Kendra Levin: The Hero Is You -- Tools from the Hero's Journey to Illuminate Your Writing and Life

Kendra Levin is an executive editor at Viking Children’s Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, where since 2005 she has worked on a wide range of children’s literature from picture books to young adult novels. She has edited the New York Times bestseller Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton, Printz Honor winner The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry, Theodor Seuss Geisel award winner Don’t Throw It to Mo! by David A. Adler, Society of Illustrators Gold Medal winner The Lost House by B.B. Cronin, and the work of authors including Janet Fox, Deborah Freedman, and others. Kendra also helps writers as a teacher and certified life coach, and is the author of The Hero Is You, a grounded self-help guide to a healthier writing process. Visit her at www.kendracoaching.com and follow her @kendralevin.

Kendra Levin is an editor at Viking Children's Books and the author of The Hero Is You, a book that uses The Hero's Journey to help writers find the right path and process for themselves. Because there is no one right way. "If it works for you, then it works," Levin says. "And if it doesn't, don't do it." 

1) MAKE A MAP: The number one way that you can be a hero in your creative process is by creating a plan for yourself, a map for what you are going to do. Figure out your goal -- and give yourself a deadline. Then figure out what you need to accomplish that goal by that deadline. 

2) KNOW YOURSELF: Specifically, know your own strengths and weaknesses -- and be honest about acknowledging them. What do you excel at? What is it that you're not really strong in, and how can you improve? Work on your craft muscles but also work on your process muscles. "There are all these ways that self-awareness can be a very solid tool. If you can predict where you'll likely struggle, you can do things to address that." 

3) ASK YOURSELF WHY: Ask yourself the question: "Why am I doing this?" What's your greater mission and purpose? What do you want to say, what do you want to share with the world? Figure out two things: a) What is your mission statement as a writer? b) What is your vision for this specific project? 

4) FIND A MENTOR: Or turn yourself into one by focusing and studying. Writing is a craft, and Levin compares it to any athletic pursuit. "Work that muscle." Study books that you love, study craft, ground yourself in the work of others to take your own writing to the next level. Explore all kinds of story. And talk to people. "Everyone around us has something to teach us." 

5) FIND ALLIES: Writing can be a very solitary experience. But you don't have to do this alone. "It's so vital to have a support system," Levin says. "You need people who understand what you're doing and why and will support you through that process -- and let them support them, too." Look for critique partners or a writers' group. 

6) CHANGE IT UP. Levin notes: what (and who!) works for you now may not in the future as your writing experience, path and circumstances change. Don't be afraid to revisit and rework the process. Change is scary, but can lead to breakthroughs. 

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Golden Kite Awards: Lisa Wheeler for Picture Book Text

The Golden Kite honors two for best picture book text -- a winner and an honoree.

And the winners are....

Winner: The Christmas Boot by Lisa Wheeler
Publisher: Dial
A touching Yuletide story about a lonely woman who finds a mysterious boot in the snow.

Honor: Time for Earth School, Dewey Dew by Leslie Staub
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
A nervous alien deals with being the only non-human at his new school.

Golden Kite award winner for best picture book text Lisa Wheeler shared the inspiring, nearly 20-year journey she took to the SCBWI Golden Kite stage.

"Let me just take a breath because this is the year I've decided I get to enjoy moments, and this a moment I've enjoyed," Wheeler said. "The story behind the Christmas Boot is very inspiring -- especially for those of us who have been in the trenches for years."

"It was December of 1998. I was working at Toys R Us in the children's book department," she recalls. "As I left work one day, it was snowing outside. And as I was pulling out of the parking space, I saw a black boot sitting in the snow. I got out and retraced my steps, but it wasn't there. But there was a story there, somewhere. That's how it all began." 

But the road to publication was long and winding. "I sent the manuscript to my agent, and he loved it, so we sent it out," she says. "It went to acquisitions at one house, and was turned down. I think what happened was, it just wasn't right for that time. So I put it away. In 2005, I met an editor at a small press. I sent it to her. She made an offer the next day, and it was published regionally but the imprint went out of business. So the book was gone. I let it go."

But that was hardly the end of it. Cut to: "Summer of 2014, Steve calls me and says Laurie Hornik at Dial is looking for a Christmas story," Lisa said with a laugh. "So my agent was thinking about that book for nearly 20 years -- that's the kind of agent you want."

It landed at Dial, and to Wheeler's joy, it was illustrated by the amazing Jerry Pinkney. "And I am thrilled beyond thrilled to hear that it won the Golden Kite," she said. "Twenty years later, I'm an overnight success. So if you really believe in a story, don't give up on it." 

Jennifer Laughran: Best Practices to Maximize Your Book's Success

Jennifer Laughran joined Andrea Brown Literary Agency in 2007 after a long career as a bookseller, buyer and event coordinator. Always on the lookout for sparkling YA and middle grade fiction with unusual and unforgettable characters and vivid settings, she loves funny books, thrilling books, romantic books, books that make her cry, and all-around un-put-downable books… and her true favorites are all of the above. Some clients include author-illustrators like Giselle Potter, Don Brown, Raul the Third and Phoebe Wahl; middle grade authors like Daniel Pinkwater, Kate Messner, Alex Gino and Linda Urban; YA authors like Erin Jade Lange, Paula Stokes, Karen Rivers and Ellen Emerson White, among others. Visit www.andreabrownlit.com.

Prolific agent extraordinaire Jennifer Laughran, an actively acquiring agent at Andrea Brown Literary, has an awesome, engaging presence, online and off. And you can, too. Here are some of her kickass tips about how to prime your book for success. 

1) Be easy to find. If you're not published, have a simple site with social media links, a bio, and contact information for yourself (and your agent when you have one). When you are published, add relevant book information -- including your buy links (don't forget an indie!), ISBN, pull quotes from reviews, blurbs, a press kit and publicist information. If you're an illustrator, include an easy-to-navigate portfolio with a variety of samples. 

2) Social Media! You don't have to be everywhere. "Don't do it if you hate it." If you don't enjoy it, no one else will either. Figure out what you enjoy and focus on that. Use it chat and interact, not to promote yourself all the time. 90 percent of your social should not be about your books. Boost and promote others, join conversations. And be positive and professional. "Nobody like an Eeyore."

3) GoodReads.com. (And most other reviews/blogs.) As an author, do not engage. In fact, "treat Good Reads like a porn site." Do not go there. Block if necessary.

4) Find Community. Go to your local bookstore or library, ask for advice. Buy and read books. Engage as a reader. While you're chatting, tell them you're an author, too. If you are already friends, they will be happy to support you and your books. 

5) Be gracious. Publishing is a small world. These people are your colleagues, they know each other -- and they talk. A little kindness goes a really long way. 

Keynote: Stephanie Garber

Stephanie Garber is the New York Times and Sunday Times best-selling author of the break-out, young adult fantasy Caraval, which is one of the publishing success stories of 2017. When Stephanie isn’t writing, she teaches creative writing at a private college in northern California, where she’s been known to turn assignments into games and take students on fieldtrips that involve book signings. She can be found on Twitter @sgarbergirl, or Instagram @stephanie_garber. 

Lin Oliver introduced Stephanie Garber as "the definition of an overnight success." 

But that overnight success was more than seven years in the making. 

"The last time I was here, I was not published. So I'm very excited. And I'm really nervous," she says. "I know what it's like to sit here and wonder if you'll ever get an agent or a book deal, hoping that someone will see something in you and your work. Hoping someone will say the words that would make it all better."

She was you when she got here. "I wanted a magic formula -- agent, book deal, success. That's not how it works." 

How it did work, Stephanie edition: 

-She queried 100 agents with her first manuscript. Got silence. 

-She wrote four more books. Queried the hell out of them. Nada.

-She landed an agent with her 5th book.

-That book got close, but didn't sell.

During that time, "I moved back in with my parents and went to many family functions where people questioned my life choices," Stephanie says. "I also questioned my life choices."

Then, "The week I finished Caraval, my agent left the business. So I was back in the query trenches," Stephanie says. "I felt like I was made to tell stories. But that dream I loved so much didn't love me back. So every time I was rejected, it felt personal."

"But then a miracle happened. Close to 70 percent of the agents I queried requested the book," Stephanie says. "Out of those agents that requested, eight agents offered. Caraval sold in an eight-editor auction, and the film rights sold the same day. It couldn't be a more dramatically different experience from my first time on sub."

So what changed from the first book to Caraval? Here are the four things that Stephanie believes were truly crucial on her journey:

1) "Write the book you are brutally obsessed with. The book that wakes you up at night, itching to write." Because chances are, if you're obsessed, someone else will be, too. 

2) "Do the things you're afraid of." For Stephanie, one of those things was joining SCBWI and going to a conference -- her worst nightmare. But going to conferences -- both on craft and the publishing business -- helped Stephanie up her game and improve her writing. 

3) Learn to let go. The first three books Stephanie wrote were part of trilogy -- more than a thousand pages and two years of writing. "I was so enchanted by own story," she says. She'd written so many words and spent so much time on them, she couldn't let go. "Not only had I invested time in it, but my hopes were in the pages of that story. My heart was in it." But, Stephanie says, "once I let go of it, I never looked back." Starting over is hard. But usually necessary. 

4) Read widely. And read deeply. Advice from Lin, probably via Judy Blume: "For every one book you write, read 500." Create a personal canon of books. It will help you find your voice. "When I meet a writer who doesn't enjoy reading, it baffles me." When Stephanie moved home, she didn't have much money, but she took home stacks of books from the library. She read for pleasure, but she also studied those books. Learn and know what you do and don't enjoy -- if you don't like it, chances are your readers won't like it. Write the kind of books you want to read.

"I just want to say that being here means you are on the right path," Stephanie says. "If you persevere, I believe wholeheartedly that you will achieve your dreams. That is what I needed to hear when I was that wannabe writer sitting right where you are right now. The reality is, most people in this industry is kind. When you hear no, there's usually a valid reason for it. Keep working, keep trying, but keep growing. If this process hasn't hasn't humbled you, it should. There is always more to learn. But I can't wait to hear about the success of everyone in this room."

Keynote: Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and the New York Times Best-selling author of twenty-four books, including The Crossover, which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal, the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, The NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and the Paterson Poetry Prize. Some of his other works include The Playbook: 52 Rules To Help You Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Of Life; the picture books, Animal Ark, Out of Wonder and Surf's Up; and novels Booked, He Said She Said, and the forthcoming Solo.

Listening to Kwame Alexander speak is like going to church.

And when you pair him with fellow poet and YA goddess Sonya Sones, you know you're in for a treat. The #LA17SCBWI Saturday afternoon's closing keynote did not disappoint.

"Okay, Kwame. Let's start from the beginning," Sonya said. "Tell me about the moment of your conception."

Kwame didn't miss a beat. "1967. Harlem, New York. A dormitory at Columbia University."

"Okay, moving on."

"What? You don't want to hear the rest of this story?"

Just getting started, and already a riveted (laughing) audience.

Kwame first realized he was a writer when he penned a poem as a child for his mom on Mother's Day. "That was the first time I knew that my words could be pretty powerful."

As a child, Kwame switched schools some 13 times as his family moved around. But socially, he thrived. "I was very outgoing and I knew how to use my words. I used humor a lot and liked moving through different crowds." He recalls going to a poetry reading at six and being enthralled.

In college, he studied with Nikki Giovanni. "I was writing social protest poetry full of passion and the spirit of revolution. And I remember her giving me Cs. I asked her why. She told me: 'you're writing poetry from your head, and not from your heart.' I remember telling her she was crazy."

At the end of the semester, she called him in, he thought to offer an apology. "She told me everything that was wrong with me -- that I was trapped in an image. I stormed out of her office. I took her class again the next year, and the same thing happened, and then taking it the third year -- and writing a play, on campus, about Nikki Giovanni, showing her in an unfavorable light. She knew about it. I left Virginia Tech with no relationship with her. A year later, I wrote my first poetry book. Bad poetry. I only sold like five books. The last day, a woman came up to me and said I want to buy two books - and was Nikki. I knew then I wanted to do this the rest of my life."

At its very core, poetry is this rhythmic, concise, emotional way of sharing, Kwame says. "That has a profound impact on a child," he says. "It changes the way they see the world."

He says that his own "voice" leaned heavily on poets who came before him, like Giovanni, Tupac, and e.e. cummings. In poetry, "every word counts. You have to chose carefully." But a lot of his work entails making up a rhythm, and even words.

Doing more than 200 school visits a year, he feels pretty connected to kids. "I want to empower young people." Getting on the path of writing for young people was nearly a fluke. He met a bookseller in Connecticut, who made the suggestion. "She said, 'Your poetry's pretty good. You should write novels in verse for children.' She gave me Love that Dog, by Sherry Creech. And after that, I devoured every novel in verse I could find."

In his memoir/life guide, The Playbook: 52 Rules To Help You Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Of Life, he shares similar wisdom. Some of it was borrowed from his dad. "He's always saying things like, 'You can't know what you don't know.' And 'Never have anyone around you who has less to lose than you,'" Kwame says. "This stuff is like ageless. I just put it in different terms, things kids can understand, using music, sports or other things I love a framework for it."

The best advice he has to give? "Rejection is a thing. The Crossover was rejected like 20 times. So when it kept happening, I was looking for a writing coach. And the one I found was Sonya Sones." The timing wasn't right.

A few years later, he won the Newbery, and Sonya emailed him, saying, "I guess it could be said that I taught him nothing he knows." But that support was there.

Bottom line: "When you're in this business, if you want to be a writer and have certain goals, surround yourself with people who are like-minded, who will encourage you," Kwame says. "Even when you think they don't like you, like Nikki. You have to find your tribe. Keep going. We are stars, in our minds, day and night. Let it shine." 

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Joy Preble: Advice from a Bookseller

Joy Preble is the author of a medium-long list of young adult novels including the Dreaming Anastasia series, the Sweet Dead Life series, and Finding Paris. Her newest novel, It Wasn’t Always Like This, was called “epic and addictive” by Beautiful Creatures’ author Kami Garcia and “a suspenseful treat with a gooey romantic center” by the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. She teaches writing at Writespace Houston and is also the Children’s Specialist at Houston’s Brazos Bookstore. Visit Joy at joypreble.com or follow her on Twitter @joypreble

As a reader and a writer, your local bookstore should be one of your favorites places.

But as a published author, it can also be an incredible resource for sharing and marketing your work. IF you learn how to give as much as you get.

Joy Preble knows. Her first ever bookstore event bombed big time. "I didn't know what I was doing, I didn't know how to publicize it, I did everything all wrong," she says.

These days, as a multi-published author and part-time bookseller, she knows better. And she's sharing her hard-earned knowledge with you.

"As Mark Twain said, 'The world owes you absolutely nothing,'" Preble says. "And I'll add to that a caveat: your local bookstore owes you nothing, too."

First things first: become part of your local bookish community -- especially at your local indie. "Be a reader, be a shopper," Preble says. "Get to know your local booksellers, talk to them about books -- and not just your own. Come out for events, buy books when you can, be present."

Take the time to learn policies and timelines. Events are scheduled well in advance. Go to Edelweiss and look at what's coming up to see if you can build something interesting -- and start those conversations early. If you're planning an event, add value by bringing in other authors to join you. "Join your debut year group and other author communities so you have a network you can draw on," she says. "There are layers and layers of connections. If you don't have them yet, get out their and make them."

How? Be generous. "I go into my local bookstore and turn my friend's book face forward, then share it on social media to give her little boost," Preble says. "Sometimes we need that. I'm a firm believer in the karma of Pay It Forward. But I guess that's part of my platform. I'm nice. So many people have helped me along the way, as friends and mentors. It's only fair I do the same."

If an indie loves your book, they work hard to handsell your book. "And if we love it, we can do a lot for you," Joy says. Things they can't do: guarantee you an audience, get you press or media opportunities, keep your book in stock forever, promise you sales. But building those indie relationships will bolster your career in the longterm.

And in the meantime, "write the best books that you can," she says, "and do as much for it as you can, marketing-wise. That's all you can really control."

One last thing: "Two words everyone forgets -- thank you. Use that penmanship and hand-write a note. It will be appreciated."

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Nick Thomas: Celebrating Diversity, Tradition And Change

Nick Thomas is an editor with Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, where he started as an editorial assistant. He also held positions with Bloomsbury, Chicken House, and David Fickling Books before returning to his AALB roots. He edits middle grade and young adult books, and looks for stories that change something about you by the time you're finished.

Get ready for some book recs! Nick Thomas, a relatively new acquiring editor at Scholastic's Arthur Levine Books, joined the rest of the team to talk about the imprint's diverse list of titles, from Harry Potter on.

"I grew up reading the Harry Potter books -- there's actually a photo of our family behind Arthur during a parade in our town, so I was thrilled to work with him," says Thomas of joining the house that built Harry. "But that's one of the things I appreciate about Arthur. He didn't think about sales, he just said, 'This is a talented author we want to bring on.'" 

One of his other recent favorites was Russell Hoban's The Mouse and His Child, which the house rebooted this year in a 50th anniversary edition. "I doubt that the book had the most tremendous publishing hook," Thomas says, "but again, it's such a good book and it was out of print, and Arthur brought it back to much success." 

Another recommendation from Thomas is Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich's 8th Grade Superzero. 

"Kids deserve books that are fun and serious at the same time, and Olugbemisola's book sort of captures that perfectly," Thomas says. "It deals with homelessness, community and race in everyday life, but does it in a fun, humorous way."

Next up: Jaclyn Moriarty's Colors of Madeline series. "It's a fantasy that sort of bucks genre conventions -- it's cozy and funny and whimsical, but dark and challenging at the same time," says Thomas. "And it's one of a long line of Jackie books we've done. She started out in contemporary and ended up doing her first fantasy, but it's her voice that you want to follow." 

"Openly Straight, by Bill Konigsberg works on so many different levels," Thomas says. "Books that have multiple hooks that you can use right off the bat are really phenomenal and Openly Straight does that -- and it's really funny."

If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth is a modern #ownvoices Native American stories. "It's very much vased on his own experiences. But it exemplifies how an author can address series issues without talking down to kids. So read that book." 

"The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb is singular on our list because it's narrative non-fiction, and that's something we're always, always looking for," Thomas says. "And I love the publishing story because we're always looking for the best to bring to kids and this was originally an adult book, and Cheryl Klein asked him to adapt it for kids and he did."

A middle grade series that Thomas highly recommends is The Great Greene Heist and The Parker Inheritance. "Varian Johnson writes the best books ever. They're kind of like James Bond meets Ocean's 11 -- short and action-packed and satisfying," Thomas says. "They make the secondary characters feel so three dimensional. Jackson's friends all have their backstories -- there's like 300 pages on each of them sitting somewhere in Varian's head."

Kelly Barnhill: Using Folklore As A Sub-Structure in Fantasy Worlds

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.

Newbery award winner Kelly Barnhill's talk centered on building the folklore in the fantasy worlds we create -- and how those stories within the world are cultural shorthands for worldbuilding.

She started off talking with one of our own world's staples: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a cultural touch point. We all know what it means to be "a scrooge." The story has become folklore to us. Dickens was able to convey the central truth of the story: greed hurts us. 

Compare this, then, to A Klingon Christmas Carol -- available here on YouTube (and in which Kelly's sister plays a Vulcan narrator) -- in which honor is everything.

So why do we tell stories? What is the purpose of folklore? And how can we put it to use in building imaginative worlds?

"We have to be able to integrate our reader into the world," Barnhill says. "We're not just building a world, we're building a political structure, a religious structure, flora and fauna, weather, the way in which we move through space, the way we connect with each other. You start wars, you create peace. You build universes like gods."

But one thing that writers sometimes leave out when worldbuilding is the stories the world tells. What are the nursery rhymes, the fairy tales, the bedtime stories? Their campfire tales. Their cautionary tales? Their urban legends? How do those stories integrate themselves into the mind of the narrator?

"We use stories to convey so much about the world, to pin down the references that people in the world use to connect, to hurt, to control," Barnhill says, referencing the tales like The Ugly Duckling and Little Red Riding Hood. "They leak into our brains, they infect our language, they infest into our bones -- they help us understand the world, give us a language, they reveal truths. So with the confines of world building, that folklore has to be big and muscular, it has to have weight and gravity."

What is the folkloric fabric that binds your world together? What do they whisper to each other at night? What are the stories they've forgotten?

Building the folklore, then, is a heavy task -- because not only does it have to build the world, it also has to say volumes about the character. These are elements of craft that must be carefully wrought. "Each sentence should serve at least two obvious purposes as well as multiple devious secret purposes as well," Barnhill says.

To become adept at this, Barnhill suggests writing exercises set within your world. For example, the prompt: write a trickster story within your world. What would that look like? What would that convey? 

Agents' Panel: Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary

Tricia Lawrence is the "Pacific Northwest branch" of EMLA—born and raised in Oregon, and now lives in Seattle. After twenty-two years of working as a developmental and production-based editor (from kid’s books to college textbooks, but mostly college textbooks), she joined the EMLA team in March 2011 as a social media strategist. As an agent, Tricia represents picture books/chapter books that look at the world in a unique and unusual way, with characters that are alive both on and off the page, and middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction that offers strong worldbuilding, wounded narrators, and stories that grab a reader and won't let go. www.trishlawrence.com

Tricia Lawrence is an actively acquiring agent at the Erin Murphy Literary Agency with more 20 years experience in publishing. "I started in publishing when I was 21, so I've been in publishing for a long time, but a lot of it was on the other side of the desk in production and marketing."

These days, "I rep picture books through YA -- so zero to 18, and my clients are awesome," she says. Here's a Q&A she did with Lee Wind about what she's looking for.

Clients include: Kim Turrisi, Debbi Michiko Florence, Courtney Pippin-Mathur, Paula Yoo, HM Bouwman

"I'm looking for wounded narrators, especially in the YA side," she says. "Everyone is writing because something has happened to them -- what prompted you to start writing? I want those life-changing moments. I'm a sucker for a good story where the characters fly off the page and won't leave my mind."

Tricia's big takeaway? Be ambitious, do the work -- and be prepared for publishing to take you in directions you'd never imagine.

Case in point: One of her clients, Debbi Michiko Florence, out writing YA. " She queried me with YA, then with a middle grade, and then started writing something else," Tricia says. "Then I got a call. 'I think I have something cooking.' An editor had expressed interest in another project. I was like, 'The YA?' Nope. Chapter book. They took one book into acquisitions, and came out with an order for FOUR books. A four-book chapter book series right off the bat."

That series, centered around Jasmine Toguchi, kicks off with two books debuting next week.

Jasmine Toguchi, 8, is a Japanese American kid who's learning to make mochi with her family -- and instead of rolling the mochi with her mom and the women, as tradition dictates, she wants to do the rice pounding part, with her dad and the men.

"You write what you love, you find someone who loves your work, but the publishing industry often has its own ideas about what goes first, the order of things. Ultimately, though, it's your time and your career. The thing I love about Debbi is, she goes with it. Have your meltdown moments, eat your chocolate, but at the end of the day, she knows we're going to do this. Get your work done. Embrace what happens."

Tricia points out that the connections you make at conferences like SCBWI LA stay with you even once you have an agent. Being proactive is a major plus. "We like to know the relationships you've been building," she says. "I love it when clients say, 'I ran into so and so and told them what I'm working on and they said please send it.' This is your career. You should have a say in where it goes."

That said, "We're also your safety net -- you can try your ideas and pitches out on us," Tricia says. "I love helping my clients feel really empowered and strong about their work when they're sharing it with the world."

As for trends, Tricia says, "Publishing is trying new things, changing it up a bit. For example, I'll submit a picture book and it will get turned into a board book instead, or a novelty books." For her, though, "this is the year of the novel -- middle grade, YA and chapter books. I really like character-driven and beautiful writing. And I'm very interested in non-fiction, both narrative and expository."

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Transforming Life Into Art: Aisha Saeed

Aisha Saeed is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books. Her novel Written in the Stars was listed as one of the 30 best YA books of all time by Paste magazine, a best book of 2015 by Bank Street Books, a 2016 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, and was awarded the top ten books all Young Georgians Should Read 2016. Her middle grade novel will be published in summer 2018. Aisha is also a contributing author to the anthologies Love Inshallah, Faithfully Feminist, and Our Stories, Our Voices, forthcoming in Summer 2018. Visit www.aishasaeed.com.




Aisha Saeed knows what you're thinking. When many readers pick up her debut novel, Written in the Stars, they think it's about her own experience as a teen.

It is. And it decidedly isn't. Like her main character, Nila, Saeed grew up Pakistani-American in the South. But unlike her protagonist, she didn't face a forced marriage herself.

"I write to find the answers to questions I have. That's what I was doing with Written in the Stars," Saeed says. "I went into the topic of forced marriage because I had friends growing up who were forced into marriages. If they said no, their parents would disown them. As I was applying to college, my friends were getting engaged and married. And by the time I graduated, they were getting divorced. What their parents did was wrong, but those parents loved their kids. So how could this be happening?"

Diving into the book — which took her ten years to write — Saeed thought twice. "A lot of people don't like Muslims these days, so it's daunting," Saeed says. "Because I want to write the truth of this story. But am I writing something that is going to make things harder? Ultimately, it was hard, because I knew I took that risk. I had to choose not to be afraid to tell the truth."

Not everyone was thrilled, starting with Aisha's own mother. "I think you always have to tell the truth, literal or emotional. When my mom got the arc for the first time, she hadn't read the beginning of it," Saeed says. "My mom read it and she was like, 'You really don't like me do you?' She thought the parents in the book were based on her and my father. 'We didn't let you date. Or go to prom.' And I said, 'But you didn't force me to get married. So we're good.' I wrote that truth and built on it, and I knew it would be painful to go there. But I had to do it."

The risk paid off — immediately, Saeed began to hear from readers who were touched by her story. And they weren't just Muslim women. "The very first email I got was from a Mormon woman in Utah who ran an organization that helped girls escape from forced marriages here in the United States. I found readers who said, 'I see warning signs in this book — I can see this happening to me."

Writing about such a touchy topic was difficult — especially because the canon of literature about South Asian American kids and teens is small. But Saeed knows that using her voice is helping to change that. 

"Growing up, I never saw myself in books — except as the bad guy, the terrorist, or as the punchline to a joke," she says. "When I first started, I never wrote about my own culture or religious identity because I didn't see it. I thought my story didn't matter. I was in college the first time I saw someone who looked like me on the cover a book — Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples." 

A few years later, she picked up the award-winning Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri. And she wasn't the only one. "I saw people buying it. Lots of people buying it," Saeed says. "People wanted to read our stories. That's when I thought, maybe I can write stories, too."

These days, Saeed sees kids like her reacting with joy (and relief) when they pick up her book. "I didn’t have that. I didn’t even know that I could even want for that," Saeed says, " so it’s incredible to see kids who are like me — South Asian Muslims — who see themselves in my book."

Sara Pennypacker Gives The Conference-Closing Keynote

Sara Pennypacker is the author of seventeen children's books, including the New York Times best-selling Clementine series, Summer of the Gypsy Moths, Pierre in Love, Sparrow Girl and The Amazing World of Stuart. She has also contributed four books to the venerable Flat Stanley series. Her books have won numerous awards, including a Golden Kite Award and a Christopher’s Medal, many children’s choice state awards, and have appeared on many 'Best Books' lists.

Voice packed with emotion, Sara opens with E.B. White's quote,

Writers (and illustrators) should "lift people up, not lower them down. Writers do not merely reflect and interpret life, they inform and shape life."

The hall is rapt as Sara shares the ten most important things she's learned about writing for young people. Some highlights:

Surround yourself with people who walk with light and not with darkness ...who respond to the world with positive acts of creation.

Creation is a river. One way it's like a river is that it becomes stagnant if blocked. Do not allow that.

"Children who feel stories are a gift… feel they must give you a gift." And then she tells us how those moments  and hugs (and smashed smarties) are so powerful and meaningful to her -- and will be to us, too.

She shares her two favorite writing tips, here's one:

Leave room for the reader. 

To explain, Sara reads aloud the opening lines of her book Clementine,

"I have had not so good of a week.
Well, Monday was a pretty good day, if you don't count Hamburger Surprise at lunch and Margaret's mother coming to get her. Or the stuff that happened in the principal's office when I got sent there to explain that Margaret's hair was not my fault and besides she looks okay without it, but I couldn't because Principal Rice was gone, trying to calm down Margaret's mother.
Someone should tell you not to answer the phone in the principal's office, if that's a rule."

And then Sara points out how it allows readers to be in on the joke. She didn't say Clementine cut Margaret's hair -- readers figure it out for themselves. She didn't say Clementine picked up the phone -- but readers get it!

"Take out a sentence. Let them put A and C together to figure out what B was."

With stories and advice, Sara's keynote is powerful, and heart-felt, and so encouraging.

Twenty-six years ago Sara attended her first SCBWI conference. She tells us she was nervous and green. And now Sara is this celebrated author who just rocked this keynote…


and gets a standing ovation!

Self-Publishing Done The Right Way: A Workshop with Tracy Barrett

Tracy Barrett is the author of numerous books and magazine articles for young readers. She holds a Bachelor's Degree with honors in Classics-Archaeology from Brown University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Medieval Italian Literature from the University of California, Berkeley. Her scholarly interests in the ancient and medieval worlds overlap in her fiction and nonfiction works. A grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study medieval women writers led to the writing of her first novel, the award-winning Anna of Byzantium (Delacorte). Her most recent publications are The Song of Orpheus: The Greatest Greek Myths You Never Heard, a collection of little-known Greek myths; a retelling of Cinderella entitled The Stepsister's Tale; and the popular middle grade series The Sherlock Files. From 1999 to 2009, Tracy Barrett was the Regional Advisor for the Tennessee and Kentucky SCBWI regions. She is now SCBWI's Regional Advisor Coordinator.

Tracy shares about her own journey to self-publishing. She has twenty books that were traditionally published, and then wrote the middle grade book Song of Orpheus: The Greatest Greek Myths You've Never Heard. She worked with her agent to revise, and then they tried to get it acquired by a traditional publisher -- it came close, but didn't find a home.

But Tracy and her agent believed in the book, so they decided to do "agent-assisted self-publishing." 

Tracy cautions us that there's no one "right way" to self-publish, and explains that her session is less about mechanics and more about philosophy -- is your project a good one for self-publishing? And what elements to consider when making that decision.


She explains that among the criteria she used to decide to self-publish:

The book had appeal to a narrow interest group (kids who love Greek myths),

Could she make back her investment (maybe by doing school visits),

And was she able to pay professionals for what she couldn't -- or didn't -- want to do.

Tracy surveyed other self-published authors to put together her presentation, including Rajdeep Paulus, Dawn Rae Miller, Darcy Pattison, Chris Eboch, Sophie Davis, and JoAnn Early Macken.

She runs down the services self-publishing requires:

Writing
Editing
Design
Formatting (print and ebook platforms require different formats)
Legal Matters
Production (printing, binding, etc.)
Selling
Publicity
Logistics
Financial Aspects

and tells us how she hired someone to help her with formatting, cover art, cover design, and copy editing.

"I was a copy editor but I didn't copy-edit my own book. That's like a surgeon taking out their own appendix."

With lists of common reasons to self-publish (including creative control and higher percentage of sale price) and major drawbacks (including most bookstores won't carry self-published books and it's hard to get reviews from major publications), Tracy's session is packed with information, resources, and tips.

Here's a great one:

Kirkus will, for a fee, review self-published books. Then they'll send you the honest review, and ask if you want them to publish that review. Interestingly, 90% of the authors who self-publish choose to not have their reviews published…

A great reminder that no matter how you publish, you have to aim to put out the best book possible.

Andrew Harwell: The Current Landscape for Children's Books Panel

Andrew Harwell is Senior Editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books, where he focuses on middle grade and young adult fiction and works with such authors as Noelle Stevenson, Adam Silvera, Madeleine Roux, Dan Gutman and more. He's also the author of the middle grade novel, The Spider Ring.

Andrew speaks about being on the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Walter Dean Myers Grant judging committee, about how the industry is recognizing the importance of sensitivity readers, and the desire for stories from writers of marginalized backgrounds.

He points out that a number of winners of the American Library Association awards in 2016 were already bestsellers, telling us the takeaway lesson -- MG and YA readers are very discerning, so we each need to write the best book possible.

There's a vast space between second grade and sixth grade, between Captain Underpants and The Golden Compass and how they're both "middle grade.

Andrew tells us about publishing the Nimona graphic novel, and how when he acquired it, a few chapters were already online as a serialized web comic. They noticed that it was getting more readers every week, and decided to have the author/illustrator, Noelle Stevenson, continue to post the story as the book advanced the two years towards publication. Noelle ultimately posted the entire book online, building an audience all the way. When it was available for presale, readers were excited and the response was HUGE. Yes, they'd read lots of of it online. And yes, they "still wanted to own it."

He shares about recently acquiring a few graphic novels by creators who are people of color, and one from a creator who is queer, and how encouraging it was to have so much support from his colleagues at HarperCollins.

Panel: The Current Landscape for Children's Books - Eileen Kreit

Eileen Kreit is the President and Publisher of Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, Penguin Random House. Eileen has been at Puffin her entire career.

"I have the best job in the business."

The backlist is their frontlist. 70% of publication are their backlist titles, while 30% is frontlist. The books are republished, not reprinted, and Puffin is always looking for levers to pull to keep those backlist titles part of the current conversation.

How would you characterize 2016 and what do you anticipate in 2017?
There was a change in the New York Times bestseller list very recently. They've removed lists, without giving publishers notice. NYT reallocated staff to Washington DC. Discoverability is changing.

"Look at your brand and how you can grow that."

"The themes of middle grade always keep it relevant."

A benefit of being a bigger house with smaller boutiques within is that they have a great deal of flexibility. They can publish many different kinds of books by a particular author, with an eye toward publishing authors longterm and building careers.

Kids need empathy today and books that provide empathy.

Panel: the Current Landscape for Children's Books - Edward Necarsulmer

Edward Necarsulmer is a literary agent with Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency. He started his career in book publishing as an intern at Random House Books for Young Readers, assisted Marilyn E. Marlow at Curtis Brown Ltd. and then joined McIntosh & Otis, Inc. in 2004 to oversee their children's literature business, and he's been an agent for almost 13 years.

He is known for cultivating strong new voices in teen and middle grade as well as picture books. He represents New York Times Bestselling, Newbery, and Caldecott winning authors, illustrators, and estates, and is seeking authors and artists hungry to create exceptional and unexpected work.

During his time as an agent, he's seen a lot of change. The notion of a "gatekeeper" is outdated. Agents these days are more about helping clients navigate new opportunities and aspects of the business.

An agent's job its to help a client play to their strengths and stand out. "Unlike in years past, there isn't one clear bestseller (like Harry Potter). It's anyone's game. That's exciting."

He believes in encouraging clients to write what they know and do well. "That often creates the greatest triumphs."

And he addressed corporate mergers. "It was a great message for authors and illustrators that the publishers are here to stay."

The focus on the craft is paramount, he said: "The best self promotion you can do is write an amazing book."

Follow Edward on Twitter
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Student Illustrator & Writer Scholarship Winners

The SCBWI puts a call out to undergraduate and graduate schools across the country every year to find the most talented student writers and illustrators they can find.

This year the writer's scholarship went to Mercer Black, a graduate student at Vermont College of Fine Arts

Oscar Vargas from Hunter College in New York won the undergraduate scholarship.

The Student Illustrator Scholarships go to two full-time illustration students. Competition is steep.

This year, Margo Huang and Aura Lewis received scholarships to the conference and intensives.

The LGBTQ + Allies Q&A Social

With an expanding circle as more and more people arrived, and with special guests that included Ellen Hopkins, Heidi Stemple, Laurent Linn, Ellen Wittlinger, Matthew Winner, and Arthur Levine, the social opened with a conversation about the responsibilities and challenges of speaking up about diversity, equality, human rights, and politics as people who create content for children.

Then each person around the circle introduced themselves, sharing what they're working on.

And then, for another hour +, people mingled and chatted and exchanged cards with their new tribe-within-a-tribe friends.

Two moments that are still resonating for me:

On an Ally author's reluctance to make a fantasy character queer:
"I want to give you permission that you know as much about a two-headed dragon as anyone." - Arthur A. Levine.

"Don't let anyone shut you up. You have a story to tell. Tell it. ...Somewhere along the way, children will hear it and they will be saved." - Jane Yolen

The evening was brave and beautiful.

Shout outs to the Regional Advisor Teams and SCBWI Staff

Lin and the crowd of 1,000+ of us cheer on…

The Amazing Regional Advisor Teams

The SCBWI Staff

Find out more about SCBWI's regional chapters here

and the SCBWI Staff here.

Cynthia Leitich Smith: The Social Media Panel

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the New York Times and Publishers Weekly best-selling, award-winning YA author of the Tantalize series, the Feral trilogy and several acclaimed children’s books. She was named a Writer of the Year by Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers in recognition of Rain Is Not My Indian Name. Cynthia is on the faculty of the VCFA MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. She also serves on the advisory board of We Need Diverse Books. The Austin chapter of SCBWI has instituted the Cynthia Leitich Smith Mentor Award in her honor. Visit www.cynthialeitichsmith.com and www.cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com

Cynthia speaks of starting to do social media, and how her web presence in the early days (1999!) was a response to a larger cultural misperception of native people not being modern -- her being cutting edge helped reshape that to prove native people like her are "people of now."

She shouts out to Debbie Ridpath Ohi (http://inkygirl.com, @inkyelbows) as an author/illustrator who's doing a great job with social media -- offering both a tremendous resource for others and examples of her illustrations.

She also shares the example of YA authors Cori McCarthy and Amy Rose Capetta starting the Rainbow Boxes project to donate books with LGBTQIA characters to one community library and one homeless shelter in every state in the USA. We too can start a project related to a larger conversation, with a positive tangible end, and be involved in social media in that way.

Cynthia asks us to consider:

What do we have to offer, what's our unique point of view to share, and how can we share it in a way that's enjoyable?

The panel also covers platforms (you don't have to be on everything), time on social media (and tips for limiting it), not obsessing about the numbers, the professional/personal line, how social media can help you find community, how having a social media presence involves a lot of listening, and so much more!

One last powerful moment to share:

Cynthia tells us about losing followers when she's featured certain subjects on her blog. And how that's okay. One example: she featured -- in 2016 -- a series on LGBTQ YA, she signal-boosted it with an ad on Facebook, and she noticed that 35 people stopped following her within a half-hour of the post going up. Her response? A strong "I. Don't. Care."

Her space. Her rules.

Awesome!

Similarly, social media can be your space.

Panel: Children's Books and the Social Media World: Matthew Winner

Matthew Winner, an elementary library media specialist, is the co-founder and content director of All The Wonders, a popular children’s literature website. It hosts the weekly All The Wonders podcasts, which features engaging interviews of authors, illustrators, and more.


What drew you to social media? 
I started in 2010 witht a blog called The Busy Librarian. I spent most of my day alone doing busy work, which drove me to the internet. I found community and collaboration there. After that, I started doing more projects, including podcasting.

Is social media necessary? Who should and who should not?
Depends upon your goals. Community and resource sharing is important. I like posting and getting an immediate response from my readers.

What are some standout things authors and illustrators are doing to engage online? How can authors use social media well?
I love connecting with people on social networks. Josh Funk is an example of someone using social media right. He's a picture book author,  a good person online. He not only talks about his own books, but he helps to promote other people. Being a good person goes a long way. I like talking about books and knowing that there are good people behind them.

What do you think of individual social media platforms? 
Don't be afraid to try out new platforms, even though they may go away (Vine, MySpace). Personally, however, I like to stick to one platform and do it well. Occasionally, I do use Instagram, and I lurk on Twitter. Think about what it is you are creating online. There are places where your readers exist. Find them where ever they are . . . whatever the platform.

Who is your audience? How are you reaching out?
With my social networking, I intend to recreate experiences between friends, and then share those conversations with others. At All The Wonders, we want to engage parents to be as enthusiastic about books as we are in class. I connect with those parents on Facebook, because that's where they are.

How do authors with new books to promote begin to interact with you?
My six-year-old son has a T-shirt that reads: "Being Nice Makes Me Cool." I receive a lot of promotional things from publishers. But I pay more attention to people online who are nice and have something to share with the world, without wanting something back.

Who are people to follow on social networking?
I love following hashtags, I discover a lot of good people that way. #kidlitart is a good one.