Heidi Kim, 2014 Winner of the SCBWI On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award

One of two winners of this 2014 Award, I contacted Heidi Kim to find out more...


Lee: Congratulations, Heidi! Tell us about finding out you'd won the On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award.

Heidi: Thank you so much, Lee. I still can’t believe it. When SCBWI called to tell me, I actually didn’t answer the phone since I didn’t recognize the number! It was a while later that I listened to the voicemail and discovered it was from Stephen Mooser. I listened to it three times because he had said, “Congratulations! You’ve won..” without saying my name. I convinced myself that he had called the wrong number. When I finally called Stephen back and spoke to him, well, let’s just say there was some vigorous touchdown-celebration-dancing behind my best professional phone voice. I think it was a full hour before I stopped trembling. 

Lee: Awww! You won for your young adult novel "The Certainty of Tides." Tell us about that project.

Heidi: “The Certainty of Tides” is a young adult novel about Magdalyn Ro, a seventeen-year-old who is living with end-stage renal disease. Placed on the kidney transplant list, Maddie learns that there are fewer Koreans and people of color who donate, affecting her prospects for a good match. Her future is in question, and Maddie wants to be living, not just alive. By her side Maddie has her closest friend since childhood, Sabine. As Maddie struggles to define her life outside of her illness, her friendships with Sabine, Abel, and Grace are tested and evolve. I would say that this is a story about living, about enduring friendship, profound love, and unpredictable life. 

While working on this project, one of the biggest challenges has been trying to tell a story where culture and class are not the main conflict, but both greatly affect the main character’s emotional and physical journey. It was my intent to weave the cultural elements into the story in a way that makes Maddie’s world accessible and relatable to mainstream readers. 

Lee: Can you share about your journey so far in children's literature?

Heidi: My aunt was a children’s librarian who fostered my love for children’s literature. Libraries and bookstores were my babysitters. I had always wanted to write for children, but my hard-working immigrant parents had sacrificed everything to give me a good education that would lead to a stable career. Deep gratitude and obligation led me to the corporate world. Writing for children seemed like a dream I would have to postpone to a later, more practical time. It was actually SCBWI that started me on this journey. I found out about the organization and joined in 2009. Meeting so many people (at my first LA conference) who shared this same passion and hearing authors and illustrators I had grown up admiring — it all stirred something in me. Soon after that I experienced an unexpected illness, and I came to realize that there was no better time to chase my dreams. I joined a critique group and took classes at local universities. Eventually I was able to devote myself to the craft and completed an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. I poured myself into learning about writing picture books, middle-grade and young adult novels, but “The Certainty of Tides” is the first young adult manuscript I completed. It means so much to me to come full circle and receive recognition for it from SCBWI. 

Lee: Part of your prize for winning the award is an all-expense paid trip to the SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles, where you'll have "several private meetings with editors and other industry professionals." What are your hopes/plans for the conference?

Heidi: Isn’t it wonderful? It’s all thanks to SCBWI and the generosity of Martin and Sue Schmitt. I’m really excited. I would love to meet more people who are passionate about the same things as I am, in particular those who are excited about books that feature under-represented characters and who see a long-term place for these stories on the mainstream bookshelf. With the grassroots push for more diversity in children’s literature, all of this is happening during a time of momentum. As for specific plans, I’m really looking forward to meeting Sue Schmitt, Adria Quinones, and previous Emerging Voices recipients at the conference. From what I have seen so far, children’s book writers and illustrators are creative, hard-working, and earnest people. I just hope to get to know more of them, more personally. If I am fortunate enough to meet anyone who is interested in my manuscript or my writing, that would just be an added bonus. 

Lee: What’s the best piece of advice you've gotten about writing for young people that you'd like to share?

Heidi: Hold onto the love of writing, the things about it that make you feel that happy-dance kind of jubilee. Gather those moments where you feel joy — independent of any external validation — and hoard them because this writing journey can have some long winters. Write every day so that you will keep giving yourself the chance to re-discover what you love about writing and then, keep going, keep going.

Thank you, Heidi! We wish you much success on the adventure ahead!


Established by SCBWI and funded by Martin and Sue Schmitt, the On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award is given to two writers or illustrators who are from ethnic and/or cultural backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented in children's literature in America and who have a ready-to-submit complete work for children.

You can find out more about the award here.

And you can learn more about Heidi here.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Adria Quinones, 2014 Winner of the SCBWI On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award

SCBWI On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Winner Adria Quinones

One of two winners of this award for 2014, I contacted Adria Quinones to find out more...


Lee: Congratulations, Adria! Tell us about finding out you'd won the On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award.

Adria: Thank you, Lee! I had actually completely forgotten when the announcement was due--I was so wrapped up in finishing "The Disappeared" that I mentally "left the building" when I was done (which was actually mid-December, there were a couple of things I cleaned up after submitting). Steven reached me at work, but I was in the middle of twelve things and his name didn't register. I heard "SCBWI," so I assumed it must be about my registration to the Midwinter conference, It took a moment for it to penetrate that this was about Emerging Voices; when it did, I was so moved that I started to cry. I work in an open office, so this caused a bit of a scene: people were looking at me and each other, thinking, "Death in the family;" when I started sobbing harder, the looks said, "Entire family wiped out." I finally went to a conference room, with alarmed people trailing behind and wrote on the wipe board, "I won an award for my book!!" so that they could all go back to what they were doing. At the end of the conversation I had to ask, "Who am I speaking to?" Poor Steven! It's not easy being head of SCBWI. 

Lee: That's a great story! You won for your middle grade novel "The Disappeared." Tell us about that project.

Adria: This book started four years ago. I kept thinking over conversations my sisters and I had about how we could always tell when a teacher got to us when calling the role because there would be this long pause while they tried to figure out how to pronounce either our first or last name. I wanted to put that kind of experience into a story. But it was important to me that it be a Latino kid and that it take place in Washington Heights, a chiefly Latino neighborhood where I've lived for almost my entire adult life. I wrote the first chapter in January 2011 and it's remained essentially unchanged, although last spring I had some difficult conversations with myself about the fact that the first chapter was no longer representative of the book's direction, although I was equally sure that that was how it should start. It took me a few months to figure out how to integrate the themes of identity and memory while telling a story about a boy who's lost his father. 

Lee: Can you share about your journey so far in children's literature?

Adria: I am an accidental author--literally. I became a technical writer after an accident meant I had to change jobs. It's been great to be able to make my living writing; it's taught me a lot about the craft of writing along the way, including how to be productive every day. That's not to say I don't have some better days, but at work I'm expected to show up and write well no matter how I feel about it, and that's been a very useful skill to learn. Writing children's novels was also accidental. I mean, I gave up creative writing in high school! But in Feb. 2010, I was reading "The New Yorker" in bed very early one Saturday morning when, inexplicably, an entire story took shape in my mind. I decided that it was a gift and that had to be honored, so I got up and started writing. I still remember my husband's puzzled, "Where are you going?" Now he's used to it. I wrote a couple of thousand words that weekend and finished the book in about three months, I was so excited. 

The Disappeared was a very different experience. Completing the first draft took most of a year, and then came what turned out to be three years of re-writing. I never thought it would take as long as it did--I spent two years thinking that I was almost finished. I'm glad I was wrong; it's a much better book now. My first three books were for middle graders, but my next one will be YA. I'm making notes and plan to start writing seriously in a couple of months. 

Lee: Part of your prize for winning the award is an all-expense paid trip to the SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles, where you'll have "several private meetings with editors and other industry professionals." What are your hopes/plans for the conference?

Adria: The same thing everyone hopes for--representation by a fantastic, well-connected agent who loves my work, takes me out for tea and pastry, and gets it published to rave reviews. Seriously, some good guidance--how to create a career, how to improve what I'm doing--all of that would be appreciated. I've heard great things about the LA conference, so I'm very excited! 

Lee: What's the best piece of advice you've gotten about writing for young people that you'd like to share?

Adria: Don't give up? Actually, all the things you hear all the time have been really important: Show, don't tell, get rid of everything that isn't essential--words, scenes, characters. It's been interesting how many times I had to hear these before I could put them to use. Maybe that's the best piece of advice: keep listening to advice. All the tropes of writing fiction are tropes for a reason.

Thanks Adria! We wish you much success on the adventure ahead!

Established by SCBWI and funded by Martin and Sue Schmitt, the On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award is given to two writers or illustrators who are from ethnic and/or cultural backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented in children's literature in America and who have a ready-to-submit complete work for children.

 You can find out more about the award here.

 And you can learn more about Adria here.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

SCBWI Announces the 2014 On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award Winners!

Established by SCBWI and funded by Martin and Sue Schmitt, the On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award is given to two writers or illustrators who are from ethnic and/or cultural backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented in children's literature in America and who have a ready-to-submit complete work for children.

Congratulations to Heidi Kim for their young adult novel "The Certainty of Tides" and to Adria Quinones, for their middle grade novel, "The Disappeared."

Each winner will receive an all-expense paid trip to the SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles and have several private meetings with editors and other industry professionals.

Look for upcoming interviews with both Heidi and Adria here on this blog to hear more about their win and their manuscripts!

To learn more about the On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award, check out the Awards and Grants section of the main SCBWI website.

Jennifer Baker: SCBWI's Second On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award Winner For 2014

This year, SCBWI awarded both Jennifer Baker and Tiemdow Phumiruk with the On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award. (Tiemdow was featured in another profile here.)

Today, we're going to learn more about Jennifer and the work she submitted that won her this award...

Jennifer Baker, Winner of the SCBWI 2014 On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award

Lee: Hi Jennifer! Pitch us!

Jennifer:  Oh man, pitch pressure! Here goes: For some the Facility is a haven, while for others, like new recruit Celia Walker, it is a place that stirs up more concern than comfort.

Disoriented and covered in blood, Celia arrives to learn of the sudden death of her parents. Not only that, but Celia’s a ‘have’ -- someone with supernatural abilities. Other recruits, and burgeoning friends, Fariza and Drew encourage Celia to appreciate what those at the Facility offer and the peace the campus provides in allowing them to forget their painful pasts and move forward.

But soon Celia finds out that there’s much more brewing than just training to defend themselves and taking classes. The peace of the Facility becomes overshadowed by extremes. And what Celia uncovers is a war brewing between those with abilities and those without.

The line between "good" and "evil" is not always distinct, and The Facility reflects that with characters whose good intentions result in bad outcomes and others who have strong motives behind ulterior ones.

Not only does The Facility give center stage to ethnic groups that are underrepresented in primary roles in literature but it reflects the decline of a contemporary civilization, not by putting readers in the aftermath of a larger dissension but by revealing the breakdown of a nation and how people come to question everything they’ve ever known.

Lee: Can you share about your journey so far in children's literature?

Jennifer: It’s been a learning process. Writing always is. I don’t think I found or fully realized my true narrative voice until 2009 when I started applying to artist residencies. Even though I’ve been writing since I was a kid, it didn’t mean I knew how to tell a story. And in writing lots of short stories and finishing The Facility—as well as a bunch of bad poetry we will not speak of—I've become much more comfortable with the whole process, or really my process, and more assured in my voice as well as the story I want to tell and the characters I want to represent.

Something else that’s been a learning experience is the market and knowing where you fit in. I write very character-driven pieces, especially in my short fiction, that may not be plot heavy so in writing YA I’ve realized how much more action could be woven in so that it’s not always internal crisis but internal and external that weighs on the characters and the reader.

I hesitated writing The Facility for years because I didn’t know if I could write an action-oriented book. With feedback and encouragement from my wonderful critique partners, and also reading a lot of good literature available for young adults and adults, I gained confidence that the story wasn’t all about the action but about the characters as well -- it's a balancing act, really. For me, if I don’t care about the people in the book I’m reading, I’m not as likely to follow them on their journey, whatever it may be.

Lee: Wise words. What are your hopes/plans for the 43rd Annual SCBWI Summer Conference?

Jennifer: First off, I’m excited to meet fellow Emerging Voices winner Tiemdow “Dow” Phumiruk. She and I have been corresponding since we heard the news. I’m a big fan of her illustrations. They’re so realistic and colorful.

I’ve been wanting to go to the L.A. conference for a few years but hesitated since I didn’t have a finished manuscript, so the opportunity to attend now is great. Conferences like this serve as a kind of recharging mechanism when you feel like your work may not be as good as you thought or perhaps no one is as into books because the market is not doing as well as it had before. All those outside voices, factors, and stressors that may deter you from pursuing your creative streak are squashed in environments like the SCBWI conference, so any time I can be around other artists I become a much more enlightened individual.

So my main plan is to meet other artists, writers and illustrators alike, and gain insight on their experiences and what keeps them motivated, while also hearing from agents and editors on trends and what they’re looking for. With the Emerging Voices grant I’m really looking forward to talking with and absorbing as much information about drive and persistence and the industry as I can as I draft my next novel and try to find a home for The Facility.

You can find out more about Jennifer at her website here.

Congratulations, Jennifer!

Tiemdow Phumiruk: One of Two Winners Of SCBWI's 2014 On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award

We're very excited about our two winners of this year's On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award: Tiemdow Phumiruk and Jennifer Baker. (Jennifer will be profiled in a future post.)

Tiemdow Phumiruk, Winner of the SCBWI 2014 On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award

Today, we find out more about Dow and the work she submitted that won her this award...

Dow: My picture book Mela in the Jungle is a new Thai fable set near a river village in Southeast Asia. Young Mela finds herself lost in the jungle, and she needs help to get home. She meets different animals and asks for help, but only the one with the kindest heart saves her. It is a simple story with a lesson about kindness that families with young children can enjoy together. The artwork will mimic a traditional hand drawn style with a slightly modern blue-green palette. It is sure to warm your heart in less than 500 words!
An optional author's note (not included in the word count) gives background information about the Ping River in northern Thailand. It talks a little about the climate and populations of Southeast Asia, as well as some common traditions (such as how gratitude is expressed with a spoken "thank you" while putting hands together as in prayer).

Lee: Can you share about your journey so far in children's literature?

Dow: My roundabout journey in children’s literature has made me feel whole, and I love to tell people how I’ve found my way here (and solved my identity crisis in the process). I came to America at a very young age. I grew up immersed in two very different cultures, and at times it was challenging to find my place in either world. Our country has made great progress in cultural awareness over the past few decades, but there is much more to do. I’d love for children of all backgrounds to grow up knowing that they belong, no matter how different they feel they are.

As a child, I enjoyed art and creativity immensely. I wrote and illustrated my own books, cartoons, and short stories. Two things took me away from this. First, my parents strongly influenced me to choose a practical career path – after all, my mother came to the United States in 1971 with only a coin in her pocket and few belongings. She was one of many nurses welcomed to America to alleviate that era’s nursing shortage. My mother wanted so much for me to become a financially independent adult and leader. Secondly, I had an artistically gifted older cousin, and I thought my work could never compare to hers! I lacked the confidence to embrace the arts while making my way through young adulthood. These two early factors began shaping my eventual decision to become a doctor, and I chose the field of pediatrics.

In 2003, when I spent time as a stay-at-home mother, I found the opportunity to play with art again. It wasn’t long before I realized that creating books for children was a serious passion. Though I returned to work part time, I knew I could never leave this huge part of me behind again.

By 2011, I knew I needed to join SCBWI. My learning has been exponential since I did. Not only has SCBWI helped me grow as an author/illustrator and develop my style, but it has completed me as a person through new friendships in a community of like-minded, like-hearted people. My critique group, started by fellow RMC-SCBWI member Tia Christine, has been invaluable to me.

The guest artists at our local conferences have given me the majority of my art education. Also, I’ve entered many SCBWI contests (my favorite part of membership!) and have seen myself grow by pushing to a new level with each entry. So I sound like a paid advertisement now, don’t I? Well, it is all because I am truly grateful to SCBWI for this journey, for helping me find out who I really am.

As a winner of this year's On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award, Dow will get an all-expense paid trip and free tuition to the 2014 SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles, August 1-4. That's where her award will be presented and she'll receive a manuscript consultation with an industry professional, an additional meeting with an industry professional, and tuition to the Summer Conference Writers or Illustrators Intensive.

Lee: What are your hopes/plans for this summer's conference?

Dow: As for the exciting matter of attending the LA SCBWI Summer Conference: I can’t wait to be there!! I am so happy to share my work and meet new friends in the field. Of course, I would love to connect with an industry professional who sees value in my work, and every conference is more exposure towards that goal.

It is my dream to be published traditionally one day, so that my stories can help children see the strength that lies in our diversity. I plan to promote my current book projects and my illustrations in general. But mostly, I intend to enjoy basking in the light and vibrance of over a thousand creative souls! It’s where I belong.

To find out more, you can visit Dow's blogfolio (portfolio) site: www.artbydow.blogspot.com and her blog: www.happydow.blogspot.com

Congratulations, Dow!

The Winners of the On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award!

The SCBWI established the new On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award with funding from Martin and Sue Schmitt of the 455 Foundation.  The grant was created to foster the emergence of diverse voices in children’s books.  The grant is designed to be given to two writers or illustrators who are from an ethnic and/or cultural background that is traditionally under-represented in children’s literature in America.  But this year, three writers have been selected!

I had the chance to ask each of our inaugural winners a few questions to find out more.  And here they are, the On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award Winners...

Alex Brown!

Alex Brown

Lee:  Tell me a bit about the work you submitted that won you the grant.

Alex: Seventeen year-old Sebastian Reynolds just met Sora Walton, who happens to be the other universe’s version of his dead girlfriend – which was freaky enough without the whole “she can predict violent crimes before they happen” thing.  Sora’s ability causes her to dream about Bastian’s death every night, and it involves her, a knife, and lots of blood.  But, hey, at least she doesn't want to kill him.  Now they’ve got two months to figure out why Bastian ends up on the wrong side of her knife.  Great.

Lee:  Can you share about your journey so far in children's literature?

Alex:  I'm fairly new to the world of children's literature (at least from the writing perspective - I've been consuming children's literature ever since I could read, and, before I could read, I'm pretty sure I was all about the pictures in whatever books I could find!).  In the summer of 2012, I finished my first novel, which was an attempt at YA high-fantasy.  It was a fairy tale re-telling that I'd been working on for a couple of years, and when I finished it I was pretty amazed that I'd actually finished writing a book that had started out as a way to pass the time during the nights when I was the Resident Advisor On-Duty and couldn't leave my residence hall.  

I had no idea I could actually write a whole book, and, honestly, those feelings still haven't gone away, and probably never will.  I nervously sent the book to some friends, just to see if I was any good at this writing thing, and their feedback was more enthusiastic than I deserved - but, without their cheers and pushing, I wouldn't have had the courage to start my second novel.

I wrote ASTRAL after I got a little more involved in the writing community online, and had a good bit of it written by the time my Regional SCBWI conference came around (shout-out to all the wonderful people in the Midsouth Region!).  All of the positive feedback ASTRAL received at the conference pushed me to believe not only in myself and my abilities, but also to believe in my characters and their story.

I was very excited that I finished revising ASTRAL in time to apply for this award. I knew I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't at least throw my proverbial hat in.  So, I closed my eyes, hit send, and still can't believe that I was lucky enough to be one of the three winners selected!  There aren't enough words out there to describe how it feels to be selected as one of the Inaugural winners of the On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award, but the ones that come kind-of-close are: proud, amazed, shocked, grateful, and honored!

Lee:  Can you share with us your hopes/plans for the 14th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference?

Alex:  I had such an awesome time at my regional conference in September because I got to meet people who were as passionate about children's literature as I was, so, I hope that I can meet even more people with this passion at this conference!  I'm very excited to absorb all of the information that I can about the publishing industry and hopefully take away a few techniques to make me a better writer!  I also can't wait to meet the other Emerging Voices award recipients, and hopefully talk them into swapping stories! 

My biggest priority, though, will be to just enjoy my time at SCBWI New York because, well, it's in one of my favorite cities, and I'll spend two days talking about children's literature.  Oh, and Julie Andrews is going to be there.  I can't wait!

Mary Louise Sanchez!

Mary Louise Sanchez

Lee:  Tell me a bit about the work you submitted that won you the grant (pitch me!)

Mary:  Some nuggets of truth about my mother's life in Wyoming and my father's life in New Mexico inspired my middle grade story, THE WIND CALLED MY NAME.  The dust storm winds of the Great Depression blow Margarita, an eleven-year-old Hispanic girl, from her ancestral New Mexico home to Wyoming where she wants to maintain her culture and yet make a new friend, but challenges to her family's security cause Margarita to ask an unfamiliar saint for help.

Lee:  Can you share about your journey so far in children's literature?

Mary:  The Golden Books, my travels with Heidi to the Alps in the third grade, and the Grimm Brothers and Andersen fairy tales were my introductions to children's literature. In college I took a children's literature course where we read many Caldecott and Newbery books and I discovered the award winning story,...And Now Miguel, which was authentically like my father's sheep herding childhood in the same northern New Mexican Sangre de Cristo mountains. The seed to read the best in children's literature had taken root probably because I saw my culture depicted in a story!  I continued to read the honor books and later introduced them to our children and to the children I taught. Eventually I became an elementary school children's librarian and became even more passionate about children's literature. As I continue to read, I read with a writer's eye. My many stuffed children's book characters now look down at me from our bookshelves and inspire me to share my own stories which are worth telling and reading.

Lee:  Hopes/plans for the conference?

Mary:  I plan on being awestruck at the conference, yet know I'll meet people who can help me make my stories the best they can be. I hope this inaugural Emerging Voices Grant will motivate the children's literature world to publish stories so that Hispanic families see themselves in high quality, universal stories. All children need to be exposed to different viewpoints and to the variety of Hispanic cultures.

and Sandra Headen, Ph.D.!

Sandra Headen, Ph.D.

Lee: Please tell us about the book that you entered into the contest!

Sandra:  CATO'S LAST HOME RUN is an historical, young adult novel about two baseball teams; one black, one white; and their experiences with racial violence and reconciliation in the Jim Crow south of the 1930’s. The teams are hostile towards one another at first, but when black players are attacked by white boys who call themselves, The Rebel Clan, they work together to keep the players safe. Their actions build stronger ties between black and white communities.

Lee:  Tell us about your journey so far as a children’s book writer.

Sandra:  Most of my career was spent in academia, conducting research in public health and collaborating with federal, state and local agencies on community-based initiatives to prevent tobacco use. The Ujima Youth Initiative with African American teens was one of the most satisfying programs I participated in. When I left the university, I became a consultant and, finally, had time to write. The resulting novel, CATO'S LAST HOME RUN is a reflection of my upbringing in the south as well as my passion for communicating with teens like the ones I worked with in public health. Interestingly, I was writing a different book when I discovered two books about baseball that changed everything: We are the Ship by Kadir Nelson, about Negro League baseball, and The Brooklyn Nine by Alan Gratz about a family of baseball players in different historical periods. Although I waited most of my life to become a full-time writer, I have been enormously blessed. Excerpts from CATO'S LAST HOME RUN garnered second place finishes in two contests sponsored by the Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow and placed third in SCBWI’s Works in Progress. My selection as a winner in SCBWI’s On the Verge-Emerging Voices competition is surprising and exhilarating! I see it as the first pillar in my journey as a children’s book author and look forward the adventures that await in the coming acts.

Lee:  What are your hopes for the conference?

Sandra:  My primary goal for the conference is to sell my novel, CATO'S LAST HOME RUN. I am planning to pitch the book to as many agents and publishers as I can find who have advertised their interest in young adult novels with historical, sports, or multi-cultural themes. For starters, I have enrolled in Breakout Sessions with Julie Scheina of Little and Brown and Nancy Siscoe of Random House. In addition to selling my book, I am looking forward to having the opportunity to network with so many writers of children’s books. I know that I will acquire a wealth of contacts who will enrich my life for years to come. Finally, I am excited to connect with writers in the Carolina region whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting. 

Congratulations to Alex, Mary and Sandra!

And if you'll be at the upcoming 2013 SCBWI Winter Conference, make sure to say hello to these On-The-Verge Emerging Voices!  Not yet registered?  While Friday's intensives are sold out, there are a limited number of spaces still available for the Saturday (February 2, 2013) and Sunday (February 3, 2013) of the conference.  You can find all the details here.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Don't Miss Applying For SCBWI's New On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award!

This exciting new SCBWI award aims to "foster the emergence of diverse voices in children’s books."

The grant will be given to two writers or illustrators who are from an ethnic and/or cultural background that is traditionally under-represented in children’s literature in America.

Here's the award:

Two writers or writer/illustrators will each receive an all-expenses paid trip to the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York to meet with editors and agents, a press release to publishers, a year of free membership to SCBWI, and an SCBWI mentor for a year. 

It's an amazing opportunity!

Note:  The deadline for submission is November 15, 2012.

The winners will be announced December 15, 2012 and the award presented at the 2013 SCBWI Winter Conference in New York.

You can find out all the details here.

Hurray to celebrating (and fostering) more diversity in Children's Literature, and Good Luck!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee