Back to School with Jolie Stekly!

September is one of the most creative months. Kids go back to school and allow work from home parents to get back to peaceful routines (cough cough), we PNWers find ourselves spending more time indoors, and paper and pens are on sale everywhere. As former kids, we remember that start-of-the-new-school-year excitement and all of the possibilities returning to the classroom can bring.

Those days don't have to be over! Jolie Stekly (former RA, SCBWI Member of the Year, and all around dynamo) will be offering a free information meeting to learn about UW's Certificate in Writing program. Join Jolie on September 18th, 6-7, at University Bookstore to learn more about the program that so many of our members have found beneficial.

Find more information and RSVP here.

Outgoing Co-RA's Secrets Revealed: Dana Sullivan edition

It's part 2 of our Outgoing Co-RA's Secrets Revealed series. It's like Shark Week, but with less teeth and more warm fuzzy feelings. Get to know Dana Sullivan!

We're about to kick off the 2017-2018 programming season with a new pair of co-regional advisors! They're busy getting ready, and we realized that our outgoing leadership team, Dana Arnim and Dana Sullivan, now have a lot more free time on their hands. Like, a bunch. Our former regional advisors never really go too far [*editor waves*], but we'll let them have a breather to catch up on reading and their own creative projects.

SCBWIWWA: How did you get involved as a volunteer with SCBWI?

Dana Sullivan: My first SCBWI conference was in NYC, at Tina Hoggatt’s urging. Completely overwhelming. But our Western Washington conference was much more to my liking so I asked if I could help out. Suzanne Perry from Secret Garden was more than happy to work me like a dog, loading up books from the conference bookstore. After my back healed, I asked around until I found something easier: serving snacks at our monthly meetings.

What have you learned about our region that you didn’t know before volunteering?

That it is SO FULL of amazingly talented writers and illustrators!!! It’s probably good I had no idea there was so much ability and genius, or I might never had jumped in myself. And I don’t just mean the published folks. The people I’ve met in our chapter are so generous with their time, knowledge and energy, and they are always willing to share it with each other. You know the expression, “The kid lit industry is a real bunny-eat-bunny world”? Well, those bunnies in our chapter are the BEST.

What has being co-regional advisor taught you about the children’s and YA book industry?

That we can all get rich publishing kid lit! Hahahahahaha! Okay. I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that what will ultimately keep you going in this world is the community you find with SCBWI. Critique groups, workshops, classes, monthly meetings, events, online groups like the Chinook and Facebook page - these are what encourage and sustain you when your damned draft is not cooperating and you feel like taking that crossing guard job and never writing another word or drawing another picture. So, participate in the chapter, that’s my advice! Wait, is that crossing guard job still available?

What are you looking forward to now, with all of this delicious time on your hands?

Attending a chapter retreat or conference as a participant!  

Tell us about a highlight of your tenure.

There were many, but one special memory is sitting with Mem Fox in Lin Oliver’s back yard for a couple of hours after the LA SCBWI 2015 conference. We chatted and drank and had a great time. I took a shot at getting her to highlight our own 2017 conference! We corresponded for a few months about it, but that woman is booked two or three years out, so it just wasn’t meant to be. But we got David Small and Sarah Stewart!

How has your work day changed since handing over the reins?

I have about 1/10^th of the emails sitting in my in-box when I wake up in the morning. And I don’t bolt upright in the middle of the night, screaming, “Do we have the green M&Ms for David Small?”

What’s next for you?

I’m in the beginning of final art for my picture book, “My Red Velvet Cape,” which is due out from Sleeping Bear Press in spring of 2018. I’ve got a couple other projects and ideas I’m wrestling with. And my Agent Anna O (who I met at our chapter’s 2010 season kickoff meeting!) keeps demanding stuff. I teach picture book illustration classes at Kirkland Arts Center (next one starts in September! Hint hint.) and I’m hoping to do more school visits this year. I got a new pair of bunny slippers and I want to show off my red cape!

Anything else you’d like to share?

It’s been a true honor being Co-Regional Advisor with Dana Arnim for our Western Washington chapter. I have to say that Arnim used to scare the crap out of me, but once we started working together, it felt like we were brother and sister. And just like my real sisters, she’s a lot smarter.

I will tell anyone that we have the most kick-ass region in the SCBWI universe and it’s because of the wonderful people who come to our meetings and the amazing volunteers (that would be everyone, really) who work so hard to make it rock. Plus, we have been blessed with past RAs who set up systems that even I couldn’t screw up. Earlier I gave the advice to participate in the chapter and I repeat it now. Writers and illustrators can be very introverted, but it’s more fun to be introverted together. So please, come to a meeting and stick out your hand and meet somebody. if Kevan Atteberry is there, get a hug. Then volunteer. You can start by helping Suzanne lug some boxes of books out to her van.

See you at the next meeting!

Xxoo Dana Sullivan

See more of Dana's work at www.danajsullivan.com.

Sunday thoughts (in advance of our retreat)

"MAKING ART

is like a dog rolling on his back in the grass. 

It's about glory in the commonplace."  
--our own Richard Jesse Watson

Have you thought about your purpose in life? There may be times when the only answer is getting through the day without __ (fill in the blank)__. You may spend a few decades focused primarily on raising compassionate new humans. Not to mention you feel a certain calling to create books.

Most kidlit people want to make books for kids for great reasons, including making the tough business of growing up a bit easier, or to build empathy, for instance. These reasons tend to focus on other people — our society — which is awesome.

But I’m going to say something kind of blasphemous in our circle: I’m not convinced it’s “a final answer” without thinking and talking more deeply about it.

The elephant in the room
I’ve heard both Linda Sue Park and Amanda (A. M.) Jenkins say, in rooms teeming with writers and illustrators, words to this effect: “The elephant in the room is that the vast majority of you will never be published.”

SCBWI focuses on helping you be one of the lucky ones. But.

Regardless of whether we end up in the Widely Read Club, many of us would/will/do continue to create characters and stories. Some find other ways to direct that creative energy, from volunteering for story time to local theatre to baking with abandon. All good. Either way, I think it’s valuable to think about why. Why and why again?

Demons and angels
I raised questions here about considering how your creativity relates to your psyche and your personal demons. An even bigger question — How does your creativity relate to whatever you perceive as a divine power? (Or to the universe or dharma or the Fibonacci sequence or anything else you consider sacred?)

Does your god (or a fecund universe) want you to create? Why? How? What if you don’t accept the first answer that arises, whether from your social or religious (or SCBWI) training, but keep asking why? From this perspective, what counts as good, even sacred, work? What, if anything, doesn’t?

We can be timid about tackling such questions. In fact, in some cultures and traditions, creativity is circumscribed, with some kinds of art off limits. There’s also some pretty interesting research about the relationships between the practice of religion and creative expression, and how they interact. When you think about such questions and perspectives, do you get sad, or curious, or defensive — or motivated?

For many people, the answers are private. But I think others of us can help each other by respectfully sharing our views and intuitions. So I hope you’ll sign up for our ninth annual Weekend on the Water retreat, Inspiration & Motivation for Creatives, which we’ll hold Oct. 13-15, and think about coming to what will likely be the most unusual (and perhaps unattended!) session at that event: Spiritual Connections. We’re also doing some other wild new things this year, including creativity workshops and other ways to create more resonant work. Registration is open now. Go sign up! — and keep musing.

Outgoing Co-RA Secrets Revealed: Dana Arnim edition

We're about to kick off the 2017-2018 programming season with a new pair of co-regional advisors! They're busy getting ready, and we realized that our outgoing leadership team, Dana Arnim and Dana Sullivan, now have a lot more free time on their hands. Like, a bunch. Our former regional advisors never really go too far [*editor waves*], but we'll let them have a breather to catch up on reading and their own creative projects.

Before we get to know new Co-Regional Advisors, Julie Artz and Holly Huckeba, a little better, let's have a chat with our most recent leading duo. First up, Dana Arnim! 

SCBWIWWA: How did you get involved as a volunteer with SCBWI?

Dana: I first learned about SCBWI from Rollin Thomas after taking his certificate program “Art for the Children’s Market” from UW extension. He pointed us all towards attending a meeting and then joining. I could tell he was right about the value of SCBWI, and when Sara Easterly & Jolie Stekly became RAs, and invited me to join the Adcom (our advisory committee) as webmaster, I was all in.

What have you learned about our region that you didn’t know before volunteering?

I learned that our region is overflowing with talent. Not everyone can get to the meetings, but reading our membership roster makes me think it’s something in the water… I also learned that reaching out to introverts yields treasure. The vast majority of writers and many illustrators (most notably NOT Dana Sullivan) are introverts. Being a volunteer and creating opportunities to engage with them was a privilege. These (you) people are both humbling and inspiring.

What has being co-regional advisor taught you about the children’s and YA book industry?

Wow – so much. Some top take-aways: 1. The professionals in this industry are lovely, reachable people. 2. No matter where you are in the pursuit of the storytelling craft, others have been there too--you are not alone in your agony or doubt, 3. Kid Lit people are the BEST!

What are you looking forward to now, with all of this delicious time on your hands? 

That’s an easy one – doing my work. I have made only agonizingly slow process on my own projects for quite a while. I look forward to getting deep into the creative zone and going on a ride wherever that takes me. (Down time? What is that?)

Tell us about a highlight of your tenure.

There are many, but one recent experience fills my heart. David Small confided in me after our recent conference that he came to our event with a little trepidation, but was astounded and energized by our members and our program. He said the level of interest, creativity, and commitment in our corner of the world made him want to go home and work harder. We inspired him while he inspired us! And of course, to meet he and Sarah was to fall in love with them both.

How has your work day changed since handing over the reins?

The beauty of passing the baton is having many fewer distractions. However, now I have fewer excuses for not getting S--t done!

What’s next for you?

Although I created the art last year, I’m excited to promote Drawn to Color, A Coloring Book of the Pacific Northwest, out from Sasquatch this month. Ben Clanton put together an amazing group of illustrators and the result is fabulously fun! My other immediate focus is to finish a much-revised manuscript and get it dummied up for agent submissions.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Sharing the RA-ship with Dana Sullivan has been one of the best times in my life. We clicked right away as work partners and buddies. I could always count on D2 to come up with brilliance and/or a laugh when needed. Best of all, to know him is to love him. I already miss spending so much time with him.

I worried right from the beginning that, following the charming and hilarious Kim Baker & Jaime Temairik, I would be a bumbling idiot when taking to the stage. However, being the straight “man” for Dana 2 was a delight. He allowed me to just be me and not worry about embarrassing myself. Thanks D2, I owe you eternally!

And then there’s the Advisory Committee. I’d have stayed on just for the pleasure of all their company, but I think my husband would have divorced me. He had come to think of the time I spent with SCBWI as my “gambling problem.” Time to let someone else step in while I spend some quality time with my honey. 

Cheers!

D1

See more of Dana's work at www.danaarnim.com.