Faculty

Main Conference:

Jon Anderson has been president and publisher of the Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division since 2009. He is responsible for the overall operations for the Children’s Division including editorial, design, production, publicity, marketing and licensing activities, while overseeing a publishing portfolio that serves every category of the children’s publishing business from toddler to teen. Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, Jon held publishing positions at Running Press Book Publishers, and Penguin Putnam, Inc. Prior to Penguin, he spent seventeen years at B. Dalton Booksellers/Barnes & Noble in positions ranging from sales clerk while in high school to head of the chain’s children’s buying division. Jon currently serves as Chair of both The Children’s Book Council and the National Coalition Against Censorship. He is also the author of over twenty-five children’s books under the pseudonym William Boniface.

Bonnie Bader is the Associate Publisher of Frederick Warne, where she oversees the Peter Rabbit and Spot publishing programs, as well as the editor-in-chief of Penguin Young Readers/Early Readers, where she heads up the leveled reader, 8×8, and early chapter book programs. She continues to edit several best-selling series including George Brown, Class Clown and Magic Bone by Nancy Krulik, Here’s Hank by Lin Oliver and Henry Winkler, and the soon-to-be published series The Fantastic Frame by Lin Oliver. Bonnie is a member of the SCBWI Board of Advisors.

Alessandra Balzer is vice president, co-publisher of Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books. She acquires and edits everything from picture books to novels for teens. Recent titles include the #1 New York Times bestseller Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy, Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa, 99 Days by Katie Cotugno, Beyond the Pond by Joseph Kuefler and Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian, illustrated by Mike Curato. Follow her on Twitter @ABBalzer.

Elizabeth Bicknell has worked at Candlewick Press, an independent children’s books publisher in Somerville, Massachusetts, for nineteen years and is executive editorial director. She edits picture books, fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Recent projects include: M.T. Anderson’s Symphony for the City of the Dead; Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen; Voice of Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes; and Laura Amy Schlitz’s The Hired Girl. She also works with Lauren Child, David Elliott, Paul Fleischman, Juan Felipe Herrera, Ekua Holmes, Robert Sabuda, Tricia Springstubb, Carole Boston Weatherford, and Blythe Woolston.

Martha Brockenbrough is the author of The Game of Love and Death, a 2015 Kirkus Prize finalist, YALSA best books for teens nominee, and Booklist Top 10 Teen Romance of 2015 selection. She is also the author of Devine Intervention and The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy. Coming in 2016 is Love, Santa, a picture book illustrated by SCBWI member Lee White. Arthur A. Levine at Scholastic is her editor. Martha also founded National Grammar Day and SPOGG, the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar. She’s a member of SCBWI’s Team Blog. Visit: www.martha-brockenbrough.squarespace.com and follow her @mbrockenbrough.

Guiseppe Castellano is an award-winning designer, illustrator, and senior art director at Penguin Random House; overseeing the art and design of over two-hundred fifty children's books a year for the imprints of Grosset & Dunlap, Price Stern Sloan, Frederick Warne and Co., the Penguin Young Readers, and Cartoon Network Books. Giuseppe and his staff of eight designers work with every kind of illustrator (digital and traditional, foreign and domestic) for every kind of children's book. He continues to be a guest speaker, critic, and teacher at art schools including Art Center College of Design, the Rhode Island School of Design (his alma mater), Maryland Institute College of Art, and Pratt Institute. He is also the founder of The Illustration Department, an online school for illustrators. Learn more about the practice and business of illustration by visiting Giuseppe's popular #arttips blog at www.gcastellano.com; and by following his #arttips on Twitter at @pinocastellano.

Ginger Clark has been a literary agent with Curtis Brown, LTD. since the fall of 2005. She represents science fiction, fantasy, paranormal romance, literary horror, and young adult and middle grade fiction. In addition to representing her own clients, she also represents British rights for the agency’s children’s list. Previously, she worked at Writers House for six years as an assistant literary agent. She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and Chair of the Contracts Committee of the AAR, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the AAR. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband. Follow her @Ginger_Clark

Patrick Collins is the creative director for Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. Patrick art directs and designs picture books, middle grade, and young adult novels. Some of the recent picture books he has worked on are: The Fantastic Ferris Wheel illustrated by Steven Salerno; Feathered Dinosaurs illustrated by William Low; Elvis by Bonnie Christensen; Bunny Dreams by Peter McCarty; and Oh So Brave Dragon by David Kirk. Recent novel projects include: Finding Mr. Brightside, Dear Hank Williams, and the New York Times bestseller: Hitler's Last Days. Patrick studied art at Northeastern University in Boston.

Sarah Davies was a publisher for twenty-five years before launching Greenhouse Literary in 2008. She’s open to all genres of fiction from chapter book series through YA, but also sells picture books, nonfiction and even adult fiction by existing clients. Among Greenhouse’s authors are New York Times bestseller Brenna Yovanoff, Morris Award winner Blythe Woolston, and 2015 Kirkus Prize finalist Martha Brockenbrough. In YA she seeks quality writing complementing a unique premise. In MG she enjoys both adventurous storylines and classic-voiced fiction. More than anything she loves to see something she’s never seen before! Sarah is a member of AAR. www.greenhouseliterary.com, @Sarahgreenhouse

Jean Feiwel’s career was forged first at Avon Books and then Scholastic as the architect for their Trade Publishing program from 1983-2005. She is best known for her invention of Ann M. Martin’s Baby-Sitter’s Club and the publishing of Goosebumps, Animorphs, Harry Potter and other best-selling series. In 2006, she joined Macmillan as senior vice president and publisher, where she founded Feiwel and Friends. Her first book at Feiwel and Friends was Nancy Tillman’s On the Night You Were Born, which now has over 3.5 million copies in print. Her most recent bestsellers include The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer and Jimmy Fallon’s Your Baby’s First Word Will Be DADA. In 2007, she founded Square Fish, known for its innovative repackaging. She was named publishing director of Henry Holt BFYR in 2009, and in 2013, she launched Swoon Reads, a groundbreaking crowd-sourced imprint.

Susan Hawk is a literary agent at The Bent Agency, representing middle grade, YA, picture books, and nonfiction for kids. Projects she represents share powerful and original writing, strong story-telling and a distinctive, sometimes off-kilter voice. In middle grade and YA, she’s looking for unforgettable characters, rich world-building, and she’s a sucker for bittersweet; bonus points for something that makes her laugh out loud. In picture books, she’s looking particularly for author/illustrators, succinct but expressive texts, and indelible characters. Her favorite projects live at the intersection of literary and commercial. Before agenting, she spent fifteen years in children's book marketing at Penguin, Henry Holt and North-South Books; she also worked in editorial at Dutton Children’s Books, and as a children’s librarian and bookseller. www.thebentagency.com and @susanhawk on Twitter.

William Joyce does a lot of stuff—films, apps, Olympic curling—but children’s books are his true bailiwick (Billy’s Booger; The Numberlys; The Man in the Moon; Nicholas St. North and The Battle of the Nightmare King; A Bean, Jack Frost; and the #1 New York Times best-selling The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which is also his Academy Award–winning short film, to name a few). He lives with his family in Shreveport, Louisiana. Check out www.williamjoyce.com.

Cheryl Klein is the executive editor at Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic. The many diversiform titles she has edited include The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork; The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson; The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb; and Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison. In 2011, Cheryl self-published Second Sight: An Editor’s Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing Books for Children and Young Adults. Her new book, The Magic Words: Writing Great Novels for Children and Young Adults, will be published in September 2016. Find her online at www.cherylklein.com, chavelaque.blogspot.com, and @chavelaque on Twitter.

Alvina Ling is vp and editor-in-chief at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers where she’s worked since 1999. She oversees Little, Brown’s core publishing program (including picture book, middle grade, and young adult), and edits children's books for all ages. She has worked with such authors and illustrators as Peter Brown, Bryan Collier, Ed Young, Grace Lin, Wendy Mass, Justina Chen, Chris Colfer, Laini Taylor, Libba Bray, Barry Lyga, Holly Black, and Matthew Quick. She is the co-founder and former chair of the CBC Diversity Committee. She is on Twitter as @planetalvina and lives in Brooklyn.

Laurent Linn, art director for Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, began his career as a puppet designer/builder in Jim Henson's Muppet Workshop, creating characters for various productions, including the Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island films. With Henson over a decade, he worked primarily on Sesame Street, becoming the creative director for the Sesame Street Muppets, winning an Emmy Award. Currently, at Simon & Schuster, Laurent art directs picture books, middle grade, and teen novels, including The Blessing Cup, by Patricia Polacco; All Different Now, by Angela Johnson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis; DRAW!, by Raúl Colón; Better Nate Than Ever, by Tim Federle; and the Rot & Ruin YA series by Jonathan Maberry. Laurent is on the Board of Advisors for SCBWI, and is Artistic Advisor for the annual Original Art exhibit at the Society of Illustrators in New York. He is also an author; his debut teen novel, Draw the Line, comes out in 2016. Twitter/Instagram: @LaurentLinn and www.laurentlinn.com.

Mallory Loehr has been with Random House Books for Young Readers since 1990—the year Oh, the Places You'll Go was published! She is now vp, publishing director for the Random House, Golden Books, and Doubleday children’s imprints—representing everything from board books to young adult hard covers and trade books to licensed books. Over the years Mallory has edited a variety of titles and authors including Dr. Seuss books, the Magic Tree House series, Bruce Coville, Tamora Pierce, and most recently author/illustrator Emily Winfield Martin. Mallory has her own focus group of three children (10, 8, and 4) and thinks that Children's Publishing is the best place in the world to be working!

Kate Messner is passionately curious and writes books that encourage kids to wonder, too. Her titles include award-winning picture books like Over and Under the Snow, Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, and How to Read a Story, from Chronicle; novels like Wake Up Missing and All the Answers (Bloomsbury); and the popular Marty McGuire and Ranger in Time chapter book series with Scholastic. Kate lives on Lake Champlain with her family and is trying to summit all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks in between book deadlines. Follow her on Twitter @KateMessner and check out her website, www.katemessner.com.

Jacquelyn Mitchard is the number one New York Times best-selling author of ten novels for adults, seven novels for teenagers, and five children’s books, as well as editor-in-chief of Merit Press, a realistic young adult imprint. Nominated for or the winner of the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, the Bram Stoker Award, and others, she is a professor of Writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts, and lives on Cape Cod with her family. www.facebook.com/MeritPressYABooks

Stephen Mooser, President of the SCBWI, is the author of nearly sixty books for children. He began as the author of a number of reading programs including those for SWRL/Ginn, ABC and Harcourt, but most readers know Stephen for his trade books, which began with the publication of 101 Black Cats (Scholastic) in 1975, and continues through his most recent series, Goofball Malone, Ace Detective. He has written in every genre: picture books (The Ghost with the Halloween Hiccups), to series books (The Creepy Creature Club; It's a Weird, Weird School), to nonfiction (Lights! Camera! Scream!), to novels (Elvis Is Back and He’s in the Sixth Grade).

Lin Oliver is a children’s book author and writer-producer of television series and movies for children. With Henry Winkler, she writes the New York Times best-selling book series, Hank Zipzer: World’s Best Underachiever, which is also a hit television series on the BBC. She is also the author of the Who Shrunk Daniel Funk quartet, Sound Bender and The Shadow Mask, adventure/science fiction middle grade novels she coauthored with Theo Baker. Another series, Ghost Buddy, is being developed as a TV pilot by Amazon Studios. Her latest works are the Here’s Hank series (with Henry Winkler) and the highly praised Little Poems for Tiny Ears, illustrated by Tomie dePaola. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of SCBWI. Learn more at www.linoliver.com.

Andrea Pappenheimer is svp, director of sales and associate publisher at HarperCollins Children’s Books. A thirty year veteran of the publishing industry, she began her career in publicity, moving on to positions in marketing and sales at Bantam Doubleday Dell. Andrea joined the HarperCollins Children’s division in 1993 and has held positions in marketing and sales. In her current position, she is responsible for the overall sales efforts of the Children’s division. Andrea is a graduate of Drew University. She lives in Connecticut and is the mother of two boys.

Kristen Pettit is an executive editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books. She has spent twenty years in the children’s publishing industry, beginning with an internship she held in her senior year at college. Kristen edits young adult and middle grade books and has had the privilege of working closely with such best-selling authors as R.L. Stine, Jay Asher, Melissa Marr, Maria Headley, Ali Benjamin and Victoria Aveyard.

Rubin Pfeffer is a veteran of the children’s and adult Trade industry. He has served as President and Publisher of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Trade, SVP and Chief Creative Officer of Pearson, and as SVP and Publisher of Children’s Books for Simon & Schuster. Pfeffer founded Rubin Pfeffer Content, LLC, as a children’s only literary agency representing such industry luminaries as Patricia MacLachlan, Marion Dane Bauer, Steven Kellogg, Susan Cooper, Michael Hague, David Diaz, and Wendell Minor. In his five years as an agent, Pfeffer has launched the exciting literary careers of a host of new talents of writers and illustrators.

Rainbow Rowell is the author of Attachments, Eleanor & Park, Fangirl, and Landline. Her books are international bestsellers and award winners—Eleanor & Park received a prestigious Printz Honor for excellence in young adult literature. But they're hard to pin down, as Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote of Rainbow's latest bestseller: “Rowell is talented enough to be uncategorizable. So Landline belongs to a genre of its very own.” Rainbow's next uncategorizable projects are Carry On, a fantasy spin-off of the best-selling Fangirl, and a graphic novel collaboration with Eisner-winner Faith Erin Hicks for First Second Books. Visit www.rainbowrowell.com.

Gary D. Schmidt is the author of the Newbery Honor books The Wednesday Wars and Lizzie Bright and the Buckminister Boy. His Okay for Now was a National Book Award finalist and a Children's Choice Award winner. His latest novel is Orbiting Jupiter. He teaches writing and literature at Calvin College, and is a member of the faculty of Hamline University's MFA in Writing for Children.

Nancy Siscoe is a senior executive editor with Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House. Nancy likes working on a wide variety of projects from picture books to YA fiction. Some recent favorites include The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach; Skink—No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen; Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones; Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt; Denton Little’s Deathdate by Lance Rubin; Chasing Shadows by Swati Avasthi; and the Sammy Keyes mystery series by Wendelin Van Draanen (I love mysteries!).

Annie Stone is an editor at Alloy Entertainment, the company responsible for such blockbusters as the Gossip Girl series, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and The 100 series. Annie has the pleasure of working with Kass Morgan (The 100 series), Adi Alsaid (Let’s Get Lost and Never Always Sometimes) and Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars and upcoming The Amateurs) among others. She also reviews submissions to the Collaborative program, a discovery engine for promising new authors and stories. A native of central Pennsylvania, Annie graduated Magna cum Laude in 2010 from Harvard College, where she completed her B.A. in Comparative Literature.

Megan Tingley is the executive vp and publisher of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. She oversees the entire Young Readers’ publishing program as well as acquires and edits a small list of titles for her own list. As editor, her books include The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, and Luna, the National Book Award finalist and the first YA novel about a transgendered teen, by Julie Anne Peters, among others. In her ten years as publisher, she has overseen the publication of numerous award-winning and best-selling works by such authors as Sherman Alexie, Libba Bray, Jerry Pinkney, Dan Santat, Grace Lin, Bryan Collier, Lemony Snicket, Shannon Hale, Holly Black, Paolo Bacigalupi, and many others. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is a proud supporter of diversity, free speech, and literacy initiatives.

Linda Urban is the award-winning young people’s author of four works of middle grade fiction including A Crooked Kind of Perfect and her most recent comic fantasy-adventure Milo Speck, Accidental Agent. Her latest picture book, Little Red Henry, has joined Mouse Was Mad as preschool favorites. A frequent lecturer and workshop leader, Linda enjoys focusing on the small details that make a story shine. Visit www.lindaurbanbooks.com.

Rita Williams-Garcia’s Newbery Honor–winning novel, One Crazy Summer, was a winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award, a National Book Award finalist, the recipient of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and a New York Times bestseller. The sequel, P.S. Be Eleven was also a Coretta Scott King Author Award winner and an ALA Notable Children’s Book for Middle Readers. The last book about the Gaither sisters, Gone Crazy in Alabama, published last April. She is also the author of six distinguished novels for young adults: Jumped, a National Book Award finalist; No Laughter Here, Every Time a Rainbow Dies (a Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book), Fast Talk on a Slow Track (all ALA Best Books for Young Adults); Blue Tights; and Like Sisters on the Homefront, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. Rita Williams-Garcia lives in Jamaica, New York, is on the faculty at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in the Writing for Children & Young Adults Program, and has two adult daughters, Stephanie and Michelle, and a son-in-law, Adam. You can visit her online at www.ritawg.com.

Illustrators' Intensive

Sophie Blackall is a Brooklyn-based Australian artist who has illustrated over thirty books for children, including Ruby’s Wish, Big Red Lollipop, The Baby Tree, A Fine Dessert, Finding Winnie and the New York Times bestselling series, Ivy and Bean. She has won the Ezra Jack Keats Award, the Founder’s Award from the Society of Illustrators, a Horn Book Honor, a Golden Kite Honor and two books have been New York Times Top Ten Picture Books. Learn more at www.sophieblackall.com.

Priscilla Burris is an author/illustrator and native Californian of Hispanic descent. Creating characters and images from ink, whether in the real world, or digitally, Priscilla delights most in bringing out the element of expression, emotion, and what’s bursting to be shared from heart and soul and life! She is enthusiastically involved in the SCBWI as National Illustrator Coordinator andadvisor, as well as a member of their Board of Advisors, and the SCBWI Illustrator Committee. Learn more about Priscilla at www.priscillaburris.com.

Pat Cummings is the author/illustrator of over thirty-five books for young readers. She also edited the award-winning series, Talking With Artists, which profiles prominent children's book illustrators. She teaches at Parsons and Pratt, and her children's book illustration class has a growing number of notable illustrator/authors among its graduates. Pat serves on the SCBWI Board of Advisors as well as on the boards of the Authors Guild, the Authors League Fund, The Authors Guild Foundation, and the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. She conducts a summer Children’s Book Boot Camp that brings writers and illustrators together with top editors and art directors from major publishing houses. Learn more about Pat at www.patcummings.com.

Mike Curato used to stare longingly at the shelves in the children's book section of every bookstore he walked into. While majoring in Illustration in college, he submitted his first book dummy to publishers during senior year. The journey to publishing would wind its way through ten years of falling down and getting back up. In 2012, Mike attended his first SCBWI Winter Conference where he won the Portfolio Showcase, and where his character Little Elliot was discovered. Several months later, Mike had a three-book deal with Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. The first in the series, Little Elliot, Big City debuted in August of 2014 to critical acclaim. Since then Mike has signed contracts for four other books, and has no intention of stopping. His latest book is Little Elliot, Big Family. Visit Mike on Twitter @MikeCurato and at www.mikecurato.com.

David Diaz was awarded the 1995 Caldecott Medal for illustrating Eve Bunting’s Smokey Nights, a story about a boy’s point of view of the Los Angeles riots in 1992. He received Pura Belpré Honor Awards for Diego: Bigger Than Life by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, César: ¡Sí, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! By Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, and The Pot That Juan Built by Nancy Andrews-Goebel. Recent books include Sharing the Seasons by Lee Bennett Hopkins, Before You Came by Patricia and Emily MacLaughin, Ocean’s Child by Christine Ford and Chris Holland, and Me Frida by Amy Novesky.

Holly McGhee is the founder of and a literary agent at Pippin Properties, Inc., a boutique literary agency based in New York City. Pippin is an integrated agency dedicated to representing some of the finest authors and artists at work today, for books, film, television, live-stage, and merchandise. She's a writer too, and her first middle grade novel, Matylda of the Bright and Tender Skin, will be published by Candlewick Press in spring 2017. You are welcome to submit to Pippin. Please follow the instructions on the Submissions Tab at www.pippinproperties.com.

James Ransome has been illustrating children’s books for over twenty years with almost fifty picture books, many book jackets, greeting cards and pieces in magazines. Winner of several awards for his illustrations, including the Coretta Scott King and NAACP Image awards, James received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from Pratt Institute in New York. He recently became a published author with his book Gunner, Football Hero. James’ work is part of both private and public children’s book art collections and a number of commissioned murals, including three for the Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio. An Assistant Professor in the Illustration Program at Syracuse University, James lives in Rhinebeck, New York, with his wife, author, Lesa Cline-Ransome and their four children. Visit: www.jamesransome.com

David Saylor is vp, creative director for the Scholastic Trade Publishing Group. In 2005, he founded Scholastic’s ground-breaking graphic novel imprint, Graphix. In addition to art directing the American editions of Harry Potter, many of the picture books Saylor has art directed have won awards and honors from the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the Society of Illustrators, the New York Times Book Review, the Bookbinder’s Guild of New York, and the American Library Association. He was previously an art director at HarperCollins Children’s Books and Houghton Mifflin Children’s Books.

Paula Wiseman has worked in publishing for over thirty years. She joined Simon & Schuster in 2002. Previously she was vp and editor-in-chief at Philomel Books, a division of Putnam, vp and editorial director of Silver Whistle Books, now a division of HMH. Paula Wiseman Books/Simon and Schuster BFYR publishes picture books, interactive novelty books and novels. The list publishes many of the most beloved talents working in children's books today, including Matthew Van Fleet, Patricia Polacco, Stephen T. Johnson, Donna Jo Napoli, Kadir Nelson, Meghan McCarthy, Judy Sierra, C.F. Payne, and Raúl Colón.

Cecilia Yung is art director and vice president at Penguin Books for Young Readers where she oversees illustration and design for two imprints, G. P. Putnam's Sons and Nancy Paulsen Books. She is fortunate to have worked with some of the major illustrators of children’s books, but the highlight of her work is to discover and develop new talent. She is on the Board of Advisors of SCBWI, as well as a member of its Illustrators’ Committee.

Paul O. Zelinsky has illustrated thirty-odd books for children, written some of them, and been awarded numerous honors, including the Caldecott Medal for Rapunzel and three Caldecott Honors. His most widely-known book is probably the movable Wheels on the Bus; the most recent is Z is for Moose(written by Kelly Bingham), which received a star from all six star-giving trade journals. Visit www.paulozelinsky.com.

Professional Authors' Forum

Arthur A. Levine Books launched in 1997, a literary imprint of Scholastic Inc. This imprint introduced North American audiences to the work of great writers such as Markus Zusak, Francisco Stork, Lisa Yee, Dan Santat, Trent Reedy, and of course, J. K. Rowling, and continues that tradition with such fabulous newcomers as Mike Jung, Martha Brockenbrough, Greg Pincus, Erin Bow, and Eric Gansworth. About thirty percent of the books the imprint publishes are fully-illustrated, working with a group of artists that include the incomparable Shaun Tan, well-known masters such as Richard Egielski, David Small, Komako Sakai, and Axel Scheffler, and talented illustrators at the start of their careers such as Israel Sanchez, Shino Arihara, and Bethany Murguia. Arthur is also an author whose recent books include Monday is One Day, illustrated by Julian Hector and A Very Beary Tooth Fairy, illustrated by Sarah Brannen.Find out more about Arthur at www.arthuralevinebooks.com.

Linda Pratt established the Wernick & Pratt Agency in 2011 with Marcia Wernick after working together for twenty years at another agency. The agency specializes in representing authors and illustrators of children’s books with a focus on attending to the long term careers and goals of our clients. Linda’s clients include Sharon Flake, Richard Peck, Kathryn Erskine, Hannah Barnaby, Aaron Becker, Steve Light and LeUyen Pham among others. Linda is a member of SCBWI and AAR, and volunteered on the Rutgers Council for Children’s Literature which plans the annual Rutgers One-on-One Mentoring Conference for five years.

Jane Yolen, often called the "Hans Christian Andersen of America," is the author of over three hundred books, including Owl Moon; The Devil's Arithmetic; and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, plus seven books of adult poetry. She lectures around the world, and has won an assortment of awards: two Nebulas, a Caldecott Medal, three Mythopoeic Awards, among others. She was the first woman to give the St. Andrews University’s Andrew Lang lecture since the series began in 1927. Six colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates. Her website: www.janeyolen.com

Writers' Intensive

Bloggers:

Martha Brockenbrough is the author of a growing collection of books for young readers: the YA novels The Game of Love and Death and Devine Intervention, and The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy, a picture book. Both are with Arthur A. Levine at Scholastic, as is her forthcoming picture book, Love, Santa, as well as two Bigfoot picture books written jointly with Samantha Berger. Martha also wrote the nonfiction middle grade Finding Bigfoot for Feiwel & Friends. In addition to her work on SCBWI's Team Blog, she is the founder of National Grammar Day and author of the hilarious grammar guide Things That Make Us [Sic]. Martha has worked as a journalist for over twenty years and as a content strategist and marketer for more than a decade. Visit www.martha-brockenbrough.squarespace.com and on Twitter @mbrockenbrough.

Jolie Stekly is a freelance writer and novelist, teacher, fitness instructor, and former SCBWI co-Regional Advisor of the Western Washington Chapter. She now directs the fall retreats for the region. One of Jolie’s greatest honors was being awarded SCBWI’s 2009 Member-of-the-Year.

Don Tate is an award-winning author, and the illustrator of The Cart That Carried Martin (Charlesbridge); Hope’s Gift (Penguin); Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite (Charlesbridge); and Ron’s Big Mission (Penguin). He is also the author of It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw (Lee & Low Books, 2102), an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor winner. His most recent titles include The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch (Eerdmans, 2015) and Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton (Peachtree, 2015). Don is a member of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign, created to address the lack of diverse, non-majority narratives in children’s literature. Visit www.dontate.com.

Jaime Temairik’s debut picture book, How to Negotiate Everything, written by award-winning novelist Lisa Lutz, was published in 2013. She’s part of SCBWI’s TEAM BLOG, which covers SCBWI International Conferences (TEAM BLOG also covers Smothers Brothers songs). During the summer, Jaime teaches Illustrating Children's Picture Books for the University of Washington Extension program and she plans to blog about the class and (the doughnuts she brings to class) at www.cocoastomp.blogspot .com.

Lee Wind, M.Ed., is the official blogger for SCBWI (www.scbwi.blogspot.com) and Captain of SCBWI’s Team Blog. His award-winning personal blog, I’m Here. I’m Queer. What The Hell Do I Read? has had over 1.3 million visits and is one of only four sites linked from the American Library Association’s Rainbow Books website. His interviews and articles about children’s literature, social media and diversity have been published in magazines and books, including Writers Digest Writing For Kids & Teens,Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market (2011, 2012, 2015 and upcoming 2016 editions) and SCBWI The Book: The Essential Guide To Publishing For Children. He has moderated panels at KidLitCon, the CA School Library Association, The LA Times Festival of Books and SCBWI Conferences. A writer of picture books through young adult, he is represented by Danielle Smith of Red Fox Literary.Visit www.leewind.org.