SCBWI NY Conference Excitement: Piranha Pit (applications due today!)

What a wild couple of years it's been, SCBWI-ers! A huge round of applause for the incredible virtual events that have been held by regional and HQ SCBWI these last few years. 

While I'm so thankful we are starting to have opportunities to see our great community in person again at both local and international events, I'm equally as impressed that SCBWI is continuing to offer a virtual version of the 2023 Winter NY Conference for those of us with health, budget, time, location, and/or witness protection program anonymity constraints.

Check out Lee Wind's post for how the two opportunities overlap and differ. There's still time to register for either, click here for in-person or virtual!

If this is your first time at a conference, or if like me you've forgotten how to have conversations with your in-person face, check out Jolie Stekly's post for first-time attendees. 

Please also welcome Justin Campbell to Team Blog! And check out his great post on the wonderful, community building socials that in-person conferences like #scbwiNY23 provide.

A new Winter Conference element I think registered, published attendees should be really excited about: The Piranha Pit! Like Shark Tank but for book marketing plan moolah!

But you've go to get your hustles on! Deadline to apply is 5pm PST today, Today, TODAY! (The bulk of the work will happen at the conference if you are chosen, so you can do eet!). Here are the details:

• Submit your entry TODAY via email to scbwipiranhapit@scbwi.org. It may be in written form or on video for a traditionally or independently/self-published book that is a new or backlist title published within the last four years (2018 – March 31, 2023).
• Six contestants will be pre-selected by the SCBWI staff to present their plans live and have 8–10 minutes to pitch. Pitch should include telling us a little bit about yourself, the elevator pitch of your book, why you think your marketing plan will be effective, why you chose these tactics, and how you will measure success. Marketing plan pitches may use props, costumes, music, instruments, quadratic equations, theremins, small or large exotic animals*––whatever you think will help the piranhas understand your book and your plan.
• The pit winner will receive $1,000.00 and will be featured on our website, on SCBWI social media, and in Insight, our monthly member newsletter.

Good luck to everyone who enters! Just attending the pit session will provide all sorts of marketing ideas even if you don't win the cash prize, so be sure it's on your itinerary if you're interested in learning more about promoting your books.

And as a reminder, if you aren't able to attend, please join us HERE on the blog. We’ll be sharing posts and summaries of as many of the #scbwiNY23 conference events as we can. 

*SCBWI would like me to mention I'm just trying to be funny and please do not bring any exotic animals of any size, especially piranhas, to the Piranha Pit.