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Executing a huge three day virtual conference is no easy task, but it was a joyful one for the SCBWI staff as we held our annual Winter gathering on February 19 through 21. Thanks to the relatively low cost and to the convenience of virtual attendance, over 4,700 people were able to attend. They represented people from every state in the USA, and from 62 countries around the world, from Luxembourg to Hong Kong, Oman to Ghana, Brunei to New Zealand. It was truly a global convocation. Approximately one third of attendees were published authors and illustrators, with over 4,300 books to their credit. The rest were committed pre-published creators, intent on honing their craft and finding their publishing path.
It’s impossible to sum up the information and inspiration that were dispensed over these days. You are invited to read the SCBWI blog posts found HERE to get some nuggets of wisdom we’ve preserved for you. What follows below are my impressions of great moments, great words of wisdom, great images that I’ll carry with me as a remembrance from Winter, 2021.
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2021 Golden Kite Winners and Honors Donate to Charity |
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SCBWI announced the winners and honor book recipients of its annual Golden Kite Awards and the Sid Fleischman Humor Award at its Winter conference on Friday February 19. Each winner received a $2,500 award along with $1,000 to contribute to a nonprofit of their choice. Each honor recipient received a $500 award along with $250 to a nonprofit of their choice.
Here are the winners of the 2021 Golden Kite Awards, and the honor book recipients and the nonprofits they chose for their donation.
ILLUSTRATED BOOK FOR OLDER READERS
WINNER
Uri Shulevitz: Chance: Escape from the Holocaust: Memories of a Refugee Childhood,
published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers
HONOR
Mike Curato: Flamer, published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG READERS FICTION
WINNER
Renée Watson: Ways to Make Sunshine, published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
HONOR
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley: Fighting Words, published by Dial Books for Young Readers
PICTURE BOOK TEXT
WINNER
Tami Charles: All Because You Matter, published by Orchard Books
HONOR
Carole Lindstrom: We Are Water Protectors, published by Roaring Brook Press
NONFICTION TEXT FOR YOUNGER READERS
WINNER
Don Tate: William Still and His Freedom Stories, published by Peachtree
HONOR
Meeg Pincus: Winged Wonders: Solving the Monarch Migration Mystery, published by Sleeping Bear Press
PICTURE BOOK ILLUSTRATION
WINNER
Catia Chien: The Bear and the Moon, published by Chronicle Books
HONOR
Cindy Derby: Outside In, published by Abrams Books for Young Readers
NONFICTION TEXT FOR OLDER READERS
WINNER
Christina Soontornvat: All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team, published by Candlewick Press
HONOR
Paul Fleischman: Alphamaniacs: Builders of 26 Wonders of the World, published by Candlewick Studio
YOUNG ADULT FICTION
WINNER
Sherri L. Smith: The Blossom and the Firefly, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
HONOR
Darcie Little Badger: Elatsoe, published by Levine Querido
SID FLEISCHMAN HUMOR AWARD
WINNER
Donna Barba Higuera: Lupe Wong Won’t Dance, published by Levine Querido
HONOR
Kristin O’Donnell Tubb: Zeus, Dog of Chaos, published by Katherine Tegen Books
CLICK HERE to learn more about the Golden Kite Awards
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2021 Winter Conference Portfolio Showcase Grand Prize Winners |
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The SCBWI 2021 Winter Conference Portfolio Showcase Judges selected two Grand Prize Award Winners, Xin Li and Leanne Hatch. We congratulate Xin and Leanne, and are excited for each of them, as they move forward in their in children’s book illustration careers. We thought it would be wonderful to share some insights they kindly shared when posed with our questions...
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Announcing the 2021 Spark Winners and Honors |
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The Spark Awards are given annually and recognize excellence in children's books published through an independent or non-traditional publishing route.
Two winners and two honor books were chosen from a pool of hundreds of entries.
The winners and honors will each receive free tuition to an upcoming SCBWI conference, the opportunity to feature their book in our conference bookstore, and the chance to teach a digital workshop about their road to publication. This year, the Spark winners will also receive a $1,000 cash prize.
The Spark Award for Illustrated Book goes to MAMA'S WAVES by Chandra Ghosh Ippen, illustrated by Erich Ippen Jr. It is the story of a girl in foster care whose mother does not come for a visit, but who finds peace and understanding through the help of other adults in her life.
The 2020 Spark winner in the Novel category is SOMETIMES BRAVE by Trista Wilson, a contemporary middle grade novel about a ten year old named Hazel whose family has just become homeless. As Hazel tries to hide the fact that she is now living out of her family's car, she gains courage with the help of her family, new and old friends, and a rescue dog named Sully.
The two Honor winning books are
I WISH MY WORDS TASTED BETTER by Kris Abel-Helwig in the Books for Older Reads category and MY FRIEND, written and illustrated by Estrela Lourenco, in the Picture Book Category.
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SCBWI Success Story: Anuradha Rajukar |
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In 2017, Anuradha Rajurkar won the SCBWI Emerging Voices Award for a promising young adult manuscript exploring the themes of family, self-discovery, and the obstacles an Indian teen faces in her first cross-cultural relationship. This month, she celebrates the launch of her debut novel, American Betiya (Knopf Books for Young Readers), which PW has called “a bittersweet, searingly honest view of an Indian American teenager’s journey through first love.” Rajurkar was kind enough to talk to us about her publishing journey as a newly-minted published author.
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Equity & Inclusion Book Club: Our March Pick
by Avery Silverberg
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The March book is LOVE IS A REVOLUTION by our recent 2021 Golden Kite winner Renée Watson! If you follow us on Instagram, you already knew what our March book club pick was. If you don’t—there’s still time to get your hands on our newest selection (and hit that follow button on IG).
Renée says: “I wrote Love Is a Revolution because I wanted to write about the many ways we love. Nala's story is a romantic love story, yes, but it is also a story about loving your family, loving your community, and most of all loving yourself.”
Renée sums up exactly why this book is a perfect book-club selection for us. I hope you fall in love with the main character, Nala, just as much as we have.
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Meet the Editorial Team at minedition
Maria Russo and Leonard S. Marcus
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Maria Russo is minedition’s US Editorial Director, based in New York. She is the co-author of How to Raise a Reader, the popular guide to fostering a lifelong love of books in children ages 0 to teens. Before joining minedition and Astra Publishing House she was the Children’s Books Editor at the New York Times, where she handled thousands of children’s books each year, assigning reviews and essays, and writing regularly herself about children’s books and their creators. Maria has also been a writer and editor at publications including the Los Angeles Times and the New York Observer. She earned a PhD in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University, where she taught for three years in the School of General Studies and she’s a member of the jury for the 2021 Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustrator’s Exhibition.
Leonard S. Marcus is one of the world’s foremost writers about children’s books and the people who create them and is Editor-at-Large at Astra Publishing House. He is the author of more than 25 award-winning books. Leonard is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review and Horn Book and was Parenting magazine's book critic for 21 years. He is a founding trustee of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Leonard has judged the New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year Award (four times), the National Book Award, the Ragazzi and SM Illustrator Prizes of the Bologna Book Fair, the Fundación SM's Catálogo Iberoamérica Ilustra, Scholastic Asian Book Award (jury chair), and Chen Bochui Award and is currently Jury President for the Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest.
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Equity and Inclusion Corner:
Happy Women's History Month
by April Powers
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Happy Women’s History Month to those observing in the US, UK, and Australia. We hope that you will share our Celebrate Women Reading List; and boost the uproariously funny Black History Month event that the SCBWI hosted. If you can imagine all of your favorites - Kwame Alexander, Jerry Craft, Van G. Garrett, Lamar Giles, Kwame Mbalia, Breanna J. McDaniel, Oge Mora, Karyn Parsons, and Alicia D. Williams battling it out in a free Family Feud-inspired trivia night celebrating Black history, you will be in for a treat. We included the question graphics for anyone to play at home, but this will only be available for a few more weeks!
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The SCBWI Stands in Solidarity with our Asian Family |
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If anyone understands the power of language and the impact of an image it would be writers, illustrators, and translators of children’s books. We wield our ink, pencils, paint, and keyboards with care because we understand we could impact children for generations. While we tell them important truths because we trust their capacity for growth and understanding, we don’t want one other family to have to have “the talk” with their children about how to avoid being attacked outside their homes.
One has to wonder if stereotyped images, language, and portrayals in popular culture impacted those who thought it was okay to rename COVID-19 using racist slurs and misplacing blame in a way that has seen exponentially increasing violence against Asians Americans. The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators stands in solidarity with the Asian members of our human family and their right to stay safe, alive, and humanized. “Members of the Asian, Asian American, and Asian Pacific Islander community have experienced unique vulnerability as targets of racism and xenophobia as anxiety and fear over COVID-19 has spread over the past several months.” Stereotypes, tropes, and circumstance will never justify exclusion, racism, or violence towards human beings.
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Crystal Kites Voting Now Open |
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It's nearly time to start voting for the 2021 SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards. Now in its eleventh year, this annual peer-given award recognizes great books from fifteen SCBWI regional divisions around the world.
Have you a PAL book published last year?
Have you logged that PAL book for the Crystal Kite Awards?
If not then jump to our Crystal Kite information page HERE, read the eligibility criteria, and follow the guidelines carefully.
Submissions close on March 21.
We anticipate another wonderful roll call of PAL published books.
Hopefully many of you will have already begun reading the titles submitted for your divisional 2021 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award.
To see those titles, simply jump to your member profile and click the Preview Crystal Kite Books in Your Division link at the end of the left hand column. All the books already submitted for your division will appear.
Further information, including relevant dates, can be found on our Crystal Kite Award page HERE.
And don't forget to tag your social media posts #SCBWI21CK
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Regional Corner: SCBWI Ireland
by Colleen Jones; translated by Máire Keogh
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The SCBWI in Ireland was founded in 2007 by Maeve McMahon and Jane Mitchell, with four successive Regional Advisers. Our chapter has about 40 members and includes both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom). We’re on the same island, so it’s easier for members to meet.
Ireland has its own language and culture, though the Irish language almost died out due to oppression by the ruling British Empire of previous centuries. Through a concerted effort, the language is making a comeback, and many native and new citizens know at least school-learned Irish, with more becoming fluent. Ireland’s national symbol is a Celtic harp, signifying the importance of music and storytelling in Irish culture.
Ireland has many organisations that support children’s literature, including Children’s Books Ireland (CBI), which supports the Laureate na nÓg (Children’s Laureate). Rather than continually competing against each other in what is a very small market, we collaborate on and promote each other’s events.
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Draw This! is our monthly prompt word for illustrators. Artists can post their DrawThis! entries on Twitter and Instagram with the tag #SCBWIDrawThis
There is no longer a gallery for DrawThis! View all entries by searching the tag #SCBWIDrawThis.
The February prompt was MY SECRET IDENTITY.
The February winners are...
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The March prompt is PLAY BALL!
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Want to appear in the next issue of INSIGHT? Post a picture to social media and tag it #FacesofSCBWI |
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2021 Golden Kite Keynote speaker Jennifer Garner |
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2021 Golden Kite MG winner Renée Watson
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2021 Golden Kite PB Illustration winner Cátia Chen
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2021 Golden Kite presenter Pat Cummings |
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2021 Golden Kite presenter Don Tate |
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2021 Golden Kite Nonfiction winner Christina Soontornvat |
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2021 Golden Kite PB winner Tami Charles |
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2021 Golden Kite YA winner Sherri L. Smith |
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