky technique.
Blog: Creative Chaos II (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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First, I want to thank Anindita Sempere (arialas ) and Greg Fishbone for an amazing conference. The expertise of faculty was fabulous, the keynoters engaging and informative and the company... well I absolutely thrive and am inspired by all the wonderful NESCBWI members.
Over the weekend, I had no responsibilities so I was happy to meet people (whom I could remember since I wasn't in Director-land) and listen to some concerns in my brandie new position as Northern New England RA. One that I heard more than once was about the demographics questions on the evaluation sheets. I inserted those into the eval last year so I thought I could explain the thinking behind that.
The theme of last year's conference, if you remember, was "Many Voices." I chose that theme because it is important to me that every child recognize themselves (or someone like themselves) in books that we write, illustrate and publish. To that end, many of the workshops had to do with sensitive portrayals of various cultures, issues and concerns in "mulitcultural" publishing, etc. I made a sincere effort to recruit and hire well-qualified authors and illustrators of color onto the faculty in the hopes that this would ultimately draw new minority voices to the membership of NE SCBWI.
But how would we measure that?
I designed the demographic questions to be short and to the point so that we could collect data and establish a baseline from which we could see how the membership trended. We hope to collect this data for the next 5 or so years.
But what about that religion question? Why do you need to know that?
Well, I am Jewish. And I always feel that when I fill out those questionnaires that just saying that I'm "Caucasian" leaves my cultural identity uncounted. I'm sure there are others from various cultures who feel that way too.
Of course it is your choice to respond to the demographic questions at all, but now you know why they are there.
Blog: Jennifer E. Morris (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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I had an awesome time at the New England SCBWI conference this year. All the presentations I went to were wonderful and I feel so recharged and inspired to get back to work. Thank you Marla Frazee, Matt Phelan, and Richard Michalson for your great workshops. I really wish I could have stuck around on Sunday. There were more talks that I wanted to go to.
And it was also great meeting lots of new friends and catching up with old ones. There was a hugely talented group of illustrators attending like Melinda Beavers, Hazel Mitchell, Lucy Payne Pollack, Carlyn Beccia, Andy Smith, Jennifer Meyer and Robert Squier just to name a few.
Although if Robert wasn't there I might have won first place in the poster showcase. My entry (shown above) came in second after his. Curse you Robert Squier!! :) But seriously his poster entry was very very cute. Congratulations!
I think the one thing that stuck with me the most was something Cynthia Leitich Smith said during her keynote. And that was, "do at least one thing every week to promote your work." It doesn't have to be a big thing but do at least one thing. That's something I'm going to try live by.
Blog: Jennifer E. Morris (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: SCBWI, conference, NESCBWI, Adobe Photoshop, Add a tag
It's hard to think about a spring but registration opened last week for the New England SCBWI conference in Fitchburg, MA. The New England regional conference is always a really wonderful event. If you are in the area and are interested in writing or illustrating for children I highly recommend attending this conference.
This year author Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrator Marla Frazee, and editor Allyn Johnston will be giving the key note addresses. Plus there are lots of other great speakers including Matt Phelan, Dani Jones, and Frank Dormer just to name a few. And yours truly will be running a Photoshop workshop for illustrators on Sunday. Hope to see you there!
Blog: Kate's Book Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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At the request of some folks on Twitter, I'm posting the handout from last weekend's NESCBWI panel discussion, "Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Agents...But Were Afraid to Ask." I participated in the panel, along with my agent Jennifer Laughran of ABLA, author Jo Knowles and her agent Barry Goldblatt, and author/illustrator Carlyn Beccia and her agent Tracey Adams. We talked about many elements of the agent-author relationship Saturday afternoon and promised more on how to query an agent in the handout. Some of it will seem obvious, but believe it or not, agents see query letters that don't follow guidelines all the time.
Tips for Querying Agents
1. Do your homework. Make sure you know what kind of work the agent generally represents. Spell the name correctly. Make sure your manuscript is ready to submit. Then follow the submission guidelines exactly.
Why is this important? Because you’re asking someone to represent you as a professional in a career where you will frequently need to follow directions and do things a certain way. Prove that you can do it up front. Don’t give an agent a reason to say no.
2. When you write your query letter:
a. Address the agent by his or her name, i.e. Dear Mr. Goldblatt
b. Write a very brief first paragraph explaining why you are writing (to see if the agent is interested in representing your project) and why you chose that agent in particular. Did you read that the agent was looking for paranormal romance? Does he or she represent an author you love?
c. It’s fine to say you’ve met one of the agent’s clients or admire their books, but don’t make it sound like you were referred to an agent unless an author specifically referred you and offered to contact the agent to say so. Agents will check on this, and you’ll look unprofessional if you’ve stretched the truth.
d. In your next paragraph or two, give a brief summary of your book. This summary should read more like jacket copy than a book report. It’s meant give a quick overview to entice the agent to request your manuscript and does not need to include every little plot element. It does need to be clear, concise, and well written. If your book is funny, it helps if your query is funny, too.
e. In your last paragraph, give a brief closing. You might say to whom your book would appeal or how you think it fits into the market. Thank the agent and offer to send your manuscript along at his or her request.
Keep in mind, there's a lot of advice out there on querying, and this is just one take on the process. There are no magic query potions. If you're interested in learning more about what to do and especially what not to do, you'll want to check out this post from Scholastic editor Cheryl Klein.
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Blog: Kate's Book Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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10. An unreliable narrator -- one who doesn't tell the truth for any number of reasons -- can add tension to a story. In her workshop called "You Lying Scumbag" (love that title!), Jacqueline Davies read a bit from her new historical novel LOST and shared an Ian McEwan quote that stuck with me. "Narrative tension is primarily about the withholding of information."
9. Being sort of scared to write about race, for fear of messing up, is not a good reason to not write about race. Mitali Perkins challenged her workshop participants to include more diversity in their casts of characters, and not in just a superficial way.
8. And along those same lines...a quote from Floyd Cooper during the diversity panel... "A good multicultural book should start as a good book."
7. It is possible to remain calm, cool, collected, and friendly while coordinating a conference for hundreds of writers. Co-directors Anna Boll and Anindita Basu Sempere proved it over and over again.
6. My agent literaticat is just as terrific in person as she is online. We met for the first time Friday and got to spend lots of time talking and laughing over the weekend.
5. Agents in general -- at least the good ones -- are incredibly committed to their clients careers. I was impressed when an audience member at our panel discussion on agents & authors asked how long an agent will shop a manuscript before it's dead in the water. The answer? A really, really long time, if they believe in the manuscript. Barry Goldblatt told the story of a manuscript he sold after seven or eight YEARS of trying on and off, and Tracey Adams shared a similar experience. Sometimes, depending on what the market is like, they'll put a story on the back burner for a while, but that doesn't always mean giving up on it.
4. The Nashua Crowne Plaza has very good chocolate chip muffins, but it's impossible to eat them without making a mess. There are chocolate smudges on half of my notebook pages.
3. Sometimes, when I am really busy and having lots of fun, I forget to take all the great pictures I intended to take. But I have these...
...which brings me to....
2. I do like fish & chips! I do, I like them, Sam-I-Am. Actually, that would be Linda-I-Am, since it was lurban who told me I really ought to order them, since they are the specialty of this great Nashua pub and come all wrapped up in newspaper. The meal was fantastic, as was the company.
1. Children's writers & illustrators and the editors and agents who work with them are some of the friendliest, funniest, smartest, most supportive and generous people on the planet. I so loved meeting new writer-friends and spending time with people I usually talk with online, including my agent and online critique buddies. Truth be told, I knew that before this weekend, but every time I attend an event like this, I'm reminded of it, so it's still #1.
Blog: SCBWI Writers of Lower Fairfield (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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For those of you, like me, who were disappointed not to be able to attend the New England SCBWI Conference this weekend, here are some links to people who were there and blogged about their experiences:
Kate's Book Blog
Wellerwishes
The Final Word
And to the writers, thank you so much for sharing!
Blog: Kate's Book Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Highlights of my Saturday afternoon at NESCBWI...
- I was part of the panel discussion "Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Agents...But Were Afraid to Ask," along with my agent Jennifer Laughran, Jo Knowles and her agent Barry Goldblatt, and Carlyn Beccia and her agent Tracey Adams. This was my first time presenting at an SCBWI Conference, so I was a little nervous, but having so many smart, nice people on the panel made it a million times easier. We had great questions. Can a first-time novelist still find an agent? (Yes!) How do you usually communicate with your agent? (Email, mostly. It was interesting to note that two of the three agents on the panel had met their clients in person for the very first time just this weekend!) More on the panel, questions & answers later on. And if you were at the panel, thank you so much for coming and for your great questions! Watch your email for the handout later this week!
- I loved looking at the posters for the illustrator showcase. I'm always in awe of illustrators, and the folks who created work for us all to enjoy in the conference lobby deserve a big thanks!
- Fish & Chips! At a local pub so loud my ears are still kind of ringing. With homemade ketchup... Mmmmm....
- I stayed up wayyyyy too late talking with friends in the hotel lobby. To that end.... time for coffee. I'll post some photos later in the week!
Blog: wellerwishes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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It's NESCBWI conference weekend!
Today is the only day this year that I was able to attend the two-day conference. Despite this fact, I don't feel that I missed an ounce of inspiration, information or enjoyment out of it.
Before I go any further I must first share with you BIG NEWS!!!!!! I WON the NESCBWI poster contest in two categories: I took the First Place Prize for Published Artist category, and Third Place Prize for the People's Choice category!!! I cannot adequately explain how proud of this honor that I am and how thrilled I am to receive it. It is beyond, beyond and I am basking in the glow... or, as I said when I went to the front of the room to receive my honor, I am "sucking it up"!! Looking back on those words, that sounds like I am saying that I am sucking in my tummy to look thinner on stage, right? ;) ;) (My tummy was the furthest thing from my mind at that moment I assure you, ha ha). What I meant that I was "sucking it up" in a GOOD way. And, besides, when in public and surprised, we simply cannot be held responsible for the ridiculous things we blurt out in public. ;)
Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who enjoyed my work today and who enjoyed it enough to VOTE for it. It's an honor to be an illustrator, and knowing how much you appreciate my work is a GOOD SIGN :) for me. So, THANKS :) :) :) xoxo
Every year, my conference experience seems to have a 'theme' that I only see clearly in hindsight. Last year's theme for me was, most definitely, "growing pains". I made a decision to concentrate on writing-focused seminars, which was risky for me and actually felt really weird. I am a die-hard illustrator first and foremost. But, I'm also an aspiring published writer/illustrator. It was time to honor that within myself, and to the world... So, I went the whole nine yards and decided to sign up for writing courses only, aside from my one "treat"-- Melissa Sweet's great workshop. I also attended both days last year, so it was extra intense to be out of my "element" for that length of time, all the while feeling so torn by my forced exodus from the illustrator-focused seminars... although, to be fair, there are usually SO many great seminars that no matter which I end up attending, there is usually another one I am equally interested in taking place at the exact same time. In the end, I had a great experience at the 2008 conference, but by concentrating on learning and growing in different and admittedly uncomfortable ways, I was, by default, in another head space.
This year, on the other hand, was a whole 'nother story for me! For starters, I once again embraced the illustrator seminars on full-throttle. Yay! Yippee, Yahoo. I didn't take one writing seminar. While I surely will again in the future (and with glee! with glee), I was happy to not even consider it this time around. Secondly, my courses were fantastic. While it is always difficult to choose, it was a particularly good-looking year in the Saturday seminar department. That can make it harder to choose your courses, and this year was the first time that I can remember participants being actively enforced to stick to their originally chosen schedules and not have the option to change classes on the fly if they wished. This small detail actually worked out well for me ;) because the one seminar that I almost skipped turned out to be fantastic. Creating Stronger Illustrations Through Research, Artistic Exploration and Creative Play with Lita Judge was my first seminar. Lita brought us into her entire process of researching clothing, places and the like for her era-based picture books. I know how to Google for image research so from the outset I was skeptical about how much new information and knowledge I'd come away with, but I have to say I was very impressed with Lita's presentation. She organized a meticulous powerpoint presentation and spoke at length and in great detail about her process, and generously answered every question afterward. The only caveat to the entire presentation is that there was no take-away sheet with a written outline of the presentation bullet points. I love those take-aways, but it is a small flaw considering how faceted and interesting her presentation was, and what a well-organized and clear speaker and communicator she is. Grade: A!
My second seminar was with the one and only Barbara Johansen-Newman. I was very torn between taking this seminar and Liz Goulet Dubois concurrent seminar, but I decided on Barbara because Liz had two separate presentations in different time-blocks today, and I was planning on attending her other one. Plus, I just didn't want to pass up the opportunity to hear Barbara speak about her artwork and the subject matter at hand. Beyond Picture Books: Illustrating Early Readers and Chapter Books was the title of Barbara's seminar. Since I just completed my first Early Reader and I am interested in doing more, I thought this was a great choice for me. I was thrilled to have a seminar dedicated to this segment of children's books and to have Barbara's voice behind the subject was an opportunity too good to pass up. Of course, I was not disappointed one bit! Honestly, I am a huge fan of Barbara's so I could not imagine that I would not be riveted by her stories. Her seminar delivered for me and more. I thoroughly enjoyed learning all about Barbara's career, particularly in this segment of children's book publishing. Barbara has a warm, sparkly personality and an easy demeanor... But, at the same time, she's also no-nonsense, get-right-to-the-point, no sugar-coating kind of girl ( ...unless it's Sugar of the Tex and Sugar variety.) So the woman is the genuine article! She was very honest and really gave a LOT of insight into chapter books and early readers. She shared oodles of books with us that she's illustrated, and some that she hadn't. She also gave us a kick-butt handout. (YES - I love the hand-outs.) Last but not least, Barbara had a prize drawing at the end of her show, and she gave away several of her books to her grateful audience. I even won one (Milo's Great Invention) to add to my growing Barbara book collection! Grade: What can I say?!? A+!
My last seminar of the day was Liz Goulet Dubois' second seminar. Liz's first seminar (which took place during Barbara's seminar) outlined other possible markets for children's illustration. This seminar was called Fun Reads: Board Books and Other Novelty Formats. Liz took us through the inception and lifespan of her latest book, board book, pop-up book "What Kind of Rabbit Are You?". Very enlightening stuff -- I was totally amazed by the life this book had, way before it even became a published book. I mean, we all hear the stories over and over, but to see the story in living color and also in so many physical manifestations, that really hit home. I was fascinated with her story and I really appreciated hearing about the technical details as well. I'd never met Liz in person before today and only knew her through blogs and email. Well, for me, she was one of those few people that you meet that you feel instantly comfortable around. She was fabulous, and I loved her presentation. I must add that some of her dummy books were, like, crazy meticulous-outrageous-gorgeous. Simply, they were dummies that live on fluffy clouds in a beautiful blue sky flanked by rainbows, unicorns and the occasional pot of gold. Seriously, I have never seen a dummy like some of Studio Dubois' dummies. Lastly (and certainly not least, if you've been reading this long), Liz gave ou some extremely useful hand-outs which oulined all of her points in class as well as sharing some books, web resources and trade show information. Thanks, Liz! Grade: A+
Blog: Kate's Book Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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I left my camera connector thing at home, so photos will have to wait, but I thought I'd post a quick update from Nashua all the same. (For my mom and others who may not know writer acronyms, NESCBWI stands for New England Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.)
Highlights of Day 1:
- Meeting conference co-chairs Anna Boll and Anindita Basu Sempere and other conference organizers at lunch. Honestly, the organizational abilities of these women has me in awe. And they shared some exciting news about next year's conference - a new venue and a 21st century theme, "Moments of Change," focusing on the way technology impacts our craft and careers.
- Meeting my agent literaticat in person for the first time! She is just as funny and friendly and smart in real life. I knew it!
- Seeing writer friends from all over New England, meeting people I've only talked with online, and celebrating recent good news with so many of them. We New England folks are a busy, busy bunch of writers & illustrators!
- Coming back to my hotell room to find an email from a young reader that started out, "I wanted to write and thank you for being an author!!!" Every sentence in her email had three exclamation points. It made my day and was a lovely reminder of why we're all here.
- I'm so looking forward to Cynthia Lord's keynote address after breakfast. She warned us to bring the Kleenex. This is just trouble for those of us who are known to cry during Folgers coffee commercials.
- Terrific workshops on tap - and I'm wishing I could be everywhere at once! First stop for me today...Jacqueline Davies' session called "You Lying Scumbag: The Joys and Perils of Creating an Unreliable Narrator."
- I'm presenting this afternoon as part of a panel on "Everything You've Wanted to Know About Agents... But Were Afraid to Ask" along with my agent Jennifer Laughran, Jo Knowles and her agent Barry Goldblatt, and Carlyn Beccia and her agent Tracey Adams. We have a crowd of 80 people signed up for the session, and I bet they'll have some great questions.
- Then I am going to the conference bookstore, where I will proceed to buy more books that do not fit on my shelves at home. We need more shelves.
- Then off to dinner with friends at a place with what's been pitched to me as the best fish & chips ever. Stop by for the full rundown on unreliable narrators, friends, fish & chips later on....
Blog: Mitali's Fire Escape (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Books Between Cultures, Multicultural Events and Resources, NESCBWI, Add a tag
I'm helping to gather questions for a panel at the New England Society for Children's Writers and Illustrators Annual Conference this Spring. We want the session to be salty, fun, and enlightening, and I need your help. Which changes, trends, achievements, and challenges in the industry would you hope to see discussed? What would you like to know about diversity in children's and teen books? Anything goes, and the harder the question, the better.
Blog: Mitali's Fire Escape (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Writing Life, NESCBWI, Book Promotion, Add a tag
I've been discovering some hard truths about our industry lately, and realizing afresh how much we need the passion, handselling, creativity, and championship provided by our country's independent booksellers. They've been taking a hit, but New England alone still has over 350 indies!
About a week ago, I started thinking: why not show them some author/illustrator love by planning a massive multi-author signing event? Great idea, right?
So what did I do next? I twittered about it, of course, in 140 words or less.
Fellow New England kid lit bloggers Sarah Rettger and AC Gaughen jumped into the conversation, adding fresh ideas.
We decided on Valentine's Day 2009, envisioning that grandparents and parents could bundle up their kids, bring them to a bookstore between 10-noon, meet several authors and illustrators, and leave with a signed literary Valentine or two -- and a great memory.
What came next? A website, of course. An invite to the honchos at NECBA and NEIBA, who responded with characteristic enthusiasm, and bookstores started signing up.
Via Facebook, Deborah Sloan and Company agreed to show their support of the New England children's book community by providing PR pro bono.
Blog: Mitali's Fire Escape (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Fantasy, Kid Reads, Web Kid Lit Resources, NESCBWI, Add a tag
Afternoon workshop. Fantasy and World Building. Leda Schubert.
I'm sitting in the back trying to keep my blogging low-key, next to writing buddies Wendy Nystrom and Mordena Babich (who knows the correct pronunciation of Rick Riordan), both in my critique group, both authors of excellent stories in the fantasy genre. Leda gets started (I did ask her permission to live-blog, and she graciously gave it, so relax and read on. Here's a disclaimer, though: these are rough notes, they don't include Leda's precise words, and the quotes are incomplete.)
What is the wrong reason to write fantasy? Because it's what's selling. The right reason? It is the best way to tell the story only you can tell. We're born with the need for story.
Leda goes over the classic book, Harold and the Purple Crayon. Study this book! It shows all that's right about fantasy, she says. The heart-stopping moment of fantasy is when you wonder if it's going to be okay. If you scare yourself as you're writing, you're doing your job. Sometimes as you write you don't know where you're going.
Motivations? We want to believe that something exists outside of what we see.
Where to begin? Read, read, read. Take notes. Hard analysis. Develop a list of things to look for. What kind of world has this author created? What are the elements? Are there moments when you're jarred out of the fictive world of fantasy?
After you've read the books, turn to folklore and mythology. Try retellings and re-imaginings. We all have stories we're "doomed to write."
Know story structure. Discover the myth of the hero all around the world.
Fantasy is not escapist literature. It is a journey in instead of out. "Myth may not be real," says Susan Cooper, but it is true. "Fantastic conditions must speak to our real one," said Lloyd Alexander.
Leda recommends The Tough Guide To Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones. "It's a hoot," says Leda, making us laugh with a couple of quotes she reads aloud.
Leda also pulls from Jane Langton's The Weak Place in the Cloth. In fantasy literature, the cloth is either stretched, punctured, invisible and permeable, or unpunctured, but we're on the other side. The cloth can divide now from then, life from death (ghost stories), or finite present from infinite future (science fiction).
Leda's getting to the fundamentals now, explaining in detail how to create a fantasy world, and ends by saying that the work in this rich genre is still too much in the hands of white men. That's changing, but slowly. We need new voices, especially non-Western ones. We are part of this change.
Blog: Kate's Book Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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How in the world did Bruce Coville get left out of my NE SCBWI conference photos? What an incredible speaker. I heard him at the World of Children's Literature Conference in Lake Placid, NY six years ago and couldn't wait to see him at SCBWI last weekend. He was funny and smart and worth every minute of waiting.
Blog: Mitali's Fire Escape (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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the new issue of the edge of the forest went live (with a review of my Rickshaw Girl to boot) ...
the Children's Book Council and USBBY announced their list of 39 outstanding international books published in 2006, narrowing the choices from a field of 250 books ...
dozens of kid lit peeps had a blast in the bar nine (bar me and Jen Robinson, who were partying on the other coast in a more sedate venue; pix of my whirlwind California Dreamin' book tour to come with my mother in gorgeous array painting alpanas) ...
hordes of other book folk (and some of the ones hobnobbing at bar nine, of course) attended the SCBWI conference in New York ...
cynsations went down right when Cynthia Leitich Smith's new novel Tantalize (Candlewick) was scheduled for release, and she's blogging at hubby's site (they come in handy, don't they? hubbies and their sites) ...
the literate world continued to wait in breathless anticipation for the announcement of the Cybils awards (TBA TOMORROW!) ...
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Great post, and a quick tip that will save me a ton of time as well as get used frequently. Awesome!
Great meeting you at NESCBWI too.
Thanks for posting this - it's very clear and easy. I always need to look up how to create patterns in Photoshop whenever I want to make one since I hardly ever do it. Now I'm bookmarking this!