[ks scbwi aug sept 2012.pdf]

[ks scbwi may june 2012.pdf]

 http://www.kansas-scbwi.org/Resources/Documents/ks%20scbwi%20marapr%202012.pdf

News from the Kansas region. Enjoy!

http://www.kansas-scbwi.org/Resources/Documents/scbwi%20jan%20feb%202012.pdf

News from the Kansas region. Enjoy!
 

I send this to you all with wishes for a lovely December. This letter will be short, as we’re all so busy during this time of year.

First up: Congratulations!
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool and A Prairie Peter Pan: The Story of Mary White by Beverley Olson Buller have been chosen for the 2012-2013 Kansas William Allen White Awards master lists. Students will vote for their favorites next April. Congratulations, Beverley and Clare, and best of luck!

Tessa Elwood is excited to announce she is now represented by Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown LTD.


Special thanks for the folks who TCB all year long
Kansas SCBWI can offer workshops, conferences, and business insight through the listserv, social media and website because of the hardworking volunteers on the advisory committee. You may not realize how much time they sacrifice away from their jobs, families, and their own writing to make it all happen.

Please join me in thanking:

Jenn Bailey, community outreach
Heather Beers, website editor
Lisha Cauthen, Sunflower Scoop editor
Sue Gallion, membership coordinator
Judy Hyde, critique group coordinator and our newest ad commer – welcome Judy!

I’d like to give special recognition to Sue Ford, the assistant regional advisor. Many of you know Sue served five years as the Kansas regional advisor and built it up to be what it is today. Here’s a standing ovation for you, Sue.

I also want to thank a few previous advisory committee members who’ve stepped down this year after many years of volunteering:

Kim Peek, former regional advisor
Kate Barsotti, former illustrator coordinator
Christina Lewis, former community outreach

Wishing you all peace and productivity. We'll see you in 2012!

The holiday season is here. For those of you participating in Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month, 50,000 words in 30 days), good luck and speedy writing!

Kane/Miller Book Publishers will publish Debra McArthur's middle-grade historical novel, A Voice for Kanzas, in January 2012. Kanzas was Debra’s Hamline MFAC thesis. Congratulations!

Congratulations to SCBWI member Ann Ingalls! Pilgram Press will release WORM WATCHING AND OTHER WONDERFUL WAYS TO TEACH CHILDREN TO PRAY in May 2012.

Congratulations also to Barbara Stuber! Crossing the Tracks won the 2011 Writer's League of Texas Award for Best Book for Young People!!

Please send your good news to ks_scbwi@yahoo.com

FOR ILLUSTRATORS, From Bridget Strevens-Marzo, SCBWI international illustrator coordinator: Just a reminder to members that our special deadline for SCBWI members to send off work to the international illustrator competition at the Bologna Chldren's Book Fair, November 25th - this month! You'll find the info here. Just ignore the public deadline which was way back in September. http://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/en/mostraillustratori/regolamento

The organizers tell me they receive less submissions from the USA and UK than countries like Korea and France - and they would like more. So don't hesitate to go for this - can even submit published works. You need to send 5 on the same theme and labeled as indicated. Please put SCBWI on the envelope and on your form too, so it'll get that extra attention.



Don’t forget to update your contact information at SCBWI.org. That is how we stay in touch with you.

Happiest of holidays to you all!

My best, Colleen

Hello to you all!

Fall is here, bringing bold colors and crisp air, and for me an all-encompassing desire to hibernate.

Alas, there is too much still to do, with recovering from our fall conference on top of that list. If I'd remembered to pull out my camera, I would share some photos with you. I'm sad to say it stayed tucked away at the bottom of my bag all weekend.

To those of you who attended, I hope you left feeling wiser, more inspired, and invigorated to build your career as writers and illustrators. Our faculty remarked how impressed they were with the sophistication of your questions. They enjoyed meeting so many of you and seeing a glimpse of the Kansas life.

The Advisory Committee – Sue Ford, Sue Gallion, Jenn Bailey, Kate Barsotti, Heather Beers, Lisha Cauthen, Christina Lewis, and I – will take off a few weeks before we start planning next year’s spring master class and fall conference. Please join me in thanking them all the time and enthusiasm they give throughout the year.

We have prongs in the fire and they're burning brightly, but want your feedback as we plan out for 2012 and 2013. Please take some time to fill out this short survey http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NFBT6WD

Keep an eye on your inbox for news and events. Please send your good news to crcook@kc.rr.com, subject line KSCBWI Good News, so we can share!

My best, 
Colleen Ryckert Cook 

We’re just a few weeks away from our blockbuster conference. Saturday has sold out, as have all the consultations and critiques, but there are a few spots open for Friday’s celebration of Midwest Authors. The schedule is now online at www.kansas-scbwi.org/schedule.!

Congratulations
The accolades keep racking up for Barbara Stuber’s debut novel Crossing the Tracks. Barb is a finalist for the 2011 Thorpe Menn Award from the American Association of University Women - Kansas City. The award will be presented October 1 in Kansas City. It’s also a finalist for the 2011 Writer's League of Texas Book Award.

New Books from Kansas Authors!
We’re pleased to announce two new books from Dian Curtis Regan: The Snow Blew In, illustrated by Doug Cushman, was released this week through Holiday House. Rocky Cave Kids: The Dragon Stone, illustrated by Stacy Curtis, comes out in October through Marshall Cavendish.

Elizabeth C. Bunce’s Liar’s Moon, the sequel to the successful Starcrossed tale of Digger the thief, will be out October 1 through Arthur A. Levine Books.

2012 will see two interactive books from Caldecott honor illustrator Stephen T. Johnson. My Little Yellow Taxi and My Little Blue Robot will join My Little Red Toolbox and My Little Pink Princess Purse on the bookshelves.

Please send your good news to Colleen Ryckert Cook at crcook@kc.rr.com Bureau


SPEAKERS:
Schools are back in session. If you make author visits, please update your profile at scbwi.org to include your topics. Send us a link to your author website at Kansas-scbwi.org so we can promote it.

SCBWI events outside of Kansas
If you can’t make it to our Kansas conference, check out these two upcoming opportunities in nearby regions.

Missouri Confluence Conference, November 5, 2011 St. Charles Community College, St. Charles, MO
Featuring:
Heather Alexander – Editor at Dial Books for Young Readers
Quinlan Lee – Literary Agent for Adams Literary Agency
Suzanne Morgan Williams – Author of Middle Grade Novel Bullrider
Louise Jackson – Author of Exiled and four other books for young readers
Sue Bradford-Edwards – Freelance author with more than 125 writing credits
Rich Davis – Children's book illustrator for Viking
Authors can receive a professional one-on-one critique with one of our speakers for an additional $30. The first seven illustrators to register the day of the conference may request a one-on-one illustrator critique with Rick Davis for an additional $30 fee payable at registration. Get details and registration: http://moscbwi.org/Events.html

Arkansas SCBWI Fall Retreat, Nov 4-6, 2011 Fort Smith, Arkansas.
The retreat will feature hands-on workshops led by Stacy Cantor Abrams, editor at Walker Books for Young Readers, and guidance on craft issues by author Anna Myers.  Registered attendees will submit pages from a manuscript in advance (by Oct. 1) and receive feedback from the editor at the retreat. For more information, go to http://www.arkansasscbwi.org/retreat.html.
 

 

Hello to all!

We've been busy gearing up for Lights, Camera, Action! It's Showtime on October 1! By now you should have received notice about the open registration. It is filling up fast.

I, along with Kansas SCBWI Advisory Committee members Jenn Bailey, Kate Barsotti, Lisha Cauthen and assistant regional advisor Sue Ford, recently returned from the SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles. I spoke with editors Diane Muldrow and Bonnie Bader, authors Linda Sue Park and Chris Eboch. All told me how excited and honored they were to be part of such an amazing line up in Kansas.

While in Los Angeles we also saw other amazing speakers and attended workshops that inspired and taught us new tricks.



My brain is crammed with ideas for future Kansas events. If our dream plans work out, 2012 and 2013 will be packed with great learning opportunities for you all.

The publishing industry is in flux right now. We heard plenty of discussions about digital publishing, multiplatform storytelling, literacy issues, market changes and bookstore closures, subtleties among electronic, performance and audio subsidiary rights in a digital publishing environment, and more.

It boggles the mind. Many of us sat down one day and wrote out a story because it was our dream. With luck, hard work and determination we find we can make a career out of it.

By making that leap, we find writing is just the beginning. We need to learn how to read our contracts and, if we're lucky enough, our royalty statements. We need to be aware and knowledgeable enough, not to know all the answers but to ask the right questions. We need to understand how business decisions that seem to distant as we pour out our stories onto the page - or into the computer - do matter to our futures.

And of course, we need to realize that the writing matters above all. The voice. The language choices. The hook that pulls a reader into the story. The ability to create memorable, enticing characters that readers care about so much that they want more, more, more, and so turn the page again.

These are our challenges, and it's my goal to help you. So please send me your thoughts. What do you want out of your membership with SCBWI? If you're already published, how can I help you navigate the next stage of your career?

Thank you for your time! I hope to see many of you on September 30 and October 1!

My best, Colleen Ryckert Cook Kansas Regional Advisor

Kansas SCBWI Presents:
Lights, Camera, ACTION!
It's Showtime!

Coming September 30 and October 1, 2011

Opening Night
Friday, September 30, 2011
7 pm - 10 pm
Lenexa Conference Center
11184 Lackman Road, Lenexa, Kansas

Fall Blockbuster!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
9 am - 5 pm
KU Edwards Campus
12610 Quivira Road, Overland Park, Kansas

Registration opens at 8:30 am

Go on-location at the Lenexa Conference Center for Friday’s “Opening Night!” Mingle with our star-studded faculty and fellow writers as we celebrate Kansas Authors!

 

Starring
Newbery-winning author Linda Sue Park!
Warne and Early Readers Executive Editor Bonnie Bader!
Little Golden Books Editorial Director Diane Muldrow!
Bookstop Literary agents Kendra Marcus and Minju Chang!
Wernick and Pratt literary agent Linda Pratt!
Series author extraordinaire Chris Eboch!
Award-winning Kansas authors Lisa Harkrader, Dan Schwabauer and Barbara Stuber!

With Special Guest Star Clare Vanderpool, the 2011 Newbery winner and Kansas SCBWIer!

 

Saturday’s “Blockbuster!” will premiere at the KU Regents Center, Edwards Campus. One day chock-full of non-stop action with

Four dazzling workshops of your choice!
All-star faculty Q&A!
Special Illustrator Track!
An autograph session!
Lunch on us!

 

All this for one low price of $155 for SCBWI members and $185 for nonmembers.

Extras! Extras!

(for an additional cost)

Audition for a chance at your big break in a one-on-one editor or agent consultation on the first five pages of your manuscript!

Just $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers!

 

Not ready to submit?
Get a group critique with an award-winning author!
Just $20 for members, $35 for nonmembers!

Tickle your imagination, tug at your heartstrings, and pump that adrenaline to rev up your career!

See you at the movies!