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2017 Annual Summer Conference in LA July 7 - 10
Join us for the premiere children's book publishing conference. Registration opened March 21 and the response has been overwhelming. Be sure to register early before the conference sells out! Enjoy specialized craft workshops. Master your skills. Connect with industry professionals.
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Announcing SCBWI Podcasts 2.0
SCBWI is resuming its podcast programming as of
April 17, with plans for releasing one podcast per month as a special member benefit. Podcast season 2.0 will kick off with a brilliant conversation with Newbery Award-winning author, Linda Sue Park. Thereafter, we will release a new podcast on the third Tuesday of each month, with the initial lineup for season 2.0 consisting of Allyn Johnston, VP and Publisher of Beach Lane Books, Julie Strauss-Gabel,
VP and Publisher of Dutton Children's Books, Barry Goldblatt, principal of The Goldblatt Agency, and Sophie Blackall, illustrator of the Caldecott Medal-winning book,
Finding Winnie, and a special conversation on Diversity in Children's Books. Be sure mark your calendars for the third Tuesday of each month and enjoy these intimate, behind-the-scenes conversations with leaders of our industry, recorded especially for SCBWI members.
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New Opportunity for Book Tours
We all know that more
and more is expected of authors and illustrators
to help market and promote our books.
SCBWI is always on the lookout for new opportunities for our members to help their books get discovered and put into the hands of readers.
In th
e article below,
SCBWI Regional Advisor Kim Tomsic writes about a new initiative in Colorado, a partnership formed by independent bookstores that makes it easier for authors and illustrators to pay a visit and promote their books
in stores
. This is the first we've heard of such a plan.
We encourage
SCBWI members and regional chapters
to suggest that
bookstores and community organizations in your area band together
to
form similar coalitions. Grass roots marketing is what it's about!
Take Your Book on Vacation!
By Kim Tomsic
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Author Richard Peck at Tattered Cover Book Store
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Authors, pack your hiking shoes, belays, skis, and sunblock! Five independent Colorado bookstores are teaming together to entice authors to make a Rocky Mountain stopover. The stores---BookBar (Denver), Tattered Cover Book Store (Denver), Boulder Book Store (Boulder), Old Firehouse Books (Fort Collins) and the Bookworm (Edwards, near Vail and Beaver Creek ski resorts) are luring authors with a lodging/experiential package. Though individual authors will be responsible for their airfare, those who choose to take a book-vacation in Colorado will be set-up with signings at the five indie stores and will enjoy free lodging at the delightful BookBed, an 800-square foot loft above BookBar that is outfitted with full kitchen and laundry facilities. The bookstore owners will also provide an experiential element to visiting authors. For example, Bookworm will include ski tickets and an invitation to a guided hike. Nicole Sullivan, owner of BookBar says, "We want to make the Rocky Mountains an alluring destination for authors. The bookstores have five different markets and are experienced in hosting a range of event sizes. Rather than authors traveling direct from coast to coast, we're inviting them to check out Colorado and help make our state a literary destination."
*Note: The bookstores will be sending out proposals to specific authors and publicists, though they are willing to take requests. For additional information, please contact Nicole Sullivan at nicole@bookbardenver.com.
Kim Tomsic is the Co-RA for the Rocky Mountain Chapter (RMC) of the SCBWI and has been volunteering with SCBWI in one capacity or another for six years. She is represented by Jen Rofé of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Her books with Chronicle Books and HarperCollins release in 2018 and 2019. Please connect with Kim on Twitter @bkshelfdetectiv
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SCBWI Exclusive with...
Dr. Uwe Stender, Agent, TriadaUS Literary Agency
Literary Agent Dr. Uwe Stender is a Full Member of the AAR (Association of Authors' Representatives). He founded Triada US in 2004. Uwe is interested in all kinds of nonfiction and fiction. In nonfiction, he is completely open to any project, from Memoir, Pop Culture, and Health to How-to, Gardening, History and everything in between, including nonfiction for children. In children's fiction, he is looking for YA, MG and the occasional PB. In adult fiction, his tastes trend towards Women's Fiction, Psychological Suspense, and Mysteries. But surprise him, his tastes are eclectic, and he may just love what you wrote!
What can you tell us about your agency?
I founded Triada US in 2004. Including me, we are five hard-working eager agents, who respond to all queries we receive. We represent everything from fiction to non-fiction. We are a full service literary agency and retain and exercise subsidiary rights on our clients' behalves through a variety of co-agents, scouts, publishers, and entertainment lawyers.
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Illustrator info
Success Story, Vashti Harrison
 You may remember Vashti Harrison's winning piece from Draw This in July, 2016. She's had lot's of exciting news since winning Draw This, as you'll see here!
You are an illustrator, filmmaker, and you do work in animation and fashion. In the midst of all that, when and how did you get interested in children's books? Do you find that your various interests inform each other?
I went to Calarts---a school Disney made famous for its animation program---not to study animation. But, I did take a couple classes while I was getting my MFA in film. It got me drawing again. I wasn't very good, so I made it a personal goal to draw every day. I had a TON of ideas for movies that I would never have the
 budget to produce, scripts I had written that would go nowhere, so around that time I had an inkling of an idea to make them into kids books. It wasn't until a few years later that that idea seemed far more possible. I'm lucky to have found this career path, because before I was all over the place. I've worked as a graphic designer, as a production coordinator on a TV show, I have a background in film and photography, I write, I make jewelry and I love fashion illustration. I had to remove some of this stuff from my website because it was too confusing for people when I was looking for a job. I get inspired by a lot of things and try to learn new metiers for expressing those interests. They typically don't overlap with one another, but they all work to inform my aesthetic and understanding of story.
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Shopping at The Bookies |
On the Shelves
The Bookies
While on your book vacation, don't forget to check out another great Denver indie bookstore, The Bookies.
What sets Bookies apart from other bookstores?
We're unique for all kinds of reasons! We started over forty-five years ago in our owner's basement and now we have one of Colorado's largest selections of children's books. New customers' mouths have been seen to drop open when they see how many children's books we have---something for every age, reading level and interest. On top of that, each member of our staff is passionate about books and many customers come to us because of the range and depth of our knowledge. We also supply books to schools across Denver and beyond---we have a group of teachers from North Dakota who visit us every year and carry off carloads of books for their students! And we don't forget adults either, with a compact, but well-curated choice of books and gifts.
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We want your photos! Tag us on Twitter/Instagram/ Facebook with pictures relating to kids or kids books. Use #scbwitribeshare and we'll choose new snaps each month to share.
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| Southern Breeze Spring Mingle Conference at a glance thanks to @nargesart |
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The first LGBTQ Connect in the Rocky Mountain Region at the Tattered Cover bookstore |
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Draw This!
Draw This! is our monthly prompt word for illustrators.
The March prompt was
March
Congratulations to the March Winners:
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Alexandra Thompson
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| Zara Gonzalez Hoang |
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See all the entries here: Gallery
April's prompt is . . . SURPRISE
Entries are due April 20 to scbwidrawthis@scbwi.org
Submissions for April will be up in our May gallery.
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