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Howdy, Campers!
Happy Poetry Friday (link at the end, original poem's in this post)!
If you follow this blog, you'll remember the day we spent with author/illustrator Barney Saltzberg and his marvelous book, Beautiful Oops! (Workman). Well, guess what?
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Tell me if this sounds familiar: you've wrapped the gift for your friend Julie, sealed it in a box, stuck stamps on it and then, as you're listening to the Beatles sing "
Hey Jude," you address the package... to Jude. OOPS!
Now what? Well, if you're Barney, you'll make a weird-looking cartoon heart over the word "Jude"...which sprouts legs and arms, a top hat and cane, and suddenly there's a host of fabulous creatures framing Julie's mailing address...a veritable celebration.
That's a Beautiful Oops...a mistake made beautiful.
The point of this book is to encourage all of us to allow "the magical transformation from blunder to wonder," and as schools all over the world celebrate
Beautiful Oops Day (in any month, on any day; a school could decide to celebrate Beautiful Oops Day each month), I wish we'd celebrated it when I was in school!
The Beautiful Oops Day website includes
project ideas shared by teachers from all over the world to get you started. And here's a 1:41 minute video of Barney sharing with young students:
How does this translate to writing? I just happen to have a perfect example. Here's a new poem author
Bruce Balan sent me just this week; beneath it is his "mistake" backstory:
THE PLAINTIFF CALL OF THE WILD
by Bruce BalanI submit to the courtthat this specieshas ignored the proper protocol:They’ve decided that it’s allfor themand no one else;Not fish nor elknor tiny eels.Their ills are real.They spoil and takebreak and forsakeand maulevery spot and plotand it’s not as ifthey don’t know…They do!They just ignore,which underscoresmy call.
Please dear Judge,I do not intend to fawn,butI pray the courtwill look kindly on my callbefore my clients allare gone.(c) 2015 by Bruce Balan. All rights reserved.
Bruce (whose newest book,
The Magic Hippo, is available at the iTunes store,
B&N, and
Amazon) explains: "I was going to write a poem called The Plaintive Call of the Wild (it just popped into my head), but I misspelled plaintive and so ran with it…"
Perhaps today's Beautiful Oops lesson is RUN WITH IT!
So, thank you, Barney Saltzberg, for gifting us the space to make mistakes; to be human.Campers, stay tuned: on February 4, 2015, Barney will share a
Wednesday Writing Workout on this very blog!
posted with inevitable mistakes by April Halprin Wayland 
Get in on the ground floor of this exciting effort to make the arts work better for all of us! We are looking for a few sharp thinkers with the time, energy, and smarts to join our editorial team. You’ll become a (modestly) paid member of the Createquity brain trust, taking part in all of our research discussions, debates, and major decisions. Applications due November 7.
Createquity is a research-backed investigation of the most important issues in the arts and what we, collectively and individually, can do about them. Founded in October 2007 by Ian David Moss, Createquity rapidly gained acclaim from readers across the web and has been called “the strongest, most provocative, well-connected arts [blog] that exists today” and “so amazingly good it’s almost in its own category of resource.”
Once a one-person shop, Createquity now boasts an editorial team of five and has published work by nearly 50 writers. In summer 2014, anticipating the evolving needs of its readership, Createquity overhauled its editorial structure, priorities, and online presence to place a new emphasis on translating ideas to action to impact. We are committed to helping make the arts ecosystem work better for artists and audiences by making high-value information and analysis about critical issues in our field available to current and emerging decision-makers across the sector.
We are looking for a few sharp thinkers with the time, energy, and smarts to join our editorial team. You’ll become a (modestly) paid member of the Createquity brain trust, taking part in all of our research discussions, debates, and major decisions. We’re not just a great blog, but a virtual organization with communications, business development, graphic design, and human resources needs. Therefore, we’re looking for candidates who are passionate about research and writing as well as people who have the capacity and skill to participate in other areas — all in support of our core mission to make the arts ecosystem work better for artists and audiences.
This is a rare opportunity to be at the center of a broad and ambitious effort to improve outcomes for everyone involved in or affected by the arts. Our standard recruitment process has three phases. The first step involves submitting an application (details at the link) that will help us determine whether your skills and interests align with our current needs. From there, a small number of finalists will receive an assignment designed to simulate a typical week as a Createquity editorial team member.
Once that hurdle is passed, new editorial recruits will join the team provisionally for an approximately three-month trial or “dating period” that gives both you and us an opportunity to find out if we work well together. During these months, you will collaborate with the rest of the Createquity team on projects that range from research and writing to social media and business development. If all goes well, you’ll officially join the team in early 2015 and we’ll publicly announce your participation then.
First-round applications are due Friday, November 7. We hope to see your name in the mix!
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By:
S.G.Rigney,
on 10/9/2014
Blog:
Fantastical Childrens Books
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What would I do if I did not tell my stories? I might be “asleep” in life. But even in sleep my stories dance in my mind. They wait. They hear my “voice.” That “voice” is a part of them. Where soul and chance meet, in their midst are cinematic images. They must be given an account in […]
Calls for Papers and Proposals
The ALAN Review
Summer 2015: (Re)membering and (Re)living: Probing the Collective and Individual Past
Submissions due November 1, 2014
Stories are dynamic, told and heard, accepted and revered, rejected and rewritten by readers who draw from their experiences and understandings to garner meaning from the words on the page. In young adult texts, fiction and nonfiction, historical and contemporary and futuristic, this dynamism can encourage the critique of our collective past, helping us question assumptions about what came before and reconsider our responsibilities to the present and future. These texts can also help us consider the adolescent experience across time and place and explore the similarities and differences that shape reality as young people navigate and draft their own coming of age stories. This universality can foster a connection to others and reinforce our shared existence as members of a human community. And yet, these texts can give emotional reality to names, dates, and other factual information, letting us imagine the voices of those who lived in other places and times and have sometimes been silenced in official accounts of history, ideally inspiring us honor these voices and generate a better future. Through these stories, we might come to reject a single narrative and develop empathy for individuals we never knew-and those we did and do and will. In this issue, we welcome articles that explore the relationship between young adult literature, history, stories, and readers. We acknowledge that “every living soul is a book of their own history, which sits on the ever-growing shelf in the library of human memories” (Jack Gantos, Dead End in Norvelt). And that, “If you stare at the center of the universe, there is coldness there. A blankness. Ultimately, the universe doesn’t care about us. Time doesn’t care about us. That’s why we have to care about each other” (David Levithan, Every Day). Stories matter in this caring: “I leapt eagerly into books. The characters’ lives were so much more interesting than the lonely heartbeat of my own” (Ruta Sepetys, Out of the Easy). As always, we also welcome submissions focused on any aspect of young adult literature not directly connected to this theme.
Filed under:
Opportunities,
professional development Tagged:
CFP. ALAN 
The Call for Proposals to present at the Fifth REFORMA National Conference (RNC5) taking place in San Diego, CA, April 1-4, 2015, is now open! REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking
Please visit the website below to get the information and send your proposals for leading presentations, facilitating breakout sessions, or exhibiting posters. The conference’s theme is “Libraries Without Borders: Creating Our Future”. The 2014 REFORMA National Conference Program Committee will evaluate proposals for relevance to the conference theme, as well as clarity, originality, and timeliness.
http://reforma.org/rncv_cfp
Deadline is September 1, 2014.
Filed under:
librarianship,
Opportunities,
professional development Tagged:
ALA,
Librarianship,
REFORMA 
“Applications are now being accepted for the Annual Virginia Hamilton and Arnold Adoff Creative Outreach Grants for Teachers and Librarians. Two grants up to $1,000 each will be given. One grant will be given to a teacher and another to a librarian for proposals to develop new classroom or library programs that raise awareness of multicultural literature among young people; particularly but not exclusively through the works of Virginia Hamilton. The application deadline is Feb. 28 for that year’s award. Complete instructions and proposal guidelines are available on the Grant Application.”
http://www.kent.edu/virginiahamiltonconference/awards/upload/grant_application-new.pdf
Filed under:
Diversity Issues,
Grants,
Opportunities Tagged:
grant,
Virginia Hamilton Conference 
Today’s
post not only officially restarts our
TeachingAuthors blog after a brief Summer Hiatus.
It
jump-starts our writers’ engines with
a winning opportunity: Lee & Low’s New Voices Contest.
That’s
right: jump-starts.
IMHO,
a Writing Contest serves as the perfect external battery to get any writer goinggoinggoing and moving forward.
Think
Motivation – i.e. publication, prize money, a publisher’s attention, for
example.
Think
Focus – i.e. a specific format, theme or subject matter.
Think
Opportunity – i.e. a guaranteed reading and audience!
And
don’t forget DEADLINE – in this case, September 30, 2013.
(Deadlines
excel at keeping writers writing.)
For
those unfamiliar with this independent publisher, Lee & Low Books focuses
on diversity, specializing in high quality multicultural children’s books. The company’s mission is “to meet the need
for stories that all children can
identify with and enjoy. They pride
themselves on books about everyone, for everyone.
Established
in 2000, the annual New Voices Award is given to a writer of color of a
children’s picture book manuscript. The Award winner receives a cash prize of
$1,000 and Lee & Low’s standard publication contract, including the basic
advance and royalties for a first-time author.
An Honor Award winner will receive a cash prize of $500.
Writers
who have published other work in venues such as children’s magazines, young
adult or adult fiction or nonfiction are eligible. Only un-agented submissions will be accepted.
Work
that has been published in any format published online or independently is not
eligible for this award.
To
click on the previous years’ winners and learn more about embracing this winning
opportunity, click HERE.
As
luck would have it, in her recent June 27 blog post, Anastasia Suen interviewed
Pamela Tuck, author of AS FAST AS WORDS COULD FLY which won the 2007 Lee &
Low New Voices Award. This debut picture
book tells a story based on Ms. Tuck’s dad’s journey of desegregating the Pitt
County School System in Greenville, NC in the 1960’s.
Of
course, when it comes to Writing Contests and external batteries, it goes
without saying: one might lose the Contest but still drive away a Winner.
Just
last month, one of my students shared her Good News that while she hadn’t won
the Highlights Fiction Contest this year, the magazine wished to purchase her
story in rhyme for publication!
And
two months ago, another writer’s Honorable Mention in a themed blog’s picture
book contest kept her believing in and submitting her original manuscript.
I
love sharing with Young Writers how Christopher Paul Curtis’ college manuscript
became the novel The Watsons Go to
Birmingham which eventually lost out in the no-longer-offered Delacorte
Contest. But he did win an editor (Wendy
Lamb) plus the chance to revise, allowing the book to go on to win a Newbery
Honor.
So,
TeachingAuthors
is up and running again!
Stay
tuned for more Contests to jump-start
your writing.
And be sure to check out our newest
Writing Contests Links page.
Good
Luck!
(And
keep us in the Loop.)
Esther
Hershenhorn
Most of the adults who sign up for my writing classes have the same goal: to get a book published by a traditional publisher. They're usually shocked to learn what a long, slow process book publication typically is, whether they're working on a picture book or a novel. To help cope with the wait, I recommend they work on building a portfolio of writing credits they can mention in their cover/query letters. On Monday, Esther shared links to information on how to get published in Highlights magazine. Highlights is a well-respected magazine that's been around for years, and an impressive credit to include in your writing portfolio. Unfortunately, that means they receive a huge volume of submissions, making them a tough market to break into. I like to remind my students that there are other children's magazines, many of them more open to material than Highlights or the Cricket Magazine Group, which publishes high-quality magazines for toddlers to teens.
One of my favorite lesser-known children's magazines is
Pockets, published by
The Upper Room, for 6 to 12-year-olds. Like
Highlights,
Pockets runs
an annual fiction contest. They also accept a variety of material, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, puzzles, and activities. Although
Pockets is a Christian magazine, not all content is explicitly religious. I recall studying a sample issue years ago that happened to include a story that had won their fiction contest. It was a wonderful story about a girl learning to accept her new stepfather. I don't believe it mentioned God at all.
As it says
on the Pockets website:
"Each issue is built around a specific theme with material that can be used by children in a variety of ways. Submissions should support the purpose of the magazine to help children grow in their faith, though all submissions do not need to be overtly religious."
The magazine's
monthly themes are listed on their website, along with a submission deadline for each issue. To paraphrase something I heard Richard Peck say years ago, "A deadline is a writer's friend." When I first learned of
Pockets and their theme/deadline list, I submitted some theme-related puzzles. To my delight, they were accepted! That success led me to try my hand at writing a short story specifically for an issue focusing on "prejudice." They accepted that piece, and "The Cupcake Man" became my first published children's story.
Pockets also published my first children's poem. (Is it any wonder why I'm so fond of this magazine?)
Of course, the key to success when writing for
Pockets or any other magazine is to study several issues so that you can draft a submission that fits with the magazine's overall feel. You should be able to check out copies of well-known magazines like
Highlights and
Cricket at your public library. For smaller magazines like
Pockets, you can usually request a sample copy from the publisher. Instructions for doing so are often listed in the "Magazines" section of the annual
Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market (Writer's Digest Books). You may be surprised by the number and range of magazines you'll find listed there. If you're a member of SCBWI, you can also download the latest
SCBWI Magazine Market Guide, which also includes general tips on writing for magazines.
Besides magazines, another good market for building your writing portfolio is the
Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books. Their upcoming titles are listed
on their website along with their submission deadlines. (Remember: Deadlines are our friends!) When Chicken Soup put out a call for the book
Teens Talk High School: 101 Stories of Life, Love, and Learning for Older Teens, I submitted a poem in two voices called "Questions," which they accepted. My Writing Buddy, Leanne Pankuch, recently had her
second Chicken Soup story published in Hooked on Hockey. Again, to place a story in a Chicken Soup book, it's important to study past issues, and also to carefully
read their guidelines. While Chicken Soup stories are nonfiction, they must read like well-crafted fiction--with a beginning, middle, and end; action; dialogue; conflict, a theme, etc.
By the way, all the markets I've discussed today pay for your writing. While it's not exactly a "
pot of gold," receiving payment for our work is affirming. And it has given many of my former students the confidence to say "I am a published author," even as they wait for their first book contract.
Don't forget: there's less than a week left to enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of JoAnn Early Macken's,
Write a Poem Step by Step. See
JoAnn's guest post for details.
Happy writing!
Carmela
Get Ready, Get Set, Get REGISTERED!
Registration for IRA’s 58th Annual Convention is officially open!
Join us in San Antonio, Texas from April 19-22, 2013 for four days of high-quality professional learning. Your registration grants you access to more than 500 sessions, including IRA’s widely popular Teaching Edge series. (Additional registration is required for the preconference Institutes on April 19th.)
You’ll also get:
- Admission to General Session speakers Rick Riordan, LeVar Burton, Debbie Silver (just added!), and Mo Willems
- Entrance to the Exhibit Hall—and the chance to get books signed by your favorite authors
- The opportunity to network with more than 10,000 reading professionals from across the globe
Don’t delay—register NOW to get the best rates. And, because housing is available on a first-come basis, early registration means you’re more likely to get your top choice.
REGISTER TODAY!
WIN A NEW TABLET AND IRA E-BOOKS – JUST BY REGISTERING!
Mention promotional code AC13106* when you register on or before February 15, 2013 and you’ll be automatically entered to win a tablet! Then, outfit your new gadget with an assortment of IRA’s bestselling e-books, courtesy of a generous Amazon.com gift card.
Just another reason to REGISTER NOW!
*Prize package subject to change. Anyone who registers on or before February 15, 2013, 11:59 PM PST will be automatically entered to win. One winner will be notified by March 1, 2013.
Filed under:
Opportunities,
professional development Tagged:
convention,
IRA 
As
reported in my December 5 post “Good Ol’ Opportunity,” in which I
offered my Thumbs Up review of Melissa
Ambramovitz’s guide to writing nonfiction children’s magazine articles, A Treasure Trove of Opportunity, a multitude of publishing rainbows besides those first sought await
children’s book writers on their road to publication.
In other words, Opportunity knocks often and loudly in the Children’s Book World.
Check
out the following pots o’gold waiting for you should you answer your door:
(2) the Highlights 2013 Fiction Contest
This coming year, the judges welcome stories of any
genre (mystery, historical fiction, sports, humor, holiday,
etc.) as l
ong as the stories are intended for kids ages 6
to 8.
Three prizes of $1,000 or tuition for any Highlights
Founders Workshop will be awarded.
Entries must be postmarked between January 1 and
January 31, 2013.
(3) The 12x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge
This is the perfect follow-up to PiBoIdMo.
Participants will be encouraged to write one picture
book draft a month, for 2013’s twelve months.
Registration is now open.
You’ll receive support, motivation and accountability,
not to mention insights and instruction from authors, illustrators, editors, art
directors and agents.
Please note: NaNoWriMo participants can continue learning at the challenge's blog.
Be sure to check back for the first TeachingAuthors post of the
New Year when we offer our readers yet one
more opportunity to work their writing muscles throughout the coming year.
Good Luck! – and – Happy Holidays!
Esther Hershenhorn
P.S.
Don’t forget our TeachingAuthors autographed Book Giveaway of former TA JoAnn Early
Macken’s newest, Write a Poem Step by Step: A
Simple, Logical Plan You Can Follow to Write Your Own Poems.
To enter our drawing, you must follow the TeachingAuthors blog. If you’re not already a follower, you can sign up now in
the sidebar to subscribe to our posts via email, Google Friend Connect, or
Facebook Network blogs.
You may enter the contest one of two ways: 1) by posting a comment below OR 2)
by sending an email to teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com with "Book
Giveaway" in the subject line.
Whichever way you enter, you MUST give us your first and last name AND tell us
how you follow us (via email, Google Friend Connect, or Facebook Network
blogs). If you enter via a comment, you MUST include a valid email address
(formatted this way: youremail [at] gmail [dot] com) in your comment.
Be sure to tell us about a book that influenced
your own teaching or writing.
This contest is open only to residents of the
United States. Incomplete entries will be discarded. The entry deadline is 11
p.m. (CST) Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012. I'll announce the winner on Wednesday, Dec.
19. Good luck!
The Libraries seeks a diverse pool of applicants with ALA-accredited M.L.S. or M.I.S. degrees awarded between September 2012 and August 2013. The NCSU Libraries Fellows program offers a unique opportunity to a select group of M.L.S. and M.I.S. graduates who will receive the degree between September 2012 and August 2013. Fellows will be appointed at the rank of librarian for a two-year term from July 2013 through June 2015. An option for January or September placement may be available, depending upon graduation date. The NCSU Libraries is particularly well known for its digital library programs, its technological advances, and its commitment to defining the future of librarianship. The NCSU Libraries offers Fellows the opportunity for rapid professional growth through assignment to one of the Libraries’ strategic initiatives, combined with experience and mentoring in a department. ALA-accredited MLS or equivalent advanced degree is required. Review of applications is underway; position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found. See vacancy announcement with application instructions at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/jobs/epa/fellows2013
AA/OEO. NC State welcomes all persons without regard to sexual orientation. For ADA accommodations, please call (919) 515-3148.
as posted on LIBJOBS
Filed under:
librarianship,
Opportunities,
professional development Tagged:
fellowships,
librariarnship 
The following is the BCALA’s call for proposals for their 8th National Conference. No doubt, I’ll propose something, but what??!! I’ve considered a proposal on the disappearing black male voice in children’s and YA lit, but I’d want to present it with black male authors. The few I can think of a. I don’t know well and b. are so prominent that I wouldn’t feel comfortable asking them about a presentation. I just don’t think women speaking on this issue would have the same impact. I’m mulling on it!
The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) is seeking educational and thought-provoking program and workshop proposals for the 8th National Conference of African American Librarians (NCAAL) “Culture Keepers VIII: Challenges of the 21st Century: Empowering People, Changing Lives” to be held August 7-11, 2013, at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky. The deadline for proposal submissions is October 15, 2012.
The conference serves as a national meeting for professionals in all areas of the information industry and provides opportunities to discuss varying issues, formulate new visions, celebrate achievements and share best practices, as issues relevant to libraries are addressed. NCAAL holds a reputation for excellence as the largest conference devoted to African American librarianship and those librarians serving African American and/or minority constituents. The multi-day event offers top-quality education programs, and social events that include author luncheons, receptions, networking opportunities, and a bustling exhibits hall featuring the latest in products and services.
Presentation formats include:
Conference Sessions/Panels/Workshops bringing together as many as three presenters into a cohesive 90-minute conversation of evolving issues, current topics, or innovative ideas;
ConverStations providing conference attendees with 60-minute forums for discussion on timely, relevant topics for library professionals; and
Poster Sessions, 60-minute time blocks presented twice during the conference, as an interesting and visually inspiring way of presenting research, services, projects, and issues in the field.
Overall suggested topics include, but are not limited to: Empowering People, Changing Lives: Leadership and Management; Empowering People, Changing Lives: Innovation and Creativity;
Empowering People, Changing Lives: Health & Wellness; Empowering People, Changing Lives: Diversity and Cultural Heritage; Empowering People, Changing Lives: Advocacy, Outreach, and Community Engagement; and Empowering People, Changing Lives: Collections, Programs, and Services.
Proposals must be submitted online at http://ncaal.kla-itrt.org. Conference committees will evaluate proposals for relevance to the conference theme, clarity, originality and timeliness. Presenters will be required to register for the conference (complimentary registration may be requested for non-librarian presenters); assign first publication rights to BCALA; and provide both hard-copy and electronic versions of presentations by the deadline date. In accordance with American Library Association (ALA) practices, librarian presenters cannot receive honoraria nor have expenses reimbursed for presenting conference programs. Non-librarian presenters may be eligible for per diem, and/or travel reimbursement. All requests for reimbursement or honorarium are subject to approval by the program committee. Acceptance of the proposal does not guarantee funding.
For more information, contact: Program Co-Chairs: Eboni M. Stokes, [email protected], or Julius C. Jefferson Jr., [email protected] ;or Poster Session Co-Chairs, Deloice Holliday, [email protected], or Latisha Reynolds, [email protected].
Fannie Cox, [email protected], and Denyvetta Davis, [email protected], are 8th NCAAL conference co-chairs.
Founded in 1970, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association is one of seven ALA ethnic affiliates. BCALA serves as an advocate for the development, promotion, and improvement of library services and resources to the nation’s African American community; and provides leadership for the recruitment and professional development of African American librarians.
This information originally appeared in the BCALA’s press release calling for proposals.
Filed under:
Opportunities,
professional development Tagged:
BCALA; CFP 
I found this on Tarie’s blog, Asian in the Heart, World on the Mind.
“Growing Up Asian American in Children’s Literature” seeks to explore some of the major issues Asian American children and adolescents face growing up in the United States in the latter half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century. Part of the mission of the collection is to define the term Asian American inclusively, to include all the “Asian” ethnicities from the Asian continent, the Pacific Rim, and also from around the world. Some questions the collection will discuss are what does it mean to be Asian and American? Is there a loss of identity in assimilation? How are Asian American children’s experiences different from other minority groups? Are different regions of the country factors in how they grow up? How do they construct themselves racially and culturally?
The collection will be interdisciplinary and may include non-traditional texts, such as picture books, comic books, TV shows or movies, toys, and traditional adolescent classics such as John Okada’s No-No Boy (1957) and Laurence Yep’s Dragonwings (1975), graphic novels, such as Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese(2006), and recently published novels, such as Thanhha Lai’s 2012 Newbery Honor Book Inside Out and Back Again (2011), and N. H. Senzai’s Shooting Kabul (2010).
Possible article topics may include, but are not limited to:
* What it means to be Asian and American
* Identity and assimilation: white on the inside and yellow/brown on the outside
* Race/racism/exoticized and marginalized
* Immigrant (FOB) vs. the second/third generation (ABC or Desi)
* Bi-racialism, ethnicity, and hybridity
* Diaspora, home and homeland, transnationalism
* Globalization, citizenship, and mobility
* Family separations (war-torn homeland/refugees)
* Education and stereotypes of the model minority
* 9/11
* Religion in a Christian country: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.
* Poverty/illegal immigration
* Bilingualism, translation, and the child interpreter
* Alien/foreigner but never “American”
* Gender, sexuality, homosexuality
A major university press has indicated a strong interest in the project. Please submit a detailed 500-1000 word abstract and a brief CV by May 15, 2012 to Ymitri Mathison at [email protected]. Completed articles of 6000-7500 words must be submitted by November 1, 2012, following MLA formatting guidelines. I hope to turn in the collection to the publisher in early 2013 for a possible publication date in late 2013. Inquiries welcome and all emails will be acknowledged.
Filed under:
Opportunities,
professional development Tagged:
Asian Teens,
CFP 
0 Comments on CFP: Growing Up Asian American in Children’s Literature as of 4/3/2012 9:44:00 AM
Win a literary agent or acclaimed author’s feedback on your unpublished manuscript for young adult or middle grade readers. This rare opportunity is being offered to the six winners of an essay contest recently announced by the literacy charity Book Wish Foundation. See http://bookwish.org/contest for full details.
You could win a manuscript critique from:
- Laura Langlie, literary agent for Meg Cabot
- Nancy Gallt, literary agent for Jeanne DuPrau
- Brenda Bowen, literary agent and editor of Karen Hesse’s Newbery Medal winner Out of the Dust
- Ann M. Martin, winner of the Newbery Honor for A Corner of the Universe
- Francisco X. Stork, winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award for The Last Summer of the Death Warriors
- Cynthia Voigt, winner of the Newbery Medal for Dicey’s Song and the Newbery Honor for A Solitary Blue
All that separates you from this prize is a 500-word essay about a short story in Book Wish Foundation’s new anthology, What You Wish For. Essays are due Feb. 1, 2012 and winners will be announced around Mar. 1, 2012. If you win, you will have six months to submit the first 50 pages of your manuscript for critique (which means you can enter the contest even if you haven’t finished, or started, your manuscript). You can even enter multiple times, with essays about more than one of the contest stories, for a chance to win up to six critiques.
If you dream of being a published author, this is an opportunity you should not miss. To enter, follow the instructions at http://bookwish.org/contest.
Good luck and best wishes,
Logan Kleinwaks
President, Book Wish Foundation
What You Wish For (ISBN 9780399254543, Putnam Juvenile, Sep. 15, 2011) is a collection of short stories and poems about wishes from 18 all-star writers: Meg Cabot, Jeanne DuPrau, Cornelia Funke, Nikki Giovanni, John Green, Karen Hesse, Ann M. Martin, Alexander McCall Smith, Marilyn Nelson, Naomi Shihab Nye, Joyce Carol Oates, Nate Powell, Sofia Quintero, Gary Soto, R.L. Stine, Francisco X. Stork, Cynthia Voigt, Jane Yolen. With a Foreword by Mia Farrow. Book Wish Foundation is donating 100% of its proceeds from the book to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to fund the development of libraries in Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad.
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The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) is now accepting grant applications for the February-September 2012 sessions of the association’s four-week fundamentals online courses. One free seat per online continuing educational course session is available to librarians and information professionals from developing countries.
For background information about the grant, including criteria for applying, please see: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/awards/grants/onlinegrant.cfm
Fundamentals of Acquisitions
Session 1: February 27 – March 23
Session 2: April 7 – May 11
Session 3: July 30 – August 24
The Fundamentals of Acquisitions (FOA) web course focuses on the basics of acquiring monographs and serials: goals and methods, financial management of library collections budgets, and relationships among acquisitions librarians, library booksellers, subscription agents, and publishers. In this course, you will receive a broad overview of the operations involved in acquiring materials after the selection decision is made. Note that in FOA, we distinguish between collection development, which involves the selection of materials for the library; and acquisitions, which orders, receives, and pays for those materials.
Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Acquisitions
Session 1: March 5 – March 30
Session 2: April 23 – May 18
Session 3: July 23 – August 17
The Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Acquisitions (FERA) Web course will provide an overview of acquiring, providing access to, administering, supporting, and monitoring access to electronic resources. It will provide a basic background in electronic resource acquisitions including product trials, licensing, purchasing methods, and pricing models and will provide an overview of the sometimes complex relationships between vendors, publishers, platform providers, and libraries.
This course is sponsored by Harrassowitz.
Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management
Session 1: March 19 – April 13
Session 2: May 7 – June 1
Session 3: August 20 – September 14
The Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management addresses the basic components of these important areas of responsibility in libraries. Components include complete definition of collection development and collection management; collections policies and budgets as part of library planning; collection development (selecting for and building collections); collection management (e.g., making decisions after materials are selected, including decisions about withdrawal, transfer, preservation); collection analysis—why and how to do it; outreach, liaison, and marketing; and some suggestions about the future for collection development and management.
This course is sponsored by Coutts-Ingram.
Fundamentals of Preservation
Session 1: March 26 – April 20
Session 2: May 21 – June 15
The Fundamentals of Preservation introduces participants to the principles, policies and practices of preservation in libraries and archives. The course is designed to inform all staff, across divisions and departments and at all levels of responsibility. It provides tools to begin extending the useful life of library collections. Components include preservation as a formal library function and how it reflects and supports the institutional mission; the primary role of preventive care, including good storage conditions, emergency planning and careful handling of collections; the history and manufacture of physical formats and how this impacts preservation options; standard methods of care and repair, as well as reformatting options; and challenges in preserving digital content and what the implications are for the future of scholarship.
To apply, go to: https://alctsprogram.wufoo.com/forms/alcts-online-c
This is a rare opportunity for high school students. Please share this with any students you know who may be interest.
Application Deadline—January 11, 2012
Go to http://www.yesprograms.org/yesabroad
The Kennedy-Lugar YES Abroad program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is offering American high school students and recent graduates in the U.S. full scholarships for up to one academic year to live and study abroad in countries with significant Muslim populations. Scholarships cover expenses for program fees, pre-departure and arrival orientations in Washington DC, secondary health insurance, and ensure careful placement with host families that, like you, are eager to share themselves with the world.
Participate on a program in one of these countries: Click on the country for more information:
Bosnia & Herzegovina | Egypt | Ghana | India | Indonesia | Mali (semester only)
Malaysia | Morocco | Oman | Thailand | Turkey
Like the YES inbound program, students live with host families, attend high school, engage in activities to learn about the host country’s society and values, acquire leadership skills, and help educate others about American culture while learning about their host country’s culture. During the 2012-2013 school year, 55 American students will travel overseas.
Upon their return the students will apply their leadership skills in the United States. In addition, alumni groups will help participants continue to be involved with many community service activities including: clothing drives, mentoring younger children, and much more.
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A lot of writers in our last Freelance Writers Blast Off asked Carol and me where they can find freelance writing gigs. Is there some super-secret website where clients and editors are posting gigs? Or should they scour Craigslist and eLance every day and apply to the job ads there?
Here’s the thing: The clients that pay well aren’t out there posting job ads on free and cheap sites. You’ll rarely see, for example, a Fortune 500 company or a magazine like Family Circle on Craigslist or any of the freelance job boards.
Job listing and bidding sites like Craigslist and eLance are a race to the bottom: The clients are usually bottom-feeders looking for the lowest price, and the freelancers there go crazy trying to underbid one another. You can write an article for 10 bucks? I can do it for five. The places that pay well don’t need to place an ad and then wade through 500 responses from writers looking for a quick gig.
Don’t get me wrong — every once in awhile you’ll find a gem on the mass job boards. But typically, applying to one of these gigs, and competing against 500 other writers who are all trying to underbid one another, is a huge waste of time. Just like in the 9-5 world, the best jobs are usually not advertised.
So where are the editors and clients hanging out?
On specialized job boards. If you write in a certain niche, you may find gigs listed on the websites of organizations that cater to those industries. Even if the company or publication is looking for a full-time writer, you can sometimes convince them that using a freelancer instead would be beneficial to their bottom line.
In-house. You need to put on your researcher hat and find out where the best opportunities are for you. That means you use Writers Market, Yahoo’s Magazine Directory, Google, and so on to find the clients you want to write for, and then hit them with a query letter, letter of introduction, or sales letter, depending on the type of writing you do. The boards like eLance attract lazy writers who expect good work to come to them. If you show initiative and resourcefulness by proactively going after assignments, you can unearth some great opportunities.
Out there looking for the best writer. I’ve had editors and corporate clients approach me after seeing my website, articles I’ve done for other magazines, my profile on LinkedIn, and my guest posts for other blogs. So wow the world with your stellar skills by kicking ass on every assignment you get, look for opportunities to get your name out there, build a great website to showcase your writing, and present a professional image on social media.
Talking to your current editors and clients. This is another reason to kick butt on your assignments: Your editor or client knows other people who are in a position to hire you, and if they like you, they’ll mention you to their friends. But don’t wait for it to happen: If your editor works for a company that puts out several magazines, ask if she’d be willing to put you in contact with the other editors there. It’s worked for me! And if you do get a referral that turns into work, don’t forget to send the referrer a nice note or even a small gift. [lf]
So, tonight, I finished Lisa Napoli's
Radio Shangri-La, a memoir about Napoli's experiences in Bhutan. I was feeling a little passed over, really. I have never met a devastatingly attractive man who offered me a chance to volunteer in a remote, intriguing location. And even if I did, there is my husband to consider.
Then I logged onto my email account and there was an article for the
Bhutan Canada Foundation, offering teaching opportunities to Americans, Canadians and others in the Happiest Place on Earth, the tiny mountain nation of Bhutan.
Now I have an invitation to do just that - volunteer somewhere very far, far away and somewhere enticingly different. Coincidence??? I think not.
It is tempting even without the devastatingly attractive man. Am I woman enough to step up to the challenge? Or should I take this as a sign that there is more adventure waiting out there, if not in Bhutan, perhaps somewhere closer? I am keeping my eyes open.
But for those who are prefer armchair travel, read Napoli's introduction to the enchanting and fluctuating country of Bhutan. Since the turn of this new century, Bhutan has gradually relaxed some of its guard on its tiny country - allowing the entrance of television, radio and the Internet. Then in a move planned for several years, the king opened elections and rules with the aid of a Prime Minister and other elected officials. As fascinated as Westerners are with the soaring beauty of the Himalayas and the spare lifestyle of the Bhutanese,
they find fast food, cars, cell phones and the America that they see in movies and TV to be spellbinding. What Napoli was discovering, even before she set foot in Bhutan, was that happiness is being where you are. Read the book.
For those of you not attending the conference, please scroll to bottom of this post.
All signs point to an incredible conference in June. We have people from all over the country attending. The conference will be three jam-packed, fun-filled days of more than 300 one-on-one critiques; craft-based intensives; workshops; book fair; art exhibit; agent pitches; first page sessions; contests; raffles; a feature Children’s documentary film; networking opportunities, and more. Hope you registered.
Since the conference is right around the corner, I want to update you on a few things you need to know.
1. If you signed up to do the Group Critiques on Saturday night and you have not received an e-mail from Connie Colon, please e-mail [email protected].
2. If you signed up for the art exhibit and have not received instructions from Cathleen Daniels, please e-mail [email protected].
3. If you are an author/illustrator or illustrator who wishes to display your portfolio at the Conference, please e-mail [email protected] .
4. If you want to sign up for the First Timers Workshop taking place at 4:00pm on Friday, please e-mail [email protected].
5. If you want to sign up for an Intensive and think you are too late, you can still get into Harold Underdown and Eileen Robinson’s Editing Without An Editor Intensive. Please e-mail [email protected] if you are interested in attending this or any writing intensive – Illustrators’ Intensive is full.
6. If you are starting to feel sorry about not signing up for a critique, there are a few spots open with editor, Heather Alexander from Dial Books for Young Readers. She does picture books through young adult books. Please e-mail me if you want to snag a spot.
7. If you are on a gluten-free diet, please e-mail [email protected]. Please note: Lunches and dinners are buffet, so there will be plenty of choices for vegetarians. The hotel does not serve Kosher food.
8. You need to enter the hotel entrance to check into the hotel. We will have signs directing you to the conference registration desk from there.
9. If you signed up for the bookfair to sell your books and did not receive an e-mail from me over the weekend or if you did receive my e-mail and didn’t get back to me, please so so right away.
DONATE: We conduct an auction at the conference to benefit our scholarship fund. You can donate anything—books, equipment, theater tickets, critiques, services, baskets of writing tools, food, toys—whatever you like. Help us help your fellow writers attend NJ SCBWI events. Email [email protected] with a subject line of
0 Comments on Conference Update as of 5/9/2011 10:02:00 PM
” 
Now that’s looking at the bright side!
Brava! Love these anecdotes of sticking with it & fine results.
Thanks for sharing the contest head's up. We don't have enough quality books telling the milti-faceted diversity story.
And welcome back TA:
After summer fun
A voice enlightens us
Write, revise, write more
Thanks for sharing your oh, so true haiku, Jan!
A voice is indeed calling us.
And, it was fun being back writing our posts.
You're welcome, It's my pleasure as this site is a fun seminar, lively club room, lovely library...
Such a boost, to start back on contests, as writers need deadlines & without a contract in play... news of contest deadlines is a gift that deserves attention.