Check out highlights of the goodness and inspiration from the SCBWI Summer Conference

Where to find it?

Well the first place to go is the Official SCBWI Conference Blog - at https://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/

Jolie Stekly, Debbie Ohi, Jaime Temairik, and Justin Campbell have you all set... 

You can also check out your favorite social media channel with the hashtag: #scbwiSummer23

We hope you'll be inspired, too!

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

You Already Know Four People (So the SCBWI Winter 2023 Conference Won't Be So Scary/Unknown/Intimidating)

Conferences can be amazing, but they can also bring up a lot of emotions. 

Am I going to be the only one there like me?

Will I feel alone?

Will anyone talk to me?

Is it going to be scary? unknown? intimidating?

Well, it doesn't have to be!

Part of the reason SCBWI has a team of bloggers cover the conferences is to take off that edge of nervousness.

You can check out previous posts on the Official SCBWI Conference Blog to get a taste of what conferences are like. 

You can read Jolie's post about first timers, and come to the first-timer socials. And learn more about Jolie and her writing and coaching at her website here.

You can check out Justin's post about the power of community, and finding your peeps at the conference and beyond. And discover Justin's illustrations here.

You can laugh with Jaime as she pitches the Piranha Pit - one of many highlights of the in-person conference to come. And see her illustration and books at Jaime's website here.

And you're welcome to learn more about me, Lee, and my books for kids and teens here.

See? You already know four people going to the New York conference. We hope you'll say “hello!”

Get all the details on the in-person #scbwiNY23 conference here.

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

The 2022 SCBWI Winter Conference is Here! #scbwiWinter22

With socials starting today and leading up through the official conference kickoff with a keynote from Brian Selznick, with panels (agents, editors, art directors!) and keynotes and then an entire day to get "up close" with publishing professionals, special illustrator sessions, all the way to Sunday's awards and wrap-up (and even a GenNext Twitter social) we're in for an amazing few days of connection, inspiration, craft, business, opportunity, and community.

Check out the full schedule and all the conference offers here.

And whether you're able to attend or not, head over to the Official SCBWI Conference Blog (at http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/) for live blogging from a great team of authors and illustrators, including Don Tate, Jolie Stekly, Jaime Temairik, Debbie Ohi, and myself, Lee Wind.

Here's to a great conference ahead!

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

Gearing Up For #LA18SCBWI, Whether You'll Be In L.A. or Following Along Virtually

Visit the SCBWI Official Conference Blog here!

It's here! Tomorrow's the start of the 2018 SCBWI Summer Conference here in Los Angeles, and here's how to both contribute and follow along on social media.

The official hashtag:

#LA18SCBWI

The easiest way to tap into the stream of inspiration, business tips, craft insights, opportunity, and community is to search with the hashtag on your favorite social media platform and find the people posting/tweeting/snapping about #LA18SCBWI... and then follow them, and join in the conversation yourself!




Your #LA18SCBWI Team Bloggers Are:

Martha Brockenbrough

Martha Brockenbrough is the author of several books for young readers, including Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary (Feiwel & Friends); The Game of Love and Death; and Love, Santa (both Arthur A. Levine Books). She is a faculty member at Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children & Young Adults program. Forthcoming titles include Unpresidented, a biography of Donald Trump, and Cheerful Chick, a picture book about a resilient bird with a big dream. http://martha-brockenbrough.squarespace.com/

**

Adria Quiñones

Adria Quiñones is a wildly successful technical writer who began writing novels for kids in order to have the experience of writing something that someone actually wanted to read. She is a member of Metro-NYC SCBWI's steering committee, hosts the chapter's Upper West Side write/sketch night, and helped found DIALOGS, the chapter's meet-up for kidlit creators from marginalized communities. Adria is a regular contributor to the Metro-NYC SCBWI‘s blog and was a winner of the SCBWI 2014 Midwinter Conference’s prestigious joke contest. In January 2015, Adria was named one of the winners of SCBWI’s Emerging Voices Award for her middle-grade novel, The Disappeared. She is currently at work on a picture book. http://adriaq.com/

**

Jolie Stekly

Jolie Stekly is a writer, instructor, and coach. She’s a long-time member of SCBWI and was recognized as SCBWI’s member of the year in 2009. She is a former regional advisor of the SCBWI Western Washington region. Her writing is represented by Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio. www.joliestekly.com/

**

Don Tate

Don Tate is an award-winning author and the illustrator of numerous critically acclaimed books for children. He is also one of the founding hosts of the blog, The Brown Bookshelf – a blog designed to push awareness of the myriad of African American voices writing for young readers. Don’s books have won the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award, The Christopher Award, a Texas Institute of Letters Literary Award, a Writers’ League of Texas Book Award, and the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award. dontate.com

**

Jaime Temairik

Jaime Temairik is originally from Washington State and has recently moved to Philadelphia, PA, where she enjoys finding soft pretzels and colonial-era privy pits. Visit her online illustration portfolio at www.jaimetemairik.com to learn more about her books and work (but not her privy pits).

**

Lee Wind

Lee Wind, M.Ed., (and yes, the author of this blog post) is the official blogger for SCBWI (www.scbwi.blogspot.com) and is Captain of SCBWI’s Team Blog. His award-winning personal blog, I’m Here. I’m Queer. What The Hell Do I Read (www.leewind.org) has had over 2.5 million page loads and is a Children's Book Council "Great Diversity Blog." A writer of picture books through YA, his debut crowdfunded teen novel, "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill," publishes October 2, 2018.


Here's to an amazing #LA18SCBWI ahead!

#LA17SCBWI Starts Tomorrow! Meet Your SCBWI Team Blog

Check out these interviews with Guest SCBWI Team Blog members Susie Ghahremani here and Sona Charaipotra here.

We'll be live blogging at http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/ and you can follow along on social media with the hashtag #LA17SCBWI

Here's to wonderful conference!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

I've Got The Torch... And Here We Go!

Lee Wind, mid-air

I am honored and thrilled to be the new official SCBWI blogger and Captain of Team Blog!

Look for updates here on things going on in our kid lit industry and inside looks at the many SCBWI offerings of information, networking, publications, grants & awards, being a collective voice for authors and illustrators, and of course our amazing SCBWI Annual Conferences!

Your SCBWI Team Bloggers will be diving into pre-conference interviews to give you the scoop on what you can look forward to at our upcoming Lucky 13th Annual Winter Conference in New York City, Jan 27-29, 2012.  I mean, have you checked out the lineup of speakers?  The break-out workshops?  The number of agents and editors on faculty?  The gala dinner, a new mingling and networking event for Saturday night?  The portfolio showcase?  And the Friday day of intensive sessions on marketing for writers, marketing for illustrators, and writers roundtables?  There's so much great stuff!

But the conference blogging by Team Blog couldn't happen without our amazing team:

Martha Brockenbrough, one of the funniest people I've ever met.  And she can write funny, too.  Her book on grammar  had me laughing out loud (yes, grammar and laughing) and I can't wait to read her upcoming titles from Arthur A. Levine books ("Devine Intervention" sounds amazing!) Martha is deep and insightful and snort-milk-out-of-your-nose funny.  She's also a wonderful blogger, both at her own blog, and for our SCBWI Team!

Jolie Stekley is awesome. A YA writer bursting with creativity and energy, she imbues everything she does with heart and insight.  I love re-reading her conference posts (like this one), because they are personal and universal at the same time - and with all the photos and quotes the whole feel of the conference comes back to me in a wonderful rush!  She's a great blogger at her own blog, Cuppa Jolie (check out her fabulous weekly writing prompts!) and for our SCBWI Team!

Jaime Temairik, our resident illustrator on the team, changes things up for all of us by stretching the form and having fun with it all.  Like her commercial breaks and zombie sock puppet sketches, Jaime is wacky in the most wonderful of ways!  When I first met her, I thought she was Yoda-like, as in still-waters-run-deep.  What I discovered is that Jaime is deep - and she's quieter than me because she's busy planning all this amazing stuff while I'm chattering away!  She's a treasure of a blogger at her own blog, Cocoastomp, and for our SCBWI Team!

Suzanne Young is zany, charming, and prolific - with three YA titles out (her latest is the supernatural romance,"A Need So Beautiful!)" and more books coming soon...  Suzanne is also really innovative in her marketing efforts, and I recently saw her speak with Novel Novice's Sara Gundell about their super-fun and well-received do-it-yourself campaigns for her books.  Suzanne is a bright light and a super blogger, both at her own blog and for our SCBWI Team!

What all these amazing bloggers share is a huge sense of heart and passion.  (And twitter accounts:  follow them at
 @mbrockenbrough
 @cuppajolie
 @jaimetem
 @suzanne_young)
I'm beyond grateful for their friendship and support - and so glad to continue Team Blogging the SCBWI Annual Conferences with them!

And I have to take this opportunity to offer my heartfelt thanks to Alice Pope, who not only had the vision to create Team Blog with Aaron Hartzler (and bring me on board) but for believing in me and now passing me the torch.  Thank you, Alice! 

So I'll raise the flame high and run with you all, as we explore the grandeur and endorphin-rush of our passion - writing and illustrating and editing and agenting and art-directing and publishing and blogging and bookselling and teaching and librarian-ing (!)  and marketing and innovating...  as we create and celebrate creative content for children and teens.

Run with me!
Lee

ps: You're welcome to follow me on my home blog, "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" and on twitter at @leewind
pps: My photo above was taken by the wonderful writer and photographer Rita Crayon Huang.

Passing the Torch: My Final SCBWI Blog Post

Dear Readers,

Today, in a swirl of mixed emotions, I offer this post announcing that I will no longer be blogging for SCBWI.

I happily started this gig in May of 2010, a month after leaving my position as the long-time editor of Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market. I was so grateful and excited that SCBWI gave me the opportunity to continue to communicate via the blogosphere with the amazing community I'd come to know and love throughout my 18 plus years at Writer's Digest Books.

While I was an editor at WD, I attended countless SCBWI events all over the country. Without a doubt, my favorite event has always been the Annual Summer Conference in Los Angeles. I learned so much, made so many terrific contacts, saw success stories unfold, and, most importantly, became lifelong friends with some tremendous people.

So of course I was beyond thrilled with the formation of SCBWI TEAM BLOG in 2009. The brainchild of former SCBWI Director of Communications Aaron Hartzler, the team--including me, Jaime Temairik, Martha Brockenbrough, Jolie Stekly, Suzanne Young and Lee Wind--brought you pre-conference interviews with conference faculty and exhaustive as-it-happens coverage of the LA and NYC conferences. We blogged and social networked our fingers to the bone, with joy.

I'm thrilled to announce that the SCBWI blog and TEAM BLOG will survive--and thrive--under new the leadership of Lee Wind.

Lee, always an enthusiastic and energetic TEAM BLOG member and award-winning blogger at I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read, is taking over as the official SCBWI blogger and is the new captain of TEAM BLOG! (He's being fitted for his SCBWI cape as I type.)

Lee will will begin posting here in a few days (at which time the blog will get a bit of a makeover), and he'll tell you a little more about himself. So please be sure to visit the blog often to read Lee's posts and watch as he clues you in on the pre-conference fun and offers his terrific faculty interviews as the date for the SCBWI Annual Winter Conference in New York draws nearer. (I'll be popping in frequently here and at the Official SCBWI Conference Blog to enjoy things from the other side.)

So I bid you farewell, but not goodbye. (We can keep in touch on Facebook and Twitter afterall.) Thank you for reading both the SCBWI blogs. Thank you Lin and Steve for allowing me to be a part of them. Thank you Jaime, Martha, Jolie, Suzanne and Lee for all your hard work and for your friendship. I love you guys.

Now I leave you the same way I greeted you...

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-Conference Interviews: Pat Cummings, Marla Frazee and Katie Davis. Plus Early Bird Registration Ends Friday

SCBWI TEAM BLOG continues to offer exclusive interviews with the faculty of the upcoming 40th Annual SCBWI Summer Conference.

BLOGger Jaime Temairik has posted some goodies for all the illustrators out there. First she offers some scoop from Pat Cummings on the amazing Post-Conference Intensive for Illustrators. There are still a few spots--you can register by clicking here.

Here's a bit from Jaime's post. Click here to read it in full.

One thing I love about the SCBWI Int'l Illustrator Committee is that they are always having a ball. Always mixing it up—the Intensive this year is a new format. I asked Pat Cummings about the committee's decision to have seven of the world's best illustrators do live demos for attendees. And here's what the committee said:

Jaime also interviewed the awesome Martha Frazee. Below is a snippet from her post. Click here to read the full interview.

Marla Frazee's class at Portland State's Haystack Conference changed my illustrating life. And I know I'm one of a bunch that can say that about her and her classes. Whether at Haystack, Art Center College of Design, or SCBWI shindigs, if you are lucky enough to get a critique from Marla, you should know you are going to get some terrifically good advice. Advice that will stick with you forever, and most likely move your career to a new level.

BLOGger Lee Wind continues with his terrific video interviews, too. He talked with author/illustrators Katie Davis who's offering a conference Pro-Track session on podcasting. Click here to watch the interview and learn about Katie's session.


And if you haven't registered for the Annual Summer Conference, now is a great time because...EARLY REGISTRATION ENDS FRIDAY, JUNE 17th. After that, the conference tuition rate goes up, so do yourself and your career a favor and click here to register. 

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-Conference Interivews: ADs Denise Cronin & Lucy Ruth Cummins

Happy New Year, dear readers! I've missed you. I hope you missed me back.

And--fingers crossed--I'll get to see many of you at the 12th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference that's coming up in mere weeks (January 28-30) in New York City. There's still time to register!

While I was busy shopping, wrapping, making ravioli and assuring the boy that Santa exists, SCBWI TEAM BLOGger Jaime Temarik was busy posting some year-end interviews with art directors on her blog CocoaStomp (and I'm fairly cerain she also baked some cookies).


First Jaime talked to Lucy Ruth Cummins, Associate Art Director at Simon & Schuster. Below is a bit from her interview. Click here to read the full post. 

Jaime: Okay, help is on the way. In the meantime, I'm having my people send Justin [Chanda] a bunch of emails so he'll be distracted and hopefully you'll be able to answer a few more questions. Illustrators will definitely want to know if you are currently acquiring?

Lucy: We are always acquiring new talent. I'm always keeping my eyes peeled. Even if I can't place someone on a project immediately (and it is true that some parts of publisher's lists are shrinking!) I'll often keep them on hand waiting for the right project. An example of this is the debut book from illustrator Jon Klassen, CATS' NIGHT OUT by Caroline Stutson - Jon just received the Governor General's Award for this project, and I had had his work on hand for several years before I was able to pair him with the perfect project. Although we may not always be able to immediately put the rubber to the road with new folks, good artwork makes a strong impression and the quest for a winning collaboration is always on my mind.

As for what I'm looking for - there's never anything specific. I love such a range of things, but I'm mainly looking for things I'm touched by. I love cute. I love simple. But I also love creepy and detailed! There's no one thing I'm looking for and I'm always happy to be surprised.

Next Jaime talked with Denise Cronin, Vice President in the Penguin Young Readers Group and the Art Director for Viking Children’s Books. There's a snippet below. Click here to read the full post.

Jaime: Denise, did you know not only are you an Art Director, you're a flipping Vice President? What is your average day like?

Denise: If you count time spent on the train, checking files and reading manuscripts, my day is about 9 hours. We are usually juggling about 60 books at various points of development. I work very closely with the editors and the designers in my department from start to finish. Making books is very collaborative. Rarely do I work alone.

Be sure to check out both the interviews for insights from these terrific art directors and to see if they had the same answers to Kill, kiss or marry: Helvetica, Baskerville or Comic Sans? If you attend the conference, you can meet each of them during their breakout workshops. And--attention illustrators--there's still space in the Illustrators' Intensive, Beyond Books: Picture Books and the New Media.

And remember, whether you join us in New York or not, SCBWI TEAM BLOG will offer full coverage of the conference and intensives, live blogging throughout. Bookmark or follow the Official SCBIW  Conference Blog today!

 

SCBWI's 2011 Annual Winter Conference Registration Opens Tomorrow!

Mark your calendars! Synchronize your watches! Start planning your outfits! At 10 AM Pacific time tomorrow, registration will be open for the 2011 SCBWI Annual Winter Conference in New York City. The event takes place January 28-30, 2011, at the Hyatt Grand Central and features a fabulous lineup up of publishing professionals to instruct and inspire conference goers.

In addition to Saturday and Sunday workshops and keynotes, attendees can also opt for Friday pre-conference Writers or Illustrators Intensives--a day-long critique-a-thon with editor and agents for writers and day-long workshop for illustrators. If you're interested in one of these, don't doddle. They sell out amazingly quickly. 

The full faculty line-up will be revealed tomorrow when registration opens, but I can tell you that among them will be Mo Willems, Sara Zarr , Lois Lowry, Jules Feiffer and R.L. Stine! (Have I used too many exclamation points in this post yet? Don't worry! There will be more! I'm excited!)

SCBWI TEAM BLOG will again offer live coverage of the event on the Official SCBWI Conference Blog, as well as loads of pre-conference faculty interviews on our individual blogs.

TEAM BLOG is:

• Martha Brockenbrough (Twitter: @mbrockenbrough)
• Jolie Stekly (Twitter: @cuppajolie)
• Jaime Temairik (Twitter: @jaimetem)
• Lee Wind (Twitter: @leewind)
• Suzanne Young (Twitter: @suzanne_young)
• Me (Twitter: @alicepope)

The official Twitter hashtag for the event is #NY11SCBWI. 

Click here to register for the Annual Winter Conference.  Hope to see you there!

Wednesday Tweet Roundup: Pre-Conference All #LA10SCBWI Edition

I leave tomorrow for the SCBWI Annual Summer Conference so I've been busy planning outfits, looking over presentations, printing out boarding passes, making lists, filling in my calendar...

I'm. So. Excited!

Before I head off, I give you a mini tweet roundup featuring only tweets using the official Annual Summer Conference hashtag:

#LA10SCBWI

Visit Twitter and search under #LA10SCBWI to experience the buzz from conference goers as well as SCBWI TEAM BLOG (because when we're not blogging we'll be tweeting). If you can't attend, you'll feel almost like you're there and if you are attending you'll feel like you didn't miss a thing (because, really, there's so much happening and you simply can't go to everything).

TWEETUP TWEET

@leewind Add to your #LA10SCBWI plans: #SCBWI Summer Conference Tweet Up Sunday 5:30pm Hotel Lobby

YOU SHOULD HAVE SOME TOO TWEET

@combsmaggie New blog post about my goals for #LA10SCBWI http://bit.ly/9Jsq1E

PACKING IS HARD TWEETS

@alicepope Will someone come over and help me pick outfits for the #LA10SCBWI conference? I need help packing. And I need to go shopping.

@cuppajolie @jaimetem THANKS FOR REMINDING ME THAT I HAVE NO POOLSIDE OUTFIT PLANNED! #LA10SCBWI I need some hearts.

@DHeiligman What's the dress code for #LA10SCBWI writing is easier than packing.

@gracetopia why YOU need to bring your spatula to SCBWI: http://bit.ly/depy19 #LA10SCBWI/depy19 

GETTING EXCITED TWEETS

@amysundberg Excited for #LA10SCBWI - this will be my first LA conference, but the one in NYC was a blast!

@HeatherTrese @_JessicaLove Wootwoot! I really can't even describe my excitement. #bestweekever #LA10SCBWI

DON'T FORGET THE CONFERENCE BLOG TWEET

@inkyelbows Whether or not you're attending #LA10SCBWI, kidlit/YA authors will learn from @scbwi's pre-con blog: http://bit.ly/qY62g

Thanks for the reminder Debbie. Now to make a nice big link :  

     scbwiconference.blogspot.com  

For those of you who will be tweeting from the conference, here are the Twitter handles of all the SCBWI Annual Summer Conference faculty (the ones who have then and use them, in no particular order) courtesy of TEAM BLOGGer Jaime Temairik:

@gregpincus
@alicepope
@michaelbourret
@jillsalexander
@rachelvailbooks
@guysread (Jon Scieszka)
@carolynmackler
@lorenlong
@dheiligman
@christinaDG (Christina Gonzalez)
@susanuhlig (Sue Ford)
@tinancoury
@ginger_clark
@jen_cerv
@priscilla_design (Priscilla Burris)
@francescosedita
@michaelreisman
@epartridge
@mstewartscience
@alexisinca (Alexis O'Neill)
@ggmccall

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-Conference Interview: William Low

Our latest TEAM BLOG Annual Summer Conference faculty interview is courtesy of Jaime Temairik who offers part one of her conversation with illustrator William Low on her blog CocoaStomp.

William is offering a Premium Workshop called PUSHING PIXELS: PICTURE BOOK ILLUSTRATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE .

Here's a bit from Jaime's post in which she offers a nice roundup of previous TEAM BLOG interviews with a number of the amazing Summer Conference speakers.

Click here to read the full post.

More great pre-conference interviews popping up all over. Jolie's been talking to Ginger Clark, Arthur Levine. Suzanne's chatted with Rachel Vail. Lee's whooped it up with Paul Fleischman. Alice has gabbed with Jennifer Rees, Francesco Sedita. And Martha Brockenbrough brought down the INTERVIEW HAMMER—Mac Barnett, Rubin Pfeffer, Gennifer Choldenko, Greg Pincus, and Gail Carson Levine.

You've read all about Mac McCool here on CocoaStomp. So it is with great pleasure that I add another name to the pre-conference interview pile of goodness, William Low!

And after reading this, you may think, dang, I wish I could sit in on this workshop series. And the good news is, you still have time to sign up for it! A few spots are left, but they are dwindling fast.

I'll be flying to LA for the conference two weeks from today! I'm looking forward to meeting William and the other faculty members I haven't gotten a chance to meet in person as well as catching up with old friends. (I'm most excited about seeing the awesome TEAM BLOG and bringing conference coverage your way.)


For those of you who would like a taste of William Low's work, check out this video in which he discusses digital illustration and demonstrates techniques.

2010 Amber Brown Grant School Visit in Seattle: A Guest Post by Gee Cee Addison

To honor the beloved late author Paula Danziger and her mission to connect kids and books, SCBWI offers the Amber Brown Grant. This grant allows a school that cannot normally afford to bring in authors and illustrators to speak to their students the chance to spend the day with a creator of books for young readers with the tab covered by SCBWI. The grant also includes a generous serving of the visiting author's books for the school library.

This year's Amber Brown Grant recipient was First Place School in Seattle. SCBWI's Director of Operations Cee Gee Addision along with SCBWI TEAM BLOG member and media escort Jaime Temairik accompanied author George Shannon as he interacted with students ranging from pre-school through 6th grade. "I spent the morning at First Place with Gee Cee and George," Jaime says. "I believe SCBWI/children's book people never underestimate the resilient spirit of kids or their capacity to adapt, but it was a humbling experience knowing these kids have been through more hardships than many adults and yet are still smiling and full of energy for their day."

And, Jaime says, the kids and adults at First Place loved George Shannon. "His tales and prompts for them to write their own stories were such a gift. And what greater gift could Paula Danziger via SCBWI pass on--providing such deserving kids with wonderful books to keep them company and provide them joy for years to come."

 

Melissa Collett of First Place, Jaime Temairik, author 

George Shannon, and SCBWI's Gee Cee Addison

Here Cee Gee, in a guest post, shares her full report on their day at First Place School.

Friday, May 14th, was an amazing day for me. I made my way to Seattle’s First Place School, met with Melissa Collett, who I had been working with coordinating the event, and, to my surprise the author, George Shannon, was there waiting for me with a bright smile on his face. It was meant to be, because the weather in Seattle that weekend was beyond superb--sunny, warm and not a cloud in the sky.

First Place School is not publicly funded school, yet it's a place for children to go who are in transition and don’t have the luxury of certain things that other children in public schools have--and when I say luxury, I am speaking of clothes, shoes, jackets, the necessary tools to keep up their hygiene. Most to all of the children who attend First Place are in transition, meaning in between housing, parents in a struggle trying to find work so they can find permanent residence, etc. This school prepares them for what's to come when they get placed in permanent living situations with their families.

Our first hour was spent with the pre-school/kindergarten class. They pranced into the classroom, some wearing tutus and fairy princess outfits, with whispers of “Is that the author who is going to read to us?” You could hear the excitement in their little voices and see the smiles on their little faces. George came in, sat down and got down to business--the business of making the children dream and think what if! They participated in his wonderful games, poems and when he would pull out his next book, a child would yell out with joy, “We have that book!”

 George Shannon poses with two students and one of his

 books during his Amber Brown Fund-ed school visit.

It was a wonderful hour filled with storytelling and make believe--all the things that little one's dreams are made of. You could feel that the children were so happy to see someone come into their comfort zone and spend time with them and have the focus be on what they love…reading.

As the morning went on, George's audience got a bit more challenging--next was the 1st-3rd graders. You can imagine the energy level would be high with this group, but he was ready. We moved locations to their wonderful and surprisingly full library. They sat him in front of a great big picture window, children sitting in front of him, ready to listen. He reached into his bag of tricks, only to pull out a handful of stories and tricks to make the older children excited with giggles and plenty of hand raising to volunteer their services as his handy dandy assistant.

With winning the Amber Brown Grant, in addition to arranging a visit from a children’s book author for the school, the SCBWI helps the school throw a little party for the students, teachers and staff. So for First Place School we decided to have a pizza party for the children. You don’t have to be a genius to know what happens when you mix pizza and kids with a splash of Capri Sun--you get happy, happy kids.

The teachers were full of excitement too with the opportunity to enjoy some yummy pepperoni pizza and pop that straw into the Capri Sun pouch like they did when they were kids. It was wonderful to have time to sit down with the children, after having time to watch them participate. You got the questions and the stares: Who are you? What’s your name? How old are you? Are you a writer? What’s your favorite color? So many kids, so many questions, and definitely not enough answers to satisfy their wild curiosity! 

 George Shanon reading to kids in the
sunny First Place School library.

Last but not least were the 4th-6th graders. The teachers thought it would make more sense to do more question and answer with the older kids. George, being so skilled with dealing with the children, knew exactly how to get their focus. Getting on their level and opening up about his childhood made the older kids feel comfortable with him, and before you knew it the questions came rolling in: Do you like writing stories? How old were you when you wrote your first story? How do you come up with the ideas for your stories? Question after question with excitement and a glimmer in their eyes. The children were giving him ideas for stories before the end of the day.

When the day was over, I knew my life would be forever changed. I am so blessed and grateful to work for such a great organization. The Amber Brown Grant is our opportunity to give these children something to look forward to when they go to school; books to fill their libraries; a day full of dreams, fairy tales and make believe; a chance to say I want to be a writer when I grow up!

I can’t wait to report on our next winner for 2010.