April 5, 2022

Refilling the Creative Well

by Olivia Abtahi

Times are hard for creators right now–that’s a refrain we’ve been hearing for two full years of the pandemic, and now more than ever as the publishing industry struggles under shortages, delays, and a sense of uncertainty. With all this frustration, how can a writer or illustrator help but feel burnt out? 

Olivia Abtahi, the Golden Kite Honor winner of Perfectly Parvin, explains how she rediscovered her sense of inspiration and learned to love writing again.

In a time that’s so exhausting, so earth-shatteringly too much, how can we even bear to write? We’re too spent to string a sentence together, and unfortunately, that’s what books are made of. As someone who had the unique experience of giving birth and debuting during a pandemic, the aquifer of my creativity had simply dried up. I would gamely write a couple of hundred of words a day, only to know that they weren’t the right ones. And so, I decided to do something radical: I chose not to write at all.

Instead of staring at a blank word document, I forced myself to spend time away from the computer. It felt like blasphemy at first, untethering myself from my desk. I started small with a couple walks around my neighborhood. Then, when I had time to read, I’d explore outside of my professional YA category, delving into nonfiction, biographies, and romances that made me happy. In my spare time, I’d re-watch old movies that I’d loved, and slowly, I found my way back to stories that excited me and made me remember why I wanted to be a storyteller in the first place.

Olivia Abtahi

Exclusive SCBWI video content from kidlit's best and brightest

Great Reads. Important Themes.

All-new books by our members.

New Slate of FREE Digital Workshops Launching April 7, 2022

SCBWI’s free digital workshops are back! Our spring series of webinars focus on the craft and marketing of children’s books. Each one-hour session is taught by an expert author or illustrator, so bring your notebook and prepare to dive deep!

All the webinars will take place at 4:00 pm Eastern Time / 1:00 pm Pacific Time. Video recordings will be posted to the SCBWI website 24 hours after each workshop concludes and will remain up on the Digital Workshop archive page for one month. The titles and presenters of each workshop are listed below. For more information, please visit the Digital Workshop Homepage.

Social Media Spotlight: A New Advice Column

by Avery Silverberg

Welcome back to the Social Media Spotlight! Every month, I answer your most pressing questions about social media. If you have a burning social media question, email me at socialmediahelp@scbwi.org.

Hi Avery,



I read your article in the SCBWI monthly newsletter for March, and was so glad we have someone to contact! I'm kind of behind in the social media area. In fact, I don't much like it. I'd rather write and illustrate! I know I have to be in Instagram but have been putting it off because I hardly know where to start. My FB page and web site are really just for my clients to visit to see what I do. (I'm a very active portrait and pet artist). It hasn't really been for getting followers, etc. Although now I see that was a mistake. Because I'm also a published author-illustrator, which is where my heart really is. Since I'm re-booting that now, I'm ready to do Instagram.

Do you know a resource or have tips for artists/writers to help get going with it? And especially, how to get a following. From pretty much scratch.

Thanks,

Mary  

Hi Mary,

First of all: you are not alone! Social media is often overwhelming, especially for writers and illustrators who only want to create. Here are a few tips I think could help make it all seem more manageable.

1. Batch create your content:

Pick a day, perhaps a weekend, where you have time to create as many photos/videos for Instagram as you can. If you didn’t already know, you can save all your future posts as a draft by creating the post as you normally would, clicking the back arrow, and then clicking, “save as a draft.” The key to establishing a following is consistency (posting at the same times & days weekly) – so, this will save you a ton of stress and time in the future.

2022 Golden Kite Winners and Honors

On March 15, the SCBWI announced the winner and honor book recipients for the annual Golden Kite Awards on a live Zoom broadcast. Not only did the ceremony give us the chance to celebrate a diverse array of writers and illustrators, but the SCBWI donated a total of $9,500 in honor of these creatives. The winner, or winners, in each category received $2,500 plus an additional $1,000 to donate to a non-profit organization of their choice. Each honor winner received $500 plus an additional $250 to donate.

Picture Book Text

Winner: Joanna Ho, “Eyes That Kiss In The Corners”, illustrated by Dung Ho

Donation made to First Book

Honor: Winsome Bingham, “Soul Food Sunday”, illustrated by C.G. Esperanza

Donation made to Start Lighthouse

Picture Book Illustration

Winner: Stephen Costanza, “King of Ragtime: The Story of Scott Joplin"

Donation made to Musical Bridges Around the World

Honor: Micha Archer, “Wonder Walkers”

Donation made to Barbershop Books

Middle Grade Fiction

Winner: Rajani LaRocca, “Red, White, and Whole”

Donation made to World Literacy Foundation

Honor: Adrianna Cuevas, “Cuba in My Pocket”

Donation made to Lambda Literary

Illustrated Book for Older Readers

Winner: Fahmida Azim, “Samira Surfs”

Donation made to The Rohingya Children Projects

Honor: Eugene Yelchin, “Genius Under the Table”

Donation made to The Dream Builders Project

Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers

Winner: Colleen Paeff: "The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem”, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

Donation made to Access Books

Honor: Cynthia Levinson, “The People’s Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought For Justice With Art”, illustrated by Evan Turk

Donation made to The Highlights Foundation Scholarship Fund

Nonfiction Book for Older Readers

Winner: Ariel Henley, “A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome”

Donation made to myFace

Winner: Anton Treuer, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask”

Donation made to Minnesota American Indian Bar Association – for Native American Scholarships

Young Adult

Winner: Pamela N. Harris, “When You Look Like Us"

Donation made to Down Syndrome Association of Greater Richmond

Honor: Olivia Abtahi, “Perfectly Parvin”

Donation made to The Word for Diversity

Come Find Us at YALLWEST!

SCBWI will have a booth at the YALLWEST Book Festival this year, and we can't wait to meet you IRL!

YALLWEST will be held in person for the first time in three years on April 30 at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, CA. Stop by for a chat, some SCBWI swag, or advice about how to boost your career as a YA author.

Tune into the SCBWI Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Apply to one of our 34 awards, grants, and scholarships today!

SCBWI Launches Essential Guide on How to Self-Publish a Children’s Book

It’s finally here! SCBWI’s brand-new guidebook, The Essential Guide to Self-Publishing a Children’s Book is available to all SCBWI members to download for free. Print copies are available to order as well for the cost of shipping. The guide is a comprehensive look at all aspects of self-publishing. It offers a nuts-and-bolts look at the seven stages of publishing; details the various self-publishing platforms; discusses marketing, promotion, subsidiary rights, and sales; and outlines models for making a living as an indie author.

As self-publishing takes off in the marketplace and more and more children’s book creators choose to publish independently, we’re happy to provide this valuable resource to our members. Below is a brief excerpt to whet your appetite.

2021 Magazine Merit Winners

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2021 Magazine Merit Awards for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry which appeared in magazines in 2021.

Poetry

Winner: "Lemons!" by Rebecca Gardyn Levington

Countdown/The School Magazine, Autumn 2021

Honor: "Sandcastle Queen" by Cara Krenn

Ladybug, July/August 2021

Fiction

Winner: "Impromptu Performance" by Melinda Ng

Cricket, April 2021

Honor: "Sisters and Other Life Forms, Part 1" by Rachel Delaney Craft

Cricket, January 2021

Nonfiction

Winner: "The Case of the Missing Mammoth" by Silvia Sanides

Ask, September 2021

Honor: "Snot-Copter: Drone at Work" by Dionna L. Mann

Spider, February 2021

SCBWI has chosen not to award an Illustration Award this year due to lack of entries.

Click here to learn more about the Magazine Merit Awards

SCBWI Exclusive with... Paige Terlip, Agent, Andrea Brown Literary Agency

Paige Terlip represents all categories of children’s books from picture books to young adult, as well as select adult fiction.

Across age categories, Paige is drawn to high concept novels with captivating hooks, snarky characters with hearts of gold, creative magic systems, complicated relationships, and found families. She loves well-plotted twists, being a little bit scared, and stories that explore the fluidity of gender and bring the queer experience to light. Regardless of genre, she is seeking inclusive, intersectional voices and gorgeous line-level writing with emotionally compelling narratives. She loves stories that make her feel a range of emotions, even if that means she ugly cries while reading. She wants a narrative that will stick with her long after reading.

Paige has been with ABLA since 2017. She comes to agenting with a background in marketing, design, and freelance editorial. She’s worked at Charlesbridge Publishing, The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and a ranch in the Rockies. She has an MA in Children's Literature and an MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons University. If she’s not reading, you'll find her practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, re-watching the Great British Baking Show, or hiking with her Husky-Shepherd mix.

You can find her on Twitter (@pterlip) and Instagram (@pterlip).

Paige Terlip

What Are You Reading?

Sarah Baker (Executive Director):

Social Justice Parenting: How to Raise Compassionate, Anti-Racist, Justice-Minded Kids in an Unjust World by Traci Baxley

Kim Turrisi (Director of Programming and Content):

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

Tammy Brown (Director of Marketing and Communication Strategy):

The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones

Sarah Diamond (Senior Manager of Awards and Publications):

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Avery Silverberg (Social Media Manager):

Moonflower by Kacen Callender

Laurie Miller (Manager of Events and Special Projects):

Three Keys by Kelly Yang

Patricia Wiles (Director of Regional Team Management):

The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

SCBWI DRAW THIS!

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 March prompt was BAD LUCK

The March winners are...

Ellen J Kim

NaShantá Fletcher

The April prompt is: EARTH DAY

Society Of Children's Book Writers And Illustrators