Wisdom from M. T. Anderson

Learn more about M.T. Anderson at his website here.

SCBWI Austin celebrates their 20th Anniversary with Tips, Advice, and Inspiration

Good stuff!


Thanks, SCBWI Austin!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

John Parra tells us about his Golden Kite Award-Winning Illustrations for "Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans"

In which John talks about the palate and his color choices for illustrating "Marvelous Cornelius"...


Thanks, John! And cheers again on winning the Golden Kite Award for your illustrations!

And congratulations also to blog reader Lois, for the great question. Lois, please email me your mailing address at leewind (at) roadrunner (dot) com and I'll send you the copy of "Marvelous Cornelius" that John signed right before recording our interview.

Illustrate and Write On!
Lee

Margarita Engle tells us about her Golden Kite Award-Winning "Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings"

Margarita Engel's memoir won the 2016 Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction.

Blog reader jpetroroy's question for the author:

Did you find yourself self-censoring while writing this memoir to protect others' feelings?

Margarita writes in response,

"Yes, I did censor myself while writing Enchanted Air, Two Cultures, Two Wings. I made the decision to omit anything that would embarrass or endanger a family member. I did not include certain anecdotes about my sister that I regard as her stories to tell, not mine. I did not include any stories about relatives who are still in Cuba if I felt that their activities or attitudes a long time ago might still cause problems for them.

At the time when I wrote Enchanted Air, I worried about how it might be received by Miami relatives, but I did not censor my plea for peace and reconciliation. The time felt right for publicly admitting that I am against travel restrictions and the trade embargo."

Thanks, Margarita, and congratulations again on your award!

And cheers as well to jpetroroy for the the great question, and for winning a copy of "Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings!"

Kate Hannigan tells us about her Golden Kite Award-Winning "The Detective's Assistant"

In which Kate tells us about how she first heard of the first female detective to work for the famous Pinkerton's National Detective Agency...


Thanks, Kate! And cheers for winning the Golden Kite Award for fiction for your MG historical novel, "The Detective's Assistant."

Congratulations also to blog reader Christina Wilsdon for the great question! Christina, please email me your mailing address at leewind (at) roadrunner (dot) com so I can mail you the copy of "The Detective's Assistant" that Kate signed right before recording our interview!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Molly B. Burnham tells us about her Sid Fleischman Award-Winning "Teddy Mars: Almost a World Record Breaker"

In which Molly reveals her comedy secret...


 Thanks, Molly! Cheers to your winning the coveted Sid Fleischman Humor Award!

And congratulations to blog reader Laurie Theurer for coming up with the winning question! (Laurie, email me your mailing address to leewind (at) roadrunner (dot) com and I'll send you the copy of "Teddy Mars" that Molly signed right before we did this interview.)


Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Neal Shusterman tells us about "Challenger Deep" and answers a blog reader's question

Here's my interview with Neal...


And cheers to jpetroroy for asking the winning question, and for winning the copy of "Challenger Deep" that Neal signed just before our interview.

And of course, congratulations to Neal for winning the Golden Kite Award For YA Fiction!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

ps - jpetroroy, please email me your mailing address at: leewind (at) roadrunner (dot) com.

Jessixa Bagley Tells Us About "Boats For Papa" and answers a blog reader's question...

Here's Jessixa...


Congratulations to Kathy, whose question was used and who has won the copy of "Boats For Papa:" that Jessixa signed!

And of course, congratulations to Jessixa for winning the Golden Kite Award for Picture Book text!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

ps - Kathy, please email me with your mailing address at: leewind (at) roadrunner (dot) com

Twitter Highlights of #LA16SCBWI

What a conference!

There are so many great tweets to check out - here are ten that resonated for me. Check out the twitter stream for so much more inspiration!

Martha Brockenbrough ‏@mbrockenbrough Jul 31 "Make sure everything you put into a story has at least two reasons to be there." - Neal Shusterman #la16scbwi

Anna ShinodaVerified account ‏@AnnaShinoda Jul 30 "As writers, how do we change the world? One reader at a time." -@NealShusterman #LA16SCBWI

Devas_T (Don Tate) ‏@Devas_T Jul 30 Marie Lu, advice for writing outside of your experience: listen. Learn from other’s stories. When wrong, don’t defend. Listen. #LA16SCBWI

Lee Wind ‏@leewind 24h24 hours ago It's NOT 'send me your gobbled-gook, you said you were an editorial agent.' Submit only your best. @Tina_Wexler #LA16SCBWI

Vivian Lee Mahoney ‏@VLeeMahoney Jul 31 THIS --> RT @leewind: finish that 1st draft! "You can't perfect something that doesn't exist." - @Marie_Lu #LA16SCBWI

Jolie Stekly ‏@cuppajolie Jul 31 "If our readers don't like the first line then they'll never read the second."-Richard Peck #la16scbwi

Bree Barton ‏@BreeBartonYA Jul 31 Los Angeles, CA "Writing is a joy. It's also a privilege. We might as well own it and love it and enter it from a place of joy." @Mollybburnham #la16scbwi

Corinna Luyken ‏@CorinnaLuyken Jul 31 "It's not being in the light, it's being there before it arrives" -Toni Morrison via @SophieBlackall #LA16SCBWI

Heather Zenzen ‏@heatherzenzen Jul 31 In yoga, it never gets easier bc you’re always pushing limits, stretching a further. Writing books is the same. -Sophie Blackall #LA16SCBWI

Jessica Gruner ‏@Gruner23 Jul 30 "The better the character, the worse the trouble, the better the story." @brucecoville at #LA16SCBWI

okay, one more that I tweeted:

"Diversity is not a trend... It needs to be the norm." -Justin Chanda at #LA16SCBWI #WeNeedDiverseBooks


And for more detailed reporting from the conference floor, check out The Official SCBWI Conference Blog here.