Our Team

Eastern Up! Volunteer Regional Team

Eastern NY SCBWI is run by VOLUNTEERS! 

All our volunteers donate their time to make this community more connected and more successful. 

Our Shoptalks, Monthly Peer Critiques, Eastern Up! Blog, Event Calendar, and Monthly Newsletter are all run by volunteers! 

Want to be more involved? Join the Regional Team in one of the volunteer positions listed at the bottom of the page!

Meet the Eastern Up! Regional Team

JOHN BRIGGS – Regional Advisor

John Briggs has been a stand-up comic, a nationally syndicated reporter, and a book editor. None of that prepared him for the role of Regional Advisor. What did were some wonderful mentors, a terrific team of volunteers, and a strong group of creatives.

John is the author of several books, including the picture book LEAPING LEMMINGS! and the middle-grade biography JUDY GARLAND: LITTLE WOMAN, BIG TALENT. He enjoys helping published and pre-published writers reach their KidLit goals.  

KYRA JOHNSTON – Co-Assistant Regional Advisor

Kyra Johnston is contemporary fantasy author, dancer, bar manager and foodie living in NYC after growing up in Beacon, NY. 

MARKER SNYDER – Co-Assistant Regional Advisor

Marker Snyder is an illustrator, designer, and graphic artist currently based in Kingston, NY, where he lives in a rainbow house with his husband, two cats, and a very friendly turtle. Formerly a curator and exhibition designer in NYC, Marker is the creator of the GLAAD-nominated graphic novel, FIRST KISS WITH FANGS, his debut book for kids.

SARAH LUANN PERKINS – Illustrator Coordinator

Sarah LuAnn Perkins is an illustrator-author of whimsical stories for the children's publishing market. Her illustrations have the look of handmade prints, so many are surprised to learn that they are created almost entirely on a computer. Steampunk, folk, and fairy tales are common sources of inspiration, though any good story will do. She enjoys creating work full of wit, wonder, and whimsy.

Sarah grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and received a BFA in illustration from Brigham Young University. She now lives in Upstate NY with her husband and two kids. She is the Illustration Coordinator for the SCBWI Eastern Upstate NY region. She is represented by Adria Goetz at Martin Literary Management.

KERRY MCQUAIDE – Published Author Co-Ordinator, READ LOCAL

Kerry McQuaide is an author-illustrator in New York’s Hudson Valley. She studied at London’s Chelsea School of Art and Design and graduated from Parsons School of Design. Kerry serves as the Published Author Coordinator for SCBWI Eastern NY and is a Trustee for the Saugerties Public Library. Her picture book, THE BIGGEST, HIGHEST WAVE ( a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection), was inspired by her first surfing experience, where she was captivated by the energy of the waves. Though she’s never surfed a wave as high as her story’s heroine, she understands what it’s like to wipe out—and get back up again. 

NANCY CASTALDO – "Read Like A Writer" Book Club Co-Ordinator

Nancy Castaldo, Regional Advisor Emeritus, brings her passion for personal impact into all her award-winning writing for children and adults. As coordinator for the Read Like A Writer virtual book club, she hosts a monthly dynamic conversation where writers and illustrators deconstruct the mechanics of story to sharpen their own book creation.

STEFANIE SALYER – Critique Co-Ordinator

Stefanie Salyer is a neurodivergent author and poet who is most at home in the woods or the water. Her work has been featured in FIDDLEHEAD FOLIO, TYGER TYGER MAGAZINE, THE DIRIGIBLE BALLOON, and more. Outside of writing, Stefanie is a classically-trained musician, a student of gemology, and an occasional mermaid. As Critique Coordinator, she strives to create a fun and welcoming space where creatives can learn and grow together. If you would like to learn more about our regional critiques, please contact her at [email protected].

CAROLYN HUSTON – Self-Publishing Co-Ordinator

Carolyn Huston is the author of 16 picture books. 15 feature her son and focus on children with autism. Her son co-wrote three of them I AM JAMES, JAMES CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS, and JAMES LEARNS TO SKI. She has also published a middle-grade, historical novel, LESSONS FROM THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT. She also had an article in Faces Magazine about the Indianapolis Zoo Teen Program. She is working on several other middle grade fiction and nonfiction projects. 

KIMBERLY SABATINI – Special Advisor

Kimberly Sabatini is former Special Education Teacher who is now a very busy Domestic Engineer. After being a Poughkeepsie Shop Talk Co-Coordinator since November 2011, Kimberly became the SCBWI NY Eastern Up! Assistant Regional Advisor in January 2020. Kimberly grew up in Beacon, NY and after college, traveled to Germany, Arizona and North Carolina as a military spouse. Now back in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband, three boys and a slightly naughty German Shepherd, she couldn’t be happier. Kimberly writes Young Adult fiction and is the winner of the 2016 Alice Curtis Desmond Award. She is represented by Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency. TOUCHING THE SURFACE is her debut novel. (Simon Pulse – Simon & Schuster)

Our Volunteers

JOHN EBBERT

John spent many years designing and creating displays and store environments for children at The Scholastic Book Store, FAO Schwarz, and Toys “R” Us Times Square, in New York City. He has an MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute. 

While he is currently concentrating on writing and illustrating middle grade novels, recently, with his wife, artist/illustrator, Mison Kim, they set up a publishing company, Dooleyglot, to print a series of bilingual baby board books. They printed the first nine books in this series and released them in 2019. His poems have appeared in the Hudson Valley’s CHRONOGRAM magazine, and in a number of anthologies.

MELISSA KENNY

Melissa is a children’s book illustrator who works primarily in Procreate. In addition to volunteering for SCBWI, Melissa also contributes her time to create pet portraits for The Anti-Cruelty Society and is a member of multiple art groups in her community. Published books with Melissa’s work include: Frances and Evie, Maor’s Christmas Tale, and Gift of the Bear. You can get in touch with Melissa on Instagram @Melissa_Kenny_Illustrator and see more of her work at www.MelissaKennyIllustrator.com

JESSICA PERIWINKLE

SUSANNE LAMB

GRIFFIN SCHULTZ

MELISSA HURT

Volunteer Positions

Want to be more involved? Join the Regional Team in one of the following volunteer positions:

Library Liaison

Join our Volunteer Team as one of our library liaisons. Each library has a different director, different person planning programming, and different schedules for requesting rooms (when we can meet again in person!) If you are willing to talk to your local library about possible SCBWI partnerships, programming, etc. 

Bookstore Liaison

We are so lucky with all the local indie bookstore we have in the Eastern NY region! The Hudson Valley Book Trail doesn’t even cover all the bookstore in our region! We’d like to partner with bookstores and libraries for author’s book launches and special events. If you are willing to talk to your local bookstore about possible SCBWI partnerships, programming, etc. 

Newsletter Coordinator

If you are at all familiar with Constant Contact or you’d like to learn, we’d love to have you join our Regional Team of volunteers! Our newsletter is how we keep members up-to-date with events and opportunities. It is the glue that keeps the region connected. We need one person who can volunteer 1 hour a week using their writing and Constant Contact skills. 

Email us if you are interested or have questions.