Title: The Whale in My Swimming Pool Written and illustrated by: Joyce Wan Published by: Farrer, Strauss, Giroux, 2015 Themes/Topics: swimming (paddling) pool, whale, boy Suitable for ages: 3-5 Opening: Race you to the pool! Whoa…         … Continue reading →

Last week, Kirkus Review put out a 27 page list of their 2014 Young Reader Book Nominees. They did a really good job of putting all the information about each one in an easy to use display. The link is at the bottom of this page. I took the books from the list that were written or illustrated by people I know for this post, but it is a great list to use to find books you might want to read.

Kudos to all my friends who made the list below:

Released: May 6, 2014
Reviewed: March 17, 2014

SLEEPYHEADS
by Sandra J. Howatt, illustrated by Joyce Wan

“A superb execution of soporific shapes and sounds perfect for the bedside table. (Picture book. 2-6)“

Sleepyhead readers explore a hushed woodland at dusk, where they discover animals nestled in their cozy places at bedtime. Read full book review >

Released: Oct. 3, 2013
Reviewed: Sept. 1, 2013>
TEA PARTY RULES
by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by K.G. Campbell

“Strong storytelling, pacing, emotive illustrations that match the deceptive plot and an exuberant sense of fun make this little gem a winner. (Picture book. 3-7)“

What stops a bear cub from gobbling down a plateful of delicious cookies? Tea Party rules, of course! Read full book review >

Released: Oct. 8, 2013
Reviewed: Aug. 21, 2013

PETEY AND PRU AND THE HULLABALOO
by Ammi-Joan Paquette, illustrated by Joy Ang

“Here’s hoping that there are more kerfuffles and shenanigans in the future for this undeniably delightful duo. (Picture book. 4-8)“

Quiet Petey and his devil spawn of a best friend indulge in a little chaos propelled by gleefully sesquipedalian writing. Read full book review >

Released: Jan. 1, 2014

Reviewed: Aug. 31, 2013

KING FOR A DAY
by Rukhsana Khan, illustrated by Christiane Krömer

“This story soars. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-7)“

Set in Pakistan during Basant, “the most exciting day of the year,” this story focuses on the strength and resourcefulness of a child in a wheelchair as he navigates the skies at the spring kite festival. Read full book review >

THRILLERS

Released: March 4, 2014

Reviewed: Jan. 4, 2014

PANIC
by Lauren Oliver

“The only thing more terrifying than the game itself is not getting the chance to play it. (Thriller. 14 & up)“

Oliver makes a white-knuckle return to realism that will have readers up until the wee hours. Read full book review >

Released: Feb. 11, 2014
Reviewed: Nov. 20, 2013

LITTLE POEMS FOR TINY EARS

by Lin Oliver, illustrated by Tomie dePaola

“A tenderly crafted collection that captures the joyous individual moments of infant discoveries. (Picture book/poetry. 6 mos.-2)“

Twenty-three original, first-person poems for the very young. Read full book review >

Released: Feb. 1, 2014
Reviewed: Nov. 20, 2013
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
by H. Chuku Lee, illustrated by Pat Cummings

“This lovely reimagining of an old tale affirms the browning of American’s contemporary young readership. (Picture book. 4-8)“

A brown-skinned Beauty—what a refreshing change! Read full book review >

Released: Oct. 1, 2013
Reviewed: Aug. 14, 2013

THE TORTOISE & THE HARE

by Jerry Pinkney, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Released: Oct. 1, 2013

“A captivating winner—start to finish! (artist’s note, design notes) (Picture book/folk tale. 3-6)“

With luminous mixed media pictures, a short, carefully meted-out text and a Southwestern U.S. setting, Pinkney (The Lion and the Mouse, 2009) takes on another of Aesop’s fables—marvelously. Read full book review >

Released: April 1, 2014
Reviewed: Feb. 26, 2014

SUMMONING THE PHOENIX: POEMS AND PROSE ABOUT CHINESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

by Emily Jiang, illustrated by April Chu

“From the booming paigu to the delicate strings of the ruan, the lutelike pipa and the yangqin, or hammered “butterfly harp,” a lively medley that will expand the musical boundaries of most young audiences. (bibliography) (Informational picture book/poetry. 6-9)“

Thirteen young musicians of diverse ethnic background ready themselves to play their traditional Chinese instruments on stage in this informative and gracefully illustrated twin debut. Read full book review >

Released: April 1, 2014
Reviewed: Feb. 19, 2014

THE GRUDGE KEEPER
by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler

“Wordplay and humor provide an effective vehicle for a valuable moral. (Picture book. 5-8)“

“No one in the town of Bonnyripple ever kept a grudge. No one, that is, except old Cornelius, the Grudge Keeper.” So begins this original fairy tale that provides a literal illustration of the idiom “holding a grudge.” Read full book review >

Released: Oct. 1, 2013

Reviewed: Aug. 14, 2013

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
by Susan Jeffers, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
Released: Oct. 1, 2013

“A whimsical, magical interpretation of a holiday classic, improved by the additional storyline and the charming narrator. (artist’s note) (Picture book. 3-7)“

Jeffers has created a lovely story incorporating the words of the old folk song with one important change: a clever substitution of Santa as the giver of all the gifts instead of the narrator’s “true love.” Read full book review >

Released: March 11, 2014
Reviewed: Jan. 15, 2014

FIREFLY JULY: A YEAR OF VERY SHORT POEMS

edited by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

“Scintillating! (permissions, acknowledgments) (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)“

Choosing from works spanning three centuries, Janeczko artfully arranges 36 elegant poems among the four seasons. Read full book review >

CHILDREN’S AND TEEN
Released: March 4, 2014
Reviewed: Feb. 19, 2014

TWO BUNNY BUDDIES

by Kathryn O. Galbraith, illustrated by Joe Cepeda
CHILDREN’S AND TEEN
Released: March 4, 2014

“Learning how to navigate the path of friendship is an important part of life, and these bunny buddies learn a lesson that is gently, beautifully shown rather than told. (Picture book. 2-7)“

In this simple but insightful story, two rabbits discover that lunch with a pal is more fun than eating alone. Read full book review >

Don’t miss the full 27 page list. CLICK HERE FOR FULL LIST.

Have you read any of the books? Do you know anyone whose book is listed? If so, give them a pat on the back.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

There is a lot of happiness in this post. You can see it and feel it. I hope it rubs off on all of you.

Vesper Stamper: Don’t you just love this picture? This is Vesper showing off her acceptance letter for the School of Visual Arts MFA program in NYC. “Vesper said, “HOLY HOLY HOLY–I just received my acceptance–I got in to the MFA!!!!!!”

I’ve decided whenever I feel down, I am going to look at this picture, because it just makes me feel so happy.

The happiness just keeps going. Katia Raina has been attending VCFA for her MFA in children’s writing. After one year under her belt she has decided that becoming and editor or agent is in her future. She has started down that path already by interning in New York City with Regina Brooks of Serendipity Literary Agency. She has been there for a month and doesn’t she look happy and proud? I know I am for and of her.

Joyce Wan received an advance copy of the book SLEEPYHEADS that she illustrated for Beach Lane Books, written by Sandra J. Howatt. It is due out May 6th. Joyce says, “There is nothing like holding a book that you worked on for the first time.” I keep seeing Joyce and her artwork grow with every year. Love to see that happen.

What can I say about Eileen Spinelli, that hasn’t already been said? I love her books and I love her, just like everyone else who meets her. Her new picture book GOD’S AMAZING WORLD came out this month. It is illustrated by Mélanie Florian and published by Ideal Books. The book is about a young girl who tells her little brother while playing in their backyard about how God made the World in seven days. Looks like the perfect book for the religious holidays coming up. I have the book and it is just like Eileen, sweet and loving, and also filled with beautiful illustrations.

Paula Newcomer shows off her new book THE BLUEBERRY GIRL. She looks happy, too. The book was illustrated by Bruce Arant (who many of us know). He was featured on Illustrator Saturday back in 2010. Here is the link: http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/illustrator-saturday-bruce-arant/ Paula has a new website for her book, which is very nice. You might want to check it out. www.theblueberrygirl.com

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

It’s NOVEMBER ALREADY?

Well, almost. October will whip by in a sugar-induced haze. Especially because a) I’ll buy candy way too early and eat it all; and b) my kids will change their minds about their Halloween costumes umpteen times. “I wanna be Frankie Stein! No, Draculaura! No, a zombie mermaid! Ooh, I know, a picture book author! I can trick-or-treat in my jammies with a story stuck to my forehead! You’re sorta like a zombie, right, Mommy?”

Um, YEAH.

October is NOT the month of jack-o-lanterns, candy corn (BLECH!) and costumes. It’s the month of PiBoIdMo-eve!

Don’t know what PiBoIdMo is? Check it.

Our 5th anniversary logo, banners and badges have been designed by the kawaii-cutie, author-illustrator Joyce Wan.

Joyce knows my penchant for hot-air balloons. (My husband almost proposed on one. But I think he was afraid I’d drop the ring.)

So this year’s theme is IDEAS TAKING FLIGHT!

WAIT A MINUTE! DID TARA SAY 5TH ANNIVERSARY?!

Yep, I sure did. Which means I’ll have to come up with something super-snazzy for this year. So how ’bout JANE YOLEN?

Besides the legendary Ms. Yolen, here are some of the authors and illustrators who’ll be blogging all November long, helping you to fill your idea notebook with 30 picture book concepts:

• Drew Daywalt
• Michael Garland
• Melissa Guion
• Leeza Hernandez
• Lenore & Daniel Jennewein
• Renee Kurilla
• Elizabeth Rose Stanton
• Adam Lehrhaupt
• Wendy Martin
• The McQueen Brothers
• Pat Miller
• Pat Zietlow Miller
• Anne Marie Pace
• Paul Schmid
• Annette Simon
• Tammi Sauer
• Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
• Dianne de las Casas
• James Proimos
• Laurie Keller
• Katie Davis
• Zachariah Ohora
• Kelly Light
• Steve Barr
• Greg Pizzoli

And even more to be announced…

Official registration will begin on this blog on OCTOBER 24th and run through NOVEMBER 4th. Watch for it! (It’s easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy if you just follow this blog. See left column.) Only officially registered participants will be eligible for PRIZES, like a consultation with a picture book agent!

But you can grab the “Official Participant” Badge NOW and proudly slap it on your blog or social network site. Kindly link it back to taralazar.com/piboidmo so folks know where to join the challenge. You can also grab the “Ideas Taking Flight!” slogan above.

Do you Tweet? Add a PiBoIdMo Twibbon to your Twitter avatar. Just visit the PiBoIdMo 2013 Campaign to upload it.

And here’s some adorbs lightbulb balloons! Use them when you’re blogging about PiBoIdMo to express yourself!

The only thing that’s missing is the PiBoIdMo 2013 merchandise to benefit RIF—like your official idea notebook—so I’ll be announcing that soon.

In the meantime, let us know how YOU’RE gearing up for PiBoIdMo. Blog about it or leave a comment below. What are you looking forward to this November?

Me? Tonight I’m hosting one of NJ-SCBWI’s PiBoIdMo kick-off parties at the Manville Public Library. Maybe I’ll see some of you there? I promise I won’t be a zombie.

I don’t think I shall ever hear the word CUPCAKE now without thinking of Joyce Wan (check out her website if this means nothing to you). Somehow, a frosted pink, mouthful of scrummy yum, that makes you wanna yell Mmm, Fun and More! I have been following Joyce for a while on FB because Marcie Colleen, a mutual friend, lambasted me one day in our local Brooklyn bar with, ‘What, you’ve been in New York 4 months and don’t know Joyce Wan?!!” Well, I finally got to meet Joyce at the SCBWI LA conference this summer (where I have actually met the majority of my kidlit friends), and she was one of the reasons for my SCBWI rave post, here!

[JM] Illustrator or author/illustrator?

[JW] Author/illustrator

[JM] What’s your nationality and which and how have certain cultures/regions influenced your work?

[JW] I am Chinese-American, born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, but have been living in New York City for about 17 years now.

[JM] Tell us a little of your beginnings and journey as an artist.

[JW] Art always interested me, even as a child, and has always been a pursuit and a passion of mine. I designed a greeting card when I was 6 years old for a city-wide greeting card design contest. The design won first place and was subsequently sold through a major department store chain. Because of the contest, I even got to meet the governor of Massachusetts, Michael Dukakis, and had my picture in the Boston Globe.

As you can imagine, this experience left a major impression on me as a young child and it encouraged me to keep drawing. I grew up on welfare and food stamps in low-income housing in inner-city Boston for a greater part of my youth. Coming from an immigrant family with limited means, art was not necessarily encouraged – not as a means to make a living anyway. I went on to study architecture at Barnard College thinking it was the “practical” thing to do for someone who was interested in the arts. However, after working in the field of architecture for a couple years I realized it was not very fulfilling – in fact, I hated it. With no formal art education other than a college figure drawing class and a huge leap of faith, I started Wanart in 2003 with an initial focus on designing and manufacturing my own greeting card line. When I first started Wanart, I was working at a 9am-6pm job at an architectural firm. I would spend the night/early morning hours on my own business with only a few hours of sleep in between the two “jobs”.  I did this for two years before I quit my full time job to pursue my own business full-time. I spent the early years taking lots of continuing education classes, taking odd jobs here and there when I needed money, reading lots of marketing books, trying many different things, making many mistakes, teaching myself design programs like Photoshop and Illustrator, spending lots of money (or, I like to call it, investing in myself), and drawing—lots of drawing, relying on nothing but hope and passion to keep me going most of the time. I continually put myself out there and exhibited my products at trade shows all over the country such as the National Stationery Show and the New York International Gift Show. Between the trial and error (and tears!) were some small successes, by this time I also started to license some of my designs, and then a major break came when I met the art director from my first publisher in 2008 at a gift show. The art director told me they had seen my cards in stores, had been following my work, and even had some of my cards in their office. This led to the publication of my first book Greetings from Kiwi and Pear which was based on one of my best-selling greeting card lines. I’ve had 5 books published now with 6 more under contract in the next few years. I’m working with Cartwheel/Scholastic, PSS!/Penguin, Beach Lane Books/S&S, & FSG/Macmillan. My designs are also found on stationery and gift products sold all over the world. It is a dream come true.

[JM] Do you have a preferred medium to work in?

[JW] People know me for my digital work but I have been working more with pencil (my first love) lately and have a book coming out next year that I’m excited about called Sleepyheads with Beach Lane Books, which is drawn entirely in pencil and then colored digitally.

[JM] What does your workspace look like? (Photo if you like??)

[JW] I have a studio space right outside of New York City in Union City, New Jersey in an old industrial building that was a silk mill in the early 1900’s.  These photos show my studio at its neatest, but it does get quite messy especially when I’m on deadline!

When I’m working late (which I tend to like to do these days because I find I do my best creative work between the hours of 12am and 3am) I will work at home right on my dining table.

[JM] Can you share a piece or two with us, maybe of a WIP, and the process of creating them?

[JW] I’ve included some images from a book coming out Fall 2014 from Beach Lane Books that I illustrated and was written by Sandra Howatt called Sleepyheads.

I always like to draw thumbnails first. This helps me plan the general layout of each page and text placement without having to worry too much about the details at this point.  I also jot down any other ideas or questions I may have for each page.

Since this book did not contain any recurring characters, I went straight to the drawings. If there were characters, I would do character studies which involves drawing the character with different expressions and poses before advancing to the drawings.  I wanted this book to have a soft, cuddly classic feeling so I drew this book entirely with a good old-fashioned pencil on fine art cotton fiber paper. Because of all the rendering I must have gone through over 25 pencils for this book and even a few sharpeners. It felt really nice to get back to basics and almost meditative in some ways.

After all the drawings were done, I scanned each one, inserted the text in Photoshop, compiled the files into a PDF, and emailed them to my editor for comments. My editor, Andrea Welch, and I had a phone meeting and we went through each page together and she shared her comments and requests for changes on layout, composition, character expressions, etc. I went back to the drawing board, had to redraw some of the pages and additional drawings had to be created, such as the title page and the cover. Afterward, I sent a new PDF with all the pages. Once the last round of drawings were approved, I went to color.

The book was colored in Photoshop mostly using the “multiply” blending mode so that I didn’t lose any of the pencil texture. Anyone who’s familiar with my work know that I use a lot of bright, cheerful flat colors so coloring night scenes, which I had not done much of before, was a fun, new challenge. I wanted to create a dreamy, peaceful, soothing atmosphere – a lullaby in visual form.

The colored drawings were then emailed to my editor in a PDF for comments again.  After some more back-and-forth, the book was complete! The final drawings files were then uploaded to their server without the copy. The art department usually places the text.

I recently received the proofs for the book to review. Besides some minor adjustments I need to make, I am happy with how they look and I’m excited to share this book with the world!

[JM] Are the two art forms of card design and illustrating and writing books for children related and, if so, how? 

[JW] Yes, at least in the types of books that I have been working on which are books for the very young – those that are not even quite reading yet. I spent many years working on greeting card designs (my collection now contains around 200 designs). Greeting cards are about communicating emotions and universal sentiments like love and joy which in a lot of ways are what picture books are about too. Going from greeting cards to picture books seemed like a natural progression. Eric Carle once said that when he’s working on a book every spread has to be able to stand on its own like a poster. I feel like it’s the same way with greeting cards and is something that I carry over into my books.

[JM] How do you approach the marketing/business side of the picture book world? 

[JW] I’m a bit pro-active when it comes to marketing. having my gift business all these years really prepared me for the marketing/business side of the book world. I was already used to ‘selling’ and promoting my rat before picture books were even in the pciture. I look at creating picture books as an extension of my design business and the picture books as another line of my products. I think creative people often feel overwhelmed and paralyzed by marketing and business. THINK BIG, ACT SMALL, but ACT nonetheless- ONE STEP AT A TIME towards your goals. This helps to keep dreamers and idealists rooted, and leads one towards successful fruition of ideas and dreams.

[JM] What authors and/or illustrators influenced you growing up?

[JW] There are so many but here are several of my favorites: Richard Scarry, Eric Carle, Tomie dePaola, Lois Ehlert, Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, and James Marshall.

[JM] What advice would you give new illustrators trying to break into this challenging business?

[JW] Have the courage to keep putting yourself out there, surround yourself with people who believe in you (stay away from toxic ones!), be honest with yourself, focus on what you do best, play up and promote what you do best, create from your heart and soul (not what the next person is doing), never stop learning, and keep drawing/painting/writing! Also, I keep hearing this more and more from people in the industry and at conferences and it’s something I also wholeheartedly believe—you have to work really, really hard, probably the hardest you’ve ever had to work. Go the extra mile in everything you do and everything you put out there.

 Five Fun Ones to Finish?

[JM] What word best sums you up?

[JW] Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

[JM] If you could live anywhere for a season, where would you go?

[JW] Hawaii during the frigid months here in NYC would be dreamy. It’s such a magical, mystical, and joyous place: warm ocean, perfect sunlight, gentle sea breezes, lush green vegetation, sacred nature sites, the freshest fruits of the sea you’ll ever eat, awe-inspiring landscapes, full rainbows, fragrant flowers, friendly people, and SPAM, eggs, and rice (need I say more?).

This is a full rainbow I saw while on a last-minute Hawaiian getaway a year and a half ago. I had to stitch a bunch of photos together using a photo app because the rainbow was so immense I couldn’t fit the whole thing in one photo. As I gazed in awe at the rainbow that I spotted in the middle of a field while driving around the Hawaiian countryside (after making my friend pull over on the side of the road so that I could take pictures!), I was reminded how important it is to take a break from work and do something spontaneous and out-of-the-ordinary sometimes to reconnect with our childlike sense of wonder, discovery, and delight. [JM] Thanks for the reminder and visual!

[JM] What’s your go-to snack or drink to keep the creative juices flowing?

[JW] Skittles, specifically the one in the purple packaging which are the Wild Berry flavors, or, the Fruit Salad Haribo Gummi candies and a nice strong cup of coffee.

[JM] Cats or dogs?

[JW] Either – they just have to be chubby! [JM] Garfield meets Deputy Dawg?

[JM] If you could spend a day with one children’s book illustrator, with whom would that be?

[JW] That would be Eric Carle, but if they don’t have to be living I would also love to have been able to spend the day with Richard

[JM] Where can we find/follow you and your work, Joyce?

Visit me online at www.wanart.com.

Connect with me on: Twitter: @wanartFacebook:  https://www.facebook.com/wanartstudio                                                                 Instagram: @wanartstudio

Joyce, I love how you have known only shared yourself and your work, but I also really feel like you have graciously taught us much in this interview and shared your expertise with us. I think Marcie and I need to take a trip to visit you in your super studio space! To your success, especially with the adorable SLEEPYHEADS.

KIT & VESPER & JOYCE, YAY!

Kit Grindstaff’s debut novel hits the bookshelves on April 9th and she is having a Book Launch Party on the evening of April 19th from 7 pm- 9pm at The Doylestown Bookshop 16 South Main St, Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901. If you live in the area, it would be great if you could stop by and help Kit celebrate. Big Congratulations to you. I wish you the best of luck with the book. Kit said, “And the book’s publication is SO much due to your teaming me w/Michelle Poploff at the 2010 conference!” That is music to my ears.

Vesper Stampers new picture book In The Hall of The Mountain King. Vesper will be signing her book at the New Jersey SCBWI June Conference, but if you aren’t attending you can get one with this link: http://www.allisonflannery.com/buy-book/ Congratulations, Vesper! Love how successful you have become. Versper was featured on Illustrator Saturday in Aug 2011.  Here is the link: http://wp.me/pss2W-39y

Joyce Wan signed a contract with Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillian for her picture book WHALE IN MY SWIMMING POOL that she wrote and illustrated. It was a two-book deal, sold to editor Janine O’Malley by her agent Teresa D Kietlinski at Prospect Agency. If you attended the 2010 Writer’s Retreat in Princeton, you may remember the story, since that is the one she brought with her.  Congratulations, Joyce. We are so proud of your success.

Joyce will be teaching a workshop on Branding this June at the NJSCBWI annual conference. Don’t forget to register. www.regonline.com/njscbwi2013conference

Christian Trimmer will join Simon & Schuster Children’s as senior editor on April 15. Previously he was senior editor at Disney-Hyperion. GOOD LUCK!

Emily Graff has been named associate editor at Simon & Schuster. CONGRATULATIONS!

Other Industry News:

San Francisco-based publisher of science fiction & fantasy Night Shade Books, which has been struggling financially for several years, indicated in a letter to authors and agents earlier this week that the company plans to sell its assets to Skyhorse (as well as another entity, Start Publishing LLC.) The catch is that the sale cannot happen unless “a sufficient number of Night Shade authors agree to certain changes to their contracts.” Alternately, Night Shade will file for bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings.

In the letter, Night Shade explains their financial difficulties were exacerbated by Borders’ liquidation, so much so that they “have reached a point where our current liabilities exceed our assets, and it is clear that, with our current contracts, sales, and financial position, we cannot continue to operate as an independent publisher.” They claim the potential sale to Skyhorse and Start Publishing “will result in authors getting paid everything they are due as well as finding a future home for their books,” while the “revenue received from the sale would go towards paying off the debts of the company.”

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America originally supported the possible deal in a letter to members, saying “it was in our members’ best interests to encourage the deal to go through” because otherwise, liquidation could tie up contracts and owed royalties for years, if they are ever paid out at all. Should the asset transfer happen, Skyhorse would publish Night Shade titles under a dedicated imprint, with co-owners Jeremy Lassen and Jason Williams staying on in consulting editorial roles.

But a number of Night Shade authors, including Jeff Vandermeer and Kameron Hurley, said they would not sign off on the new terms. So everything continues to hang in question.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Joyce Wan, talented author/illustrator of “Greetings from Kiwi and Pear,” stops by the blog today to recap the recent NJ-SCBWI annual conference. I couldn’t attend this year so Joyce offered to share the juicy details. (Get it? Kiwi and pear…juicy? Ugh, stick to humor in picture books, Tara.)

Take it away, Joyce!

It was my first time attending the New Jersey SCBWI Annual Conference and it was such a blast! There were intensives, workshops, lunches with editors/agents/art directors, a book fair, a juried art show, a raffle, auctions, one-on-one critiques, agent pitch sessions and portfolio reviews galore. A whopping 22 publishing houses/agents were represented. A round of applause to Kathy Temean (NJ-SCBWI RA), Laurie Wallmark (Assistant RA) and all the volunteers for coordinating such an amazing and well-organized event. The conference was informational yet inspiring and I left Princeton feeling excited and energized!

Highlights from two of the workshops I attended which stood out in my mind:

Sure it’s Cute, But Will it Sell?
Steve Meltzer
Associate Publisher/Executive Managing Editor, Dial, Dutton, & Celebra

He provided us with information on the business side of the industry and a snapshot of the current picture book market. The market is made up of four types of buyers:

1. Independent Retailers
2. Mass Market Retailers
3. Institutional (Libraries and Schools)
4. Book Clubs/Fairs

You want to write a book that hits ALL markets. Examples of current books that are hitting all markets:

• Skippyjon Jones
• Fancy Nancy
• Ladybug Girl
• Llama Llama Red Pajama

As mentioned in the recent #pblitchat on Twitter, Meltzer is looking for character-driven stories: stories with quirky characters that are unusual and original but realistic. Character stories invite sequels, branding, and licensing opportunities.

Picture Books – What Works
Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
Author of 13 picture books and seven non-fiction books

Picture books should be 650 words or less. Story should consist of a character that has a conflict and makes three failed attempts to solve the problem and then has a successful attempt on the fourth try. The end of the book must surprise the reader (a twist), extending the story beyond the story, which makes the book re-readable. Although she did mention that there are no hard and fast rules to picture book writing–and that these are just what, in her experience, has worked for her–I do think it’s a handy little formula to follow for those of us beginning our journey in the world of picture books! Another little trick that can help add tension to any story is to add a ticking clock of some sort: the character has to reach the goal but also by a certain time (ex. by bedtime, by sundown, etc.).

In addition to the workshops, there were two really inspiring keynote presentations at the lunches given on the first day by David L. Harrison, author of 80 children’s books, and on the second day by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of