New Dates for the Summer 2021 SCBWI Conference: July 30, 31, and August 1

It's a conference with many aliases...

#LA21SCBWI

and

The Summer 2021 SCBWI Conference

and, maybe even we should consider:

SCBWI's 50th birthday party!

All sessions will be virtual, and you can see them in real-time or watch the recording for one month following the event.

We hope you'll join your community for this conference-sized celebration of SCBWI’s 50th year of bringing illustrators, translators, and writers of works for children, tweens, and teens inspiration, education, opportunity, business, and so much more!

Save the dates!

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

The SCBWI Spark Award (for Best Books Published Non-Traditionally in 2020) Goes To...

The Spark Award is an annual award that recognizes excellence in a children’s book published through a non-traditional publishing route.

This year's winners and honorees were announced at #NY21SCBWI. The winner of the SCBWI Spark Award for Picture Books is Mama's Waves by Chandra Ghosh Ippen, illustrated by Erich Ippen Jr.

The winner of the SCBWI Spark Award for Books for Older Readers is Sometimes Brave by Trista Wilson.

Two honor winners were announced as well, for Picture Books, "My Friend" written and illustrated by Estrela Lourenco, and for Books for Older Readers, "I Wish My Words Tasted Better" by Kris Abel-Helwig.

Congratulations to the winners and honorees!

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

P.S. If you're interested in submitting your 2021 published book to the SCBWI Spark Award, you can find out all the details here.

Social Media Highlights of #NY21SCBWI

 If you search #NY21SCBWI, you'll be able to sift through some of the posts of the past weekend. There's a lot of great stuff to discover, remember, and enjoy, including...

Thanks to everyone who contributed their moments on Twitter, Instagram, etc...

What will you discover with #NY21SCBWI?

Here's hoping it inspires you to Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

The SCBWI Winter 2021 Conference Starts Tomorrow (Friday February 19, 2021)

With over 4,000 attendees, the all-virtual #NY21SCBWI conference is more accessible than ever! 

Use the hashtag #NY21SCBWI to follow and share moments that resonate for you, and follow the Official SCBWI Conference Blog at https://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/ for live blogging from the team, including Debbie Ohi, Lakita Wilson, Jolie Stekly, Jamie Temairik, Don Tate, and myself (Lee Wind.)

Here's to an incredible conference ahead!

Illustrate and Write and Translate On,
Lee

It's the Golden Kite Award Finalists!

There will be one winner per category and one honor book chosen. The Golden Kites serve as the kickoff event to SCBWI’s virtual conference on Friday, February 19 at 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT. The awards are open to the public via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SCBWI The 2021 SCBWI Winter conference is an all virtual event that will run from February 19-21. You can find out more about the conference here.

Each winner will receive a $2,500 award along with $1,000 to contribute to a nonprofit of their choice. Each honor winner will receive a $500 award along with $250 to a nonprofit of their choice. The finalists for this year’s awards are:

Middle Grade/Young Reader Fiction
Phil Bildner: A High Five for Glen Burke, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley: Fighting Words, published by Dial Books for Young Readers
Leah Henderson: The Magic in Changing Your Stars, published by Sterling Children’s Books
Pam Muñoz Ryan: Mañanaland, published by Scholastic Press
Renée Watson: Ways to Make Sunshine, published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Picture Book Text
Marsha Diane Arnold: Lights Out, illustrated by Susan Reagan, published by Creative Editions
Derrick Barnes: I Am Every Good Thing, illustrated by Gordon C. James, published by Nancy Paulsen Books
Tami Charles: All Because You Matter, illustrated by Bryan Collier, published by Orchard Books
Carole Lindstrom: We Are Water Protectors, illustrated by Michaela Goade, published by Roaring Brook Press
Phoebe Wahl: The Blue House, published by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers
Gary Golio: Dark Was the Night: Blind Willie Johnson’s Journey to the Stars, illustrated by E.B. Lewis, published by Nancy Paulsen Books
Mary Beth Leatherdale: Terry Fox and Me, illustrated by Milan Pavlovic, published by Lee & Low" Sandra Nickel: Nacho’s Nachos: The Story Behind the World’s Favorite Snack, illustrated by Oliver Dominguez, published by Tundra Books
Meeg Pincus: Winged Wonders: Solving the Monarch Migration Mystery, illustrated by Yas Imamura, published by Sleeping Bear Press
Don Tate: William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad, published by Peachtree Publishing

Picture Book Illustration
Catia Chien: The Bear and the Moon, published by Chronicle Books
Cindy Derby: Outside In, written by Deborah Underwood, published by Abrams Books for Young Readers
Susan Gal: Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail written by Leslea Newman, published by Charlesbridge
Vincent X. Kirsch: From Archie to Zack, published by Abrams Books for Young Readers
Jennifer K. Mann: The Camping Trip, published by Candlewick Press

Nonfiction Text for Older Readers
Paul Fleischman: Alphamaniacs: Builders of 26 Wonders of the Word, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, published by Candlewick Studio
Candace Fleming: The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindberg, published by Schwartz & Wade
Cindy L. Otis: True or False: A CIA Analyst’s Guide to Spotting Fake News, published by Feiwel & Friends
Christina Soontornvat: All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team published by Candlewick Press
Christine Virnig: Dung for Dinner published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers

Illustrated Book for Older Readers
Lauren Castillo: Our Friend Hedgehog published by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Mike Curato: Flamer, published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
John Rocco: How We Got to the Moon, published by Crown Books for Young Readers
Uri Shulevitz: Chance: Escape from the Holocaust: Memories of a Refugee Childhood, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers
Peter Van Den Ende: The Wanderer, published by Levine Querido

Young Adult Fiction
Margarita Engle: With a Star in My Hand, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Darcie Little Badger: Elatsoe, published by Levine Querido
Kelly McWilliams: Agnes at the End of the World, published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Sherri L. Smith: The Blossom and the Firefly, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Nic Stone: Dear Justyce, published by Crown Books for Young Readers

Sid Fleischman Award
Donna Barba Higuera: Lupe Wong Won’t Dance published by Levine Querido
Remy Lai: Fly on the Wall, published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Amy Timberlake: Skunk and Badger illustrated by Jon Klassen, published by Algonquin Young Readers
Kristin O’Donnell Tubb: Zeus, Dog of Chaos, published by Katherine Tegen Books
Renée Watson: Ways to Make Sunshine, published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Good luck to all the finalists (and that's a pretty awesome reading list for the rest of us!)

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

The SCBWI 2021 Winter Conference Manuscript Gallery Offers Writers An Opportunity To Be Discovered!

 

Illustrators have the Portfolio Showcase, putting their illustrations in front of the top publishing professionals working today. And the winners of that portfolio showcase have gone on to have significant careers as illustrators!

Now, on a scale the SCBWI hasn't done before, there's a parallel opportunity for writers:

Registered Winter 2021 conference attendees who are SCBWI members can post up to 500 words of ONE children’s book manuscript, PB text, PB dummy or manuscript synopsis to our online manuscript gallery. Over a hundred editors and agents will be invited to peruse the gallery starting on February 19, 2021. These agents and editors will then reach out to authors whose work is a good fit for their lists. This is a fantastic opportunity to get your work in front of industry professionals!

The deadline to submit your manuscript is February 12, 2021. Find out all the details here.

The full conference information is here - it's going to amazing!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Start Off 2021 With A Commitment To Your Artistic Journey - Join Our SCBWI Community For The SCBWI Winter Conference (Feb 19-21, 2021)

SCBWI conferences – including this online Winter 2021 Conference that's hosted on Zoom with recordings available through March 31, 2021 – offer so much education on the craft and business of writing and illustrating for kids and teens, and there's so much more: There are opportunities to advance your career, there's networking to build your community within the larger community of children's book writers, illustrators, and translators, there's inspiration from luminaries in our field, and maybe most of all, there's the celebration of what we do, individually and together, to make creative work for young people.

Check out the full conference schedule here.

We hope you'll join us.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

3 Gifts You Can Give Yourself For The New Year (We Don't Have To Call Them Resolutions)

2021 Happy New Year! (Image from here.)

 

Consider giving yourself these for the new year ahead:

1) Read something that inspires you. Repeat.

2) Create something regularly. Maybe this is every day. Maybe this is once a week. But give yourself the opportunity to work your creative muscles and write and/or illustrate in a regular way so it becomes a healthy habit.

3) Take your creativity seriously - whatever that means for you. Maybe it's a "please don't disturb" sign on the back of your chair so you get a break from family duties so you can focus on your work in progress. Maybe it's joining others in the community of children's book writers, illustrators, and translators at an upcoming SCBWI event, like the 2021 Winter Conference, happening online Feb 19-21, 2021. Maybe it's saying "I'm a writer" when someone asks what you do, rather than saying "I want to be a writer." The act of writing makes you a writer. Just like the act of illustrating makes you an illustrator. And the act of translating makes you a translator. Taking yourself seriously as a creative person, as a creator of works for children and teens, is the first step towards being taken seriously by others, and towards your work reaching readers.

You don't have to call them resolutions. But you can, if it helps.

Here's to a healthy, safe, and creative 2021 for all!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Registration is Open for #NY21SCBWI

Have you explored the SCBWI Winter Conference schedule, offerings, and opportunities?

There will be the Golden Kite Awards Gala,

a State-of-the-Industry In-Depth Interview with Jean Feiwel

Keynote Conversations with: 

Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Matt De La Peña and Christian Robinson

Jerry Craft and Victoria Jamieson, hosted by Weslie Turner

Patricia Maclachlan interviewed by Lin Oliver

There will also be a behind the scenes tour of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing with Laurent Linn and Paula Wiseman

Genre Breakout Sessions with editors, including

Picture Books: Andrea Welch, Joanna Cardenas, Elizabeth Bicknell

Middle Grade: Tricia Lin, Krista Vitola

Young Adult: Stacey Barney, Alexandra Cooper

Nonfiction: Alyssa Mito Pusey, Shelby Lees

Fly-on-the-Wall Acquisitions meeting with Wendy Loggia and a team from Delacorte Press

and another Mock Book Production meeting with Yaffa Jaskoll and a team from Scholastic Books

There's an Agents Panel, with Kirby Kim, Kevin Lewis, Erica Rand Silverman, and Saba Sulaiman, and so much more!

Illustrators - make sure to check out the portfolio showcase opportunity, as well as the Monday Feb 22 Illustrators' Intensive.

We hope you'll join us for this virtual conference hosted on zoom with video recordings available through March 31, 2021. Get all the details here. 

Registration for #NY21SCBWI (The Online SCBWI Winter Conference, Feb 19-21, 2021) Opens TODAY!

The #NY21SCBWI conference will include incredible keynote conversations between Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli, Christian Robinson and Matt de la Peña, Jerry Craft and Victoria Jamieson, plus a rare appearance from the legendary Patricia MacLachlan. The event will also provide an inside look at the children’s book industry through visits, mock meetings, and an in-depth, state-of-the-industry interview with Jean Feiwel.

The virtual conference will include:

• Dynamic keynotes and industry panels
• A fly-on-the-wall look at the book acquisition and design process
• The Golden Kite Awards Gala
• Online networking opportunities and socials
• The career-launching Portfolio Showcase
• A full-day, optional Illustrators’ Intensive

The conference takes place live on Zoom, but video recordings will be available to attendees through March 31, 2021. Participate live or watch at your convenience.

Check out the full conference schedule, faculty bios, and all the details at the SCBWI website here: https://www.scbwi.org/events/winter-conference-2021/

We hope you'll join us!

Illustrate and Write On!
Lee