March - April 2002

On Saturday, February 17th, attendees packed the Grand Ballroom of the Roosevelt Hotel. They were welcomed by Lin Oliver, SCBWI's executive director, and Stephen Mooser, president. Tony Stead, an Australian author and educator, started the day by sharing his insights into successful picture books. Children crave books that make them laugh, with "evil" characters, where justice prevails, with fun pictures, rhyming texts, and novelty features. Teachers want books with morals, good language structure, nice pacing, interesting art, short texts, and rereadability.

Addressing the future of children's publishing Stephanie Owens Lurie (Dutton Children's Books) worried over the slowing economy, reduced library funding, and new media competition. She saw hope in the current population boom, bipartisan support of reading programs, and expanded outlets for books. Kate Klimo (Golden Books Young Readers Group) spoke of Random House's recently acquired division and how it would create more original titles and less licensed material. Harold Underdown (ipicturebooks.com) declared e-publishing wouldn't kill the printed book. E-books would keep older titles in print, become subscription services for schools and libraries, and allow inexpensive multimedia options.

The "What I Want to Publish" sessions were presented in three editor panels and one art director panel. All expressed varied needs and a desire to find a distinct "voice" in words or images. An article featuring the art directors' panel will appear in the next Bulletin.

Editor panel one: Mary Cash (Holiday House) publishes for ages 4-14 and likes books for the school and library market that leave strong impressions and contain humor. Emily Easton (Walker & Company) publishes all genres, except early chapter. She avoids ABC's, folktales, story collections, and series. She likes curriculum related material, fresh takes on parental issues, teen non-fiction, and humorous YA's. Michael Green (Philomel) stressed voice as his key issue, whether fantasy, historical, edgy or irreverent.

Panel two: Amy Griffin (Orchard) does mainly picture books and a little middle grade, poetry, and non-fiction. She's seeking writers for First Person (a line written by immigrants or children of immigrants), funny picture books highlighting common experiences, creative non-fiction, and literary fiction. Lauri Hornik (Dial) handles primarily picture books for the retail and library markets. She's wants younger, breezier picture books relating to everyday life. Novels, historical and contemporary, should have strong main character and universal experiences. Jodi Kreitzman (Knopf Delecourte Dell) wants a compelling voice, memorable characters, contemporary books that teens can relate to, historical fiction, or books like Phillip Pullman's and David Almond's.

Panel three: Louise May (Lee & Low/Bebop Books) focuses on current multicultural stories. Most of their authors and illustrators are people of color. Stories must have universal appeal while authentic in culture and themes. Bebop Books are emergent readers for the educational market. Christy Ottaviano (Henry Holt) likes preschool books that encourage participation, picture books dealing with the emotion of new situations and educational undercurrents, fiction where kids struggle to find their place, and non-fiction as social history. Phoebe Yeh (HarperCollins) publishes hard covers. She asks that a manuscript have a compelling voice, make her want to share the story, and have characters that stay with her.

Following lunch, Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, shared her vision of the needs for today's neglected youth. Marian encouraged everyone to take action, through their artistic work and personal endeavors, to build a world safe for all children.

In the hour break before the agent panel, attendees participated in critique groups and viewed the juried art display.

Agent Tracy Adams (McIntosh & Otis) represents all children's genres. She only accepts an author if she's passionate about their writing. She requests exclusive submissions, picture book text, and novel queries. Jennie Dunham (Dunham Literary Agency) represents children's and adult literature, authors and illustrators. She likes unassuming characters and books that stretch boundaries. Submission details available at www.dunhamlit.com. Jodi Reamer (Writer's House) focuses on managing an author's career and establishing their "brand identity." She looks for voice, a hook, and something to excite an editor. She requests exclusive submissions. All the agents caution against submitting by e-mail (including art if not a professional artist), submitting rough drafts, and sending gimmicks or bribes.

Sunday morning's panelists examined the publicity and marketing efforts of publishers. They discussed submissions to reviewers and award committees, tradeshows promotions, creating sales plans, and educating sales forces. They then focused on marketing strategies for authors and illustrators: meeting local booksellers, school visits, creating websites, and keeping publishers informed of their efforts.

Adding variety to the day were five coinciding workshops. Attendees choose from query writing, e-publishing, the artist's perspective, non-fiction or humor writing.

The "Building a Career in Children's Books" panel, moderated by Paula Danziger, demonstrated that there are no rules for success. Put together the five panelists had over 125 years of publishing in all genres, including illustration. Some started their careers young, others much later. Five had agents, one did not. Three had active critique partners or groups, two worked alone. All encouraged self-promotion and speaking engagements. They recommend paying quarterly tax on time. They cautioned against accepting too many contracts at once. They encouraged continued exploration of craft and to look at problems as opportunities for growth.

Lee Bennett Hopkins, poet and author, shared key moments of his past. As a kid he salvaged books from the dumbwaiter garbage, attended school in winter because it was warmer than home, and had a teacher believe in his dream of becoming a writer. He believes that in any age, but especially now, children must read and listen to words that uplift the soul.

At the end of the conference, both door prizes and hugs were given out liberally. Thoughts turned towards the next gathering, whether a local workshop or the 31st Annual Summer Conference in Los Angeles (August 2 - 5th, 2002). With the continuing changes in the world, the need for SCBWI and the support it provides continues grow.