SCBWI Inland Northwest Virtual 2023 Illustrator Portfolio Contest!

Your SCBWI profile portfolio is a powerful tool, one that connects you to art directors, publishers, and authors in search of talent. To help you prepare for their attention, we’re hosting a portfolio contest and inviting some top-notch judges!

Contestants may opt-in to be included in our illustrator showcase on Instagram! This is a fantastic opportunity to get your work in front of your peers and industry professionals.

TeMika Grooms is a Georgia-based writer and illustrator creating stories with a belief that all children should be able to see themselves as the hero within the pages of a book. In 2021, she was selected as an Illustration Mentee in the We Need Diverse Books Program and was a member of the first cohort for the Highlights Foundation and The Brown Bookshelf Amplify Black Stories program. Her latest illustrated book Put Your Shoes On & Get Ready! by Senator Raphael G. Warnock was released by Philomel Books in January 2023.

Brizida Magro is a Boulder, Colorado-based illustrator. Brizida holds a BFA in Illustration from Brigham Young University and an MFA in Graphic Design from Utah State University. She is passionate about rock climbing, wandering the world and bringing stories to life. She works primarily in digital media, often with an analog touch that incorporates collage, ink, and china marker. She enjoys simplicity, whimsy, wee characters, and collecting vintage papers.Raised by her grandmother and sister, she spent her childhood in a small Portuguese fishing town. Growing up, they would often make things by hand as a family. While her grandmother gardened and baked delicious cakes, she and her sister would spend time making clothes for their dolls and building twig shelters in the countryside.Her childhood has greatly influenced her current work, which blends together the innocence of vintage children’s art, the naiveté of folk art, and frolicking adventures through mountains and deserts.The artist is represented by the fine folks at The Bright Agency.

Heather Long has worn many creative hats in her professional career. She worked as an art/illustration buyer for Harcourt Publishers, a freelance fashion and costume designer, a photo stylist, a school library assistant and a visual and store manager for Anthropologie. Heather has also written and published two children’s books, Max and Milo: Go to Sleep, and Max and Milo: The Mixed-up Message (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster). . Heather has been instrumental in managing and guiding her husband, Ethan’s, children’s book and animation career. Her steady presence has served as the perfect counterpoint to Ethan’s creative energy. She is excited to help others fulfill their creative passions and cultivate and manage their book careers. As a recent empty-nester, Heather enjoys spending more time with her husband, traveling, hiking, and exploring their newly adopted state of Colorado. When it's too cold for any of that, you will most often find her reading a book. Heather is the mother of three, step-daughter, Katie (27),and sons, Cooper (20), and Carson (19). . Working as a team/power couple Heather and Ethan Long specialize in representing author/illustrators and illustrators who aspire to write their own stories and become full time authors. They use their combined experience in a mentorship capacity to guide prospective authors through the process of writing and creating a successful children's book and preparing them for all the success that follows.