Visual Storytellers Series: From First Idea to Finished Book
January 16–17, 2027 · Online via Zoom. All times listed below are EDT.
Free for all SCBWI Premium Members; VSS is presented by the Southern Breeze Region.
These sessions will NOT be recorded.
What happens between the first spark of an idea and the finished pages of an illustrated book? Spend a weekend with twelve award-winning illustrators as they share the sketches, decisions, revisions, and artwork behind their books. Each one-hour session offers a visual look at an illustrator’s process, followed by time for audience questions. Presenters may explore early research and thumbnails, character development, feedback from editors and art directors, materials and techniques, cover design, and the unexpected turns a book can take on its way to publication. Whether you write, illustrate, or simply love illustrated books, you’re invited to see how these stories take shape.
Saturday, January 16
· 12:00–1:00 p.m. Lee White www.leewhiteillustration.com
· 1:00–2:00 p.m. Shanda McCloskey www.shandamc.com
· 2:00–3:00 p.m. Michael Allen Austin www.austinillustration.com
· 3:00–3:30 p.m. Break
· 3:30–4:30 p.m. Ebony Glenn www.ebonyglenn.com
· 4:30–5:30 p.m. Laura Freeman www.lfreemanart.com
Sunday, January 17
· 12:00–1:00 p.m. TeMika Grooms www.temikatheartist.com
· 1:00–2:00 p.m. R. Gregory Christie www.rgregorychristie.com
· 2:00–3:00 p.m. Taylor Woolley www.woolleystories.com
· 3:00–3:30 p.m. Break
· 3:30–4:30 p.m. Samantha Cotterill www.samanthacotterill.com
· 4:30–5:30 p.m. Mark Braught www.markbraught.com
· 6:00–7:00 p.m. Cherry Mo www.cherrymo.com
· 7:00–8:00 p.m. Violet Tobacco www.violettobacco.com
All times Eastern. Each session includes approximately 45 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes of audience Q&A.
Special Guest Illustrators Samantha Cotterill and Lee White from the popular SVS Learn & 3 Pt Perspective Podcast will join this stellar Southern Breeze Region's roster of Illustrators for a dynamic weekend of art and insights!