August 1, 2018
Promote Your New Releases with Bookstop 2018
One of SCBWI’s most popular marketing opportunities is back for 2018. SCBWI BookStop returns with more chances for members to showcase their books in front of thousands of book buyers and book lovers. Choose one of our bold pre-designed templates and create a web page that will sell readers on your book, with features like summaries, reviews, pictures, and videos. All BookStop pages will be promoted on our website as part of a browsable gallery, just in time for holiday shopping.

The templates will be available to members starting Wednesday, September 5, and the pages will go live to the public on Monday, October 15 through Friday, November 30. This period includes the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping periods to help give your books maximum book browser and buyer exposure. There will also be incentives for page owners during the promotions period to inspire them to promote their books on their own in conjunction with all the marketing SCBWI will put behind BookStop as well. Look for more information in the September issue of Insight .

Recommended Reading List Returns with Bold New Marketing Campaign
The Recommended Reading List is a great way for PAL members to put their books in front of librarians and teachers who are looking for a new book to share with their patrons or students. We’ve received hundreds of entries for the List and will be putting substantial marketing support behind it to ensure maximum exposure. The List will be available on our website starting Tuesday, October 9. Users will be able to download the entire list or browse by region.
Happy Birthday, August Books!
Happy Book Birthday to 28 new summer reads! Celebrate the release of these books by viewing this month’s Happy Book Birthday page  here

The winner of this month’s random drawing is  Class Pets: Fuzzy Freaks Out by  Bruce Hale.  Ten copies of his book will be purchased by SCBWI upon its release and donated to Pajama Program, where the books will help children have bedtimes full of peace and happiness. Read more about the organization  here .

If you have a new book coming out, make sure to add it to your SCBWI profile so it can be found in our Member Bookstore! Traditionally published members are eligible for PAL (Published and Listed) status by adding their books, which gives you access to exclusive information and events. Learn more about PAL membership here .

Submissions for the  September Happy Book Birthday are open from  July 15  until  August 20, no exceptions. 
We hope you’ll come celebrate with us! 
Nami Island Book Fair Seeks Illustration Submissions
Illustrators are welcome to submit to the Nami Island Picture Book Illustration Contest, a biannual initiative to encourage burgeoning artists worldwide. The deadline for the first round of submissions is August 31 .

This award is sponsored by Nami Island, a lush wooded enclave near Seoul, South Korea, which has become a popular destination for festivals and artist retreats. Though they accept applications from around the world, the International Nami Concours say they are especially seeking more submissions from the United States. Artists may submit between five and ten illustrations which, taken together, should comprise a single story. Published and unpublished illustrations are both eligible. 

The winners will receive generous cash prizes, and the Gran Prix winner gets a free trip to Nami Island for the International Children’s Book Festival in 2019.
For full information on how to submit, visit the Nami Concours website HERE .
PJ Library Jewish Stories Award Opens Next Month
It’s time to polish your picture book manuscript, because the SCBWI PJ Library Jewish Stories Award submission period opens on September 1 (and runs through the end of the month).  

SCBWI and PJ Library®– a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation that sends the gift of free Jewish children’s books to more than 200,000 North American participants each month – established the Jewish Stories Award to encourage the creation of more high-quality Jewish children’s literature. 

The judges for this year’s Jewish Stories Award are: Lesléa Newman, author of 70 books, including the Sydney Taylor Award-winning  Ketzel, The Cat Who Composed , and the forthcoming  Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story ; Bobbie Fishman, owner of The Bear and the Books, a children’s bookstore in Hopewell, NJ, with a wide selection of curated books for children and young adults; and Meredith Lewis, the Director of Content & Engagement at PJ Library.

$2,500 will be awarded to the author of the manuscript deemed most promising for publication and for distribution by PJ Library. PJ Library will make every effort to partner with a publisher to have the manuscript published and to carry the book in the PJ Library program. The winner will be announced at the 2019 SCBWI Annual Winter Conference in New York City, and will receive tuition to the conference, as well as a transportation and accommodations stipend of up to $500.

For more information about the SCBWI PJ Library Jewish Stories Award, visit  scbwi.org/scbwi-pj-library-jewish-stories-award .
Keeping Well-Versed on the Poetry Trend
by Sarah Diamond
The National Endowment for the Arts reported last month that more Americans are reading poetry than at any point in the last fifteen years, with the biggest increase among young adults, who have more than doubled their engagement. This is something the children’s book market has known for a while, as recent years have seen a greater demand for poetic works, from lyrical picture books to YA novels in verse. Many educators have seized onto poetry as a tool to encourage literacy in the classroom, while artists on social media tweet out haikus and other short-form poems to hundreds of thousands of young followers, using hashtags like #poetry and #poetrycommunity.

Nikki Grimes, acclaimed author of verse novels like  A Girl Named Mister  and  Words with Wings , explains why many teenagers flock to poetry in particular, saying, “Young people who may shy away from reading, in general, find books of poetry less intimidating than works of prose, simply by virtue of all that white space on the page.  These books are often every bit as sophisticated and emotionally complex as works of prose, but their appearance seems less imposing, more inviting.  Hence, a novel-in-verse is an easier sell than a novel in prose. This is a two-for-one proposition: you get a young person hooked on poetry, and hooked on reading at the same time!”

Draw This!
Draw This! is our monthly prompt word for illustrators. 

Congratulations to the July winners! The July prompt word was "Heat"
Click HERE to view the July Gallery
Betty Tang
Lynnor Bontigao
August's prompt word is: "First Day of School"
Click Here for Draw This! guidelines
Faces of SCBWI
Want to see your face in Insight ? Send your photos to  faces@scbwi.org   or post on twitter using the tag #facesofscbwi
Alice Faye Duncan celebrates her Kirkus Star for Martin, Memphis, and the Mountaintop with Kwame Alexander
Art director Ness Wood at SCBWI British Isles event (photo: © Su Dore)
SCBWI Japan regional meet-up
Shari McNair presents Susanna Reich with the 2018 Rip Van Winkle Award
Gary Fabbri, Maisie Paradise Shearing, and Pam Smy at SCBWI British Isles (photo © Orange Beak Studios)