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Upcoming Events (Where You'll Find Me!)...

I always think of January as being nothing but dull dull dull and cold cold cold. January 2010, however, is shaping up to rather exciting (and yet...still cold cold cold). Here's what's coming up:

WRITER'S DIGEST 90th ANNIVERSARY PARYT, January 20th
This takes place at the very cool Northside Tavern in Cincinnati. Join us for networking, give-aways, cake and various other anniversary fun. Here's my recent post about the party. No RSVP needed--just show up.

DIGITAL BOOK WORLD, January 26-27
This two-day industry event in New York City is a big ol discussion of current and future strategies, tools, and best practices for consumer publishers big and small in the age of eBook and e-readers. And pretty much everyone will be there. Registration is still open. (I will be tweeting and blogging.)
Click here to follow DBW on Twitter.

ALICE RESTS, January 28

SCBWI ANNUAL WINTER CONFERENCE, January 29-31
You can still register for the biggest and best event for children's writers and illustrators there is (besides the SCBWI Summer Conference). If you can't attend, don't fret--you can follow the conference as it happens on The Official SCBWI Conference Blog manned by SCBWI TEAM BLOG (Jaime, Jolie, Lee, Suzanne and me.)

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The latest of our SCBWI TEAM BLOG series of pre-conference interviews with Winter Conference speakers and keynoters is up on Lee Wind's blog.

Lee interviewed the delightful and knowledgeable Laurent Linn, Art Director for Simon & Schuster Books for Young Reader, who will be offering three breakout sessions on THE REAL DEAL ABOUT VISUAL STORY TELLING.

Click here to read the interview with Laurent. We'll continue to direct you to more exclusive TEAM BLOG interviews during the coming weeks leading up the conference!

Click here to register for the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City where you can see Laurent Linn in person.

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Exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-Conference Interview: Ben Schrank...

Visit Suzanne Young's Blog for the first in our series of exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG pre-conference interviews with SCBWI Winter Conference speakers and keynoters.

To kick us off, Suzanne interviewed Ben Schrank, president of super cool Penguin imprint Razorbill.

I'll direct you to more pre-conference interviews in the weeks to come--and you'll find a few in this space.

To register for the SCBWI conference, click here.
To read more from Ben Schrank, click here for my 2007 interview with him.

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Jane Yolen is Added to the SCBWI Winter Conference Lineup...

The 11th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference already has a terrific lineup--and it just got a little better. SCBWI announced yesterday that author Jane Yolen has been added to the roster.

Jane, who's been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century, and is the award-wining author of numerous children's books, fantasy, and science fiction, including Owl Moon, The Devil's Arithmetic, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, will offer the closing keynote address.

I remember seeing Jane speak from a wheelchair at the 2006 SCBWI LA conference after a night in the emergency room. She still knocked our socks off!

There's still time to register for the SCBWI event--click here. Early registration rates apply until January 4th.

If you can't make it, you can follow the conference as it's happening with full SCBWI TEAM BLOG coverage on the Official SCBWI Conference Blog.

And if you'd like some Jane Yolen wisdom you can carry around in your bag, check out her wonderful book Take Joy.

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What's New at scbwi.org? Everything! Here's the Scoop...

If you've visited the website for the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators lately you've noticed that it's gone through a major renovation. I've asked SCBWI Creative Director Aaron Hartzler to give you a tour.

Scbwi.org went through quite an overhaul this year. Tell me about new features members may not be aware of.

Thanks for noticing! I've spent two years now working very closely with Lin Oliver and Steve Mooser to develop the new site, and we're really thrilled with the way it's taking shape.

Best new functions available now:

1. The "Find A Speaker" page: Educators and librarians can now search for SCBWI members and even see video clips from classroom presentations. PAL members can click on "Speaker Profile" on their member home page to add video and information.
2. The Illustrator's Gallery: Illustrator members of SCBWI no longer have to pay a separate service or web site to host an online portfolio. Just log in and click on "My Portfolio" to upload images. Once you've uploaded an image, your name will appear in the searchable index of SCBWI illustrators.
3. "Search Members": Our old "Member roster" search has been given a much-needed 21st-century update. Click on "Search Members" in the upper right-hand corner of any page on the site, and you can find other members by name, email address, location, even book title.
4. Regional Home Pages: When you log in, click on the “Regional Chapter” icon and you’ll be taken to your Regional Home Page. This is sort of like a Facebook group page where you’ll be connected with all of the other members in your region. You can see the regional events that are upcoming, details for your next regional conference, and read the latest from your Regional Advisor’s news blog. You can quickly browse members in your region and send a message or a friend request. Connecting with other SCBWI members in your area has never been easier.
5. Member Neworking: We're calling this function "SCBWInc." "INC" stands for "Insider Networking Community." You now have the ability to send messages to other SCBWI members and add them as a friend right at SCBWI.org. Also, click around on your friends’ profiles and see their latest publishing news, pictures and contact information.
   

When did the SCBWInc feature launch? What’s the advantage of creating a profile and making friends on the SCBWI site as opposed to, say, Facebook or Jacketflap? Any tips for using it?

SCBWInc, our member networking platform, just launched October 13th. Co-founder and Executive Director Lin Oliver was very specific when I was developing this part of the site that she wanted this function to be more than just "social networking." Writing and illustrating can be solitary work. SCBWInc is designed as a place for members who are often isolated in their own studios or hunkered down editing a manuscript to come and surface for a creative recharge. Without leaving your seat at the computer or the drafting table, we wanted to provide a little taste of the community aspect that is often felt at our regional events and annual international conferences in New York and Los Angeles with the click of a mouse.

Being a member of Facebook or other sites is a great way to market your work and get the word out, but there’s nothing like the community sense of the SCBWI. Those letters in our name (and we do spell it out—we don’t pronounce it as a word that sounds like “squeegee”!) have come to be synonymous not only with professional support and advocacy, but also with the true community of artistic peers who rely on one another for encouragement that goes far beyond marketing and visibility.

Are there any more changes in store for scbwi.org?

Yes! Now that the major functions are in place, we’re embarking on a round secondary additions. So stay tuned for more info on:

1. Blogs/RSS Feeds: Look for news soon on a blog from the SCBWI Illustrator Committee, a legal questions blog, and a tech blog with an emphasis on marketing your work—all with RSS feeds so you can get an instant update.
2. Redesigned Discussion Board Forum, hosted on our site (that doesn’t require a secondary login!)
3. The all-new SCBWI Store: A brand new shopping experience for T-shirts, SCBWI Master Class DVDs, and other great merch!
4. The Online Publication Guide: While members may currently download a PDF copy of the annual “Pub Guide,” all of our Market Surveys and Directories will soon be fully searchable.
5. The SCBWI Bulletin Archive: Over 30 years of SCBWI Bulletins have been scanned in and are currently being indexed for easy searching and reading online!
6. More video! We’ve got years and years of conference footage and we’re working on clearing some rights issues to be able to use some of that video on the site!

Oh—one more very important question: Will SCBWI again offer fantastic blog coverage of the upcoming Winter Conference in New York (January 29-31, 2010)?

You better believe it! There’s this really great SCBWI member—Alice Pope? You may know her. (She’s got a killer SCBWI Member Profile here.) Anyway, she’ll be heading up another all-star team of bloggers to bring you hits and highlights from the upcoming 10th Annual International SCBWI Winter Conference in New York. Conference brochures will be in the mail by the end of next week, and we’re aiming to go live with registration online October 28th!

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SCBWI Summer Conference: Fantastic...

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Exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG Video Interview: Zombie Sock Puppet David Wiesner...

Visit CocoaStomp for Jaime Temairik's latest exclusive TEAM BLOG video interview with illustrator, Caldecott winner and Summer Conference keynote speaker David Wiesner who takes the form of a zombie sock puppet! (This is Jaime's brilliant follow up to yesterday's interview with zombie sock puppet Dan Yaccarino.)

Two days from now: Blog-mania! Stay tuned...

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Visit CocaoStomp for Jamie Temairik's latest exclusive TEAM BLOG video interview with illustrator, Caldecott winner and Summer Conference keynote speaker David Weisner who takes the form of a zombie sock puppet (another undead illustrator!).

Two days from now: Blog-mania! Stay tuned...

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Visit Alice's CWIM Blog for Alice Pope's exclusive interview with author and Summer Conference keynote speaker Kathleen Duey, the latest in our TEAM BLOG keynote interview series (with more to come!).

Kathleen offers lots of great advice for conference goers and talks about, among other things, fear (and why it's good for you).

Three more days until the Summer Conference Blog-apalooza!


photo: Sonya Sones

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Exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG Interview: Kathleen Duey...

Kathleen Duey has published more than 70 books for readers of all ages with a focus on historical fiction and fantasy. Many of her books are titles in her middle grade series: American Diaries; Survival; The Unicorn's Secret; and Hoofbeats. The Faeries Promise, a four-book set for young readers, will be out in 2010. Skin Hunger—first of a dark YA fantasy trilogy—was a 2007 National Book Award Finalist. Sacred Scars, the second book in the trilogy, has just been released and Kathleen is writing the final book now.

Other projects in the works include Free Rat, the near-future odyssey of a damaged and unwilling hero; A Virgin’s Blood, a thorny and complex love story; and Russet an ongoing Twitter novel, written in 140 character bursts. She's also written several terrific pieces for past editions of CWIM (which always makes this editor terribly excited).

Here we discuss--among other writerly topics--FEAR.

How long have you been attending the SCBWI Summer Conference in LA? Where were you career-wise when you first attended?

Hmmmm. Wow. About 14 years, I think. I have missed a few national conferences over that time, not many. I had published three books before I discovered SCBWI, but it was still like stumbling into a gold mine posted with signs that read: Take what you need. Come back often.

You say on your blog that “dark, atypical fantasy” is your new love. What’s atypical about your current work, the A Resurrection of Magic trilogy?

There is little that IS typical. There are two stories that go back and forth, every other chapter. There are two protagonists. One is written in a first person voice, the other is in third person. The stories happen about 200 years apart and the first story causes the second one. By the end of the trilogy, in the first story, almost 200 years pass. In the second story about 8 years will have passed.

The setting is the city of Limori. Because of the time span, the culture the characters live in has changed. Because it is a fantasy, a few of the characters are alive in both stories. Magic is a burden, a blessing, a secret, a cause for revolution, abuse of power—all things human are included. It is a very realistic fantasy.

The second book in your trilogy, Sacred Scars is an August release. Will it be available in the conference bookstore so I can get a copy? Would you tell me and my readers a little about the book?

Sacred Scars is out now and will be at the conference. I think they will have Skin Hunger (first in the trilogy) as well and a few of The Unicorn’s Secret (for 2-4th graders) too.

This is all I can say about Sacred Scars without spoilers: The stories of both characters absolutely astounded me as I wrote the second book. It is almost two hundred pages longer than the first book. Hahp’s sheltered life is far behind him now, he has to face choices no one should have to face. And Sadima’s kind heart leads her into terrible danger.

At the SCBWI Summer Conference you’ll be offering a breakout session on building a novel. Who should attend and what do you hope your attendees come away with?

Thanks for asking about this. Anyone at any level of skill who is writing novels for any age group should consider coming. I want to walk through novel structure in a different way, one that includes art and heart, not just craft. Competent novels are harder and harder to sell, in large part because of SCBWI’s wonderful resources, more and more people can write pretty well. But I think too many of us learn the rules—which are far more “teachable”—and lose the spark—which is more “discoverable”.

To move from my very competently written paperback series to the kind of books I am writing now, I had to recover the deeper parts of my own artistic process. It was tricky at first. I spent a lot of time thinking about how I set it aside and why, and I very purposefully set out to get it back. I hope to help others avoid the same detour.

You’ve said that your Twitter novel Russet has given you a creative jolt of “raw fear.” Why is it important to experiment and delve into things that are a little scary?

I have written three answers to this and erased them. Here is the real one: I remember standing on a stage in high school, shaking, holding my guitar, taking a deep breath and forcing myself to sing to an auditorium full of my peers. I didn’t think I would live through it. And when it was over, they clapped and cheered and I was happier than I ever remembered being in my life. I went home and wrote three songs, each one better than I had ever written before, many journal pages, and I practiced harder for months afterward.

Writers don’t get that performance jolt often, if ever. Our writer-friends and editors help us, we rely on extensive revision, and, in addition to all that, most of us adhere to pre-defined, marketable forms. I wanted the jolt back; I wanted to perform. And in order to complicate my life further, I decided to do a kind of literary improv. Every time I add text, I am scared to death. Once I post it, I don’t touch it again. I don’t plot ahead or outline. And I am very happy, awake, and alive artistically just now.

Tell me about that experience of writing Russet. How have readers responded? (Feel free to answer in more than 140 characters. Or not.)

I need more than 140 for this: The Twitter format was largely accidental. I had signed up for Twitter a year prior, but hadn’t done anything with it. One day I got a little e-notice that someone was following me. Following what? I had never posted. I couldn’t imagine writing anything of interest in 140 characters or less. I would rather spend my time writing stories than figuring out how…hmmmmm. It hit me: Weird format, real-time, no story in mind, just character channeling, online and live, very public…and it could blow up in my face a hundred ways. My heart started to thud. Perfect.

Russet’s audience is expanding rapidly. People write to say they love the story. Me, too. The whole text can be found here. It’s about 100 pages of story compressed into 23 pages of tweets.

And speaking of fear, attending an SCBWI conference for the first time can be a little scary. What advice can you offer conference attendees (particularly first-timers) on getting the most out of the event?

Before you go, decide what areas of your writing or art need the biggest boosts. Look at the workshops with those areas in mind and choose accordingly. If I am not sure of a session, I often stand at the back so I can slip out without disrupting anything and go stand in the back elsewhere.

Collect attendees’ and whoever else’s business cards and jot down who/why/what on the back. LOTS of people put together critique groups that last for years from conference acquaintances. Make sure everyone understands copyright and swears never to forward your work to anyone else without your permission. (Which you should never, ever give them.)

Eat well and get to sleep at reasonable hours so you can make the most of the conference. (With the exception of Saturday night. We must dance.)

Make use of conference attendee gatherings to learn how to critique and be critiqued. Both are important. If you see me walking past, invite me. If I can, I will join you.

Will you be formally critiquing manuscripts during the conference? Critiques, too, can be scary for new writers. What’s your advice on getting the most from a critique meeting?

I am critiquing. I almost always do. First, remember this: It is your book, your story, YOURS. Second, remember this: Because it is yours, you have almost no chance of seeing it objectively. None of us can. So listen carefully and with an open mind. Ask questions, take notes. You can winnow it all out later and use what seems right as a starting point for your own re-evaluation, and toss what doesn’t. This was a huge realization for me: The fix might best be made by making small changes over thirty (or forty or two hundred) pages, before or after the page upon which the problem was spotted.

Your keynote address is titled “Transmutation: Books That Matter.” Why transmutation as theme? How does this word apply to your career?

Well, I love that word, the old meaning of turning base metal into gold. For me, that describes the process of writing a book. And I think it applies to everyone’s careers. Especially now. We are at a turning point for books, for literature, for mankind, womankind, childkind. If we want literacy to survive, we need to make it indispensible to the next generation. And to do that we need to write books that really matter. And for screen culture kids, that will take art in its biggest, baddest, broadest sense, as well as craft.

You’re giving the closing address of the conference. Do you feel pressure to end with a bang? (And is going last scary?)

Pressure? Yes.
Scary? No. Terrifying!

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Visit Jolie Stekly's Cuppa Jolie blog today for an exclusive TEAM BLOG interview with Newbery winner and SCBWI Summer Conference keynote speaker Karen Cushman.

We're counting down to the Summer Conference ... only four more days! More exclusive interviews to come this week (including one right here), and then our conference blog-o-rama begins.

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Visit Jolie Stekly's Cuppa Jolie blog today for an exclusive TEAM BLOG interview with Newbery winner and SCBWI Summer Conference keynote speaker Karen Cushman.

We're counting down to the Summer Conference ... only four more days! More exclusive interviews to come this week, and then our conference blog-o-rama begins.

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Be sure to visit Lee Wind's blog today to read his terrific interview with SCBWI Summer Conference keynote speaker Ellen Hopkins.

And be sure to check out all the TEAM BLOG blogger's sites between now and the conference (which starts August 7) for more exclusive interviews, features and scoop. (You can find the TEAM BLOG blogroll on the right of this blog.)

You can still register for the event, full- or part-time. Click here for the registration page.

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Links to SCBWI TEAM BLOG Keynote Interviews...

Today blogger Lee Wind offers a great interview with Holly Black, one of the terrific keynote speakers for the upcoming SCBWI Annual Summer Conference. (She is also featured in the 2010 CWIM!) Lee has recently joined Twitter so add him to your follow list--he'll be blogging and tweeting along with the rest of us from the L.A. event August 7-10.

If you haven't, also check out Paul Yoo's interviews with keynoters Ingrid Law and Betty Birney. There will be more interviews with SCBWI conference keynote speakers from TEAM BLOG between now and the event which I'll link you to when they are posted.

(And for those of you who still may be thinking about registering for the event but haven't yet, read Suzanne Young's post featuring feedback from three first-time conference goers.)

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The SCBWI Summer Conference--I'm Counting Down...

So far my summer is flying by (a bajillion deadlines make the days move quickly). Last week the 2010 CWIM went to the printer (super yay!). Today I sat back, took a deep breath, and realized that I leave for the SCBWI Annual Summer Conference in L.A. in 23 days.

This is going to be a particularly fun event for me because, as I've mentioned before in this space, I'll be leading SCBWI TEAM BLOG ( Jaime, Jolie, Lee, Paula, Suzanne and me--see the blogroll at right) as we bring the conference to you as it's happening. We'll be live blogging from sesssions, posting photos, sharing our experiences.

In addition to blogging, I'll also be offering a breakout session on Sunday on Practical Online Promotion (opposite Linda Sue Park, Betty Birney, Kadir Nelson, Krista Marino, Dan Lazar... hope I get an audience).

Now for some links:

• If you'd still like to register for the SCBWI conference in L.A. August 7-10, click here.
• Click here to visit the Official SCBWI Conference Blog. (Feel free to bookmark it.)

And here's where to find TEAM BLOG on Twitter (cuz when we're not blogging, we'll be tweeting):

• To follow me on Twitter, click here.
• To follow Jaime Tamairik on Twitter, click here.
• To follow Jolie Stekly on Twitter, click here.
• To follow Paula Yoo on Twitter, click here.
• To follow Suzanne Young on Twitter, click here.
• You can also follow SCBWI by clicking here, where you'll find tweets linking to all the SCBWI Conference Blog posts.

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SCBWI Summer Annual Conference Info Now Up on scbwi.org...


Registration doesn't open until May 5, but you can get a peak at the SCBWI Annual Summer Conference faculty, schedule and info now on scbwi.org (click on "Summer Conference.") The event will take place August 7-10 at the Hyatt Recency Century Plaza.

Keynote speakers for the L.A. event include Ingrid Law, Betty Birney, Karen Cushman, Sherman Alexie, Ellen Hopkins, Holly Black, Dan Yaccarino, David Wiesner and Kathleen Duey. Plus there's a host of authors, illustrators, agents and editors (including yours truly) on the faculty.

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Coverage!

Between now and the August event look for exclusive interviews with keynote speakers, Golden Kite winners, and conference faculty, along with other fun and informative conference posts, here and on all the SCBWI TEAM BLOGgers blogs. TEAM BLOG includes Jaime Temairik, Jolie Stekly, Lee Wind, Paula Yoo, Suzanne Young and me. (See the SCBWI TEAM BLOG roll at right.) Whenever a TEAM member offers a conference post, I'll give you a link.

And don't forget--during conference time SCBWI TEAM BLOG will live blog the event. If you're not attending, you can follow our play by play. If you'll be there, you can read about all the sessions you don't attend. And much more.

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