Your June 2020 SCBWI Houston Newsletter
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Upcoming Meeting: June 1, 2020 7-9 PM
Next Meeting: July 6 7-9 PM
Please join us on the first Monday of every month from 7-9 p.m. at the Tracy Gee Community Center, 3599 Westcenter, Houston, or on Zoom if instructed to do so.
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This month:
June 1
–
10 Reasons to Never Give Up!
PJ Hoover
Life is a journey, not a destination. And as important as it is to set goals, getting too focused on them often makes us want to quit. It’s hard to stick to our path, especially when everything seems like it is going against us.
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Next month:
July 6
–
Layer Cake: Add Depth and Flavor For a More Powerful Manuscript
– Samantha Clark – samantha@samanthaclark.com
Writing a story is like creating a person. First you build the boney structure, then flesh in the muscle of your story. But it’s not until you add hair and eye color and clothes that the person becomes an individual who will stand out in the crowd. Samantha M Clark will show you how to layer themes, emotions and other details into a manuscript to make it standout with agents, editors and readers.
The May Zoom meeting has been recorded. If you missed it or just want to refresh your notes, feel free to access it
online here
.
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In an effort to prioritize our public health and safe community building during the Covid-19 pandemic, we have canceled all 2020 Dinner Table quarterly events and look forward to bringing this program back in 2021. Stay safe and keep creating with open hearts and minds!
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LA Conference Going ONLINE!
This is your chance at an UNBELIEVABLE price!
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SCBWI is proud to announce our online Summer Spectacular – a historic virtual gathering of the pantheon of children’s book creators! We are calling this online extravaganza The Summer Spectacular because it truly is spectacular. It features the biggest names in children’s literature including a rare first: an online conversation between famed fantasy author
Philip Pullman
and editor
Arthur A. Levine
.
At the heart of the Summer Spectacular are ten Keynote Conversations with luminaries of the children’s publishing world. The line-up includes
Kwame Alexander
,
Laurie Halse Anderson, Mac Barnett, Judy Blume, Caitlyn Dlouhy, Jeff Kinney, Jon Klassen, Grace Lin, Alvina Ling, Meg Medina, Lin Oliver, Nancy Paulsen, LeUyen Pham, Jason Reynolds, Dan Santat, Heidi Stemple, Nic Stone, Raul the Third, Henry Winkler, Jacqueline Woodson
, and
Jane Yolen
.
Also featured is a panel of leading editors including
Stacey Barney
, (Executive Editor, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers),
Arthur A. Levine
(Founder & Publisher, Levine Querido),
Neal Porter
(Publisher, Neal Porter Books/Holiday House),
Jill Santopolo
(Associate Publisher, Philomel Books/Penguin Random House),
Julie Strauss-Gabel
(President & Publisher, Dutton Books for Young Readers), and
Namrata Tripathi
(Publisher, Kokila Books/Penguin Random House). And an agents’ panel looks at the current landscape and features
Regina Brooks
of Serendipity Literary Agency,
Linda Camacho
of Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency,
Brooks Sherman
of Janklow & Nesbit, and
Rosemary Stimola
of The Stimola Literary Studio.
All of August is SCBWI month. The Keynote Conversations and Panels will be available for unlimited viewing to attendees until August 30. Registration also includes nightly live twitter chat socials, an online member book sale, a meme contest, door prizes, and a current market report with exclusive up-to-the-minute information available only to conference attendees.
The full schedule and information on how to register will be posted on the SCBWI website at noon (Pacific Daylight Time) on Monday, May 11
th
.
Registration opens on Wednesday, May 13
th
at 10am (Pacific Daylight Time) so
save the date!
If you are planning to enroll in the individual critiques, be prompt as there are a limited number of spaces.
Scholarships are available for student writers, student illustrators, and BIPOC women. For information on how to apply, click
here.
I hope you can join us in the virtual realm to celebrate with and learn from some of the most iconic creators of children’s literature. It’s a one-of-a-kind event.
Sincerely,
Lin Oliver
Executive Director, SCBWI
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McCourt Thomas Announces First Sale
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McCourt Thomas
has made her first sale!
Spider
magazine will publish her story
"The 19th Arggh September"
, a fun story about Talk Like A Pirate Day, in an upcoming issue. Although she is in Colorado now, I wanted to share this news with the Houston crew, as many of y'all from the monthly before meeting critique group helped me with this story back in the day. Thank you so much! I miss y’all!
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Mary D Wade Signs Contract for New Book
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Clear Fork Publishing
has contracted a chapter book about a boy who lived on a ranch with headquarters at Stamford, Texas, where this publisher is located.
Joel Cook
will likely illustrate.
And with her usual wit, Mary says, "Proof that hope springs eternal!"
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Last month we congratulated
Susie McCauley
for her positive review in
Kirkus Reviews
. Well let's kick that up a notch: Even though
Ghost Hunters: Bones in the Wall
was published by a small press, it has been selected by
Kirkus Reviews
indie editors to appear in the June 1 issue of the periodical. Less than 10% of indie and small press books are ever selected.
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Alda P. Dobbs Honored By
Sustainable Arts Foundation
Congratulations to Houston SCBWI Member Alda P. Dobbs on receiving an individual artist award from the
Sustainable Arts Foundation
. Alda was one of 20 winners selected from a field of nearly 1,800 applicants. The judges commented, “
Beautiful and poetic writing. Wonderfully realized characters and setting. Everything rang true here and flowed incredibly well. Wanted to read more. Bravo
.”
The Sustainable Arts Foundation supports artists and writers with children by making annual unrestricted cash awards to individual artists and writers.
Alda has an upcoming middle grade novel,
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna
, scheduled for publication Fall 2021.
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New Programming Chair for Houston SCBWI: Sarah Choi
Congratulations and Thank You to Sarah, who takes over the huge responsibility of
procuring speakers for our monthly meetings, along with all the other myriad ways she is contributing, making her one of our most valuable members for the near future.
This challenging task has been handled magnificently for over 10 years by the
outgoing chairs,
Pat Miller
and
Aileen Kirkham
.
We all thank you both for the wonderful speakers you have brought to our chapter,
making our chapter one of the best in the nation!
Job well done!
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Scholarships for the LA Summer Spectacular
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SCBWI is giving out 10 additional scholarships this year for the Summer Spectacular, and has asked the regional teams to provide nominees. Since we don't know everyone's situation, we thought it best to open it up to our members to self-nominate (or nominate a friend!) and from there the Regional Team can make a selection to send to HQ. If the scholarship is something that will help you and you've already signed up for the Spectacular, please apply anyway. Having already signed up doesn't preclude you from being awarded a scholarship.
To submit a nomination, please email me at
houston-ra@scbwi.org
by June 10th with the nominee's name, email, and a couple of sentences about why you're making the nomination. Nominations are not limited to financial circumstances, and can include service to the region, emerging talent, and more! Hopefully, one of these scholarships can help one of our amazing Houston Region members! And, don't forget: there are existing scholarships available under HQ's
Awards & Grants
webpage, so check those out, too!
Thanks,
Meghan Senkel
RA, SCBWI Houston
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Science says doing this makes you just as happy.
Read more.
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Turn The Page campaign by KHOU 11 is returning this year.
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“Story time is coming back here at KHOU 11! We had so many people interested in joining us for nightly stories, we wanted to bring this project back for our Turn the Page campaign this year. We’re trying to get a head start on it, so we’re putting the word out early to local authors. You were so kind to help us out last time, so I’m reaching back out to see if you’d spread the word among your colleagues. We are looking for age-appropriate stories for elementary school children that our anchors could read nightly during the campaign. The video would go out on Facebook live and also on our YouTube channel. We would give the authors a heads up when their stories were being read, and also send them a link afterwards.
And just like before, we’d need their permission to read it, in the form of a waiver. If you can share, or have another book you’d like to offer up yourself, we’d sure appreciate it! Anyone who is interested can just email me and I’ll arrange the pick up/waiver stuff from there.
Join us every weeknight (June 3-June 21) at 7:30 p.m. on the
KHOU 11 Facebook page
for a LIVE bedtime story!
Best,
Robyn Keeney
Marketing Director
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Did you know many of the webinars we list in our newsletter come to us from different chapters of SCBWI? Its often difficult to be aware of them all. But our friends in the Nevada chapter have made it their mission to stay on top of all this valuable information and these wonderful opportunities. You should bookmark their site and check there often, but we will also include it in each new issue for your reference.
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In the meantime, here are a few choice offerings available today.
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Saturday June 14
, 2-3:30 pm central
$10 members, $20 non members
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June 13, 10-11 am
Panelists will include:
Cindy Baldwin, author of the middle grade novel,
Where the Watermelons Grow.
Bethany Hegedus, author of the picture book,
Rise: From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou
Catherine Stier, author of the picture book,
When a Kid Like Me Fights Cancer.
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PW discusses a group of Picture Books inspired by the current crisis.
Read here.
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Here are a series of articles about Friendship and Diversity.
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Tomie dePaola Masterclass
Released for FREE
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All of us in SCBWI and the children's book community lost a dear friend and artist in
Tomie dePaola. Anyone who has been lucky enough to dine or converse with him, or simply to be near his great big gregarious spirit, knows that he was the genuine article: a singular personality, and a master artist.
As we mourn his loss, we also want to celebrate his incredible body of work
and his long and dear friendship with our organization.
We are making available to members his entire Master Class DVD that he shot with Lin Oliver, where the two of them go in depth and discuss the modern picture book, a form he helped to invent and elevate. With outsized generosity, Tomie breaks down the history of the picture book, his approach, his working methods---everything you'd want to know about how he crafts a work of art for children. Tomie was incredibly proud of this Master Class. So please enjoy it, and pull a book or three of his off the shelf.
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SCBWI YouTube Featuring
The Vault
Let's You Relive Wondrous Moments with Best-Selling Icons of Childrens Publishing -- Or Experience Them For The First Time
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We are so proud to introduce you to the all-new
SCBWI YouTube featuring the Vault
which launches today with a treasure trove of exclusive never-before-seen videos that put you smack in the middle of the greatest children’s book creators of our time. Culling the best moments from SCBWI conferences---from the early days in the 1970s all the way up to this year, the Vault holds the advice, teachings, and musings of the biggest and brightest names in children’s publishing over the past 50 years. Even if you never got the chance to be there originally, you can now have a front row seat to all the SCBWI conferences---the profound, the moving, the funny, the goofy, the heart-stopping moments that are at the center of this brilliant creative community.
It's easy to step into our new YouTube channel and watch featured video clips from award-winning creators including:
Kwame Alexander Laurie Halse Anderson Judy Blume
Bruce Coville Karen Cushman Paula Danziger
Sid Fleischman Gordon Korman Meg Medina
Vanessa Brantley Newton Linda Sue Park
Jerry Pinkney David Small Jerry Spinelli
Shaun Tan Richard Jesse Watson
Before Newbery medals, before National Book Awards, before the adulation, there were young writers and illustrators on the path to legend status. The awards and praises of the book industry and book lovers worldwide were heaped on the giants of the industry seen here. All of them shared the stage at our conferences over the years. You’ll be inspired, captivated, and enamored.
And that’s just the beginning! Each week we will be bringing you stunning archival footage to watch and share with your friends, family, and colleagues. SCBWI is giving its members and book lovers everywhere an opportunity not found anywhere else, to witness the history of contemporary children’s books in the making.
SCBWI members will see exclusive clips pulled from the vault just for them in Insight, the monthly e-newsletter, and in Pro Insider the e-newsletter for published members. You can follow all the fun on our social media – Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook – with sneak previews and only-on-this-platform content. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheScbwi/
so you don’t miss out. And check in regularly, to keep the inspiration flowing.
For anyone interested in children’s books, for anyone who values creativity, for anyone wanting a direct hit of inspiration and joy, SCBWIYouTube featuring the Vault is the place to be. See you there, friends.
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Have an idea on how to improve Houston SCBWI?
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Information and Procedures
The
SCBWI Emergency Fund
has been established to provide assistance to SCBWI members of at least
six months’ standing in times of emergency or hardship. The emergency or hardship could involve,
for example, matters of health, family issues, or natural disasters that are in any way restricting
or preventing an SCBWI member’s ability to work as an author or illustrator.
The fund is also running low due to the high number of applications.
If you wish to donate to the fund, you may do so on the website or by mail:
Please send a check to:
SCBWI Emergency Fund
6363 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 425
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Your contribution will be announced in the following SCBWI Bulletin. Dollar amounts will not be listed. If you wish to remain anonymous please indicate so in your letter.
There is a $1,500 cap on any given grant, and no member may receive the grant more than twice.
SCBWI does not expect to be reimbursed for grants made from the Emergency Fund.
Applications for assistance can come from the individual member seeking the aid or from someone noting their member friend or associate is in need of assistance. Applications are confidential and not shared outside the organization.
Members should fill out the application, which can be found
here
. The applicant will receive an electronic confirmation and all communications will be by email unless the applicant indicates no access to a computer.
To learn more about the Emergency Fund, please click
here
to read the FAQ.
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Don't Get SCAMMED!
Are you aware of Writer Beware? It's a good site to check on complaints about publishers. This 2019 roundup covers the year in review. If you're not familiar with how "vanity publishers" scam authors, be sure to study the links under SAVE YOUR CASH and ADVICE YOU CAN USE. It also touches on how awards can take advantage of authors.
Use the
SEARCH THIS BLOG
function to look up specific publisher and agent names.
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FREE On-demand webinars from SCBWI MD/DE/WV!
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Creating Your Portfolio with
Rebecca Evans
• Formatting Your Manuscript for Submission with
Kathy MacMillan
• A Conversation with Picture Book Authors 1 (Read Local Challenge webinar featuring
J.H. Diehl, Amy S. Hansen, and Rebecca Evans
)
• A Conversation with Picture Book Authors 2 (Read Local Challenge webinar featuring
Ann McCallum, Karen Leggett Abouraya, and Lezlie Evans
)
• Conversation with Picture Book Authors 3 (Read Local Challenge webinar featuring
Veronica Bartles, Sue Fliess, and Megan Wagner Lloyd
)
• A Conversation with Middle Grade Authors 1 (Read Local Challenge webinar featuring
Laura Shovan, Leah Henderson, and Barbara Carney-Coston
)
• A Conversation with Middle Grade Authors 2 (Read Local Challenge webinar featuring
R.D Henham and Deborah Kalb
)
• A Conversation with Young Adult Authors (Read Local Challenge webinar featuring
Kathy MacMillan, Linda Budzinski, Meg Eden, Pintip Dunn, and Christina June
)
We are pleased to offer these free webinar recordings, available anytime
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SCBWI Podcast Goes Public
In a bold expansion to new platforms, SCBWI has made the first season of its popular podcast,
SCBWI Conversations
, available to the public. Our library of in-depth, insightful episodes feature the best of editors, agents, authors, and illustrators in the children’s book industry. As of today, we have over nine thousand listeners on six continents who have joined us since our public launch in May. The most current season will remain exclusive content for SCBWI members only. It is available for streaming from our website
here
.
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An Ongoing and Updated List of Webinars
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The Nevada SCBWI chapter has a new feature listing and updating webinars of interest to our members. Be sure to bookmark this page to stay abreast of new opportunities...
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Austin's Cynthia Leitich Smith Is Compiling
an ever growing list of Texas children's-YA
authors and Illustrators.
Howdy! Texas is bursting with talented children’s-YA book creators.
Once again, my Cynterns and I are updating the ever-growing list of
Texas children’s-YA authors and illustrators at:
It’s a popular resource for event planners, gatekeepers and Texas book lovers.
listings or updates to existing listings.
Those who currently live in Texas or have previously lived in Texas are
eligible for inclusion.
Please reply with byline, official website URL, preferred titles to
highlight, and current city and/or state of residence.
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Monthly Meetings
When: Meetings are held on the first Monday night of each month (first Tuesday if first Monday is a holiday), 7-9 pm. Fiction, Nonfiction and Illustration critique groups meet from 6-7pm.
What: All regular monthly meetings are open to all at no cost or obligation. To suggest speakers or topics and/or to be added to our monthly meeting reminder e-mail list, contact Program Coordinator via our Contact Us page.
Where: The meetings are held at the Tracy Gee community center, located at 3599 Westcenter Dr, Houston, TX 77042.
Please note: Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, meetings will be held online through Zoom until further notice.
2020 schedule of meetings
Aug 3
–
Steppingstones to Success: From Query Letters to Contracts
Alda Dobbs
Sept. 8 (Tuesday)
–
How to Hook Readers on Your Writing
Lynne Kelly
Oct. 5
–
The Illustrator’s Voice
Diandra Mae – email: Houston-ic@scbwi.org
Nov. 2
–
How to Write the Best Dialogue
Lane Riosley – lane.riorsley@gmail.com
Dec. 7
–
Holiday Celebration: Potluck, Literary Bingo & Book Sales
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Our Staff
Regional Advisor:
Asst. Regional Advisor:
Lynne Kelly
Illustrators Coordinator:
Monthly Program Chair:
Sarah Choi
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Listserv Coordinator:
Twitter Coordinator:
Newsletter & Website
Art Credit
Header Design:
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Copyright © 2020 SCBWI-Houston, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
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