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Blog: Christopher Denise (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Crystal Kite Award, Baking Day At Grandma's, Add a tag
Blog: Notes from the Slushpile (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Teri Terry, Crystal Kite Award, Dave Cousins, Helen Peters, Juliet Clare Bell, Elizabeth Wein, Mina Witteman, Add a tag
By Candy Gourlay Happy World Book Week, everyone! And as luck would have it, the Crystal Kite Shortlist for Europe 2013 has been announced by SCBWI - and it's packed with friends of the Slushpile. The Crystal Kite Award is the only peer-nominated children's book award in the world. It is run by SCBWI region. Congratulations, all! I personally believe shortlists are as important as the awards
Blog: Betsy Devany's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: SCBWI, Sara Zarr, Jane Yolen, Writing conferences, Kate Messner, Brian Lies, Harold Underdown, Sarah Aronson, New England SCBWI, Harry Bliss, Nancy Werlin, Carolyn Coman, Betsy Devany, Crystal Kite Award, Ann Barrows Scholarship, NE-SCBWI 2012 Conference, Ruth Landers Glass Scholarship, Add a tag
This year’s NE-SCBWI Conference (my sixth) was different for me. As the On-the-Spot Critique Coordinator, I was one of numerous volunteers responsible for making a successful conference. In my position, I felt deeply obligated to the attendees, wanting to facilitate proper connections to editors/agents, and I’d promised these same professionals that I’d do my best to secure them additional critiques. In truth, I was scared. Since becoming the On-the-Spot Critique Coordinator less than a month ago, I have secretly fretted, while my daily early-morning writing time turned into early-morning e-mail communication, chart-making, and teaching myself how to make a spreadsheet. (I am also a committee co-chair for the upcoming New Jersey SCBWI Conference.) My manuscripts lay untouched; my muse went on strike.
Preparing for the conference reminded me of my earlier years in the business of writing for children, when I was unsure and questioned my abilities. Self-doubt hinders your growth as an artist. So I stopped thinking about What Might Not Happen (that the on-the-spot critiques would be a failure) and I began to believe that I could, indeed, pull this off. But to do this, I had to call on my Inspired Frame-of-Mind, which is strong, determined, and follows the muse with much delight, like a kitten chasing an unraveling ball of red yarn. I write what my characters tell me, and on some level, believe they are the ones shaping their stories, not me. I continue to struggle with writing for my blog, for that voice comes from a different place, where self-criticism has rented a tiny room and ignores my weekly eviction notice.
So in my Inspired Frame-of-Mind, I faced the task of being a successful conference coordinator: I worked diligently and focused on being positive, while doing everything possible to sell these critiques. The bar to succeed is set high due to the tireless efforts of our region’s longtime coordinators, who have given so much of their time over the years: Marilyn Salerno, Joyce Shor Johnson, Kathryn Hulick, Melissa Hed. Valarie Giogas. Laura Pauling. Melissa Stewart. Casey Girard. Betty Brown. Sally Riley. Jean Woodbury. Linda Brennan. Jennifer Carson. Joannie Duris. Anna Boll. Jennifer O’Keefe. Greg Fishbone. Francine Puckly. Margo Lemieux. And Shirley Pearson, who I hope can one day step out from behind the registration table to pursue her own dreams. I apologize in advance for not listing every name, though my gratitude is intended for all. Thank you! The NE-SCBWI Conference reflects your efforts, selfless dedication, and enthusiasm for our wonderful community. A community filled
Blog: Writing and Illustrating (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: awards, Author, SCBWI, Authors, picture books, Competition, need to know, Crystal Kite Award, Add a tag
The Crystal Kite Awards are given by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators each year to recognize great books from 15 regional SCBWI divisions around the world. Along with the SCBWI Golden Kite Awards, the Crystal Kite Awards are chosen by other children’s book writers and illustrators, making them the only peer-given awards in publishing for young readers. Each member of SCBWI is allowed to vote for their favorite book from a nominated author in their region that was published in the previous calendar year.
Round one is over, the books have been chosen and round two of the voting is now open. Three authors from New Jersey, Charlotte Bennardo, Natalie Zaman for the book they co-authored and Audrey Vernick who ended up with two books on the list for the Crystal Kite Award. Below you will see all the nominees for our region. If you are from another region, go to www.scbwi.org and view the nominees for your region. Make sure you vote for the book you feel deserves the award. See voting instructions at bottom of post.
Co-Authors Charlotte Bennardo
and
Natalie Zaman
SIRENZ
Publisher: Flux
Picture Book Author
Audrey Vernick
Nominated for Her Debut Middle Grade Novel
WATER BALLOON
Publisher: Clarion
Audrey Vernick
TEACH YOUR BUFFALO TO PLAY DRUMS
Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s Books
Sarah Sullivan
PASSING THE MUSIC DOWN
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Shannon Nutter-Wiersbitzky
THE SUMMER OG HAMMERS AND ANGELS
Blog: Writing and Illustrating (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: awards, Children's Books, Uncategorized, picture books, inspiration, Process, Brian Lies, author/illustrator, Illustrator's Saturday, Crystal Kite Award, Add a tag
I thought I would start with Brian Lies latest book cover, which recently won Brian the Crystal Kite Award. I figured one look and you would see why his book won that award and too many others to list.
Brian Lies is a native of Princeton, NJ, who graduated from Brown University in 1985 with a degree in British and American Literature. He attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for two and a half years, and began doing editorial page illustrations for numerous publications, including the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune and Christian Science Monitor. He illustrated his first children’s book for Houghton Mifflin Co. in 1989, and has since illustrated twenty others, including his New York Times bestsellers Bats at the Library (2008) and Bats at the Beach (2006), as well as Hamlet and the Enormous Chinese Dragon Kite (1994) and Hamlet and the Magnificent Sandcastle (2001), which he also wrote. Brian is a frequent contributor to Cricket, Spider, and Ladybug magazines, has shown his work in galleries around the country, and enjoys visiting schools to talk with students about writing and illustrating stories. He and his wife, Laurel, live in Duxbury, MA with their daughter, a cat and a hamster.
I love how Brian shows us his process. Here’s Brian:
In setting up a scene, I draw from imagination, but bring in research. For Bats at the Library, I wanted the setting to be my favorite library building, the Riverside (IL) Public Library, in the town where my Dad grew up. I live in Massachusetts, and hadn’t seen the library in the 28 years since my grandparents died, so I flew to Chicago and spent three days in the library, taking over 300 photos, doing detailed drawings of the building, and working on revisions, with an eye to having the feel of the building infuse the writing. I’m not slavish about copying from reference photos—I don’t set up a complete scene and then just copy it. But I like to get details right—that helps readers slip into the world I’m trying to create—and so lots of different elements I’ve seen will find themselves in a drawing I do after the research. When I visit schools, I talk about using unusual, specific details in both writing and artwork to create a feeling of reality within a story. A car in the driveway is dull; a blood-red convertible with ivory seats and a broken headlight awakens the brain and draws you into the storyteller’s voice.
Brian’s final sketch. When I’m working on a book, I get feedback on my sketches from the art director. He may have some production concern I’m unaware of, and has a fresh eye and can point out inconsistencies or weaknesses in storytelling I can’t see because I’ve been too close to the story. My editor also comments on the pictures as well as the story, and between the two of them, I’ve got a great team to help steer the story to its strongest self.
The transfer. When I’m painting one of my pictures, the first step is to transfer a copy of the finished drawing to the paper on which I’ll be painting, most often Strathmore Series 400 or 500 vellum surface paper. I use
Thanks for the helpful little blurbs, Candy. Off to vote now!
But even so, it's such a good shortlist. I've read almost everything here and trying to decide which one to vote for has given me a headache.
This is a great list! Pleased to see a book that's not in English, too. Looks a lovely book. Congrats, everyone.
I already voted but what a list!
What an excellent and varied list. It was tough picking just one, as they would all be worthy winners.