Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators The international professional organization for writers and illustrators of children’s literature

• August Critique Carousel
  • Aug 26
  • Antelope
• Photoshop for Illustrators Webinar
  • Aug 28
• September Critique Carousel
  • Sep 9
• October Critique Carousel
  • Oct 28
• There's a Killer Story in Here Somewhere: Editing Workshop with pro Karen Sandler
  • Oct 28
  • El Dorado Hills
• November Critique Carousel
  • Nov 18
• Save the date: SPRING SPIRIT 2018
  • Apr 7
  • Citrus Heights
• See all of our events

R.A. CORNER 

News & Regional Updates: August 2017

1. Eat Your Art Out/Munch & Mingle mashup

Would you like to meet up with your fellow illustrators and writers? Did you miss out on the LA conference but want to hear what happened from those who went? Our region's illustrators and writers are joining forces in the next Eat Your Art Out/Munch & Mingle mashup to share what we learned (and what we have questions about) on August 12th. We’re throwing in a (no host) Crocker tour too! Join us for a tour of the Crocker Art Museum at 10, or skip right to the Munch & Mingle at 11:30 in the Crocker Cafe. Please register for this free event so we know to look for you! [So far only 3 are registered, so please, join us! Sign up! It’s next Saturday.]

2. Critique Group Aug 26^th, North Highlands-Antelope Library, 1-3PM

We're lining up some fabulous PAL Guides at our Critique Carousels! Did you know in addition to peer feedback you now have the chance to get a professional, written critique of your work? The August PAL Guides (drumroll please) are Patricia Newman and Bitsy Kemper—your past and current RAs with over two dozen published books between them! Sign up for an add-on professional critique ($50), or attend the FREE in-person meeting where they’ll be helping guide the peer critique groups. Looking ahead, our next two stops are both at the North Highlands-Antelope Library: August 26th 1p-3p, and September 9th 1p-3p. On November 18th, our carousel stops in North Natomas 1p-3p. Our website has more details. Thank you, JEN Garrett, for all your hard work on this new, exciting, and very helpful format!

3. Photoshop Webinar on Aug 28th

Have you signed up for our very-affordable Photoshop for Illustrators Webinar happening on August 28th at 1PM? No worries if that date/time doesn't work for you–you'll be able to view the recording for another two weeks. That way you can watch it at your leisure, or re-watch it to make sure you have the techniques down. Presenter David Opie has some great ideas to share and an easy-to-understand teaching style. And its only $15! We have a ton of sign ups so don’t be left out—register today! He’s taking Qs if you sign up in advance. Details on the reg page—see link. Thank you, Angelica Jackson, for your MONTHS of hard work bringing this to fruition!

4. SAVE THE DATES!!!

We’ve got a great editing workshop for you in Oct, just in time for the Halloween season. “There's a Killer Story in Here Somewhere: How a ruthless re-write can eliminate the extraneous, clarify what's cloudy, and strengthen your structure.” In this ruthless re-write workshop, we’ll start with easy-peasy changes like word repetition and adverb overload, then move on to more critical issues like shaky story structure and characterization problems. You’ll learn how both a sharp eye for detail and the perspective to see the bigger picture will transform your manuscript into a killer story that will knock ‘em dead. Workshop leader Karen Sandler is the author of nineteen novels for adults, as well as TANKBORN, AWAKENING, and REBELLION, a YA science fiction trilogy from Lee & Low Books. An enthusiastic advocate of diversity in children’s literature, she is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books. Registration will open in early September.

Also, we have confirmed Spring Spirit 2018 will be on Saturday, April 7, 2018 at the Citrus Heights Community Center, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Announcements will be made when registration opens in Dec. In the meantime, illustrators can get their creative juices flowing as IC Angelica R. Jackson will be holding our annual logo contest again, and it’ll be kicked off when details are announced next month.

5.  Misc updates

Help us reach 1900—or 2,000! We’re at 1895 Twitter followers. Can you help us reach a new milestone? Give us a follow if you haven’t already—and we’ll follow you back! https://twitter.com/scbwinorthcal?lang=en July got us 13 new Facebook members so we might be on a social media roll. Thank you, Social Media Coordinator Linda Joy Singleton, for your work here!

We are pleased with the number of applications we received for our Spring Spirit 2018 Scholarships. Deadline has passed and applications will be evaluated by our industry-professional panel of judges. Winners will be announced on or before November 17, 2017. Thank you, Nikki Shannon Smith, for your tireless work in making this new Scholarship program happen this year.

As always, send us your ideas and thoughts. And don’t be afraid to volunteer!