March meeting reminder: MARCH 16!

Our upcoming SCBWI WWA meeting is going to be a good one, folks. The fabulous Roseanne Parry will present on "Siblings in Middle-Grade Fiction" - a subject dear to our hearts. Our main presentation will be a panel discussion on Inclusion in Children's Books, which will include a librarian, a publisher, an artist, and an author. This is such an important part of doing this work, so if you are a member or in the neighborhood you should put March 16th on your calendar, make your way through the blasted traffic, and join us! 
Thanks to Jamie Parker for the swell illustration. –Tina Hoggatt

The specifics! Read on!

"Inclusivity in Children’s Books" will be a panel discussion moderated by Allyson Valentine Schrier and Lois Brandt.

We all know the benefits of reading to children from the time that they are very young. But what happens when children do not have access to books that mirror their own experience? And what happens in a society in which books only provide windows into the lives of a dominant culture? How do we, as children's writers and illustrators, encourage and participate in expanding inclusivity in children's literature, even if we ourselves are not members of an under-represented culture?

We are profoundly fortunate to host a panel that includes Philip Lee, co-founder of Lee and Low Publishing and Readers to Eaters, KCLS Children’s Librarian Ann Crewdson, Author Kelly Jones, and Author/Illustrator Liz Wong. Come explore with a panel passionate about this appropriately hot topic. –Lois Brandt




Philip Lee is the co-founder and publisher of READERS to EATERS, which launched its publishing program in 2012 with a mission to promote food literacy. He also co-founded and was the publisher of Lee & Low Books in New York, with a focus on publishing multicultural literature. He got his start in publishing working at the college bookstore at U.C. Berkeley. He then attended the Radcliffe Publishing Procedures Course (Now the Columbia Publishing Course) and then worked for Conde Nast on magazines such as Glamour and GQ. He got the idea to start READERS to EATERS when he worked as a radio producer for KBCS on the connection between good food’s impact on student learning.

Kelly Jones is a writer and former bookseller and children’s librarian who lives in Shoreline, Washington. Her debut novel Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, about twelve-year-old Sophie and her magical chickens, was illustrated by Katie Kath and published by Knopf Books For Young Readers. It was named an ALSC Children’s Notable Book for 2016, a 2016 Mathical Honor Book, a 2016-2017 Texas Bluebonnet Master List nominee, and a 2016-2017 Georgia Children’s Book Award Finalist.


Ann Crewdson is a children's librarian at the Issaquah and Sammamish Libraries at the King County Library System, Washington and the former chair of Washington Library Association's intellectual freedom interest group. From 2011-2015, she was an active member of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee where intellectual freedom and racial ethics intersect. Currently she sits on ALA Council, bringing forward her working knowledge from the field. She’s written articles and reviewed media for School Library Journal and has had over 20 years of experience working in public libraries.


Liz Wong was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she spent her early childhood painting and clambering about in mango trees. She began her illustrious art career at the tender age of five, when she earned the first place trophy in the school poster contest. This encouraged her to pursue art instead of a sensible career in finance like the rest of her family. Liz holds a BFA in Art and a BA in Anthropology from the University of Washington. She is an author and illustrator, with a focus on illustration for children. Liz currently resides in the Seattle area. She creates her illustrations with a combination of watercolor, colored pencil, pencil and Photoshop.