Upcoming Book Launches

BOOK LAUNCHES TO CELEBRATE

Come help me CELEBRATE the release of my debut novel for middle-grade readers, CHASING AT THE SURFACE, out on October 4, from WestWinds Press. After her mother unexpectedly leaves home, twelve-year old Marisa struggles with her feelings of loss and abandonment just as a pod of nineteen orca whales―mothers with their new calves following a run of chum salmon―become trapped in the enclosed inlet near her Northwest home. Marisa’s journey to help the whales find their way home brings her to a new understanding of the assaults humans have had on nature, and the complicated meaning of family and home. 

Sharon Mentyka is a children’s writer, designer and educator, with an MFA in Writing from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts (NILA) Whidbey Writers Workshop. Her stories and essays, for both children and adults, have appeared in numerous literary magazines including ColumbiaKids, Cricket and Soundings Review. B IN THE WORLD, an illustrated children’s chapter book about a gender non-conforming child was published in 2014. CHASING AT THE SURFACE, a middle grade novel inspired by a 30-day visit of orca whales to an enclosed inlet in the Pacific Northwest.

When: October 13, 4:00 pm 

Where:Village Books, Bellingham, WA

                        

When:  October 20 and 21, 5:00 pm 

Where: Griffin Bay Books, Friday Harbor, WA

When:  October 25, 7:00 pm 

Where: University Bookstore, Seattle, WA

Dan Richards teams up with celebrated artist, Jeff Newman, to share a funny and vibrant picture book about how powerful a child's imagination can be with a little encouragement. Evan asks a simple question, Can one balloon make an elephant fly? At first, his mother is too busy to answer. But when she takes the time to play the game with her son, magic happens.

When: Saturday, October 8, 6:30-9pm

Where: Third Place Books

              17171 Bothell Way NE, #A101

               Lake Forest Park WA 98155

Would love to see you there!

Dan Richards

www.danrichardsbooks.com

www.facebook.com/DanRichardsPage

When Paxton C. Heymeyer’s babysitter tells him to say the magic word, she could never have imagined that what would happen next would be a walrus running after her, an elephant in the living room playing cards, and a full water park and moat in the front yard. And that’s just the beginning…

From the brilliant mind of Mac Barnett and illustrated by rising star Elise Parlsey, comes this wildly clever cautionary tale of what the magic word really is.

Come join us for an evening with one of the most versatile, prolific, and awarded people currently working in kid lit today. See his book list below and marvel at the diversity and scope!

When: Thursday, October 13, 7:00pm

Where: Secret Garden Books

              2214 NW Market St

              Seattle, WA 98107

Riots over the medical use of cadavers. Public access to institutions for the insane. And full-blown surgeries without the aid of anesthetics or painkillers. Welcome to the middle ages of American medicine. Bleed, Blister, Puke, and Purge exposes the extraordinary practices and major players of American medical history, from the colonial era to the late 1800s. It's hard to believe that today's cutting-edge medicine originated from such crude beginnings, but this book reminds us to be grateful for today's medical care, while also raising the question: what current medical techniques will be the horrors of tomorrow?

When: Tuesday October 25, 7:00 pm

Where: Third Place Books

              17171 Bothell Way NE, #A101

              Lake Forest Park WA 98155

Inside Story - Deadline to Apply Extended!

Did you miss the application deadline for Inside Story? Good news! The deadline has been extended to Saturday, October 1. 

•    You must be a CURRENT SCBWI member at the PAL (published and listed) level and your profile at SCBWI.org must be updated to reflect this. (If you're eligible to change your membership status, you can fill out the form online at http://www.scbwi.org/pal-publishers/)

•    You must live in the official Western Washington region. If you’re a member and uncertain which region you’re in, please email us and we’ll check for you.

•    Your publisher must be on SCBWI’s list of recognized (traditional) PAL publishers. You can find the accepted publisher list by going to your SCBWI member profile page, clicking “Add” in the “Books” section under “Publications.” Find “Publisher” (not “Other Publisher”) and type in your publisher’s name in the box that says, “Start typing…”  

•    Your book is brand new this fall and has never been published before.

•    Your book is released between August 2016 and November 2016. Note: this is a change from previous Inside Story events. Going forward, you will participate in Inside Story when your book is actually available for sale. Our May 2017 Inside Story (which will be held at University Bookstore in U District on May 9, 2017) will be open to those whose books release between November 2016 and May 2017.

 •    Your book is readily available through normal trade channels (e.g., Baker & Taylor).

Exceptions to PAL published books include self-published books that are a continuation of a PAL published series and Spark Award books.

If you answered YES to all of the above, go to  https://goo.gl/forms/A1MBPCzlwoeFOp762 and apply NOW!

Inside Story is our region's biannual celebration of new books. We invite our membership, area booksellers, teachers and librarians to come and hear two or three minute presentations from eligible PAL (Published and Listed) members. 

The event will be held at University Book Store in Bellevue (990 102^nd Ave. NE) on Tuesday, November 15 from 7:00pm until 9:00pm. Even if you're not presenting, mark your calendars anyway. You won't want to miss the celebration.

Questions? Email Inside Story Coordinator Dori Butler at dhbutler@kidswriter.com

It's a Book Launch for David Shannon - with Duck On a Tractor!

Secret Garden Books is hosting bestselling, Caldecott Honor artist David Shannon!
His new picture book is Duck on a Tractor, and it tells the story of a determined duck who decides to jump on a tractor and drive it around the barnyard and through town, with hilarious consequences!

David Shannon is the internationally acclaimed creator of more than thirty picture books, including No, David!, a Caldecott Honor Book and his second New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year, and three more David picture books. Shannon's bestsellers include A Bad Case of Stripes, Duck on a Bike, and his recent Bugs in My Hair! He lives in California with his family.
Visit his website here.

Here are the details:

When:

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Time:

7:00pm

Where: 

Secret Garden Books

2214 NW Market St

Seattle, WA 98107

Hope to see you there!

PAL Event - October 1

The Inland NW region is hosting a webinar next Saturday designed for PAL members that would like to learn more about School Visits. Nonfiction author, Kelly Milner Halls, will share her trusty tips on October 1st at 9:00 am PST. The cost is $10 and the program will be recorded for those that would like to watch it later in the week.

Here is a link with more details and registration information: https://inlandnw.scbwi.org/events/school-visits-with-kelly-milner-hallspal-think-tank/

Thanks!

Rachel Hamby

Inland NW ARA

Poetry Workshop - October 1

Come and hear some of Washington's the best children's poets speak at the WWW Poetry Camp for teachers, librarians, parents, and writers! Just to

drop a few names, Julie Larios, Kenn Nesbitt, Eric Ode, and Jack Prelutsky will be present. And a few big names traveling in for the event are Kathi Appelt, Nikki Grimes, and Stephanie Hemphill, as well as some rising stars.

Workshops will focus on the craft of writing (poetic forms and techniques),  poetry performance, and publication (children’s, YA, and adult poetry), as well as teaching poetry.

When: Saturday, October 1, 2016

             9:30 am to 3:30pm

             (check-out the full schedule for a guest appearance at 4:30!)

Please spread the word, especially with anyone who might need more clock hours. FIVE clock hours!

http://www.library.wwu.edu/poetrychat/events/2016/04/20/poetry-camp

Happy Writing!

Inside Story - Deadline to Apply Extended !

Do you have a new book out this fall? If so, you may be eligible to present at Inside Story, our SCBWI region's biannual celebration of new books. We invite our membership, area booksellers, teachers and librarians to come and hear two or three minute presentations from eligible PAL (Published and Listed) members. 

The event will be held at University Book Store in Bellevue on Tuesday, November 15 at 7:00pm.

If you're a PAL member, you should have received your invitation to apply. If you didn't receive it, check your spam folder. You'll also find the application form here.  

Deadline to apply is September 26, 2016.

Lee & Low Books - Contest!

September 15, 2016

Our Writing Contest Deadlines Are Approaching Summer is nearly coming to an end and the deadlines to submit to our New Voices and New Visions Awards are quickly approaching! Our annual awards encourage writers of color to submit their work to a publisher that takes pride in nurturing new talent. As the number of diverse books increases, LEE & LOW BOOKS is dedicated to increasing the number of authors of color as well. Keep reading for submissions guidelines and feel free to post, share, or print PDFs (links below) to help us spread the word about these great contests! READ MORE LEE & LOW BOOKS Partners with First Book and NEA Foundation to Expand New Visions Award LEE & LOW BOOKS is pleased to announce an exciting new initiative with First Book and the NEA Foundation aimed at helping educators feel more confident broaching subjects related to race, ethnic and cultural diversity in the classroom.  Together, LEE & LOW, First Book and the NEA Foundation will: publish more first time authors of color; bring more affordable multicultural paperbacks into the hands of low-income children; and provide best-in-class educator resources to lift up authentic voices, expand horizons and validate each child's unique perspective and experience through literature. Through the generosity of the NEA Foundation, LEE & LOW BOOKS will award a second NEW VISIONS AWARD WINNER for the 2017 contest.  The NEA Foundation will sponsor the cost of publication of this winning title.  LEE & LOW BOOKS will publish a special paperback edition of the book that will be exclusively available to educators and program leaders serving children in need through the First Book Marketplace. Due to the NEA Foundation and First Book partnership, New Visions finalists will be notified and full manuscripts requested no later than November 30, 2016. If your full manuscript is requested, it must be received by TU BOOKS by December 15, 2016. You can view the updated New Visions submission guidelines here. For more information, please see our press release. Eager to learn more about First Book Marketplace? Visit their website here. READ MORE New Voices Award: Picture Book Manuscripts The New Voices Award is given for a children’s picture book manuscript by a new writer of color. Past New Voices Award submissions we have published include Bird, an ALA Notable Children's Book; It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw, winner of the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award Honor; and Juna's Jar, winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. Eligibility: The contest is open to writers of color who are residents of the United States, 18 years or older at the time of entry, and who have not previously had a children’s picture book published. Writers who have published work in other venues and genres, including children’s magazines, young adult, and adult fiction or nonfiction, are eligible. Only unagented submissions will be accepted. Work that has been published in any format, including online and self published, is not eligible. Manuscripts previously submitted for this award or to LEE & LOW BOOKS will not be considered. Prize: The Award winner receives a cash prize of $1000 and our standard publication contract, including our basic advance and royalties for a first time author. An Honor Award winner will receive a cash prize of $500. Deadline: September 30, 2016 For full eligibility and submissions guidelines information, visit our website. Help us spread the word! Download a printable PDF of the submissions guidelines to share with writers who may be interested. READ MORE New Visions Award: Middle Grade and Young Adult Manuscripts The New Visions Award is given for a middle grade or young adult novel by a writer of color. Winning New Visions Award submissions include the YA novel Ink and Ashes, recipient of an honor citation from the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Award for Literature and The Amaterasu Project, due for publication in 2017. Eligibility: The contest is open to writers of color who are residents of the United States, 18 years of age or older at the time of entry, and who have not previously had a middle grade or young adult novel published. Writers who have published work in other venues such as children’s magazines or picture books, or adult fiction or nonfiction, are eligible. Only unagented manuscripts will be accepted. Work that has been published in its entirety in any format (including online and self publishing as well as other countries) is not eligible. Manuscripts previously submitted for this award or to TU BOOKS will not be considered. Prize: The Award winner receives a cash prize of $1000 and our standard publication contract, including our basic advance and royalties for a first time author. An Honor Award winner will receive a cash prize of $500. Deadline: October 31, 2016 For full eligibility and submissions guidelines information, visit our website. Help us spread the word! Download a printable PDF of the submissions guidelines to share with writers who may be interested. READ MORE Writing Tips and Contemplation Past New Voices entrants G. Neri, Debbie Taylor, and LaTisha Redding share their path to publication in this blog post even though they did not win the New Voices Award.  Three New Visions Award finalists, Alex Brown, Hilda Burgos, and Elizabeth Stephens, share their writing journey here. Here's an interview with the 2013 New Voices Award winner, author Sylvia Liu, on how she prepared her winning story, A Morning with Grandpa. New Voices Award Winner Patricia Smith and New Voices Award Honor Hayan Charara share their experiences with shaping voice here. New Voices Award Winners Linda Boyden and Jennifer Torres show us their revision process in this blog post. Like Us On Facebook Be the first to find out about our writing contests by liking the Lee & Low page on Facebook!  LIKE US

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Seattle City of Literature Workshop

Seattle City of Literature and the Office of Arts & Culture present Racial Equity and the Literary Arts Part Two: Implicit Bias September 27, 2016 1:30pm-5pm Bertha Knight Landes Room, City Hall 600 Fourth Ave Seattle, WA 98104   There is no cost to attend, but space is limited. Please RSVP to secure your spot. We hope that you can join us! About the workshop   Racial Equity and the Literary Arts: Implicit Bias will encourage participants to challenge the impact of racial sterotypes and implicit bias. Through video, interactive exercises and storytelling, participants will examine how these unspoken and often unconscious stereotypes create barriers to genuine relationships and influence our attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs about one another. In response to feedback from our first session, this workshop will be even more interactive, and will include the opportunity for participants to create a personal action plan. About the facilitator Dr. Caprice Hollins, co-founder of Cultures Connecting, LLC, received her doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Multicultural and Community Psychology in 1998. She became licensed in Washington State in 2000 and has over 20 years of experience teaching graduate courses,  working with historically marginalized populations, researching, studying, and facilitating race related conversations. Her experience includes opening and directing the Department of Equity & Race Relations for Seattle Public Schools, developing and implementing district-wide and school-based training, while utilizing her background in psychology to assist district leaders and staff institutionalize change to promote equity and social justice. Dr. Hollins also works  as a part-time core faculty in the department of counseling at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.

Thank you to the Office of Arts & Culture for their generous support of this initiative! This event is the second of three half-day workshops meant to help Seattle's literary community begin to talk about race, and to build equity. Want to participate but can't attend the first meeting? Let us know, and we'll make sure to include you in further updates about this initiative!

SCBWI - Family Draw-Along This Weekend!

Join the illustrators of the Super Duper Summer Show this Saturday from 12:00 - 2:00 pm at the Washington State Convention Center for a family Draw-Along. You definitely don’t need to be a kid to come. Materials will be provided. This is a great opportunity to see the work of over 70 illustrators from our region. We will have a ton of fun together!

We have a winner (two of them, actually)!

You may recall the post where we announced that YA Novelist E. Lockhart is coming to Hugo House on Sunday, September 18, at 7 p.m. at the Frye Art Museum. . . and that we have two tickets to give away! Well, we used a random number generator to pick two of our commenters on that post, and the winners are . . .

Margaret Nevinski and Angie Quantrell!

Congratulations to both! 

The rest of you needn't worry, though. Even if you didn't win a free ticket, you can still go! Full details are below:

YOUNG-ADULT NOVELIST E. LOCKHART KICKS OFF NEW SEASON OF WORD WORKS SERIES

Series features notable writers talking about a topic of personal mastery meant to draw back the curtain on the process of writing

SEATTLE—Young-adult novelist E. Lockhart begins a new year of craft talks for Hugo House's Word Works: Writers on Writing series on September 18 at 7 p.m. in The Frye Art Museum. 

Lockhart is known for penning young-adult novels that are feminist and socially conscious, including the New York Times-bestselling We Were Liars, and her novel, The Disreputable History of Frankie-Landau Banks, which won a Michael L. Printz Honor Award and was a National Book Award finalist.

In her Word Works talk, In Praise of Style: Artifice, Punctuation, and Other Rogue Techniques of World-Building, Lockhart will dissect how certain writers, even in popular fiction, use playful and stylized language and formats to build compelling fictional worlds. Revered writers of children's, adult, and YA literature—including Neil Gaiman, Markus Zusak (The Book Thief), Walter Dean Meyers, and Lauren Myracle—will serve as a jumping-off point for the lecture, focusing on how these writers use experimental techniques without becoming gimmicky or inaccessible to readers. A Q&A with Lockhart will follow.

In conjunction with the event, Lockhart will teach a class at Hugo House on Monday, September 19. The half-day intensive workshop, Finding Your Voice, will have students look at heritage, family, fandoms, regionalisms, inside jokes, and slang vocabularies as tools for getting their own unique mind onto the page.

Lockhart (née Emily Jenkins) grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Seattle, Washington, and is an alumna of Lakeside School in North Seattle. She studied illustrated books at Vassar College and earned a doctorate in English literature at Columbia University. She is the author of nine novels, including Dramarama, Fly on the Wall, and the popular Ruby Oliver series, which begins with the novel The Boyfriend List.

More information on the event can be found on the event page, and information on the class can be found on Hugo House's website.

About Hugo House

Hugo House is a place to read words, hear words, and make your own words better. Offering readings, classes, teen programs, consultations with professional writers, and more, Hugo House opens the literary world to everyone who loves books or has a drive to write. 

More Info

Hugohouse.org

Facebook.com/HugoHouse

Twitter: @HugoHouse

Open hours: Monday through Saturday, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Registration Open for the 2016-2017 Season of Monthly Programming!

Here's what you've all been waiting for. Registration is open now for the 2016-2017 SCBWI season here in Washington. There are special agent consults and master classes as well as the Great Critique that you will want to register for before registering is no longer an option. So, don't delay, get your "butt in chair" and register for this craft inspiring, social networking, profession-building year ahead. Don't let it slip by.

Click on the handy link for all the finer details.

http://www.cvent.com/d/gvqp49

See you in October for our first meeting!

Happy Writing and Illustrating

Writing for Children - University of Washington's Professional & Continuing Education Certificate Course

 

 

University of Washington's Professional & Continuing Education/Writing for Children

 

 

This program is now accepting applications for the 2016-2017 session.

The UW Writing for Children program is meant for writers of all levels who are interested in writing for kids of all ages. The program has helped writers get started on their journeys, as well as launched them to the next level, and many graduates have found great success. The year-long (3- quarter) program provides in-depth lessons, many inspiring and knowledgeable guest speakers, plus dedicated time and focus on writing and reaching your goals. 

Instructor Jolie Stekly is happy to answer any questions regarding the program. Feel free to reach out to her at cuppajolie@gmail.com with questions or to schedule a phone call.

If you have further questions regarding application and registration please contact UW Professional & Continuing Education. https://www.pce.uw.edu/certificates/writing-for-children

From former students:

"The Writing for Children certificate at UW is one of the best monetary- and self-investments I have ever made.  Not only did the class help me develop my writing skills to the point that I have since acquired an agent, I also connected with like-minded peers who were just as invested in, and excited about, writing for children as I am. As a result, I've gained a wonderful and long-standing critique group; as well as invaluable knowledge about the craft of writing, the process of writing (and finishing!) a book, and the business side of children's publishing. I could not recommend this class more highly.  A+.” ~Sophie Peterson

The UW Certificate in Writing for Children program was a smart investment into my writing life. The program boosted my confidence by providing a strong foundation and focusing my writing goals. The instructor and my critique group from UW continue to be a support network.” ~Judy Bailey 

Words cannot convey how strongly I recommend the UW Writing for Children Class. Taking this class helped me become a more skillful writer, engaged reader, and helpful friend. The instructor is kind, encouraging, and brilliant, and she has a passion for helping students develop their craft and personal styles. I have made several friends through the class that I keep in touch with them years later. We critique each other’s work and encourage each other to keep writing. The class is composed of friendly, creative people who share a love of literature for young people. This is a community you want to be a part of.” ~Aaron Walsh

Happy Writing!