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Info Now Posted for Newest Writer's Digest Event: The Business of Getting Published...

A brand new Writer's Digest event, The Business of Getting Published, is designed to guide any author through the new dynamics of today's publishing world. This three-day event takes place Friday, September 18, through Sunday, September 20, 2009, at the New York Marriott Marquis, on Times Square in New York.

With emphasis on platform, networking and social media, The Business of Getting Published is an innovative and ground-breaking conference, featuring the industry's top forward-thinking speakers, leading sessions on topics relevant to the current and future state of the publishing world.

Chris Brogan, social media genius, is the keynote speaker. Other speakers include Kassia Krozser, editor/publisher of BookSquare.com; David Mathison, whose online sales success is the new business model; Mike Shatzkin, the industry's top publishing consultant; Seth Harwood and Scott Sigler, whose own podcasts and videocasts have made them superstars in the business; Christina Katz, author of Get Known Before the Book Deal; and many more, plus WD Publisher & Editorial Director Jane Friedman and Guide to Literary Agents Editor Chuck Sambuchino.

Complete program information, including speaker bios, special events related to the conference and registration, is now available at writersdigestconference.com.

• Click here to follow Jane Friedman on Twitter.
• Click here to visit Chuck Sambuchino's GLA blog.
• Click here to follow Christina Katz on Twitter.
  
• Click here to follow Kassia Krozser on Twitter.
  

In this show: All about Podcamp EDU 2007 Andy from the Andycast, Gretchen from Mommycast, Stephanie Stockman of Adventures in Earth and Space , Nick Guzman from Red Bloguera, Whitney Hoffman host of LD Podcast Andy Carvin , Joel Mark Witt, PodcampEDU participants Let me know where you are: Click on ‘Join the CLIP Frappr Map’ in the menu [...]

Welcome to Blogging for a Cure!
Oh, boy! The Blog-A-Thon is nearly done. That means the time is soon coming when you will be able to bid on the snowflakes! Each piece of art is available to buy through Robert’s Snow, with proceeds going to cancer research. If you know anyone who has fought this disease, then you know how important research funds are in finding new treatments and an eventual cure. It’s great art for a great cause, so bid like crazy!

Today’s featured flakemaker: fabric artist and illustrator Salley Mavor!

I was very excited to feature Salley- I have seen her gloriously stitched and pieced artwork in person, and it is positively unique. Working with fabrics, needlework, beads, acorn caps, and whatever else she finds that works, Salley makes dimensional art that almost defies description.
Quilting? Embroidery? Dollmaking? Yes, all of that- and more.

Her snowflake, Circle Dance, is here:

Salley learned to sew as a child and has been playing with a needle and thread since. Drawing with crayons was never enough- she remembers feeling that her artwork was not finished until something real was glued, stapled, or sewn to it. Salley has illustrated seven children’s books using her unique blend of materials and techniques.

As a lifelong stitcher myself, I had a few questions for Salley about the way she works!

Liz: I’ll bet your workspace is different from most illustrator’s space. Where do you like to work best? What’s in your workspace? What kinds of things inspire you and influence your art?

Salley: I work in a large room, surrounded by shelves and chest of drawers full of different materials like felt, beads, thread, acorn caps, stones, creeping ivy, milkweed pods and twisted tree branches. Most of the things around me may never make it in to my artwork, but I find it inspiring to have things from nature and beautiful colors around me. The room feels like being inside a cantaloupe, with pale orange walls and green window trim. In the middle is the same large oak table that I used as a child to work on art projects.

Liz: Are you always on the lookout for new fabrics to integrate into your art? Where do you find them?

Salley: I have a life time’s worth of fabric to use already and rarely go out looking for something specific, because I can never find what I like that way. Sometimes I look through upholstery samples and order some for a background fabric. I buy wool, plant-dyed felt from a family business. I’m not interested in making or dying felt myself, but prefer to use my time making things with it.

Liz: Each book illustration takes a month to create. Where do you get the patience?

Salley: It does take quite a while to do the illustrations and depending on the size and techniques used, I can cut down on the time devoted to each piece. But, there is no way to rush it, so I just relax into the rhythm of stitching. This way I have time to work out solutions and figure out how to make parts of the picture a new way. It doesn’t take patience as much as focus. I am happiest when at work in my studio.

Liz: What are you working on now? What would you like to work on in the future?

Salley: I am in the middle of making a 64 page book of nursery rhymes for Houghton Mifflin. It has taken 2 years so far and will come out in 2009 or 2010, depending on when my work is complete. I really like having a different rhyme on each page with a new set of characters to play with. After this book is finished, I want to make some non-illustration artwork, something with more personal expression. I took time this fall to work on a self-portrait, which has been very satisfying. It’s a time line of my life, with 52 dolls, one for every year.

Thanks Salley- it will be great to see these projects as they develop, stitch by stitch!

Don’t forget to bid on Salley’s snowflake at the Robert’s Snow website. The auctions start on November 19th, and Salley’s will be available starting December 3rd.

Follow the links below for more great flake features!

Friday, November 16

• Mary Haverfield at Your Neighborhood Librarian
• Lisa Kopelke at Lisa’s Little Corner of the Internet
• Greg Newbold at The Longstockings
• Elizabeth Sayles at AmoXcalli and Cuentecitos

Saturday, November 17

• Paul Brewer at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
• Aaron Zenz at Jo’s Journal
• Wendy Edelson at What Adrienne Thinks About That
• Joan Waites at Chicken Spaghetti

Sunday, November 18

• Giles Laroche at Book, Book, Book
• Annie Patterson at Check It Out
• Teri Sloat at The Miss Rumphius Effect
• Annette Heiberg at Lisa’s Little Corner of the Internet
• Wade Zahares at Wild Rose Reader

Welcome to Blogging for a Cure!
Here’s where we, the Bloggers of the Kidlitosphere, are chatting about the fabulous artwork that’s showing up on snowflakes these days. Each piece of art is available to buy through Robert’s Snow, with proceeds going to cancer research. If you know anyone who has fought this disease, then you know how important research funds are in finding new treatments and an eventual cure. It’s great art for a great cause, so bid like crazy!

Today’s featured flakemaker: Author-illustrator John Abbott Nez!
Here’s an illustration that will get you in a snowflake-y mood:

From My Cherry Tree, by John Nez

John is an artistic dynamo- his whimsical art can be found in literally tons of books and magazines for children, and also paints his favorite natural subjects on canvas in his “spare” time. He’s also one of the few people I know who’s been a “ghost illustrator” for a few popular book series. For his children’s work, he works traditionally to a point, then digitally enhances it for his trademark look.

His handpainted snowflake is a gorgeous homage to winter birds:

Here’s the guy himself and a small selection of his books:

(more…)

Eric and I had the good fortune to go to the Keene State College Children’s Literature Festival last weekend. A little rain didn’t interfere with the amazing lineup of speakers!

Dr. David White is the enthusiatic organizer and MC of the event.

First up was author-illustrator Kathy Mallat.
Kathy had the daunting task of stepping inas a conference speaker at the last minute, and she really rose to the occasion! Her artwork and stories are sweet and right on target for the youngest audiences. I was particularly interested in how she starts with lots of words, then pares them down to the essence of what needs to be said in the book, and what can be “said” in the pictures. I know what that’s like, and it’s not easy! My own upcoming book has 50 words in it, but it started with plenty more!

Kathy and some of her charming books!

Michael Dooling is a writer and illustrator who really likes to get into his characters!

He works in oil paint, and even painted in front of us all. He owns a collection of costumes that he uses for reference in his highly accurate but accesible work. (more…)

Blogging for a Cure continues! Here are this week’s profiles of illustrators participating in Robert’s Snow.

Missed some of the previous interviews? Fear not! Visit special page at 7-Imp containing a comprehensive list of links to the profiles posted so far.

Monday, October 29

• Dan Santat at Writing and Ruminating
• Joanne Friar at The Longstockings
• Alissa Imre Geis at Wild Rose Reader
• Diane Greenseid at Just One More Book!!
• Sean Qualls at Brooklyn Arden

Tuesday, October 30

• Ann Koffsky at Book Buds
• Bill Carman at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
• Gretel Parker at Finding Wonderland
• Matt Phelan at A Year of Reading
• Stephanie Roth at Writing with a broken tusk

Wednesday, October 31

• Shawna Tenney at Kate’s Book Blog
• Adam Rex at Booktopia and Welcome to my Tweendom
• Mo Willems at MotherReader
• Rolandas Kiaulevicius at a wrung sponge

Thursday, November 1

• Karen Lee at sruble’s world
• Diana Magnuson at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
• Melissa Iwai at Brooklyn Arden
• Victoria Jamieson at AmoXcalli and Cuentecitos
• Molly Idle at The Shady Glade
• Meghan McCarthy at A Fuse #8 Production

Friday, November 2

• Tracy McGuinness-Kelly at Sam Riddleburger’s blog
• Sarah Kahn at Kate’s Book Blog
• Sylvia Long at Whimsy Books
• Jeremy Tankard at the excelsior file
• Holli Conger at Please Come Flying

Saturday, November 3

• Susan Miller at Your Neighborhood Librarian
• Ellen Beier at What Adrienne Thinks About That
• Hideko Takahashi at The Silver Lining
• Judith Moffat at Jo’s Journal
• Wendell Minor at Wild Rose Reader

Sunday, November 4

• Joy Allen at Check It Out
• Robin Brickman at Greetings from Nowhere
• Lauren Stringer at laurasalas
• Nancy Wallace at In the Pages . . .

Welcome to Blogging for a Cure!
Here’s where we, the Bloggers of the Kidlitosphere, are chatting about the fabulous artwork that’s showing up on snowflakes these days. Each piece of art is available to buy through Robert’s Snow, with proceeds going to cancer research. If you know anyone who has fought this disease, then you know how important research funds are in finding new treatments and an eventual cure. It’s great art for a great cause, so bid like crazy!
Today’s guest: Author-illustrator Kelly Murphy!

Kelly with some new pals at a school visit.

Kelly lives and works in Massachusetts, where she has been pursuing her illustration career since graduating from Rhode Island School of Design in 1999. She also teaches illustration at Montserrat College of Art, and works with all kinds of clients on toys and products. A Renaissance woman!

Kelly is dedicating this year’s snowflake to her cousin’s son.

“This year, I dedicate my snowflake to Connor Ciesielski, a very gentle, adventurous little boy who was truly, a great crab hunter. Connor’s true love was being on a Cape Cod beach. He enjoyed the hot days in the sun and the early evenings on the beach. It was on the beach that “Conman” was his happiest. He would fish and hunt for crabs all day. He always made sure that any sea life that he and his brother caught was always returned back to the sea so that they wouldn’t be missed by their daddy and mommy and could grow bigger in hopes of catching them again on another day. Connor passed away due to Leukemia this July 15th. He was a very brave warrior.”

I am sure Connor would have loved your painted tribute to him, Kelly. I also had a young cousin who died of leukemia; the impact of these special people who have lost their battle endures. Kelly’s snowflake goes up for bid from Dec. 3-7. Let’s raise some research money! (more…)

Welcome to Blogging for a Cure!
Here’s where we, the Bloggers of the Kidlitosphere, are chatting about the fabulous artwork that’s showing up on snowflakes these days. Each piece of art is available to buy through Robert’s Snow, with proceeds going to cancer research. If you know anyone who has fought this disease (I surely do), then you know how important research funds are in finding new treatments and an eventual cure. It’s great art for a great cause, so bid like crazy!

Here’s Randy Cecil’s contribution to this year’s auction. This piece is entitled “Supportiveness”, and is the third in his series of penguin-themed snowflakes. Sometimes we all need to lean on each other to get through tough times!

Randy Cecil has illustrated a number of highly praised books for children, including the NYT Best Seller “And Here’s to You!” by David Elliott. His most recent book “Gator,” which he both wrote and illustrated, was released in March 2007. He lives in Houston, Texas.

Books by Randy.

I asked Randy a few questions about life, art and penguins:

Liz: So, I know that you are a Rhode Island School of Design graduate. What year did you graduate? And then what? Did you go right into illustrating?

Randy: I graduated in 1994. I was very lucky to get a paid internship as a graphic designer at Henry Holt for the summer before my senior year. It was a great experience and a great help in understanding how things work in publishing. I was a painting major so I had very little practical experience. After that summer, I went back to school and they contacted me again near the end of the school year with an illustration project — “Baby’s Breakfast.” So after graduation I moved to NY, started working on that, and also worked a lot at Holt as a freelance designer during the busy times of the year.
Randy, and also Randy by Randy.

Liz: I think on-the-job experience is the best kind of them all- and it seems to have aimed you in the right direction! Tell us a bit about your painting technique.

Randy: I like to paint with oil on paper. And I like to have the drawing pretty well resolved before start to paint. Even so, I often have to paint a picture several times to get it right. I think my record for most repaintings of a single picture is six times. Luckily it was a spot illustration.

Liz: No kidding! What’s your workspace/studio like? Do you keep regular hours when working?

Randy: I don’t really have a studio. It’s just a table — the same table I eat at. So after breakfast, I put aside the dishes and pull out the painting and drawing stuff. I start around 9:00 nearly every day.

Liz: That’s a fresh, early start compared to most illustrators I know. So, what was it like when NPR ran a feature on “And Here’s to You!” and it went on to become a NYT bestseller? Has fame changed you?

Randy: It felt very surreal and very, very fleeting, and as if it was something that had happened to someone else. But it was fantastic.

Liz: I see that fame hasn’t changed you, then! Describe how you approach writing your own books, and how it differs from illustrating another writer’s work.

Randy: I hope to always be able to do both. I like writing and doing something that feels completely like me, but I also love to collaborate, for the opposite reason — because another author might start from a place or point of view that I never would have myself.

Liz: What was the inspiration behind this year’s snowflake design?

Randy: For fun I am seeing how many variations I can get out of a theme (a few penguins, sometimes a scarf, and a title ending in “ness”). This one is the third variation. It’s kind of a fun little challenge to see how many ideas I can get across with a very limited set of things.

Here are Randy’s penguin-tastic snowflakes from previous years.

Liz: What new books do you have coming up next?

Randy: It’s another one that I wrote and illustrated called “Duck.” It comes out February or March 2008. It is sort of a companion book to Gator, which came out earlier this year.

Liz: I loved Gator, so I will look forward to checking out Duck, too! On your website it says that you feel like you’re “just getting started” on your children’s book career. Great start! So, where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years? Anything you’d like to try in the future?

Randy: Thanks! My only real goal for the future is to try and always get a little bit better. That’s what keeps me happy.

I have a feeling Randy will be only getting better in the future, and creating more wonderful kid-friendly books that are enjoyable for adults, too.
You can visit his website at RandyCecil.com. Don’t forget to bid on his snowflake at the Robert’s Snow website. The auctions start on November 19th, and Randy’s will be available starting December 3rd.

Go bloghopping! Check out all the other Robert’s Snow flakemaker interviews today:

Monday, October 15

Enjoy!

…here inside this ordinary-looking Barnes and Noble bookstore you’ll find five, count ‘em FIVE, glorious illustrator babes in one place!

This is the scene from Carlyn Beccia’s booksigning event for Who Put the B in the Ballyhoo, a non-traditional (shall we say) alphabet book that celebrates vintage circus themes.

It’s about time, says I! I happen to love old circus memorabilia and trivia, and Carlyn’s art just so happens to be astonishing! Amazing! Not-to-be-believed! And she does it digitally, bless her heart! The children of Maison Dubois give this one high marks- they were fascinated by the weird subject matter and simply HAD to know more- it’s very good for sparking interest.

In the back row of the picture you can see me, the Dazzling Liz Goulet Dubois (holding the poster), the Miraculous Mary Beth Cryan, and the Lovely Laura Fry. Up front, you have the Convention-Defying Carlyn Beccia and the Marvelous Monica Lee. Voila!

Eric and I had the opportunity to go back to school and meet up with an old friend the other night, another graduate from RISD who’s gone on to do some impressive stuff! Mike Johnson graduated a year after us in 1990. Even after all these years I can remember his fabulous degree project about a chameleon, which was painsakingly animated in stop-motion (very cool puppets being manipulated and filmed one frame at a time). He went on to work with Tim Burton on The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach before getting to DIRECT The Corpse Bride! Oh, and he got nominated for something called an “Academy Award” after he did it!

Mike brought a lot of behind-the-scenes pictures and videos from the production, including some of the actual puppets used. Here I am with Emily, the Corpse Bride herself:

This is a stunning movie if you’ve never seen it. The amount of work that goes into such a film is staggering- I don’t know how the animators do this kind of work without going mental. I would go berserk on Day One of shooting. I think this is one of the reasons why I didn’t pursue animation after college, though I did think strongly about it.

One point that was raised during the talk was if doing stop-motion films like these was “worth it” considering how far CG animation has come. Even though Corpse Bride integrates (nicely) some CG bits here and there, it is truly a stop-motion film, and has a tactile quality that can’t be duplicated otherwise.
I HOPE films like this will keep being made. I definitely agree that there is a tangible quality about this kind of work that would be lost in CG. I try to maintain a similar kind of “touchable” quality in my illustration work by using real fabric- I think it resonates on a personal level.

Mike is still a nice guy and has a great wife and son…that may be his best production yet!