The Power of Community - Tita Berredo

  

Tita Berredo at the Bologna Children's Book Fair with fellow SCBWI volunteers

Wow, I can't believe this is our last post. This has been such a great part of my last few weeks. Thanks for beeing here with me. =D

I think I'd like to close this series with an ode to my years with SCBWI, and to all of the wonderful people I met (including you – even if we've been meeting indirectly). So let me just say this: never underestimate the power of community. In the case of this very special community, power comes in different shapes. It comes in the shape of emotional connection, shared memory and values, persistence, compassion, and most of all kindness.

Have you ever changed schools? Do you know that feeling of entering a new environment that already functions completely without you? Where you feel like you have nothing to add, and people are not only already settled without you, but your sudden arrival seems to cause strangeness and disturbance in other's looks? As you can probably tell, I never had much luck with changing schools in my childhood. I was a small weird kid, and hardly ever fit. Well, how the tables have turned... I never had the chance to feel that new school awkwardness from the moment I arrived in this community, nor was I ever seen as a small weird kid by it. Despite of experience or career level, the feelings we share here are pretty much the same: fear of rejection, self-doubt, all compensated by the warm generosity and the utter joy of being part of something that feels authentic.

With author Caryl Hart at the UK's Picture Book Retreat

Illustrating live for SCBWI in Bologna - BCBF 2023

SCBWI has played a defining role in my life and career, becoming far more than a professional organisation and evolving into the community through which I really found my footing. More than that, I was able to develop my identity in the children’s book community in the way I envisioned it. If I were to tell myself that emotional grounding has been as important as the professional support I received. It connected me with writers, illustrators, editors, and organisers across the country and beyond, giving me a wide network that has supported my growth and opened doors to collaborations and opportunities. The organisation became a place where I could both learn and lead, and where I could help others navigate the same uncertainties I once faced. The roles that I played gave me visibility, responsibility, and a platform to contribute to the field in ways that extended well beyond my own creative work. "Extension" is the precise word here, because it did come from within and keeps feeding my core, i's all connected and symbiotic. What I receive I transform and give, and so on.

Receiving the SCBWI Outstanding Contribution Award with Words&Pictures colleagues

2022 at the SCBWI BI Picture Book Retreat

In Brazil, there was this urban figure known as Profeta Gentileza, the "Kindness Prophet". Almost like a mythical entity, he was a long bearded poet who dressed in white robes and would fill Rio's street walls with his philosophy. His most know work, that gave him his nickname, was: "Gentileza Gera Gentileza", which translates to kindness begets kindness. Simple words that he would write in repetition to illustrate his meaning. Kindness begets kindness begets kindness begets kindness, and so on. His scriptures would fill kilometres of concrete across the city, inviting people to view kindness as a transformative thing rather than a gesture. This often comes to my mind when I look at our community. Every act of kindness that reached me was transformed within me and then shaped into another given to the next person. I used to think that if you are kind to someone they will be kind to you, but despite having positive comebacks it was never really about return. He meant that kindness is generative and ignites reciprocity.

With Amy Sharp, my mentee who won best portfolio at the SCBWI NY Conference 2025

With the talented and Fabulous Justin Campbell 

Just like Gentileza’s murals softened the hard edges of urban landscapes, the kindness within this community softens the often competitive grounds of creative work. It turns comparison into collaboration, insecurity into belonging,  sole effort into shared purpose. No gesture ends with the receiver, it multiplies, rippling outward. It shapes how we show up for others, and becomes part of ourselves. In a field built on generosity (of time, encouragement, and care), I learned that kindness becomes the soil in which creativity takes root.

With Ed Vere at SCBWI BI Conference

With beloved SCBWI colleagues Mike Brownlow and Paul Morton

SCBWI British Isles Conference 2023

With the wonderful US team at SCBWI NY Conference 2025

Lovely friends from US team at SCBWI NY Conference 2025

"Duelling" with Temika Grooms at the BCBF 2025

Taken together, all of SCBWI (UK, US, Brazil, International) has been essential to my journey. It offered me peers when I was new, structure when I was finding my path, and a platform from which I now can give back to the community. Volunteering helped me integrate into the UK children’s literature community more broadly, and then grow it beyond to the point that now I am confident to move back to Brazil and not lose a single bit of what I've built. I will be continuing my legacy overseas – in fact, I'll be bringing in more sunshine! Now that my career is ascending and I am a stablished writer-illustrator, I can see my colleagues proud of my hard work over the years and share my achievements with people who watched me grow. This is not incidental but foundational, and it curiously has been at the same time my anchor and my rudder.

We are all sailing together, chasing our dreams, supporting each other, and we are fortunate enough to express our true self within play. This... is the power of community.

Me \o/ at the SCBWI stand in Bologna, BCBF 2025

Well, this is it. My last piece of writing for this series. It's been an honour, and as I said before... I hope it's been as special for you to read what has been truly special for me to write. I'm sure we'll meet again!

Feel free to contact me at any time and with any purpose, I am fun and kind and kinda funny! Muitos beijos! (lots of kisses) 

Read the full series in order here:

Part 1 - Changing Careers to Fulfil Your Dreams

Part 2 - Entering the World of Children's Books

Part 3 - Finding Your Footing

Part 4 - The Power of Community

Tita Berredo is a Brazilian children’s writer and illustrator. She holds an MA in Children’s Literature and Illustration from Goldsmiths UOL and a BA in Marketing from PUC-Rio. Her work has been recognised internationally, including a London's House of Illustration award and selection for the Bologna Children's Book Fair. She has illustrated books for the US and Brazil, and is making her author–illustrator debut with a Seuss Studios early reader published by Random House Children's.

Tita is the Illustrator Coordinator for SCBWI International Central, and a Picture Book reviewer for My Book Corner. 

Find Tita's work at www.titaberredo.com follow her on Instagram: @titaberredo

SCBWI Resources: Regional In-Person & Virtual Events

Happy Snowday, from New York! Hope those who are experiencing this weather is safe, warm and cozy—especially with a book. Me? I'm chugging away on my projects, keeping the post-conference fire alive as we make our way to warmer weather and the energy of spring's renewal. 

Very much like my last post about The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, I am seeking things to fill my cup and what better way to do that then check out the countless resources that SCBWI offers to its members. 

Did you know that SCBWI host events all over the world, and all year round? 

The amazing thing about SCBWI is that it has chapters in almost every region, that host events, meet-ups, drawing sessions, you name it, lead by amazing volunteer leaders who "coordinate communications, activities, and events" so the members can take part in the benefits of being in this creative community. 

Here is a directory to the SCBWI Global Regions so you can find your home region for latest local news and activities. 

Go to your Member Home page, click the My Profile button, then the Edit My Profile button. Scroll down the page and click "Set your SCBWI home region," then click the arrow and choose your home region to add it to your profile. If there isn’t a region in your country, we invite you to select the International Central region where you may connect with members in more than 60 nations around the world.

SCBWI regions host a wide variety of affordable In-Person Events. From retreats to conferences, you'll find the perfect program for connecting with other creatives and improving your craft. Check here often to find a nearby event that fits your interests.

On top of in-person events, SCBWI regions offer affordable Virtual Events featuring industry professionals from all around the globe – and you can attend from the comfort of your own home! Check here often to find a webinar that fits your interests and your budget.

As for me, I will be attending Savoring the Sentence: Food, Craft and Lyrical Prose in Picture Books with Antwan Eady this Friday!

Description:
Through a farm-to-table lens, this discussion-based workshop explores literature and the craft of writing for young dreamers, examining how place, food, land, time, and community shape narrative voice and form. With an emphasis on critical reading and discussion, writers and illustrators will walk away with practical insights they can carry into their own work. The author of The Gathering Table and The Last Stand, Antwan Eady, will be in conversation with SCBWI Podcast host and author, Theo Baker.

To register for this free Digital Workshop, click HERE. 

Check out what is happening in your region!

Finding Your Footing - Tita Berredo

Tita Berredo volunteering for SCBWI at the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2023

Hello again, everyone! 

Are you ready to know about my story with SCBWI? Here we (FINALLY) go!

I joined SCBWI as soon as I finished my Master's. I was yet again in a new country, this time Scotland, knowing zero people and without a clue of where to start. Suddenly, I was more than “not alone”, I was surrounded by peers — extremely talented people at different career levels — who welcomed me simply because I wanted to be part of it. I think most of us know how that feels; we’ve all been there. If you’re here reading this, you certainly have.

My first connection with SCBWI was through the Glasgow local group. We would meet once a month in a library, share our manuscripts, exchange experiences, and share, well, our feelings. That sense of belonging was such an important one on many levels. It kept me active, it kept me engaged, it kept me working and networking. And I quickly realised something else about it and about myself: I liked sharing in that space, and I liked making those moments happen and last.

Hosting events and book launches for my local group

The more I participated in events, the more I thought, “hey, I could organise something like that too”. The thing about organisations run by volunteers is that everyone helping each other. Everyone is keen on sharing, collaborating, and giving space to those who are proactive and have time and experience to offer.

Hosting Sketch Crawls for SCBWI British Isles

That’s when things really expanded. I went from helping locally to hosting the Picture Book Retreat — one of my favourite SCBWI experiences ever. Bringing together authors, illustrators, and industry professionals for a weekend of deep creative focus felt like the perfect blend of everything I love: community, craft, and a good dose of organised chaos. I also became involved in SCBWI conferences, helping plan sessions, support speakers, and create spaces where people could learn and connect. Soon I was being called to volunteer at international events, like in Bologna, and I was lucky enough to pair that on the same year that one of my projects was selected to be featured at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. Being part of the SCBWI presence at the BCBF was a whole different level of energy — international, inspiring, and a little overwhelming in the best possible way. Helping run those events, meeting creators from all over the world, and representing our region on that stage was one of those moments of thinking volunteering really takes you places.

Drawing live for SCBWI in Bologna - BCBF 2023

Hosting SCBWI talks with high profile authors

Interviewing award winning creators for SCBWI - BCBF 2023

I kept “graduating” through different levels of volunteering, just like when you start a job as an intern and then work your way up until you are the manager. The more I shared, the more experience I gained to share, and the more people wanted to collaborate with me. From speaking up in a local group, I went to hosting meet-ups, to organising book launches, to interviewing publishers, to being featured in an online magazine (and then helping run it!), to hosting conferences, to being a guest speaker!

Speaking as SCBWI British Isles Illustrator Coordinator - NY Conference 2024

Speaking at the SCBWI British Isles Conference 2024

This year I had my very own panel at the SCBWI NY Winter Conference, and it was so rewarding to see so many people recognising me from the dozens of other events that I participated and hosted. The more I put myself out there, the more opportunities came, and the more experienced and confident I became to do more of it. That’s the thing about confidence: you gain it by doing things!

My very own Break Out Session at the SCBWI NY Conference 2026

The best thing is that, at the same time I was doing all of these things, the more people were getting to know my work by extension. Remember last week, when I said that I kept chasing different ways to share my art and expand my network? Now I can say that the best way, in my opinion, was becoming a SCBWI volunteer. It's such great spotlight for creators, which generates a natural self promotion. Also, publishers looove creators who like to show up beyond their work.

2023 Bologna, representing SCBWI and having my work selected for BCBF 

I am not saying that you should be volunteering, or that you must network all the time. This kind of self exposure suited my personality, but it can be a lot to ask of creators. So if it's not your cup of tea, don't feel pressured or guilted to do it – your priority is your craft, everything else comes after that. What I am saying is that volunteering in this community is such a big part of who I am, because it suits so much who I’ve always been.

The funny thing is... you find your footing by walking.

Next Thursday will be my last piece of writing for this series, and I'll do my best to make an extra special finale.

See you then, beijos!

Read the full series in order here:

Part 1 - Changing Careers to Fulfil Your Dreams

Part 2 - Entering the World of Children's Books

Part 3 - Finding Your Footing

Part 4 - The Power of Community

Tita Berredo is a Brazilian children’s writer and illustrator. She holds an MA in Children’s Literature and Illustration from Goldsmiths UOL and a BA in Marketing from PUC-Rio. Her work has been recognised internationally, including a London's House of Illustration award and selection for the Bologna Children's Book Fair. She has illustrated books for the US and Brazil, and is making her author–illustrator debut with a Seuss Studios early reader published by Random House Children's.

Tita is SCBWI's International Illustrator Coordinator, and a Picture Book reviewer for My Book Corner. 

Find Tita's work at www.titaberredo.com follow her on Instagram: @titaberredo

Combatting "Resistance"

Hello, my friends! 

How are we all doing out there? I hope that you are creating as best as you can! The new year has started and as resolutions go— New year, new you...right?

For me? I am feeling pretty angsty about it all. Or as I've come to call it "Resistant", with a capital "r." I've been showing up to my work, yes, and working toward my goals, yes...but there is still a bit of paralysis, resistance and clunkiness. And in talking to my art friends, they are feeling somewhat same thing. 

Knowing that I have goals, deadlines and accomplishments to—well—accomplish, I thought back to a book my mentor gifted me that has help me push pass some of my hang ups about my art and my creative life. With all of these feelings cropping up, and being a solutions-based person, I decided it was time for a revisit.

Introducing— The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. A book that my high school theater teacher assigned to his classes, he gave me a copy as I was making my way into the creative sphere, at that point as a professional dancer and musical theater artist.

This book has reshaped and rewired my brain around the thought of being a creative and what it means to push through the "war" that all artists are destined to wage with, what Steven Pressfield calls, Resistance ("self-sabotage, procrastination, fear, arrogance, self-doubt"). Though I am halfway through a reread of Pressfield's book, here are some quotes that I've highlighted to share with you.

“The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.”

Just show up. Show up. Show up. This is, sometimes, the hardest part. As a perfectionist myself, I know I try to wait for the "perfect" routine to recreate the "perfect" environment to create the "perfect" work but I can't think of all that. I just need to sit down and meet the work. This is a bug war I wage with my anxiety and perfectionist brain and it is a great reminder to just "work."

And once you sit down to try your hand at whatever you set out to do, this next quote comes into play:

“This is the other secret that real artists know and wannabe writers don’t. When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us. The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. We have earned favor in her sight. When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete.”

Below there is an interview where Steven Pressfield spoke about the Muse and how, we as artists function as sort of conduits to the creative—the ideas, sparks of inspiration, and art making being funneled into, and channeled out of us due to our dedication to sit and create. When we sit, we tell the universe we are ready to receive that spark. 

"Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it."

When asked to say a few words about the word "art" in the interview below, this is what Steven had to say: "In many crazy, mysterious ways, it's the highest form of a human gift that one can give to other human beings..." 

When you remember why you create art, and whom its for, I think it helps tap you into a different sense of being and purpose. Art is the gift we give to one another, and I know we all understand and feel that on a molecular level—that is is the highest and most precious gift we can give to other human beings...especially the small ones in which we create for.

So as my predecessor, Lee Wind, used to say—"ILLUSTRATE AND WRITE ON!" 

Entering the World of Children's Books - Tita Berredo

Tita Berredo and the girl from her picture book, The Dress

Hello everyone, it's nice to see you again!

Alright, recap: I moved to the UK, took a Master’s in Children’s Literature and Illustration, and then I was out there in this new world with a portfolio under my arm.

I think it's important to share some really valuable lessons I took from my MA. One of them is how much weight we carry in the social responsibility of making books for children: how we can positively affect their lives with character shaping, sharing windows and mirrors to the world and offering a safe and empowering space to deal with their own emotions. 

The other one is how much you learn about yourself by experiment and play. It might seem contradicting but the more you share your work with peers and follow other’s works, the more you learn about how different you are and can be. What I mean in practical terms is that we all start drawing or writing for ourselves. Once we take it seriously we start thinking we must draw and write for others, only to find out that most of it is noise and you can only really connect to the other by doing it for yourself.

6 yo me wearing a dress I made of wrappings 

2017 developing my style with colours at Goldsmiths UOL

As human beings, our first instinct when arriving at a new environment is to mimic the others there. It’s safe and natural, but the more we get comfortable in such an environment the more we can show our differences in order to be authentic. Though, to get comfortable one must take risks and try to expand which brings me to the next step of my journey.

The first thing I did when I was out in the world as a recent “kid lit”  graduate was to share my work at any opportunity I had. That’s when I saw that the London Book Fair had a paid space for illustrators to showcase their artwork. It was provided by the Association of Illustrators and you could pay to put up two large canvases with your work printed on. I became a member of the AOI to get a discount, and that actually led me to an incredible community of artists for which I would end up volunteering, like SCBWI. Anyway, that two canvas option was a great one, because it meant that I could play it safe and take a risk. I then chose to exhibit two very different styles: a cutesy and traditional one with perfectly connected outlines filled with colourful anthropomorphised animals, that I thought would please publishers; and an edgy and expressively artsy one with rough brushstrokes and splashes of one bold colour, that pleased ME. 

Goldsmiths University of London Degree show 2018

London Book Fair 2019

My traditional cutesy more commercial style

My edgy and artsy more ME style

If I had to choose only one style to showcase, there’s a big probability I would have gone with the safe traditional style that was similar to every other children's illustrator, and would have been lost in the crowd. Don't get me wrong, the more traditional style is also full of me, and I still use it for some commercial work – and, most importantly, it pays bills whenever I have to compromise. But it is so important to keep a space where  you can develop something just for you, because it will set you apart and make you stand out. Showing both sides of me – of what I could do and what I wanted to do – was key for my creative career. I wish I could tell my younger self what a smart move that was at the time. It led me to my first professional jump: being scouted by my agent – who fell in love with… the ME style!

There’s another important lesson here: you should always show your work at any stage you are, even if you think you are not ready. As creators we are incredibly attached to our egos and surprisingly blind to our own potential. That affects our decisions about when, how, and if we share our work. The best favour we can do for ourselves is to doubt our insecurities and let other people judge our work for themselves. I was still quite raw and needing some shaping on the narrative side, but my agent saw the potential of my work and bet her chips into mentoring me. Because, as a professional, she could see beyond the stage I was and knew exactly what I needed to get there. So, when you do show your work as is, you allow others to decide what’s ready, what's appealing, or in need of development themselves – and trust me, they are better at it and more forgiving than you.

My agent, Sorche Fairbank, and I during a meeting at the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2023

After this change of perspective, I realised something similar about contests, showcases, submissions and reviews: it's all so very subjectively personal that you have to keep looking for people who share something with you personally. In other words, it's the people who are a bit like you who will connect with the you in your work. So the main point of submitting your work is multiplying the chances of your work being seen by the people like you! I applied this perspective to my own goals, which also helped to overcome any fear rejection. If someone is not into my work, they're either not enough like me or I might not be showing myself that well through my work in some way – and I can always revisit my work under this healthy perspective.

As you can see, even after being agented, I kept chasing different ways to share my art and expand my network. The best way in my opinion, was yet to come... which will bring me to SCBWI.

I know that's where I stopped last time, but you are watching it unfolds as we go.  ;)

See you next Thursday! Beijos!

Read the full series in order here:

Part 1 - Changing Careers to Fulfil Your Dreams

Part 2 - Entering the World of Children's Books

Part 3 - Finding Your Footing

Part 4 - The Power of Community

Tita Berredo is a Brazilian children’s writer and illustrator. She holds an MA in Children’s Literature and Illustration from Goldsmiths UOL and a BA in Marketing from PUC-Rio. Her work has been recognised internationally, including a London's House of Illustration award and selection for the Bologna Children's Book Fair. She has illustrated books for the US and Brazil, and is making her author–illustrator debut with a Seuss Studios early reader published by Random House Children's.

Tita is SCBWI's International Illustrator Coordinator, and a Picture Book reviewer for My Book Corner. 

Find Tita's work at www.titaberredo.com follow her on Instagram: @titaberredo