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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.

I finally met online friends Jo Knowles and Stacy DeKeyser in person—yay! They were both on faculty for the conference.
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’

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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.

My first workshop was run by Jennifer Morris, entitled "10 Photoshop Techniques for Illustrators". I've met Jen a few times and really like her work so even though I'm a veteran photoshop user I wanted to check it out. She did a fantastic job of presenting useful information clearly. The room was a mix of pros, intermediates, and true beginners and I admired how she handled the range of questions a group like that can pose. Best of all, I picked up a few new Photoshop tricks! I love watching other artists at work too. I know I can see videos all over the internet, but I rarely check them out. Live is so much better.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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:

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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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.

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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!

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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!

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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+

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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.

Today:

• 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....

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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!) ... Read the rest of this post

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