NY20SCBWI Conference Highlights:
The SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC was a whirlwind of inspiration. Friday involved Regional team training, followed by the Golden Kite Awards and Gala. It was a night filled with beautiful art and inspiring speeches. The conference itself opened Saturday morning with a keynote by
Kate Messner,
who urged all to embrace curiosity as we explore approach our writing and illustrating craft. It was a special surprise to hear her quote our own
Gillian McDunn’s
upcoming novel—something to be on the lookout for!
Jerry Pinkney
closed out the day with a keynote detailing his expansive illustrating career.
The conference closed with a keynote from
Charlotte writer Derrick Barnes
, who shared his writing successes and struggles, and encouraged all to persevere and to not write-off the benefits of working with small presses. Interspersed between keynotes were intensives focusing on writing and illustrating craft and industry interests.
All in all, it was a great conference and it was such a joy to see that writers and illustrators from the Carolinas are making such an impact in Children’s literature! So much to be proud of!
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Becca Puglisi
of Writers Helping Writers and co-Author of
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide of Character Expression,
Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 7:00PM
$20
for members
$30
for non-members
June:
Free
to Carolinas Region Members. All other SCBWI members: $20.00
The Query Godmother:
“Taking the Question
out of the Query”
Date and Time to be announced.
(Those who participate in this will also have the opportunity to have their query critiqued
for a reduced price of $30.00)
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Upcoming Illustrator Workshop!
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Saturday May 2, 2020
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
574 Haywood Road - Asheville, NC 28806
$45.00
SCBWI Member
$55.00
Non-member
Registration opens
Feb 15th
with
limited seating
(25 participants)
so sign up early!
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Thanks to
Carol Baldwin
and many of our Carolinas authors, the P&P is up and running again! We will have new content every month! Check out our very first post by Carol
HERE!
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Upcoming Mingles!
Huntersville, NC Mingle
Sunday, March 1st
Surfside Beach, SC Mingle
Wednesday, March 18th
Rock Hill, SC Mingle
Saturday, March 21st
Nebo, NC Mingle
Saturday, March 29th
Mingles are informal get-togethers where members
can meet, talk shop, and get to know one another.
Want more information on how to do so?
Contact :
SCBWI-Carolinas Regional Team:
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Save the Date:
"Crafting Characters"
November 6-9, 2020
Why our next region conference is in November:
When scheduling any major SCBWI events (such as the conference) we have to stay away from holidays, other SCBWI events, and schedule a time that is available at the Crowne Plaza in Charlotte.The last weekend in September 2020 coincided with Yom Kippur, so we looked for the next available weekend which was November 6-8. Otherwise, the alternative was to move the conference to Spring 2021.Thus, we chose to hold the conference in November to keep things as "normal". as possible.
We are working hard behind the scenes to create some great programming and adding in new opportunities to grow together as a chapter. We are excited about our upcoming year and hope folks
will also be excited to dig in to the world of writing and illustrating for children with all of us. (And we want to have the 2021 conference back to our regular weekend in September!)
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Introducing our new:
Volunteer Coordinator
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John Strong
I’m proud to call New Orleans my home, but I have been living in the beautiful state of NC for almost eight years. I've been writing and directing film and TV projects for almost 25 years. I have recently directed a music video, a Festival-winning short film, and an 8-part docu-series on Amazon (MESSIAH). I am currently writing a new feature screenplay, with the assistance of the NCArts Writing Fellowship (2019-2020), as well as a TV pilot. I also travel the world as a tour director for high school groups. When abroad, I am usually looking for new teas, chocolates, novels, and writing pens.
I’ve been a member of the SCBWI Carolinas since 2014. I have written several picture books (still looking for a home), and will be finishing my first YA novel this year. I love our NC chapter and have met such wonderful people through the years, and I’m happy to now be helping our chapter even more by serving as
Volunteer Coordinator.
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Volunteer Regional Administrative Team
Regional Advisor,
Donna Earnhardt
Assistant Regional Advisor,
Kelly Dyksterhouse
Regional Illustrator Coordinator,
Elizabeth Rawls
PAL Coordinator,
Derick Wilder
Critique Coordinator,
Becky Shillington
Blog Coordinator,
Carol Baldwin
cbaldwin6@me.com
Social Media Coordinator,
Carolyn Bennet Fraiser
Volunteer Coordinator,
John Strong
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Call for 2020 Conference Proposals:
February 1st - May 1st, 2020
Save the Date:
North Carolina Book Festival
February 22, 2020
We are excited for our PAL members
who will be selling their books
at the SCBWI Carolinas table.
If you are at the Book Festival,
please stop by and tell them,
“Hello!”
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Newsletter Banner art needed,
be a featured artist in our newsletters!
If you are a Carolinas illustrator, join
Facebook Page (a closed group)
Check out our new:
O
nline Illustrators critique group
PAL
Online Illustrator critique group
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CAROLINA CRITIQUES!
Thank you
to those of you who have been in touch about critique groups recently! It is so nice to get to know new members AND those of you who have been around a while! :-) As I mentioned last month, I am trying to make sure all of our SCBWI critique groups are on our Critique Group Central web page. So if you are currently part of an SCBWI critique group and haven't done so already, could you please take a moment to make sure your group's information is posted?
If it's not there, please
email me
with your group’s information (meeting time and location, contact person, whether the group is open or closed, etc.) and I will add it to our site. This is very helpful as people search for critique groups!
Thank you! Becky
Critique Group Classifieds:
An SCBWI member moving to our region from out of state is interested in a critique group for PB and MG writers with some experience in the Wilmington, NC area. If you would like to be a part of this group or are already involved in a group in the Wilmington area, please email critique group coordinator
Becky Shillington
(Thanks to those who have responded to this ad!)
If you’d like to start a critique group in your area, let us know and we can place an ad for you in the
Critique Group Classifieds
section of our monthly newsletter! The ad will appear in two consecutive newsletters unless longer is requested.
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Did You Know?
- SCBWI's THE BOOK has a plethora of information ranging from legal contracting questions to local speakers. It also contains a listing of freelance editors. It’s an amazing resource.
- The Yahoo Group ListServe is going away and communication within the chapter will be moved to FaceBook Group and the SCBWI Blue Boards. For those members interested in joining the FB Group, where blogs, announcements, and craft discussion can take place among the membership, find the link on the FB SCBWI Carolinas page and request to join
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FEATURED ARTIST
Tatjana Mai-Wyss
Tatjana became a member of SCBWI right out of college (double majoring in illustration and french)
and attended several SCBWI conferences
early in her career.
Currently, between travel, cross-country moves, and children she has not been able to attend conferences regularly. However, Tatjana was lucky enough to attend a meeting of SCBWI Paris while living there.
Tatjana lives with her husband, two teenage girls, a dog, a cat, a rabbit and a foster fish in Clemson SC.Working in a cozy bright home studio, which which she
considers idyllic.
Recently, Tatjana illustrated several books called the
Bunny's Book Club
, written by Annie Silvestro. This month it is being performed as a
play
in Chicago - which Tatjana finds pretty exciting!
You can find out about Tatjana's day to day studio life over on Instagram
@tatjanamaiwyss
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Send news of agency signings, contracts and awards to
For more timely release, we encourage you to post notices of book signings and appearances on the Carolinas Yahoo listserv.
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SCBWI MEMBERSHIP
You MUST be a member to join the Carolinas Yahoo group, and to participate in the WIN Facebook page and/or the new PAL FB group.
You can check your membership expiration on your profile page at
www.scbwi.org. You can also renew online if necessary.
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SCBWI uses Constant Contact as its main email blast provider. In order to receive emails you must be signed up with Constant Contact. Unfortunately, if you unsubscribe to one
scbwi.org
email, you unsubscribe to all.
If you believe you have unsubscribed u
se this link
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SCBWInvite
Don't forget that SCBWInvite is now live on our site
HERE
and full of listings of book events held by our members. This comprehensive listing of public events, both in-person and virtual, is a great way for SCBWI members to connect and build a literary community. Post upcoming events by visiting their Member Profile and clicking SCBWInvite in the lefthand column. This is a great way to promote U.S.-based events, International events, and live virtual events such as webinars and Twitter chats. As long as your event is free and on-theme, SCBWInvite will promote it.
This logo is in the lower right of our SCBWI Carolinas chapter homepage.
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The Top 10 Reasons Why
Every Writer Needs a Critique Group
10. Because everyone needs personal cheerleaders!
9. Someone has to bring you back to earth when you’re convinced
your first draft is the next NYT Best Seller.
8. Great Critique Partners edit out all your unnecessary punctuation marks!!!
7. You’ll have lots of people at your release party.
6. Critique Partners make the best friends. ♥
5. Honest, constructive feedback is priceless.
4. Sharing ideas can SPARK new stories!
3. It’s better to hear what’s wrong with your manuscript from your
friends then to hear nothing from an agent or editor.
2. Your family and non-writing friends—great as they may be—have
NO CLUE what the publishing industry is all about.
1. Most of all, great Critique Partners will help you become a better writer, pick you up when you fall down, and cheer you on when you succeed. All our
paths are different, but none of us are on this writing journey alone!
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