Kate. Martha.
It's a powerful combination.
Check out this interview, where Kate shares some things she wishes she knew when she was starting out, tells us about bullet journaling, and there's even an under 6 minute animated video of Kate giving a TED Ed talk on "Building Fictional Worlds!"
Kate Messner will be giving a keynote speech at the New York SCBWI conference in February with fellow middle-grade author Linda Urban, "Music, Mountains, and Mocha Lattes: Sustaining a Creative Life" that promises to be amazing! We hope you can join us. Here's
where you can get all the info on the conference and registration.
Vice-president and creative director for the Scholastic Trade Publishing Group and the founder of Scholastic’s ground-breaking graphic novel imprint, Graphix, David Saylor shares some great advice with Don Tate.
They discuss what qualities David looks for in a new illustrator, how illustrators can best be 'discovered' by industry professionals, and talk about diversity! As David says,
"It’s up to publishers to reflect the world around us in the books we create. We need to be more aggressive to find and hire illustrators who represent all cultures and communities. It’s heartbreaking when children can’t see themselves reflected in contemporary books. And all illustrators need to think about being inclusive and culturally accurate. If you’re going to illustrate humans in your work, then it’s crucial to paint and represent kids of all cultures and backgrounds, not just your own familiar world."
Check out the
full interview at Don's blog here.David Saylor will be on faculty at the #NY16SCBWI conference, part of the "We're In It Together: How Planning and Collaboration Can Shape Your Career" panel in the Friday Illustrator's intensive. You can
find out all the details about the conference (and still register) here!
And the first of our pre-conference faculty interviews is in (and it's awesome!)
Agent Sarah Davies talks with Martha Brockenbrough about middle grade fiction, what makes books "saleable," and when a writer can know their book is ready to submit.
Their interview is packed with great advice and suggestions, like,
"focus on developing the two big ‘C’ words — Concept and Craft."
and
"Don’t be frightened to be radical — rewriting can be far more powerful than tweaking, as it allows you to pull in fresh thinking in the strongest possible way so the new draft feels fully coherent."
Sarah Davies will be on faculty at the #NY16SCBWI conference, giving a breakout workshop Saturday morning and afternoon, "Saleable and Memorable Middle Grade Fiction," and participating in the Sunday main stage panel, "Acquisitions Today: Opportunities and Challenges."
You can see Sarah in person and learn from all the amazing faculty (and fellow writer and illustrator attendees) by joining us at the 17th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York.
Registration and details here.
It's the 17th Annual Winter Conference, held February 12-14, 2016 in New York City!
With keynotes from
2 Keynote Panels featuring leading Publishers, Editors and Agents:
The Presidents' Panel: The Big Picture with Jon Anderson (President and Publisher, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division), Jean Feiwel (Senior VP and Director, Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan Children's Publishing Group), Mallory Loehr (Vice President, Publishing Director, Random House/Golden/Doubleday Books for Young Readers), and Adrea Pappenheimer (SVP, Director of Sales/Associate Publisher HarperCollins Publishers.)
and
Acquisitions Today: Opportunities and Challenges with Alessandra Balzer (Balzer + Bray), Liz Bicknell (Candlewick), Ginger Clark (Curtis Brown LTD), Sarah Davies (Greenhouse Literary) and Alvina Ling (Little, Brown Books.)
There will also be:
22 interactive breakout sessions with Editors, Art Directors and Agents!
The Portfolio Showcase
The Art Browse
The Saturday Night Party
The Autograph Party
and A full Friday of optional pre-conference activities, with your choice of:
I. Writers' Roundtables
II. Writers' Intensive: The Big and the Small: A Novel Revision Intensive
III. Published Authors' Discussion
IV. Illustrators' Intensive: Work Long and Prosper: Career Longevity for Illustrators
Keep in mind, the Friday pre-conference activities always sell out
fast, and the conference itself has sold out for the last four years running. Visit
http://www.scbwi.org/ for registration and all the conference information.
It's going to be amazing, and we hope you will join us!
Illustrate and Write On,Lee
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