New York: Eastern Upstate

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Regional News

 

News and Notes

 It's March - and it's almost time to spring into books!   We are continuing with our Shoptalk meetings.We hosted three wonderful illustrators at our last meeting in Guilderland.  We hope you visit a meeting near you this spring!  You'll get inspired by some great SCBWI members and feel the great community we share in the Eastern NY region! 



Falling Leaves planning is well under way.  We already have three awesome editors on board for this year's master class on longer works of fiction - MG and YA!  The dates for 2013 are November 15-17th.



Planning is also underway for our regional conference which is going to be held again in Fishkill, NY.  The dates this year are Sept. 21-22, 2013.  Keynotes will amaze you.  Editors will be on hand for crits and we'll be offering some marketing critiques this year as well.  They will be perfect for those of you all set to send out a query and sample chapters! Since we are going to host a day and a half conference this year, we're planning a dessert cafe Saturday night and intensives on Sunday. 



Exciting stuff!  



As a special surprise we are also planning an August event with Australian author and media guru, Christopher Cheng.  I know it will sell out early.  Detail and registration info to come soon. 



Wishing you a fantastic spring!  





August News and Notes - Or I'm Baaaack!

 Hello Everyone! 



I'm back from SCBWI LA, inspired and energized!  What a fantastic conference!  Keynote speakers were excellent, break-outs informative and the company.....well, it's SCBWI...what can I say?  Awesome!



I hope you kept up with everything going on.  Between Twitter, Facebook and all the blogs, you'll almost feel like you were there!  Of course, if you were you would have seen me dancing the night away at our own SCBWI Hippy Hop Flash Mob.  Too much fun! 



And then on the way home I caught the news that we may be adding ANOTHER indie bookstore to our Eastern NY region -- Northshire - that fabulous indie in VT may open up a location in Saratoga!  Boy, are we blessed!  And that tells us that we are in the right business.  So much better to hear of openings rather than closings.  



I hope you have been having your own inspirational summer.  There are a few more days to apply to our Falling Leaves Master Class.  Our event with Cheryl Klein is full!  Thank you to all who registered.  



Wishing you the very best of the days ahead!



Nancy


Conference 2013

 In light of the BEA's date change, our 2013 conference will now be held September 21-22, 2013.  Look for more info and an exciting line-up of editors, authors, illustrators, etc. in the coming months!  



Nancy Castaldo

RA Eastern NY







Agent Dinner

Thank you to all who attended the agent dinner last week.  It was a great event and I know we will host another one in the future!  To recap the event for those of you unable to attend –



We met at the Red Dot restaurant in Hudson, NY at 5:30. Each table hosted one of our wonderful agents, Wendy Schmalz, Miriam Altshuler, Jennifer Laughran, or Liza Pulitzer-Voges, and five dinner guests.   We chatted about the agent/author relationship through our salads.   When our entrees arrived – that I will add were delicious – our agents rotated to another table.   We chatted again – answered questions about inspiring books we have read – introduced ourselves — and ate!  



Dessert arrived and so did another agent!  Then tea/coffee and another agent!  



I hope everyone left with a greater understanding of each agent and a glimpse into what they would like to represent.  Every agent subs differently.  Every agent has their own genre preferences.  



All proceeds from this event were donated to the Claverack Free Library!  





Saturday's First Things First Event

The Eastern NY region hosted an afternoon first pages event on March 10th – FIRST THINGS FIRST – in Hyde Park, NY.  We sold out and had a waiting list!







 Each page was read by a committee member to the attendees and the three publishing professionals — Lynne Polvino from Clarion, Molly O’Neill from Harper Collins and agent John Rudolph.  







The panel gave insightful critiques of each page.  In fact, having planned two of these events in the past, I’ve never heard each critiquer offer such thorough comments of each page.  Usually, I’ve found,  that one editor will pass or agree with what was said, but not this time. They all had something unique and informative to say.   







It made for a lot of note taking and  a great afternoon!  (Of course, we went a half hour over on our time because of it, but there were no complaints.)







Many thanks to all who helped with the event - Barbara Wells, Val Marchini, Karen Orloff, Catherine Ciocchi, and Della Ferreri.  





















First Things First SOLD OUT!

 Our March event is sold out!  Thanks to all who registered.  I know it is going to be a great event!





Nancy 

RA Eastern NY



Thank you from Morningside Elementary!

 I wanted to pass along this thank you to all the authors and illustrators who donated books to the Morningside Elementary School's library.  As you can see they have been put to good use!  Thank you again!!!!





Dear Nancy,



I realize it's been a few months since I last saw you, but I wanted to thank you again for the wonderful donation of books to our library at Morningside School.  It was so nice of you and the other authors to give us such a variety of books!  The students have enjoyed them during their classtime, here in the library, and some students have received free books as part of a reward system for showing good manners, character, and safety.  I have also incorporated some of the newer booksinto my lessons as well. 



Thank you again for your generous gift.  It was very much appreciated by us all!



Sincerely,



Liz Trapani



Congratulations to all ALA Award Winners

YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Winner: The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism and Treachery



by Eastern NY SCBWI author Steve Sheinkin -- Yahoo! Congrats Steve!!!!  




Wishing all the honorees and award winners a hearty congratulations!  What a great year for children's books! 





For a complete listing of all awards check out the ALA website. 





First Things First

SCBWI Eastern NY Regional presents the

First Things First: First Pages Event

Saturday, March 10, 2012

St. James Church
4526 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538 12 pm to 4 pm



Ever wonder what an editor really thinks about your manuscript? More importantly, your first page? If you have, here’s your chance to find out. Our panel consists of two editors and one agent. This conference will be limited to the first 50 registrants.



Faculty



Molly O’Neill
is an editor at Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books. She seeks vivid stories, original voices, and manuscripts with a strong sense of place or that ask interesting “what if” questions—in short, the kind of books that keep readers thinking and imagining, long after the last page. She publishes picture books, middle grade, and YA novels: recent projects include New York Times bestseller Divergent by Veronica Roth; A Dog’s Way Home by Bobbie Pyron; A Christmas Goodnight by Nola Buck and Sarah Jane Wright, and the forthcoming Insignia, by S. J. Kincaid. You can follow her on Twitter (@molly_oneill) or visit her editorial blog: http://10blockwalk.blogspot.com





Lynne Polvino
has been with Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, for thirteen years. She edits a wide range of projects, from picture books and poetry to fiction and nonfiction, for infants through grade twelve. The authors and illustrators she works with include Gary Golio and Javaka Steptoe, creators of the New York Times bestselling and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award-winning title Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow, A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix; Eileen Christelow, creator of the wildly popular Five Little Monkeys series; renowned children’s poet Marilyn Singer; and the novelists Kersten Hamilton, Kate Milford, and Robert T. Jeschonek. Prior to her arrival atClarion, Lynne worked for several years at a small literary agency. She also plays bass in a children’s publishing-themed band called The Effin’Gs.





John Rudolph
joined Dystel & Goderich in 2010 after twelve years as an acquiring children’s book editor. He began his career at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers as an Editorial Assistant and then moved to G. P. Putnam’s Sons imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, where he eventually served as Executive Editor on a wide range of young adult, middle-grade, nonfiction, and picture book titles. Along the way he had the pleasure of working with such authors and illustrators as Pete Seeger, Tomie dePaola, Jan Brett, Pete Hautman, Padma Venkatraman, Brenda Woods, Phil Bildner, E.B. Lewis and S.D. Schindler. He is currently looking to build a roster of clients across the children’s book spectrum and is always eager to discover fresh new voices and highly original stories regardless of category, though he’s probably best known as a “boy book” kind of guy.



Directions to St. James Church

From Rt. 9 and the Mid-Hudson Bridge, travel approximately 7 miles north on Rt. 9. St. James Church will be on your right.

Amtrak and Metro North trains stop at the Poughkeepsie train station. Consult the local directory for taxi information.

Refund Policy: Cancellation must be in writing and postmarked by January 31, 2012.

First Page Submission Guidelines

First page must be typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 pt. font, with one-inch margins. Title and genre only. No name or address on the page. Only one page may be submitted per registrant. If multiple first pages are submitted, the shorter one will be accepted as the submission.





Event Registration Registration deadline is February 10, 2012



Event Hours Registration will start at 11:45 am. Event will start at 12 pm promptly.
This is a timed event. Please arrive early enough so that you can be registered and seated. If you are late, you may miss the critique of your first page. Remember there are no names on the first page, only a title.

 

Registration Form: First Things First: First Pages Event March 10, 2012

Name_________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________ City_______________________ State___________ Zip________ County________________________________________________ Email_________________________________________________ Phone_________________________________________________



Registration fee: $40 SCBWI Member $50 Non-Member



Registration form and fee: $ _________ Make checks payable to: SCBWI Eastern NY Mail to: Karen Orloff, 19 Buroak Drive, Hopewell Jct., NY 12533 Remember to include your first page submission along with your check. Light snacks will be provided.

For questions: contact Karen Orloff (845) 896-8038 or email Val at

valmarch@optonline.net



Mentor Program

SCBWI Nevada is accepting applications for their next Mentor Program until December 15th. This six month program includes two retreats and intensive critiques designed to move your writing or illustration to the next level. Added this year, a track for agented/PAL members, with special mentors Holly Black, Kathleen Duey and Ellen Hopkins. Plus tracks for illustrators, picture book authors and pre-published chapter book/novel writers.



Please visit their website for details and success stories from our previous three programs. www.nevadascbwi.org. 



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Contact Info

Website: Official Website


Advisors:
Nancy Castaldo, Regional Advisor