Schedule Details
(subject to change)
8:10 - 8:25 WELCOME (Room: TAHOE)
8:25 - 9:10 KEYNOTE: SANJAY PATEL (Room: TAHOE)
9:20 - 10:10 SESSION 1
BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS: INTRIGUING HOOK + SURPRISE = READER SATISFACTION (Room: TAHOE)
Jennifer March Soloway
[Insert description]
RESEARCHING AND WRITING A NONFICTION BOOK TO STAND THE TEST OF TIME (Room: TENAYA)
Susan B. Katz
From biographies of important people to STEAM topics, learn how to select, research, and write engaging, informative nonfiction picture books and chapter books. Think ahead to your pitch to editors--the hook, the book, and the cook-- as well as school visit presentations. There will be time for tips, turn and talk sharing of ideas, and to put pen to paper.
Susan B. Katz is the award-winning, bestselling author of more than 80 children's books. She's published more than a dozen biographies in The Story of series, including The Story of RBG, which hit #9 on Amazon's overall bestseller list. Susan also wrote a Sesame Street series of STEM titles and has authored books about the rain forest, coral reefs, and SEL/mindfulness. Susan is published with Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Lerner, Heinemann, Capstone, Little Bee, North South, Sourcebooks, Barefoot Books, Bala Books (Shambhala), Little Brown, and many other houses.
USING MENTOR TEXTS TO TELL A BETTER STORY (Room: SHASTA)
Nadia Salomon
[Insert description]
TRADITIONAL ILLUSTRATION BEHIND THE SCENES: FROM SKETCH TO FINISHED (Room: TRINITY)
Shirley Ng-Benitez
A behind-the-scenes session on traditional illustration for a published book with Union Square Kids from start to finish. A brief introduction to how the book was acquired and my work for the submission process. I’ll then describe the process of how I work with the house including pre-project questions including deadines/timing; working with the manuscript, art directors, and editors; character exploration and consistency; backgrounds; final artwork creation and delivery; color proofs; to final book. I wish for this session to shed light on everything an illustrator considers and works on during a full 40-page book illustration project, including casewrap and jacket artwork, with a focus on traditional media.
10:20 -10:40 COMMUNITY/CONNECTIONS (Venue: TBD)
[Insert description]
10:50 - 11:40 SESSION 2
AN AUTHOR, AGENT, AND EDITOR TALK ABOUT HOW TO RECOGNIZE A GOOD IDEA (Room: TAHOE)
Ian Lendler, Mae Respicio, Marissa Moss
Creative people usually have lots of ideas, but every idea takes time and dedication to bring to life. And time is the one thing that everyone has in short supply. No one wants to waste their efforts on an idea that won't work out. So how do you decide what the RIGHT idea is to devote yourself to? In this panel, an author, an agent, and a publisher will each explain to the audience, and each other, what they look for in a project before they commit to saying "Yes."
THE PICTURE BOOK PIPELINE: MANAGING THE PROCESS AS A SELF-PUBLISHER (Room: TENAYA)
Will Wolfe
From draft to delivery, discover a self-publishing process that fosters flexible efficiency and creative collaboration.
MANAGING YOUR NEWSLETTER FOR KIDLIT CREATORS (Room: SHASTA)
Kerry Arradhya, Nicole Chen, Susan Cabael, Maritza Ruiz-Kim
With the uncertainty around social media and the unpredictability of its algorithms, more creators are hearing the advice to start a newsletter. In this presentation, three Bay Area creators who are in different stages of their creative careers will share their unique approaches to their newsletters. They will also share their decision-making processes and prompt attendees to brainstorm ideas for their own potential newsletters. They will address:
WHAT is an author/illustrator newsletter and what can it be about?
WHY bother creating one and why do people read them?
WHO is your target audience?
WHEN should you start and how often should you publish?
WHERE can you post/host the newsletter?
HOW do you get started creating one?
ART DIRECTOR AMELIA MACK: TOPIC TBD (Room: TRINITY)
Amelia Mack
[Insert description]
11:50 - 12:40 SESSION 3
PARALLEL PLAY: HOW PB WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS WORK TOGETHER (Room: SHASTA)
Monica Wesolowska, Kenard Pak, Deborah Underwood, Maritza Ruiz-Kim (Moderator)
While a picture book can be created by one person, many are collaborations. How does that work? You may be surprised to learn that publishers usually choose which authors and illustrators to pair, and then they keep them separate during the work. Why?
In this panel, delve into the mystery of picture book collaboration. If you’re an author, can you ever give notes to an illustrator? If you’re an illustrator, what notes do you want? Can illustrators ever ask authors to change their words? How about vice versa? Learn about the mistakes and magic that can happen when authors and illustrators work alone to create picture books together.
HOT AND COLD: HOW TO CONTROL POV IN YOUR FICTION (Room: TENAYA)
Michael Carr
[Insert description]
MAKING SOMETHING: FROM ANIMATION TO GRAPHIC NOVEL (Room: SHASTA)
Bobby Podesta
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12:40 - 13:40 LUNCH (Room: TBD)
13:45 - 14:35 SESSION 4
FRESH AIR IN A CROWED ROOM: PB SUBMISSIONS THAT CATCH OUR ATTENTION (Room: TAHOE)
Karly Dizon, Marissa Moss, Summer Dawn Laurie
[Insert description]
FIRST 10 PAGES THAT POP, NOT FLOP: HOOK US FROM THE START (AND WHAT TO AVOID) MG/YA (Room: TENAYA)
Michael Carr, Mary C. Moore
[Insert description]
14:45 - 15:40 SESSION 5
A TAPESTRY OF VOICES: STILL SEEKING AUTHENTIC, DIVERSE, UNDERREPRESENTED STORIES (Room: TAHOE)
Marissa Moss, Karly Dizon
[Insert description]
CRAFTING YOUR LOGLINE TO CATCH AGENT/EDITOR INTEREST (MG/YA) (Room: TENAYA)
Jennifer March Soloway, Michael Carr
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15:50 – 16:40 SESSION 6
WHAT I WISH EVERYONE KNEW (OR DID) BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME (Room: TAHOE)
Sally Kim, Rachel Kent, Marissa Moss, Summer Dawn Laurie
[Insert description]
WORDS AND PICTURES: AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATORS ON HOW THEY DO BOTH AND THEIR CREATIVE JOURNEY (Room: TENAYA)
Sanjay Patel,
[Insert description]
16:45 – 17:00 CONCLUSION (Room: TAHOE)
Announcement of EQI awards, portfolio judging, and inspiring farewell