Diversity Social at #LA17SCBWI

Did you check out the Diversity Social at #LA17SCBWI?

The Diversity Social began with remarks about We Need Diverse Books by Sona Charaipotra, Miranda Paul, and Linda Sue Park, followed by greetings from some of WNDB's founding members and SCBWI faculty support.

I loved hearing about the successes of their mentorship programs and advocacy programs -- from partnerships with the Scholastic Book Club to measurable results of WNDB's mentorship program. 

An attendee asked how they can support diverse authors if they are not from a diverse background. The committee suggested:

• Buy and read diverse books, and support those authors.
• Talk about diverse books; promote those authors and their books.
• Advocate for diverse voices to be represented at events or programming you're involved in.
• Write and illustrate characters from diverse backgrounds. Pat Cummings asked: do your characters default to a specific ethnicity or background?
• Mentor with WNDB, if applicable. (generally looking for authors with multiple books published in a particular genre.)

After the Q&A, there was time to mingle. I enjoyed chatting with first-time conference attendees / authors Traci Sorrell, Lindsey Metcalf, and Madonna Bock [from the KS/MO chapter]; agent Stefanie von Borstel of Full Circle Literary; Executive Art Director Cecilia Yung at Penguin Random House; and many others at this thoughtful, relaxed gathering.

You can sign up for the WNDB mailing list to be notified when mentorship applications are available.

Check out WNDB's new book discovery app called Our Story

Javaka Steptoe: Anatomy of a Caldecott-Winning Book

Javaka Steptoe, once a model and inspiration for his father, the late award-winning author/illustrator John Steptoe, New York Times best-selling author/illustrator Javaka Steptoe has established himself as an outstanding talent in his field. His beautiful biography of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Radiant Child, was this year’s Caldecott recipient, and winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustration Award. Other notable titles include What’s Special About Me, Mama? and Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow. Javaka uses everyday objects to deliver reflective and thoughtful collage creations filled with vitality, playful energy, and strength. www.javaka.com

Javaka began his breakout session with the disclaimer that anyone setting out to write a book to win a Caldecott is setting themselves up for agony. There are lots of rules and committees, and that's really not what picture book-making is about, is it? (My words, not his!) 

He believes it's far more important to have a child-appropriate story you feel intellectually connected to; to commit to making a book that feels right to you in every moment; to have a publishing team that respects the intent of your book, so they can enhance it; and to immerse yourself so deeply in the research that you gain a fluency with your subject that can be invoked in creative subtleties.

I loved how he uses life experiences as research, as a method actor might:
For Radiant Child, exploring symbolism in Basquiat's work at the Brooklyn Art Museum is how the seed of his book concept was sown. Seeing a documentary expanded that. Listening to music of the period, scanning the textures of brownstone buildings, working at a large scale like Basquiat, experimenting with art materials, and generally using life experiences as his form of research allowed him to have fun and find the connections to Basquiat that helped him distill a lot of information about the culture and experiences of Basquiat into a form young readers can connect to.

"The job of the writer is to keep you on the path. The job of the illustrator is to show you how beautiful the path is." 

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

Sean Qualls: Let Your Art Be Your Constant

Sean Qualls is an award-winning, Brooklyn-based, children’s book illustrator, artist and author. His books include: Giant Steps to Change The World by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis-Lee, Little Cloud and Lady Wind by Toni Morrison and her son Slade, and Before John Was a Jazz Giant, for which he received a Coretta Scott King Illustration Honor. Sean also created the art for Dizzy by Jonah Winter and most recently Freedom Song (The Story of Henry “Box” Brown) by Sally Walker. His work has received two Blue Ribbon citations from the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. Sean draws inspiration from an array of influences such as movies, television, childhood memories, aging and decaying surfaces, architecture, nature, folk art, fairy tales, Americana, black memorabilia, outsider art, cave paintings, collectibles, African art, golden books, vintage advertisement graphics, mythology, science fiction, and music. He lives in lives in Brooklyn with his wife, illustrator/author Selina Alko. Visit www.seanqualls.com

As storytellers and artists, we are driven by an inner urge to share a piece of ourselves and to captivate an audience. However, we exist in a world where we might limit ourselves by trying to fit into a specific market, to define the boundaries of a career (am I an artist or an illustrator?), to be intimidated by our peers, and to be fearful of failure. How often do we let these things define our path, instead of "getting comfortable with being misunderstood"?

Sean's keynote speech was P-R-O-F-O-U-N-D.  Echoing one part of Vanessa Brantley Newton's morning keynote, he said: staying tapped into that inner urge to create can act as a guiding light through difficult times.

More of Sean's insightful advice for creatives:

• Find something you love to do and become obsessed with it. Buoy yourself with supportive friends.
• Keep showing up and doing the work. At #LA17SCBWI, every success story seems to share this common denominator.
• Dedicate yourself to continuing to learn and grow: Sean used museum catalogs, public libraries, friends, and the world around him as his art education. He found his voice in art not through school, but by curiosity, personal research, and experiments -- and by keeping his mind open as he flexed different materials and techniques.
• Make art for yourself. Dedicate time to discovering your personal themes by giving yourself space to create work in your sketchbook, journal, or any private space where you can be free.
• "Art is Magic. Magic is a process. Art is an arrangement of our feelings made to look completely effortless. That is the definition of magic."
• Accept yourself: what you think of as a flaw could be your definitive, unique asset.
• Stay determined and stay too busy to care about other people's approval.

Thank you, Sean, for this powerful keynote about becoming a professional by delving deeper into imagination, memory, curiosity, and that inner urge -- not by limiting ourselves by our failures or successes, but by continuing to make work we care about. 

"Let your art be your constant."

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

Meet #LA17SCBWI’s Team Blog

Meet 2017's SCBWI Team Blog!

We'll be live blogging the 46th annual SCBWI Summer Conference from July 7-10th, 2017 here at http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com, and on social media using the hashtag #LA17SCBWI

Follow and RT:

• Lee Wind: @leewind
• Sona Charaipotra @sona_c
• Jolie Stekly @cuppajolie
• Susie Ghahremani @boygirlparty
• Jaime Temairik @jaimetem

Tomorrow is the final day to register at https://www.scbwi.org/events/46th-annual-summer-conference-in-los-angeles-la17/#event-registration 

Follow along and join the conversation:

#LA17SCBWI on Twitter
#LA17SCBWI on Instagram
#LA17SCBWI on Facebook
http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com

Exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG Video Interview: Zombie Sock Puppet David Wiesner

Visit CocoaStomp for Jaime Temairik's latest exclusive TEAM BLOG video interview with illustrator, Caldecott winner and Summer Conference keynote speaker David Wiesner who takes the form of a zombie sock puppet (another undead illustrator!).

Two days from now: Blog-mania! Stay tuned...

Exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG Video Interview: Zombie Sock Puppet Dan Yaccarino

Visit CocoaStomp for Jaime Temairik's exclusive TEAM BLOG video interview with illustrator and Summer Conference keynote speaker Dan Yaccarino who takes the form of a zombie sock puppet (who knew!)

It's just the latest teaser for our upcoming Blog-splosion which starts on Friday when the Summer Conference kicks off.

Exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG Interview with Kathleen Duey

Visit Alice's CWIM Blog for Alice Pope's exclusive interview with author and Summer Conference keynote speaker Kathleen Duey, the latest in our TEAM BLOG keynote interview series (with more to come!).

Kathleen offers lots of great advice for conference goers and talks about, among other things, fear (and why it's good for you).

Three more days until the Summer Conference Blog-apalooza!


photo: Sonya Sones

Exclusive TEAM BLOG Interview with Karen Cushman

Visit Jolie Stekly's Cuppa Jolie blog today for an exclusive TEAM BLOG interview with Newbery winner and SCBWI Summer Conference keynote speaker Karen Cushman.

We're counting down to the Summer Conference ... only four more days! More exclusive interviews to come this week, and then our conference Blog-o-rama begins.

Exclusive TEAM BLOG Interview: Ellen Hopkins

Be sure to visit Lee Wind's blog today to read his terrific interview with SCBWI Summer Conference keynote speaker Ellen Hopkins.

And be sure to check out all the TEAM BLOG blogger's sites between now and the conference (which starts August 7) for more exclusive interviews, features and scoop. (You can find the TEAM BLOG blogroll on the right of this blog.)

You can still register for the event, full- or part-time. Click here for the registration page.

Part-time Registration for LA Conference Open Online

If you don't have the time (or the funds) to attend the entire SCBWI 38th Annual Summer Conference, there is an option to attend part-time.

You can quickly register online as a part-time attendee and there are a number of great one-day and two-day options. There are excellent sessions each day of the conference as wall as special events, so you can't go wrong with whatever you pick. Here's what you can choose from:

Friday, 8/7/2009 Registration - Non-Member - $200
Full-day Friday Registration

Saturday, 8/8/2009 Registration - Non-Member - $200
Full-day Saturday Registration

Sunday, 8/9/2009 Registration - Non-Member - $200
Full-day Sunday registration. Does NOT include a ticket to the Golden Kite Luncheon. Tickets to the Golden Kite luncheon are $75 each and must be purchased separately.

Monday, 8/10/2009 Registration - Non-Member - $200
Full-day Monday Registration

Friday/Saturday Registration - Non-Member - $400
Friday/Saturday, 2-Day Registration

Saturday/Sunday Registration - Non-Member - $400
Saturday/Sunday, 2-Day Registration. Does NOT include a ticket to the Golden Kite Luncheon.

Sunday/Monday Registration - Non-Member - $400
Sunday/Monday, 2-Day Registration. Does NOT include a ticket to the Golden Kite Luncheon.

Click here for the conference registration page. Hope to see you there! And don't forget--you can read about any conference happenings you miss right here on the conference blog.

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Keynote Speaker Interviews

Today blogger Lee Wind offers a great interview with Holly Black, one of the terrific keynote speakers for the upcoming SCBWI Annual Summer Conference. Also check out Paul Yoo's interviews with keynoters Ingrid Law and Betty Birney. There will be more interviews with SCBWI conference keynote speakers from TEAM BLOG between now and the event. (Of course we'll link to them when they're posted.)

And for those of you who still may be thinking about registering for the event but haven't yet, read Suzanne Young's post featuring feedback from three first-time conference goers.

Also be sure to follow SCBWI TEAM BLOG on Twitter (because when we're not blogging, we'll be tweeting):

• To follow Alice Pope on Twitter, click here.
• To follow Jaime Temairik on Twitter, click here.
• To follow Jolie Stekly on Twitter, click here.
• To follow Paula Yoo on Twitter, click here.
• To follow Suzanne Young on Twitter, click here.
• To follow Lee Wind, click here.
  
• You can also follow SCBWI by clicking here, where you'll find tweets linking to all the SCBWI Conference Blog posts.

PROtrack Shoot: Great New Option for PROtrack Attendees of the SCBWI Summer Conference

PROtrack Shoot is an exciting new option for everyone attending the SCBWI Summer Conference who is eligible for the **PROtrack.

SCBWI is setting up a space at the L.A. conference where PROtrack attendees can tape and upload two minutes of their classroom presentation for the new searchable speaker’s bureau. The fee is just $25 for this service.

Interested PROtrack conference-goers can simply follow this link, fill out a form, pay the fee, and you'll be scheduled for a 20-minute block of time to shoot your presentation. The video will be uploaded to your profile at the new SCBWI Online Speaker's Bureau, where teachers and librarians will be able to search for authors and illustrators who make classroom visits.

Click here to sign up.

** This special track is only open to published writers and illustrators and offers 8 targeted courses plus a Saturday “How Published Authors and Illustrators Can Work with Booksellers” luncheon. The SCBWI will also host a reception in your honor on Friday evening where one of your titles will be on sale to conference participants.