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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Enthusiastic Response as SCBWI Goes Digital
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Community has been and always will be at the heart of SCBWI. The confluence of writers and artists dedicated to creating children’s books and the strong need to be part of something meaningful has led us to where we are now. However, this landscape has changed with more and more people communicating and living online. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for many of us in finding ways to stay connected within our creative circles. That’s why we created SCBWI Digital to stay in touch, to learn, to grow, and to share as authors and illustrators.
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A Special Interview with Nicole Johnson for SCBWI Members
By Lin Oliver
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WNDB Executive Director Nicole Johnson
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I recently had the opportunity to talk with Nicole Johnson, Executive Director of
We Need Diverse Books
about the incredibly important work WNDB is doing to ensure that equity and inclusion become the norm in the children’s book field and that all children are represented in the books they read. Join me here in getting to know Nicole and supporting the work of WNDB.
What circumstances and experiences led you to become Executive Director of WNDB?
I joined the team two years ago, after spending most of my career in youth development running after-school and summer programs focusing on literacy. I worked with the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools initiative, which not only provided free books but stressed the importance of diversity.
Once I had my own children, I realized how difficult it was to find diverse books for them. I learned about publishing so that I could devote myself to changing the situation.
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SCBWI Vault Launches Today on YouTube
by Theo Baker
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Today we launch our new SCBWI Youtube channel, featuring the Vault. That's right, we're opening up our forty-year-old video library, and pulling out all the jewels. Our goal is to establish a free online repository for the best of children's literature: past, present, and future.
Right now, you can find some amazing and inspiring thoughts from some of our oldest and newest friends. And in the coming days, weeks, and months, we will be dropping jewels from our vault every Tuesday and Thursday. If you want to get inspired, learn the business, hone your craft, relive a favorite moment, share a laugh or a tear---we've got you covered. The Vault will always be ad-free, and as it grows, will become an invaluable resource for educators, students, and budding (or established) writers and illustrators.
We invite you to check it out for yourselves. Be sure to subscribe on youtube so you don't miss an update. Find us at TheScbwi, and follow us on Instagram @SCBWI, for quick moments and stories.
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SCBWI Summer Conference Goes Virtual
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In light of the ongoing health crisis, this year’s summer conference has been moved from downtown Los Angeles to the digital realm. The new event, The SCBWI Summer Spectacular, will take place live on Zoom,
August 1-4, 2020
.
We are calling this online extravaganza ‘The Summer Spectacular’ because it truly is spectacular. It features the biggest stars in children’s literature. At the heart of the event are twelve Keynote Conversations with luminaries of the children’s publishing world. The line-up includes
Kwame Alexander
,
Laurie Halse Anderson, Mac Barnett, Judy Blume, 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, Jane Yolen, Henry Winkler
and
Jacqueline Woodson
.
There will be a panel of renowned editors including
Stacey Barney,
(Executive Editor
,
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers),
Arthur Levine
(Founder & Publisher, Levine Querido),
Neal Porter
(Publisher, Neal Porter Books/Holiday House),
Jill Santopolo
(Associate Publisher, Philomel Books/Penguin Random House), and
Namrata Tripathi
(Publisher, Kokila Books/Penguin Random House). An agents’ panel rounds out the list of keynote conversations. As of this publishing, participating agents include
Regina Brooks
of Serendipity Literary Agency,
Brooks Sherman
of Janklow & Nesbit, and
Rosemary Stimola
of The Stimola Literary Studio.
There will also be opportunities for individual
manuscript and portfolio critique
, consultations on your social media presence and your career path, the talent-discovering portfolio showcase, live twitter chat socials, an online member book sale, a meme contest and a festive costume contest via Instagram. The complete schedule will be posted on the SCBWI website the week of
May 10
. Check your inboxes for more information. This is an event for the ages, not to be missed!
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Podcasts for the Pandemic
by Donna Gephart
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During these unusual times, listening to podcasts can make us feel less alone and more like we’re all in this together. They can provide that spark of motivation to help us focus when focus is hard to come by. When we’re unable to attend in-person conferences, podcasts can keep us up-to-date on industry trends. They can provide the inspiration you might need to find your way back to the page or canvass.
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Preparing for Online Pitch Contests:
Choosing Your Comp Titles
by Avery Silverberg
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“My young adult book is like
The Hate U Give
meets
Looking for Alaska
.”
“My graphic novel is like if
Guts
and
New Kid
had a baby…”
“Mine is definitely more of a
Speak
and
What Girls Are Made Of
crossover.”
We've all been there. You’re at a critique group or a conference. Perhaps you’re scrolling through Twitter’s famous Pitmad or Pitchwars, reading the #YA section, watching writers comparing their novels to books you know and love. Perhaps you’re wracking your brain, scanning the imaginary bookshelves in your mind, panicking over which titles fit yours, and whether you’re crazy to think they actually might. You’re not alone.
Comp titles are a tricky (yet common) way to pitch your book to agents and editors. It allows them to quickly picture the essence of your book as a means to judge whether it is something they are looking for. If all else, comp titles are a great way to see where your book could potentially fit into the market. What types of readers does your comp title reach? What works for your comp title stylistically that you would like to see work for your own writing? What doesn’t work? And if you are left thinking “there is NO other book in the universe that is like mine!” you either haven’t read it yet or aren’t reading between the lines.
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First Four Affinity Groups To Launch In Summer
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Connection is more important now than ever, which is why we are so excited to debut the SCBWI Affinity Group program.
The first four groups to launch will be
Debut Author, Independently Published, Nonfiction,
and
Spanish Language
. These categories will become available on the website this summer, which will allow our members to participate in deep and nuanced conversations, from a distance. This is an opportunity for creators to share their experiences in the industry, trade advice, discuss articles, and respond to prompts from our knowledgeable moderators.
PAL Published, Indigenous, Ethnic & Racial Inclusion, Differently Abled, LGBTQ+, Faith-Based,
Translators, Book Club,
Students, Non-print Media, and GenNext will launch in the following months. In the meantime, the SCBWI is working with Equity and Inclusion experts to create a robust code of conduct that will allow all of our members to feel safe and recognized.
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Kidlit Community Rallies Around Indie Bookstores
by Greg Pincus
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It’s been a difficult spring for retail, and indie bookstores have been hurt like so many others. While bookstores have temporarily closed their doors, many quickly turned to curbside delivery and shipping off orders. Some stores have upped their web presence while many have come up with bundles and subscriptions to entice buyers. In a few cases, stores have even turned to sites like GoFundMe to raise money for rent or to keep staff on payroll when possible.
Within the creative community, many have jumped into finding ways to support the stores, perhaps most visibly, James Patterson through his #SaveIndieBookstores campaign.
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SCBWI Celebrates Regional Team WOOP and RAM Winners
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As always, SCBWI recognizes how lucky we are to have such dedicated and talented people serving on our regional teams. Last month, four winners were chosen for annual WOOP and RAM awards.
The Work of Outstanding Progress (WOOP) award is given to a promising unpublished manuscript by a regional team member, while the Regional Advisor Marketing (RAM) Grant is given to assist in the promotional campaign of an RT's newly published book. Here are the winners:
WOOP Award for $2,000
Lindsay Bandy
for her historical fiction novel DOUBLETHINK
WOOP Honor Award for $1,000
Nadia Salomon
for her non-fiction picture book MYRLIE: A VOICE OF HOPE
RAM Award for $2,000
Ernesto Cisnero
s for his middle grade novel EFRÉN DIVIDED
RAM Honor Award for $1,000
Annette Bay Pimentel
for her non-fiction picture book ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP
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SCBWI Exclusive With...
Krista Marino, Senior Executive Editor, Delacorte
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Krista Marino is a Senior Executive Editor at Delacorte Press (Random House Children's Books) where she acquires and edits Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction. Among her list are bestselling series like the Maze Runner, literary gems like Kathleen Glasgow’s Girl in Pieces, genre-bending debuts like Rory Power’s Wilder Girls, and trendsetters like Karen M. McManus’s One of Us Is Lying. Whether it’s an original voice, a unique world, a different worldview, or a compelling plot, she’s looking for stories that you can’t stop thinking about.
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Spotlight on...Kelly Sterling Lyons
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In the wake of the coronavirus, most everyone is finding themselves alone, or isolated with just a few close family members or friends. But our SCBWI community is reaching out to students, teachers, librarians, caregivers, and the rest of the children’s book world with online readings, activities, promotions, and more.
In each INSIGHT, we will spotlight one SCBWI published member who is doing something to keep our wonderful community alive and thriving. This month, we virtually interviewed author Kelly Sterling Lyons. Kelly is a teaching artist and award-winning children’s book author whose more than a dozen titles span picture books, easy readers and chapter books, fiction and nonfiction, standalone and series. She’s a founding member of The Brown Bookshelf, a team dedicated to raising awareness of Black children’s book creators.
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Poetry Corner
We Will
by Sue Fliess
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The Bradford Pears are snowing.
The streets are silent, still.
There’s comfort in the knowing
we’ll make it through, we will.
We’re forced to keep our distance,
while some must quarantine.
We wash our hands until they crack
just trying to stay clean.
So many lives affected,
too many lives we’ve lost.
So, staying inside, sheltering,
is not too high a cost.
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Draw This! is our monthly prompt word for illustrators. Artists can post their DrawThis! entries on Twitter and Instagram. View the April entries by searching the tag #SCBWIDrawThis.
Congratulations to the April winners! The prompt word was
"Cooped Up"
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May's prompt word is
:
Masks
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