Thank You! (And Save The Dates For #NY18SCBWI and #LA18SCBWI

Thank you for following along for #LA17SCBWI with us!

Team Blog #LA17SCBWI: from left, Sona Charaipotra, Jaime Temairik, Lee Wind, Jolie Stekly, and Susie Ghahremani.

And here are the dates for the 19th Annual Winter Conference in New York City: February 2-4, 2018.

With full-day intensives for both writers and illustrators
Juried Portfolio Showcase with grand prize
Network with top editors, agents, and publishers
Be in the center of the children's publishing industry
Workshops, Keynotes, networking, and much more!

Online conference registration will be posted in October at scbwi.org

And for the 47th Annual Summer Conference in Los Angeles: August 3-6, 2018.

With over 75 workshops and 15 keynote speakers
Monday post-conference intensives
Special hands-on workshops for illustrators, Craft intensives for published, self-published, and pre-published authors
Individual manuscript or portfolio critiques
Juried portfolio showcase with grand prize and mentorship opportunities

Online conference registration will be posted in March 2018 at scbwi.org

Vanessa Brantley Newton: Digital Art, Best Practices.

This session is so much more than best digital art tips!

Vanessa talks a bit about how she started to learn how to illustrate. She followed every possible illustrator and animator blog, did all of the Illustration Friday prompts. She copied her favorite artists like Sasek and Blair, but then adding her Vanessa interpretation. She works both traditionally and digitally, and is a perennial student in both. Vanessa stalks Youtube and still enrolls in things like Lilla Rogers classes. She tells us to make a lab for yourself, take a day to learn how to do something on Youtube and improve all your illustration weaknesses in this customized fashion. Paint your own textures and papers so you have your flavor in those textures and also so you don't need to rely on stock sites or worry about copyright.

To Vanessa, the ideal is: You want to get to that point where people can't tell, even art directors, if it's digital or traditional.

Dyslexia made Photoshop and Illustrator's complicated workspaces too difficult for her to work in, but Vanessa found that Corel Painter had a simpler tool panel that she was able to master quickly. One of Corel's drawbacks is the inability to add texture to those digital drawings, so after all of the drawing and flat color is done in Corel, Vanessa brings that art into Photoshop to add her texture and collage elements.

She uses Photoshop to put together her sketch dummies, too.

She collects all kinds of fabric, paper, she makes her own paper, too. You can buy textures, but Vanessa recommends taking your camera outside and taking photos of textures and building your own digital library. You can add photographs to your work to add dimension, too. Photos from flea markets!

MARY HAD A LITTLE GLAM was hand drawn first, scanned, and then colored digitally.

For her Hallmark work, she used the Corel Draw airbrush tool.

She shares art made just a few weeks ago, it's made with a scanned piece of linen fabric with multiple layers of color overlayed over the linen layer and then she uses the Photoshop scissor tool to cut out shapes on that color layer. Amazing! Here is my terrible screenshot of it, I'm sorry I can't do it justice here.

Vanessa asks us to all bring diversity into your art, we are all different colors, we have all different hairstyles, don't go for stereotypes.

Laurie Halse Anderson Closing Keynote

Laurie Halse Anderson closes our conference by giving a shout out to her fellow introverts. Especially if this was your first conference, it's hard just to sign up, but you came here, and you aren't in your hotel room right now, so that's all a great job.

She thanks Lin and Steve for all they do, for changing the face of the children's book industry around the world.

Laurie asks us to take a moment to feel all the feels right now and in the next 24 hours take a chance to write or draw about this weekend so you can turn this into a touchstone moment you can take home with you.

Because, Laurie says, we have to go home, back to reality now. In the space we're in right now we feel like we can do anything.

The doubt and fear of our everyday life, of the current political situation, the fear of being found a fraud even if you are already published is what stops us from making the work we are so excited to make during weekends like these.

Laurie's giving us three ways to take all this love and energy home with us.

1. Laurie says, "You are the boss of your brain, and your brain is the boss of your emotional states. I know this to be true, I've done the research." When you start to spiral down into anxiety and fear, your lizard brain thinks you are about to be eaten, and all of your creativity shuts down.

Laurie's secret weapon for combatting this is the country of Denmark. She wants you to learn the word hygge. A warm, pleasant, and comfortable atmosphere, it's an interior coziness that extends to your external surroundings. A lot of it has to do with being surrounded by friendship and supportive, kindred spirits, too.

2. GET STARTED. Laurie blames our educational system for teaching us that the first draft is what we get judged or tested on. We don't get tested on our first drafts in the real world, first drafts are hot messes, the only way we can fix it is to let that mess be made and then revise it. You have to give yourself permission to suck. Revision is about clarifying, just like when you are getting your eyes examined and the doctor is trying out lens after lens. Lower your expectations to the basement and make a hot mess, you can clean it up later.

3. We are saving #3 for the conference goers, but we hope you have enjoyed all the posts on this conference blog and we would love to see you at a regional or international SCBWI conference in person some time soon, so you, too, can share in this bubble of love.

Kelly Barnhill's Keynote

Kelly Barnhill is the author of four novels, most recently The Girl Who Drank the Moon, winner of this year’s Newbery Medal. The Witch’s Boy received four starred reviews and was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Awards. Kelly Barnhill has been awarded writing fellowships from the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and the McKnight Foundation. Visit her online at www.kellybarnhill.wordpress.com or on Twitter: @kellybarnhill.

Kelly quotes Emily Dickinson "Tell all the truth, but tell it slant…" and lets us know that

"I'm here to talk about Fairy Tales."

She shares her own journey of reading and discovering fairy tales from childhood. And how she discovered that the yearning for a slanted entry into truth is a universal one.

"It covers the pages like moss"

"Sharp sharp talons"

"A creature made of story"

"With the gift and burden of mind"

"Princes who would wed you and behead you"

"Dark woods, crooked paths, slanted light"

Every phrase Kelly uses feels like she's weaving a fairy tale for us, a meta-tale of discovering how fairy  tales can impact our selves, our minds, our journeys through childhood, adulthood, and the wider, wilder world.

"When we write for middle grade kids, we're not just writing for the kids they are, but we're writing for the adults they will be. And we're writing for our selves, at the age we were."

It's a remarkable speech, delivered with passion and artistry. One more moment to share...

"Sometimes you have to see the world as it isn't to see the world as it is."

Stacy Innerst: School Visits as an Illustrator

Stacy Innerst’s picture books have earned numerous honors including the BCCB Blue Ribbon, two Parents’ Choice Gold Medals, and a Smithsonian Notable Book Citation. His illustrations for The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue, written by Suzanne Slade (Boyds Mills), received the 2017 Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration. Visit www.stacyinnerst.com.

Stacy Innerst's breakout session at the Los Angeles SCBWI Summer Conference was absolutely packed with information about school visits for illustrators.

He walked us through his personal school visit slideshow, beginning with the images he uses to introduce himself. In lieu of a typical biographical slideshow (Here's where I went to school; here are the books I made), Stacy shares images from home, of his son, of books he loved and read as a kid, and things he did as a kid (like scribble in books when he shouldn't have) -- something almost any kid can relate to. He then explains the process of making a book from researching and creating characters to showing images of his studio space and art materials.

Finally, he concludes with information about specific books he's made, the materials he used to make them, his art making process and background, and an interactive drawing demonstration that shows kids that drawing is something they can do, too.

• I particularly loved hearing his practical tips. As an illustrator who has never made a picture book school visit, it was incredibly helpful to learn about:
• What to include in your contract.
• Asking teachers for assistance prior to your visit: making sure they've read your book and their students will be familiar with your book; asking for their help calling on kids when it comes to Q&A; learning the school hand signal for "quiet please", etc.
• How to tactful bring up your visit fee, and what to do if a schools doesn't have the budget for it
• Planning your visit and making sure you and the school are on the same page -- i.e. materials that you're bringing or you need them to provide; how many sessions you'll be doing, how many kids you'll be presenting to, etc.
• How to handle book signings (and/or sales) during school visits.

After this session, I feel so much more prepared for my first school visit. Thank you to Stacy for so eloquently distilling his experiences into such helpful, specific, and actionable info.

Catch more of the conference highlights this year through blog posts tagged #LA17SCBWI or as-it-happens on Twitter.

Kate Testerman and Arianne Lewin's Workshop: Why Does Publishing Take So Long?

Kate Testerman founded KT Literary in early 2008, after more than a decade in New York publishing. While she concentrates on middle grade and young adult fiction, the agency also represents adult genre fiction, including romance, science fiction, and fantasy, as well as some select narrative nonfiction for teens. Her clients include Maureen Johnson, Stephanie Perkins, Amy Spalding, Trish Doller, Ellen Booraem, Susan Adrian and Matthew Cody. Kate’s interests range from contemporary drama, urban fantasy and magical realism, to adventure stories and romantic comedies. KT Literary is committed to finding diverse stories and Own Voices. Kate is an active member of the SCBWI and AAR, and blessed (or cursed) with a surfeit of optimism. www.ktliterary.com

Arianne Lewin is an Executive Editor at G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Random House. She edits picture books, middle grade novels and young adult fiction. Her recent projects include Rachel Hawkins’s novel for middle-graders, Journey’s End, and the New York Times bestselling 5th Wave series by Rick Yancey.

Kate and Arianne share about the balance for an editor between notes for projects underway and looking at new submissions, from both the editor's and the submitting agent's perspective.

Arianne describes the different acquisitions process from her days at Disney and Putnam.

There are lots of audience questions, with lots of smart and very honest answers.

Ari shares about her different in-house strategies for different books.

Walking us through an imaginary book acquisition, Arianne and Kate discuss the process month-by-month, including negotiating territories, the need to get others at a publisher on-board with interest in a book, how the time from submission to offer can be overnight or can be six months, on the difference between publishing seasons, Launch meetings, and so much more...

What a great insider's view!

Kwame Alexander: Business Tips for Writers

Newbery winning author Kwame Alexander answered business questions along with his agent Arielle Eckstut. 

Some generated tips

• Build relationships with your local independent bookstore even before you sell a book. 
• Have a plan that has reach. 
• Know what you don't know and surround yourself with people who know.
• When you are searching for an agent, you need to identify all that you want in an agent.
• You've got to make the hard decisions that are going to impact your career positively. 
• With his books, Kwame never mentions poetry. 
• Consider putting some money aside from an advance for promotion or travel to help promote your book. 
• Make connections with librarians and booksellers. 
• Marketing energy should all depend on your book, and you know your book better than anyone else. 
• Figure out a desired mechanism to engage with your audience when presenting your book. Do it in a way that is you. 
• To get love, you have to give love. To give love you have to have it. 
• If you don't have the passion driving you, it makes the challenges harder to sustain. 

Ruta Sepetys Wins The 2017 Golden Kite Award For YA

Salt to the Sea win the 2017 Golden Kite Award for YA

Ruta Sepetys is an internationally acclaimed author of historical fiction published in over fifty countries and thirty-six languages. Sepetys is considered a “crossover” novelist as her books are read by both students and adults worldwide. Her novels, Between Shades of Gray, Out of the Easy, and Salt to the Sea are all New York Times bestsellers and are currently in development for film and television. Ruta is an SCBWI success story and two-time recipient of the Golden Kite Award.

Ruta tells us that while "Salt to the Sea" is her third published novel, it's not the third book she's written. She relates the very funny story about her first book written, the one she wrote when she was nine years old – and the whole conference room is laughing at how that first book of hers was banned. And how that experience "stole my courage" and she didn't write again for over 20 years.

12 years ago she came to this conference with a Middle Grade mystery, got a critique, and it didn't go well. And Ruta was devastated. And she went to a session with Steven Malk, and he spoke about career guidance, and he said, "creative people have a lot of options… and I like to work with an author and help them find the right road."

Steven became her agent, and helped her choose the road to take, and that's what set her on this path.

And Ruta says to us all,

"Our very best work, it's up the road. It's in front of us."

Stacy Innerst wins the 2017 Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration

Winner of the 2017 SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration: 

The Music in George's Head, illustrated by Stacy Innerst

The Music in George's Head, illustrated by Stacy Innerst (written by Suzanne Slade, published by Calkins Creek), was honored at the 2017 SCBWI Golden Kite Ceremony for Excellence in Picture Book Illustration. Stacy's dream-like paintings accompany the story of how George Gershwin composed his masterpiece Rhapsody in Blue.

In his acceptance speech, Stacy credited his achievement to the harmony of his collaborative partners:  George Gershwin's music and author Suzanne Slade's manuscript which "illustrated itself, and read like a piece of music."

"My mother used to play the piano. My twin brother and I used to sit on either side of her while she played the music of Gershwin. I still remember the music resonating through the wood of the piano. Suzanne's manuscript brought me right back to that place."

Stacy's artwork for The Music in George's Head also reads like a piece of music (or maybe like a beautiful, unforgettable melody stuck in your head). As Sarah Baker (Director of Illustration and Artist Programs at SCBWI) stated in her introduction, his visual interpretation -- rendered in indigo and sepia-toned illustrations -- invites readers to feel the liveliness of Gershwin's music, and the sights and sounds of New York in the 1920's that inspired his work.

Stacy Innerst’s picture books have earned numerous honors including the BCCB Blue Ribbon, two Parents’ Choice Gold Medals, and a Smithsonian Notable Book Citation. His illustrations for The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue, written by Suzanne Slade (Boyds Mills), received the 2017 Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration. Visit www.stacyinnerst.com.

Russell Freedman Wins The 2017 Golden Kite Award For Nonfiction

"We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler" 

Russell's editor Dinah Stevenson accepts on Russell's behalf, sharing Russell's written remarks, a poignant memory of a train ride in California to visit his father in Hollywood contrasted with a boy his own age taking a different train ride at the very same time on the other side of the world, a train ride to a Nazi extermination camp.

"The ghostly image of that doomed boy haunted my thoughts. I wondered if he collected comic books, like I did… We might have been friends."

Wanting to write about the Holocaust but from a unique angle,

"I searched for an approach that would reveal… some hope amid the ruins of history."

And then, quite movingly,

"I would like to dedicate this particular golden kite award to that boy on a train ride to oblivion. He might have grown up to become one of us."

Denise Deegan and Kara Levin's Workshop: The Unique Opportunities and Challenges of Self-Publishing

Denise Deegan is a hybrid author with novels both traditionally and self-published. Denise’s coming-of-age, historical novel, Through the Barricades won the 2016 SCBWI Spark Award, an annual award that recognizes excellence in children’s books published through non-traditional publishing platforms. Denise’s novels have been published by Penguin, Random House, Hachette and Lake Union Publishing. The three novels in her contemporary young adult series, The Butterfly Novels, published by Hachette, were bestsellers in Ireland. Denise has just self-published the trilogy in territories where she retains rights. www.denisedeegan.wordpress.com.

Kara Levin is a first time children’s book author and clinical psychologist. Dr. Levin’s debut picture book, Soldier, won the 2016 SCBWI Spark Award, an annual award that recognizes excellence in children’s books published through non-traditional publishing platforms. Kara juggles being a psychologist, writer, and mother of twin seven-year-old sons. Visit www.littlewoodenflute.com.

Among the things Denise tells us is the journey of one of her titles. It was traditionally published, and then eventually she got the rights back. She then self-published it with a new title and cover and pen name, and it started to do really well… And then Amazon approached her to publish it under their imprint, and with another new cover:

It rose to be the #1 title on Kindle!

On the choice between self-publishing or traditionally-publishing, Denise advises,

"It doesn't have to be either or, it can be both."

She has an agent and has projects out on submission to traditional publishers, and at the same time is self-publishing, including "Through the Barricades," which has won the 2017 SCBWI Spark Award.

Kara shares about the journey of her picture book Solider, how her illustrator and designer was able to get the book published in the Ukraine which brought down the cost and enabled the print-run to happen, and how it won the SCBWI Spark Award.

The interest from the award has resulted in her being approached by agents, and she's excited to see where it goes next.

Kara says, "Self-publishing made us more sympathetic to the process" of traditional publishing, and the risks involved in taking on each book.

About Solider opening from the top (rather than the side,) saying, "that's one of the joys of self-publishing, there's no one to tell you 'no.'"

They speak about the speed of self-publishing compared to traditional publishing, online store platforms, the challenge of distribution, the opportunity of book fairs, and the power of winning the Spark Award… As Kara put it, "It helps to have that seal!"

"Entrepreneurship. That's the difference here." - Kara Levin

The session is filled with questions from the fascinated attendees, and great answers!

Lisa Wheeler: Creating Picture Book Characters

Lisa Wheeler is the award-winning author of over 35 children’s books including Even Monsters Need to Sleep and the popular Dino-Sports series. Lisa's book, The Christmas Boot, is the 2017 SCBWI Golden Kite Award winner for Picture Book Text. Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum is the 2017 Michigan Reads! One Book, One State Children’s Book Program recipient. Her other awards include The Michigan Mitten, Texas Bluebonnet, and the Theodore Geisel Honor given by the American Library Association. Check out Lisa’s website at: www.lisawheelerbooks.com

Packed house for Lisa Wheeler's session at the SCBWI Summer Conference.

Lisa breaks down what she sees some of the important ingredients that form a picture book character:

dialogue, the author's voice, description (or, more importantly, minimalism with description); the character's name (make sure not to pick a name so limiting that nothing else can be remembered or said about him); internal monologue; the character's relationship to secondary characters; his ability to solve his own problems.

She cautions authors to allow the illustrator to interpret details about your character instead of providing descriptive passages. "You don't know what you're going to get from the illustrator -- and that's fine." She shared how Molly Idle illustrated their forthcoming book People Don't Bite People by not once illustrating a person biting another person. Lisa says she could never have envisioned her book that way -- that's part of the magic of the partnership between author and illustrator.

From People Don't Bite People by Lisa Wheeler, Illustrated by Molly Idle

Stephanie Garber: Five Tips on How to Write a Five Star Ending

Stephanie Garber, author of CARAVAL, garnered wild, breakout success for her YA fantasy which has been on the NYT bestseller list. She's also a creative writing teacher who knows a thing or two about spicy endings. She knows at least five things, actually, but the blog will only share one exercise.

First, Stephanie has us think about the sorts of books we love to read, and FINISH reading. She says you'll read a book with a slow beginning as long as the rest of it picks up, but you'll ask for your money back for a book with a bad ending. Or if not bad, a mediocre or forgettable ending you may not bother to finish, which is just as upsetting. A bad ending in this instance means it's got plot holes, or unanswered questions, or a nonsensical resolution or is overly tragic or is a combination of all of the above.

Stephanie is a 'discovery' writer vs. being a 'plotter,' and she struggles with the adage that a good writer knows their story's ending before they start writing the beginning... Her compromise, which may work for you, is that you may not know exactly WHAT will happen in your ending, but at least know what TYPE of ending you want so you can steer yourself in that correct tone and direction.

Stephanie maps out six types of endings (we'll share 3) that we should work towards to keep our books from being returned to Barnes & Noble:

1. The Happy Disney Ending, this can be happily ever after or happy for now. A happy ending had better be earned by the character to be believable and satisfying, Stephanie says.

2. The Tragic Ending. This is typically a sequel's ending in a trilogy, think of Star Wars's The Empire Strikes Back. The hero gets what they want, but something important has been lost, like a Han(d). The villain may triumph or get away.

3. The Series ending. This is often a book's ending if it is in the middle of a series, it's a cliffhanger ending. Stephanie admonishes that you'll want to write your book's ending as potentially standalone if this is a first submission for you. The initial ending will need to satisfy, if the editor agrees it would be great to turn it into a series, you can adjust the ending to return to being a cliffhanger. This is something Stephanie did for CARAVAL.

One of Stephanie's five exercises for better endings is:

With your existing manuscript or story idea, pick an ending type, first, but then examine within your ending what has changed, the character? The world? The past? Someone's/the world's outlook/thoughts?

SOMETHING MUST CHANGE for a five-star ending, you can justify a characters actions, but that will never be as satisfying as watching a character actually change. Stephanie brings up her one beef with the latest Pride & Prejudice reboot. Darcy is a very proud man whose haughtiness and manners soften as he gets to know Elizabeth Bennet. In the latest reboot, though, there's an added line where Lizzie explains away his earlier behavior by saying Darcy was acting that way because he was just 'shy,' which to Stephanie is a total cop out and a disservice to Darcy's character.

Stephanie asks us to think about how much fun we have noticing the changes to the characters and the world at the end of BACK TO THE FUTURE. Though Marty's character stays the same, everyone/thing else is a bit different.

Tammi Sauer: Picture Book Panel at #LA17SCBWI

Tammi Sauer is a full time children's book author has sold twenty-nine picture books to major publishing houses including Disney*Hyperion, HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Penguin Random House, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, and Sterling. In addition to winning awards and garnering starred reviews, Tammi's books have gone on to do great things. Chicken Dance has been made into a musical and is currently on a national tour, Nugget & Fang was a featured book at the 2015 Scholastic Book Fair, and Your Alien, an NPR Best Book of 2015, was recently released in Italian, Spanish, Korean, and French which makes her feel extra fancy. Visit www.tammisauer.com.

During the Picture Book Panel (brilliantly moderated by Laurent Linn), Tammi Sauer shared her formula for creating characters her readers will care about: ARF

• Active: her character is doing something!
• Relatable: she wants readers to be able to empathize and think "I know what that feels like"
• Flawed: Nobody wants to read about Little Miss Perfect

When asked how she maintains freshness and spontaneity in her writing through all the drafts and revisions, Tammi suggested: 

• Show it to someone who has never seen it before.
• Consider using a different font just to see your words differently.
• Try working in a new location (Tammi shouts out to Panera Bread!)

Comment below and let us know what you do to keep your work from becoming overworked!      

Leuyen Pham: Picture Book Panel

LeUyen Pham is a best-selling author/illustrator and the creator of over ninety books for children. Over her career, she has illustrated books with such notable personalities as Academy Award winner Julianne Moore, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, and actress Marlo Thomas. Her many books include the best-selling series The Princess in Black written by Shannon and Dean Hale, New York Times Best-selling Grace for President by Kelly DiPuccio, the Alvin Ho series by Lenore Look, and Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace, soon to be a Disney channel series. She has also illustrated a number of graphic novels, including The Prince of Persia and Templar by Jordan Mechner, co-illustrated by her husband Alexandre Puvilland, and the soon-to-be-released Real Friends, by Shannon Hale. Her own books include best-selling Big Sister, Little Sister, A Piece of Cake, and her latest The Bear Who Wasn’t There. www.leuyenpham.com

LeUyen shares slides of her process and talks about what she loves about picture books, saying they are

"…the closest you can come to whispering in a child's ear."

She loves to design characters, and her picture book creating process starts with this. And for each character, she figures out the backstory, and tries to include that visually.

LeUyen speaks of the challenge of cover design, and also shares that she listens to the radio or music to not over-think and free her painting.

Some more highlights of what LeUyen shared…

"It's like every book is a reinvention of myself."

"In-between books I look at what other artists are doing."

Drawing in her sketchbook, knowing it's something no one else will see, helps get her started.

Javaka Steptoe: Picture Book Panel

Javaka Steptoe is an award author/illustrator whose most recent book Radiant Child, a beautiful biography of Jean-Michel Basquiat, was this year's Caldecott recipient. Other notable titles include What's Special About Me, Mama? and Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow.

Javaka uses everyday object in his art.

"I come from a place of trying to not just create an illustration but to create an experience." Javaka remembers as a child he didn't sit and draw quietly, he made noises and felt emotions. "I don't want to draw you a map, I want you to be immersed in whatever I'm creating for you."

The materials Javaka uses to illustrate are ones that will help bring readers into the world he's creating. For kids it's amazing because they feel like the materials might be something they also have access to. The materials act as a bridge.

Javaka says that when writing you have to find an idea that sustains you throughout the project. Ideas can come from anywhere. Life is where you get your ideas from. Once Javaka has that idea, he does the research and tries to experience the idea in every way possible. "You shouldn't force a story," he says. "Let it be something that happens in a comfortable way...in a way that feels fluid." Once Javaka finishes the writing he considers what the materials should be to create the art.

Javaka makes all of his books personal to him.

Raul Colon: Picture Book Panel

Raul Colón was born in New York City, went to school for art in Puerto Rico, has illustrated over 30 children's books as well as done public art for New York and his work has appeared in numerous illustrious editorial publications.

Laurent Linn calls him a LEGEND, and if you know his work, you know you can spot his pieces out of any crowd. Laurent had the pleasure of art directing DRAW! (among other luminous titles) for Raul.

Raul jokingly says the original text for the DRAW! dummy was so good, that his editor Paula Wiseman said to cut it. Truly, the images stand alone without text, so they did decide to turn it into a wordless picture book. Raul says many teachers and librarians use the book as a creative writing exercise, asking students to write stories to accompany the images (and Raul thinks sometimes those are even better than what he had written!)

Laurent asks what a typical day is like:

"I get up early in the morning, have to have coffee, toast, take my time, hear NPR for a little bit (which hasn't been good news for the last six months...) and then I go to my studio, which has papers and books everywhere...

I sit there at my desk and the way I approach the book, after I've read the manuscript, I have to come up with the sketches. When I see a manuscript and I say yes to it, before that, during the first reading, I've got to have visions for the book come to me as I start reading, otherwise I can't say yes to it.

Then I turn on some music. Could be rock 'n' roll, could be Rachmaninoff. Doesn't matter, I get lost, especially when I get into the color/painting time. Many times I don't do more than three sketches per illustration. Usually I start with thumbnails, and then I make the larger sketch..."

Laurent asks how does Raul start an idea?

Gregory Colbert photos

DRAW! came about after Raul went to a Gregory Colbert photography exhibit of big, beautiful prints of animals. The exhibit included videos of Colbert in action. It blew Raul away. He'd been illustrating a lot of biographies, but Raul really wanted his next book to have animals in it. As a kid, Raul was very sick and indoors a lot drawing, so he put all of those elements together for DRAW!

Laurent asks what is Raul's revision/working process like?

Raul does NOT like to do color sketches before he gets to the final art, he wants to keep everything loose until the final. Because when he starts to do final art he wants to be free to change things, which keeps the energy up and the art fresh and allows him to go in the directions that best serve the art and book.

Pat Cummings is the 2017 SCBWI Member of the Year!

Pat Cummings accepts her  2017 SCBWI Member of The Year Award

Pat Cummings is the author/illustrator of over thirty-five books for young readers...

The editor of the award-winning series Talking With Artists, which profiles prominent children's book illustrators...

A teacher at Parsons and Pratt, and her children's book illustration class has a growing number of notable illustrator/authors among its graduates...

A member of the SCBWI Board of Advisors...

A member of the boards of the Authors Guild, the Authors League Fund and the Authors Guild Foundation...

A champion of Diversity, WeNeedDiverseBooks, and Literacy...

And now, Pat Cummings is our 2017 SCBWI Member of the Year – Congratulations, Pat!

Congratulations to the 2017 SCBWI Portfolio Honorees! #LA17SCBWI

Bologna Members' Choice Award

Billy Goats Gruff

Nicola Robinson

Future Bologna opportunities at bologna.scbwi.org

Summer Student Illustrator Scholarship

Irena Freitas

Julie Kwon

Each year, the SCBWI sponsors four conference scholarships for full-time graduate or undergraduate students studying illustration. (Two for the New York conference, two for the Los Angeles conference)

Many of our SIS winners have gone on to be represented by agents, get illustration work, publish books and win awards.

Julie Kwon and Irena Freitas pictured here with Director of Illustration and Artist Programs, Sarah Baker

2017 Illustrator Mentorship

Amber Alvarez

Irena Freitas

Diandra Mae

Shannon McNeill

Alexandra Thompson

Heidi Woodward Sheffield

The goal of the mentorship award is to identify, develop, and nurture illustrators whose work shows potential and may benefit from mentorship.

Portfolio Showcase Honors

Irena Freitas

Andy Musser

Shannon McNeill

Grand Prize

Ashlyn Anstee

Many, many thanks to the incredible Priscilla Burris and Sarah Baker who work so hard on these incredible opportunities for illustrators, and to the Illustration Committee and judges.