Your April SCBWI Insight is here!

April 1, 2018

Nominate Your Favorite Cause for SCBWI Books For Readers

‌

You can shine a light on your favorite organization or cause through SCBWI Books For Readers. CLICK HERE to fill out the entry form for the opportunity for your nominee to be considered as the recipient for a library full of books from your fellow members. Entries will be accepted now through April 15 . Public libraries, schools and school libraries, social services, literacy organizations, and man-made or natural disasters where kids no longer have access to books will all be considered.

Last year, SCBWI members generously donated hundreds of books that went to a foster care organization and a refugee resettlement center. To make this happen we need your nominations of worthy recipients. Click here to find out more about SCBWI Books For Readers and use the nomination form to tell us about a cause or organization .

Live report: Bologna Book Fair a grand success

by Chris Cheng

This year’s new initiative was our Duelling Illustrators Manuscript Competition, with the announcement of the winner at our final duel. Congratulations to Zoe Armstrong for her manuscript When the Huggalumph Hullabalooed –just try saying that three times fast! The duelers, Paul O. Zelinsky and John Shelly , had fun–and their charcoaled hands showed it. I had fun reading it (once my tongue was accustomed to saying the words) and the audience was amazed! All together, six duels were done, two each day, with the audience often spilling into the hallway.

March Book Birthday winners announced

‌

This month 45 members celebrated the release of their new books with us through our new Happy Book Birthday Program, which you can view here . Happy Book Birthday is a new program that allows members to send in information about their new books the month before they’re released, to be displayed on a beautiful Birthday Page. Every month we randomly select a book and purchase ten copies of it on its release date to be donated to an organization that promotes children’s literacy.

This month’s winner is My Australia by Julie Murphy —ten copies of her book will be donated to Reading is Fundamental.

Submissions for the May Happy Book Birthday are open from March 15 until April 20, no exceptions. CLICK HERE to learn how to celebrate with us.

LA18 Summer Conference Coming!

SA VE THE DATE: August 3-6, 2018

‌

This year’s Summer Conference will soon be here, so save the date and plan to sign up early when registration opens in mid-April. The Conference features some of the most renowned names in children’s literature: Lois Lowry , Libba Bray , Marc Brown , Ekua Holmes , Mike Curato , Brian & Andrea Pinkney , Daniel Jose Older , Eliza Wheeler , and Lynda Mullaly Hunt (plus acquiring agents and editors actively seeking new work from writers and illustrators).

In addition to keynote presentations, panels of industry experts, and craft and business-related breakout sessions, this year’s Conference gives participants more opportunities than ever to meet with editors and agents about their work. There will be paid manuscript, portfolio, and social media consultations with agents, editors and art directors, plus several all-new events on Monday, August 6:

For Writers: A full-day session titled A Closer Look, where writers can get feedback on the first 500 words of their manuscripts from acquiring agents, editors, and their peers.

For Illustrators : A full-day Illustrator’s Intensive with art directors, editors, and renowned illustrators of children’s books.

Fo r Published Wri ters and Illustrators: A full-day Pro-Intensive designed to help you take your career to the next level.

Registration for the Summer Conference opens online on April 17 . Please check the SCBWI website around April 13 for more information.

LA Conference to offer A Closer Look at Participants’ Writing

‌

This year, the Summer Conference in Los Angeles will provide more opportunities than ever for writers to get their work in front of acquiring agents and editors. In addition to the paid critiques by conference faculty, the Conference will include a new feature for writers: an optional session on Monday, August 6 called A Closer Look. This full-day event allows writers to meet in small, genre-based groups with an acquiring agent or editor. Each participant will have the opportunity to read up to 500 words from a work-in-progress and receive feedback from the group. There will be one round of feedback in the morning and another in the afternoon. The two sessions of A Closer Look , when combined with a paid critique, gives participants a total of THREE opportunities to present their writing to professionals in the publishing industry!

We fully expect A Closer Look to sell out, so be sure to register early when registration opens on April 17.

On the Shelves

Shakespeare & Co. offers small batch publishing at new locations

‌

New York-based bookstore Shakespeare & Co. has announced the opening of three new locations in Greenwich Village, the Upper West Side, and Philadelphia, in a year that has been very hopeful for independent booksellers. In February, the American Booksellers Association reported that the number of independent bookstores has risen 35% since 2009, with a collective sales increase of 2.6% in 2017. Dane Neller , the new owner of Shakespeare & Co., is optimistic about the future. “It’s gratifying,” he says. “Nice to see what I’ve always suspected—that there is a demand for beautifully curated bookstores.” But with its high-tech concept and many opportunities for self-published authors, Shakespeare & Co does not look like the independent bookshops of the past.

SCBWI Exclusive with...

Kirsten Hall and Erica Rand Silverman

Kirsten Hall is President of Catbird, a boutique children’s literary and illustration agency. She has negotiated many hundreds of children’s book deals between authors, illustrators, and all of the major American publishers. Kirsten is also an author. (Her ﬁrst book— Bunny, Bunny— was published when she was in 7th grade. And her first trade picture book— The Jacket —was a 2014 New York Times Notable!) Kirsten opened Catbird's wings in March 2014. She likens her agency, which specializes in picture books, to a creative playground. She is just as happy working with debut talents as she is best-sellers.

Erica Rand Silverman is a Senior Agent at Stimola Literary Studio, a full service literary agency devoted to representing authors and author/illustrators who bring unique and substantive contributions to the children’s book industry. Erica is mostly interested in adding author-illustrators to her list and is looking for a diverse array of voices and styles. Keep an eye out this spring for DOLL-E 1.0 by Shanda McCloskey (Little,Brown), TIME TRACERS by Annabeth Bondor Stone & Connor White (HarperCollins), FINN’S FEATHER illustrated by Zoey Abbott (Enchanted Lion Books), and ROCK 'N' ROLL SOUL by Susan Verde and Matthew Cordell (Abrams)!

READ THE INTERVIEW