M.T. Anderson Dances... And Sings!

M.T. Anderson was kind enough to re-enact a key moment from his performance of the State Song of Delaware during his Keynote.

It was awesome.

(Check out the audio book version of Jasper Dash and the Flame Pits of Delaware... it's a bonus track!)

Gordon Korman: The Page-Turner Principle

Gordon Korman - Check out his official website

Korman uses a “lighten up” kind of approach to writing page-turners. Lighten up already!

He notes: kids are pretty sophisticated in ways you don’t expect them to be.

Korman thinks writers, like Seinfeld, are the ultimate did-you-ever-notice guys. If any of us look at our work, he bets there is, somewhere, a kernel of did-you-ever-notice in there.

An example from his own life: If a team gets sponsored, it’s always by someone humiliating. His hockey team was sponsored by “Pretty Polly Paint and Wallpaper.” How about that on your jersey?

Korman loves observation-fed writing.

During school visits he likes to ask kids, “What are the did-you-ever notices in your life.”

Who was weirdest school bus driver you ever had?

What’s the worst food in your cafeteria?

What would a sixth grader's comedy routine be like? This is the question Korman had to ask himself when writing MAXX COMEDY.

School visits are a way to subversively keep an eye on your audience, to see what’s funny to them. The failures during school visits are much more interesting than the ones that succeed.

“Not bad, pretty good” is about the best praise you’ll get from an eighth grader. Korman looks at eighth graders as New Yorkers; they’ve seen it all and done it all. They’re hard to impress. That’s our audience. Tough crowd!

Nicknames are sort of a great thing when you’re writing. When characters use nicknames for each other, it indicates their relationship, good or bad.

The teen audience is incredibly sophisticated when it comes to authentic dialogue. You’ve got to write good dialogue for teens.

For example, how does a character say hello? S/he probably doesn’t say hello. Korman says, Characters almost have a dialogue fingerprint to them. Korman loves the little quirks of dialogue.

Francesco Sedita-Writing Mass Market Fiction

I'm so excited to sit through publisher and writer Francesco Sedita's breakout session on writing mass market fiction. His resume is truly impressive!! Including Saturday Night Live!!!!!!! He's currently works at Grosset & Dunlap and Price Stern Sloan, two imprints at the Penguin Young Readers Group. Oh, and he's awesome.



Francesco mentions that he feels like the words "mass market" aren't very fair. Just because it's mass market does not mean it's lower quality. Some great examples of their series are:

Frankly Frannie


George Brown Class Clown

Bedeviled



In mass market, think about what will interest the modern child. How can you appeal to them, whether it's through unauthorized biographies of pop figures or movie tie in books. There are so many different directions an author of mass market fiction can go. And Francesco's imprint is always looking for new writers to keep the voices fresh.

Check out the books above! I personally loved Bedeviled!!

Suz

William Low - Publishing Pixels: Picture Book Illustration in the Digital Age

William Low is the illustrator and writer of some gorgeous picture books, including Machines Go To Work, Old Penn Station, and Chinatown, just to name a few. He has been teaching painting and illustration for over 20 years. Low's illustrations are beautifully painted, and considering the painterly style, it's pretty surprising that he works completely digitally. He switched to digital 15 years ago. Today, in session 1 of his 4-part SCBWI workshop, he'll be giving an intro to Photoshop painting.

Right off the bat, we have a document to refer to with a list of some highly useful shortcuts, as well as an overview of the layers palette. I took Low's session a while back at a New York winter conference, and I found the info on the document so helpful that I took the document to work with me and referred to it for some time, until I had almost all of the shortcuts memorized. He also hands out some files on flash drives for us to use during the session.

Low starts off by quickly taking us through his process using a sample from his book, Willy & Max. The start of his process involves photo references and models, which he paints over in Photoshop. Amazing to see a piece take shape from beginning to end!

We review some basic shortcuts. Low notes that it's not necessarily important to memorize every single shortcut, but rather the ones that you use the most.

Using some shortcuts and one of the files he handed out to the class, we learn how to create a really beautiful and painterly gradient. This looks so much more natural than simply filling a space with a Photoshop gradient. We also take a look at a file and discuss the importance of using layers efficiently, as well as some new functions in CS4 and 5.

This has been a great refresher course in basic Photoshop functions, and a reminder that it really is possible to create painterly images in Photoshop. I'd definitely suggest this intro session to Photoshop beginners and anyone who wants to bring a more natural, painted style into their Photoshop work. Can't wait to see what else Low will cover in the other sessions!

Bonnier Bader: Write Your First Page (Part 1) #LA10SCBWI

Bonnie Bader is editor-in-chief of Grosset & Dunlap and Price Stern Sloan, imprints of the Penguin Young Readers Group.

She acquires novelty books, chapter book series, and middle grade and YA paperback series (all genres).

Bonnie's introductory word at the beginning of the conference was "start," and that's what she's talking to us about: the beginnings of our work.

She started out as an editorial assistant, where her job was reading the slush pile. An editor said to her, "If you don't like the first line, reject it."

She'll read more than the first line, but really, if it has a great first line or first paragraph, she's going to want to keep reading.

Likewise, kids today are overstimulated: texting, watching TV, doing homework...all at the same time. Kids need to be hooked from the start.

An example of a mediocre first line, rewritten from a successful book:

Jane Doe was 10. She had reddish, brownish hair, freckles, and big glasses.

This is an interactive class, and Bonnie asked us to rewrite it. Give it a try (the first example volunteered turned poor Jane into the abandoned child of a prostitute--so you can let your imagination run wild). Read the first line of Lois Lowry's Anastasia Krupnik to learn the first line this was based on.

Another weak first line to rewrite:

My name is Sarah Jones and last summer, my father told me to go to the store to get some macaroni and cheese, some rice, and two tomatoes.

(The author of the first example in our session made the revised tomatoes "overripe," which Bonnie really liked. It's evocative and makes the character sympathetic.)

The real first line comes from Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (where Opal goes to the store and comes home with a dog).

You want the first line to lead you into a story. As Bonnie used to tell her mystery writers, "end with a cliffhanger."

Bonnie likes shorter lines to really grab you. A long sentence exhausts you by the time you finish the first paragraph.

Dialogue can be a good way to start a book for a younger audience. You don't always have to do this. (Charlotte's Web does this well: "Where's Papa going with that ax?")

Other lines she likes:

"Sometimes it seems like all I ever do is lie." (The Princess Diary by Meg Cabot.)

"It's my first morning of high school. I have seven new notebooks, a skirt I hate, and a stomach ache." (Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.)

"We went to the moon to have fun, but it turned out the moon totally sucked." (Feed by M.T. Anderson)

"When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it's never good news." (Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz)

"When your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad time of year for it." (The Teacher's Funeral by Richard Peck)

"The sun sets in the west. Just about everyone knows that. But Sunset Towers faced east. Strange." (The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin)

Jon Scieszka Friday Morning Keynote

First National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Jon Scieszka, is here, looking dapper as always:

Since being laid off from his ambassadorship, Jon has not been resting on his diplomatically immune laurels, oh no. He and fellow faculty member Francesco Sedita have a new book out called SPACEHEADZ that you'll all want to read. And if you haven't heard about his excellent new GUYS READ: FUNNY BUSINESS coming out this fall, you'll want to get in line for it now, especially after you watch the star-studded book trailer (at bottom of post.)

But Jon's not talking about his middle grade books this morning, but picture books! "Tales of a Picture Book Writer: Do's, Don'ts, Maybes."

A Big Don't: Don't do as Jon did, don't send your picture book manuscripts to gardening publishers.

Biggest Do: Congratulate yourselves for being here, at a children's book conference. As opposed to Jon's dentist, everyone he's ever golfed with, the kid down the street, and the Pope, who all say they have great ideas, but haven't written them down, and maybe, haven't read a picture book in the last few decades.

Big Do: Read every book in your chosen genre that you can, especially those on the School Library Journal's list of Top 100 Picture Books (top three are WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, GOOD NIGHT MOON, and THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR.)

Big Do: Read really crappy books, too, that's an education, Jon says.

Big Do: Find books you connect with, Jon's favorites TIKKI TIKKI TEMBO, NO, DAVID, and CAPS FOR SALE

Now, Jon is listing all the picture books he finds creepy. Most of them are written by comedians or involve bunnies.

Do: As his agent, Steve Malk, always says become an expert in your field. Read The Horn Book, PW Daily, School Library Journal, and industry blogs. See Betsy Bird's Fuse #8 blog for a great blog roll (like Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast and our own SCBWI blog.)

Don't: Once you start writing, stop reading all the blogs and industry magazines and get down to working. Jane Yolen is right, Jon says, just DO. Write, write write. But if you're Jon's dentist, don't, don't, don't.

Jon shares some slides of his book covers and talks about the handwritten rejections he's received (super quips in the Twitter feed from fellow Team Bloggers, look for #LA10SCBWI.)

And now, Jon's overtaken the cockles of my heart. He's reading us The Tub story from GEORGE AND MARTHA, what he calls a perfect story in only four lines.

Writers Do: Leave room for illustrators to go wild in your stories. He's talking about the TRUCKTOWN series and the three amazing artists that contributed to it. And the wild and wonderful new ROBOT ZOT!

Welcome to the 2010 Summer Conference #la10scbwi

Lin Oliver is explaining to us how these conferences are organized, and for those of you who didn't make it this year, it's a great way to understand some of the benefits of this gathering:

• Keynote speeches by the best names in the business
• Breakout sessions focusing on various areas of the craft and business in meeting rooms around the Century Plaza Hotel
• A bookstore stocked with works by our faculty (which they'll be signing later in the conference)
• Opportunities for socializing and networking with our peers

Lin is so funny and welcoming--if you haven't seen her speak in person before, you're missing out.

One annual tradition is to introduce the faculty with a bit of heroic music. This year, they're walking into the Indiana Jones theme song. Alas, no one seems to have brought a whip. Last year, Arthur Levine offered up a belt to a person in need. Arthur, would it have been too much to bring a whip?

We also traditionally ask faculty to offer up one word. Apparently, it's hard to choose just one, but we'll be tweeting some of the selections. Lin started things off with "showtime"--a great choice.

In case you were wondering, there are a record 1,136 people at the conference this year, coming from most states in the U.S., and many countries outside of the United States. (What up, Delaware and West Virginia? We missed you this year.)

Of the people who revealed their gender when they registered, there are 442 women and 62 men. Everyone else is named Pat, Sandy, Lee or Leslie, which means no one can tell. Just looking around though, there are many more women than men, which makes this quite possibly the hottest pickup spot in Los Angeles right now. Or not.

We also have in attendance one professional nail biter, an opera singer, and a pirate. They will be walking into the lobby bar tonight; a joke will follow. Also, there is a zombie cheerleader, and we aren't certain whether that person cheers for zombies or eats the brains of the chess club (the very best kind).

M.T. Anderson Keynote Hot Tip On World Building

"Literature restores the sense of the unknown to the known."

Here's the tip: Use etimology to take the familiar and twist it, to make it unknown. It will be more powerful than something completely made up.

And he's ending with a sung rendition of the State Song Of Delaware. Which he wrote. And has dance moves with it, too...

Awesome...

And the room bursts into applause!

M.T. Anderson's Keynote: The End of All Our Exploring: The Journey of Narrative, part 1

As Lin Oliver is saying in her introduction, M.T. Anderson is "one of the truly great geniuses of our century!"
She sums it up, the first time speaking at our conference, a man who
"creates books for thinking kids,"
M.T. Anderson!




M.T. Anderson has the room cracking up!

He loved books of fantasy, the romance of geography itself. So he always thought he'd live a life of adventure. But instead, he went to Canada.

That didn't work out so well - in fact, none of his early travels did. (You should hear the story of fighting some cats for the last chicken in the kingdom...)

He wanted someplace to experience the thrill of travel - so he decided to write a novel of fantastic adventures from the safety of his living room.

That's how he chose to write adventure novels about Delaware. Jasper Dash and the Flame Pits of Delaware and a new book coming out about a character trying to escape from Delaware... to New Jersey.

Now he's telling about the letter he got from the Governor of Delaware.

He even created an interactive fantasy map of Delaware. What a neat experiment in world building.

"I had a neat time and it cracked me the hell up!"

So funny!

SCBWI Team Blog Suggests Some Travel Day Reading

So as you take your plane, car, or unicycle to the 2010 SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles, here are some new exclusive interviews with the Conference faculty for you to enjoy. (Uh... don't read them while driving or riding your unicycle. But you know, for all those hurry-up-and-wait travel day moments, these will be great reading... and they even count as doing your homework for the conference!)

Check out:

An interview with National Book Award-Winning Author M.T. Anderson, who is giving a Keynote tomorrow (Friday) morning. See what M.T. thinks is the difference between writing for MG and writing for YA. (hint: It has something to do with voice and duct tape.)

M.T. Anderson

An interview with Scholastic Editor Nick Eliopulos, in which you'll find out how many pages it takes for an editor to "know" whether a manuscript has potential for them or not, and also about how social media for a writer is like icing:

Nick Eliopulos

An interview with Literary Agent Josh Adams, where we talk boutique agencies, online portfolios, and if a writer (or an agent) needs a business card:

Josh Adams

Jolie Stekly's interview with Bonnie Bader, Editor-in-Chief of Grosset and Dunlap and Price Stern Sloan, where you can found out the scoop on Bonnie's two-part first page workshop - which is sure to be incredible!

Bonnie Bader

Martha Brockenbrough's interview with Newbury-Winning Author Linda Sue Park (Okay, it's not a NEW interview - , but I learn so much from Linda Sue Park every time I listen to her - if you missed it, check it out now!)

Linda Sue Park

Want more? Scroll down and check out the links and highlights to ALL the amazing SCBWI Team Blog Pre-Conference Interviews!

Okay, Alice Pope, Martha Brockenbrough, Jolie Stekly, Sarah Stern, Jaime Temairik, Suzanne Young, and me, Lee Wind, wish you safe travels, and we'll see you conference attendees tomorrow.

Happy reading!


-Posted by Lee Wind

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Jennifer Hunt

The lastest TEAM BLOGger to post a Summer Conference faculty interview is TEAM captain Alice Pope who interviewed Jennifer Hunt of Little, Brown. Below is a bit from the post.

Click here to read the full interview.

The time draws near for the 2010 SCBWI Annual Summer Conference and today I offer yet another TEAM BLOG pre-conference faculty interview. I've talked with the amazing Editorial Director of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Jennifer Hunt.

Jen oversees the acquisition and development of all MG and YA fiction for the Little, Brown. She edits an impressive list of award-winner, bestselling and über-popular authors including Sherman Alexie, Sara Zarr, Cornelia Funke, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Pseudonymous Bosch, Cressida Cowell, Walter Mosley, Paolo Bacigalupi, and Jewell Parker Rhodes. (She is also the proud editor of SCBWI’s very own Aaron Hartzler!)

Jen is offering two breakout sessions--PEAK TO PEAK: HOW TO BUILD A CAREER AFTER YOUR FIRST BOOK and AN INSIDE LOOK AT LITTLE, BROWN BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS--and participating in a panel--A VIEW FROM THE TOP: 4 PUBLISHERS DISCUSS OUR INDUSTRY.

Click here for registration information for the Annual Summer Conference conference where you can meet Jennifer Hunt and a long list of other editors all as generous with their knowledge and advice.

Our latest TEAM BLOG Annual Summer Conference faculty interview is courtesy of Jaime Temairik who offers part one of her conversation with illustrator William Low on her blog CocoaStomp.

William is offering a Premium Workshop called PUSHING PIXELS: PICTURE BOOK ILLUSTRATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE .

Here's a bit from Jaime's post in which she offers a nice roundup of previous TEAM BLOG interviews with a number of the amazing Summer Conference speakers.

Click here to read the full post.

More great pre-conference interviews popping up all over. Jolie's been talking to Ginger Clark, Arthur Levine. Suzanne's chatted with Rachel Vail. Lee's whooped it up with Paul Fleischman. Alice has gabbed with Jennifer Rees, Francesco Sedita. And Martha Brockenbrough brought down the INTERVIEW HAMMER—Mac Barnett, Rubin Pfeffer, Gennifer Choldenko, Greg Pincus, and Gail Carson Levine.

You've read all about Mac McCool here on CocoaStomp. So it is with great pleasure that I add another name to the pre-conference interview pile of goodness, William Low!

And after reading this, you may think, dang, I wish I could sit in on this workshop series. And the good news is, you still have time to sign up for it! A few spots are left, but they are dwindling fast.

The conference is only about two weeks away--and TEAM BLOG will be and bringing full conference coverage your way!

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Ginger Clark

Jolie Stekly offers the latest SCBWI TEAM BLOG Annual Summer Conference faculty interview on Cuppa Jolie--she interviewed Curtis Brown agent Ginger Clark, a first-time LA conference presenter.

Ginger will offer two sessions at the Summer Conference: HOW TO APPROACH AGENTS WITHOUT SCARING THEM OFF and BRING YOUR QUESTIONS: AN AGENT ANSWERS THEM ALL. She'll also participate in a panel LITERARY AGENTS VIEW THE MARKETPLACE.

Here a bit form Jolie's post:

How can it be that the SCBWI summer conference is only a few short weeks away? Is it that the weather has been so cold it doesn’t seem possible that the end up July could be that close? Okay, I suppose that only goes for those of us in the Pacific Northwest. But still! How excited are you to be there? Or…OR are you still deciding?There’s still time. You don’t want to miss the many fab agents attending and critiquing, like Ginger Clark.

As Jolie said, there's still time to register for the event--don't you want an agent to answer all your questions? Click here for registration info.

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Jennifer Rees

Today on Alice Pope's SCBWI Children's Market Blog, Alice posted the latest of our SCBWI TEAM BLOG Annual Conference faculty interviews. She talked with Scholastic Press editor Jennifer Reec.

Here's a bit from the post:

I'm particularly excited about interviewing Scholastic Press editor and Annual Summer Conference speaker Jennifer Rees because she got her start in children’s books working as a children’s bookseller at my favorite hometown bookstore, Joseph-Beth Booksellers.

At Scholastic, she acquires and edits fiction and nonfiction picture books, middle grade fiction, and YA novels. Some of the recent titles she worked on include SWIM! SWIM! by Lerch; FINALLY by Wendy Mass; WISH I MIGHT by Coleen Murtagh Paratore; AFTER EVER AFTER by Jordan Sonnenblick; EVERLASTING by Angie Frazier; SELLOUT by Ebony Wilkins; LIFE, AFTER by Sarah Darer Littman; FEVER CRUMB by Philip Reeve; and MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins. (You might have heard a little about that last one.)

At the Annual Summer Conference Jennifer will offer two sessions--YOUR VOICE IS YOUR VOICE: KEEPING IT REAL and WHAT'S HOT, WHAT'S NOT.

To meet Jennifer, as well as host of other terrific editors, register for the conference today. (It's in less than three weeks!) Click here for information. 

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Mac McCool

For our latest pre-conference faculty coverage, TEAM BLOGger Jaime Temairik offers a two-part interview with graphic novel creator and illustration and sequential art instructor Mac McCool.

Mac will be offering a Premium Workshop on WRITING AND ILLUSTRATING CHILDREN’S GRAPHIC NOVELS at the Annual Summer Conference.

Here's a bit from part one of Jaime's interview with Mac:

YOU GUYS! The Summer Conference is three weeks from today. I am thrilled with this year's line up of sessions, especially the redonkulously awesome premium workshop options.

If you've ever thought about writing or illustrating a graphic novel, there are still a few spots open in the GRAPHIC NOVEL MASTER CLASS lead by Mac McCool.

Who is this mysterious Mac McCool? What does he read? How does he feel about comics on the iPad? What's the skinny on his Graphic Novel sessions? And most importantly, what does he think about the Summer Conference Saturday Night Taco Bar? Well I know all this now, and more, because I got to interview him! See below.

Click here for the full interview on Jaime's blog CocoaStomp.

Click here for part two.

As as Jaime mentioned above--there is still space available in Mac's graphic novel workshop. Click here for Annual Summer Conference registration information. (You don't want to miss Mac McCool or the taco bar!)

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Rachel Vail

Author and blogger Suzanne Young brings us the latest SCBWI TEAM BLOG Annual Summer Conference faculty interview. Suzanne had a chat with author  Rachel Vail, who will present a keynote speech ON SCHOOL, DROOL, AND OTHER DAILY DISASTERS: FINDING THE HUMOR AND HEART IN MIDDLE GRADE NOVELS as well as a breakout session called SEEING YOUR CHARACTERS: ADOLESCENT CHARACTERS FROM THE INSIDE OUT.  Here's a bit from Suzanne's post:

As part of TEAM BLOG, covering this year's SCBWI Annual Summer Conference in LA, I got a chance to chat with the AMAZING Rachel Vail!! She will be one of the Keynote Speakers and she'll also be offereng workshops throughout the conference.

Rachel Vail has written over 30 books, for kids through teens. Her most recent include her trilogy for teens: LUCKY, GORGEOUS and BRILLIANT; and her novel for kids, JUSTIN CASE: SCHOOL, DROOL, AND OTHER DAILY DISATERS.

Click here to register for the Annual Summer Conference to hear from Rachel as well as our other amazing presenters.

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Paul Fleischman

Lee Wind brings us the latest TEAM BLOG Annual Summer Conference faculty interview. Lee talked with award winning author and conference keynote speaker Paul Fleischman. Below is a bit from Lee's interview. Click here to read the full post.

I'm incredibly honored and stoked to interview Paul Fleischman, who will be giving the Monday Aug 2, 2010 Keynote speech, SURVIVING THE NOVEL, at the upcoming SCBWI (Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators) Summer Conference in Los Angeles, CA.

Paul won the Newbery Medal in 1989 for JOYFUL NOISE: POEMS FOR TWO VOICES--a book of lyrical poems about insects that he made both musical and a shared reading experience--bringing the magic of reading a picture book with a child to two readers of any age. It's playful and ingenious, and like so much of Paul's work, redefines the box--while still being outside it.

Click here to register for the Summer Conference and where you can be inspired by Paul Fleischman and the many other terrific presenters.

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Greg Pincus

The latest SCBWI TEAM BLOG Annual Summer Conference faculty interview happens is with TEAM BLOG captain Alice Pope's presenter partner-in-crime, author and guru of social media Greg Pincus. Greg and Alice will be offering two ProTrack sessions at the conference: SOCIAL NETWORKING/TWITTER 101 and MOVING YOUR CAREER FORWARD WITH SOCIAL NETWORKING AND BLOGGING.

Here's the beginning of Martha's post--the interview (of course!) was conducted via Twitter. Click here to read the full interview with Greg on the SCBWI WWA blog.

Greg Pincus, a member of the 2010 SCBWI summer conference faculty, is a man of many talents. He's a poet, novelist, screenwriter, volunteer elementary school librarian, and social media consultant. (Here's his really useful site.)

He's also a poster-boy for what social media can do for a writer. After the mathematically inspired form of poetry he invented went viral and hit The New York Times, Greg found himself with a two-book deal with Arthur A. Levine Books.

Click here to register so you can meet Greg (and Alice) and the many other terrific presenters. 

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Arthur Levine

I hope you've been enjoying our SCBWI TEAM BLOG pre-conference interviews--and they're getting you excited about our upcoming event! Our latest Summer Conference faculty interviewee is editor extraordinaire (and SCBWI board member) Arthur Levine who chatted with Jolie Stekly. Check out the full interview on Cuppa Jolie.

Arthur will be presenting Strong Emotions on the Page: A Master Class at the SCBWI LA event. Here's a bit from Jolie's interview:

"It was such a pleasure for me to interview one of my favorite people in the children's book world: Arthur Levine.

Arthur A. Levine is a Vice President at Scholastic Inc. and the Editorial Director of Arthur A. Levine Books, a literary, hardcover imprint of Scholastic. He is also an author and has a new book coming out (keep reading to find out more about it) in Spring 2011.

Let's jump right in..."

You can meet Arthur Levine in person (along with a ton of other terrific presenters) at the Annual Summer Conference in Los Angeles.
 
Click here to register for the event!

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Rubin Pfeffer

In the latest in our series of SCBWI TEAM BLOG pre-conference interviews, Martha Brockenbrough talks with publishing luminary Rubin Pfeffer on the SCBWI WWA blog.

At the Annual Summer Conference, Rubin will offer a Pro-Track session--DIGITAL DOINGS: WHAT PUBLISHERS ARE DOING TO PROMOTE CHILDREN'S BOOKS ONLINE; give a workshop--FROM PUBLISHER TO AGENT: OBSERVATIONS FROM A SEASONED PUBLISHER TURNED AGENT; and deliver a keynote speech--SCCC FORMERLY KNOWN AS SCBWI? ONCE SOCIETY OF CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS, NOW A SOCIETY OF CHILDREN'S CONTENT CREATORS?

Here's a bit from Martha's interview:

"Rubin Pfeffer, people. THE Rubin Pfeffer.

He's one of the keynote speakers at this summer's SCBWI conference in L.A., and given his incredible career in children's literature, he'll no doubt give a sensational talk.

Rubin started as a designer for Macmillan in 1974 and then spent 27 years at Harcourt, where he rose to become president of their trade book division over the era the company won Newbery, Caldecott, and National Book awards, as well as Nobel prizes for work on the adult side."

You can meet Rubin Pfeffer in person (along with a ton of other terrific presenters) at the Annual Summer Conference in Los Angeles.
 
Click here to register for the event!

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Gennifer Choldenko

TEAM BLOGger Martha Brockenbrough offers another terrific pre-conference interview on the SCBWI WWA blog--today with author Gennifer Choldenko. At the Annual Summer Conference Gennifer will be giving a keynote speech called Kill the Bunnies: Writing Novels for Today's Teens.

Here's a bit from her conversation with Martha. Click here to read the full interview.

"I first heard of Gennifer when after the publication of her Newbery Honor-winning novel, AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS. At the time, it seemed like she was an overnight success: a New York Times bestselling author, winner of the Sid Fleischman award, a BBYA pick...the list of accolades is longer than a gangster's rap sheet. I read AL CAPONE and  was hugely jealous, wondering how she'd managed to get so good so quickly. Shows what I knew..."

 
 Click here to register for the event!

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Author Gail Carson Levine

Our series of TEAM BLOG interviews with Annual Summer Conference faculty continues as Martha Brockenbrough features award-winning author Gail Carson Levine on her WWA SCBWI blog.

Gail will be offering a conference keynote address, SWEAT AND MAGIC, and will give a workshop on INFREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT FICTION WRITING.

Here is a bit from Martha's interview with Gail:

"There's something so magical about Gail Carson Levine's stories. Her first, Ella Enchanted, reimagined Cinderella; in it, Ella is cursed to be obedient--an absolutely genius touch. That book won a Newbery Honor Book in 1998, and eventually became a movie starring Anne Hathaway.

You could call Gail Carson Levine the queen of fairy and princess stories. Later works include Fairest, a beautiful twist on Snow White, as well as several works in the Disney Fairies series...:"

Click here to register for the Annual Summer Conference.

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Author Mac Barnett

Our newest SCBWI TEAM BLOG member Martha Brockenbrough has posted the first in a series of pre-conference interviews with Annual Summer Conference faculty kicking things off with delightful author Mac Barnett.

Mac will join agent Steven Malk for a conference workshop called FIVE LESSONS FROM CLASSIC PICTURE BOOKS THAT CAN HELP YOU LAUNCH YOUR CAREER.

Here is a snippet from Martha's interview with Mac. For more click here.

"Here's the first in a series of posts designed to make you want to go to the SCBWI conference in L.A., where you'll meet and mingle with lots of industry stars. One of my favorites is Mac Barnett—and not just because he knows how to rock a five o'clock shadow better than that guy from Wham..."

Click here to register for the Annual Summer Conference. 

Two New Master Classes Added to Summer Conference Schedule!

Because the terrific Master Classes offered during the SCBWI Annual Summer Conference are filling up so quickly we've added a couple more. These new classes will be taught by editor Arthur Levine and Newbery winning writer Linda Sue Park. Here's information about them:

• STRONG EMOTIONS ON THE PAGE: A MASTER CLASS with Arthur Levine

In this workshop, renowned children’s book editor Arthur Levine helps you explore and discover what moves you, and teaches you how to get those experiences and feelings down on the page. A unique opportunity to deepen your writing skills and find your true voice.

• THE MIDDLE GRADE NOVEL: GROWING YOUR STORY with Linda Sue Park

A good novel is an organic whole: plot grows out of character choices, characters are rooted in setting. In this class, you’ll practice treating story as a cohesive whole rather than as separate units of technique. Participants will need to bring a printout of the first fifty pages of a middle-grade novel. No one teaches the often troublesome issues of plotting better than Newbery Medal winner, Linda Sue Park.

These classes will sell out quickly, so if you're interested in seizing the opportunity to learn from one of these excellent instructors, don't hesitate to register! CLICK HERE FOR OUR REGISTRAION PAGE.