Read this: Ursula K. LeGuin on "Go Set a Watchman"

Thanks, Joni Sensel, for sharing this fantastic tidbit from the inestimable Ursula K. LeGuin: It centers on the sequel (prequel?) to Harper Lee's GO SET A WATCHMAN, which has raised considerable questions within the writing community and well beyond. In fact, this whole blog is fantastic. Subscribe. Peruse. Soak in the wisdom and the perspective on books, reading, and life. Enjoy!

Horrors!

Women in Horror Month (?#?WIHM?) is coming up in February, and SCBWI-WWA member G.G. Silverman (Vegan Teenage Zombie Huntress) is looking to make some noise for female YA horror authors. If you are a female author writing YA horror featuring a strong female protagonist, she'd like to interview you for her blog. 

Message her through the contact page on her site at www.ggsilverman.com, and she'll email you some interview questions––and will also ask you for a few things like book link, cover image, and head shot. She'd like the first interview to go live on February 2 or 3, and is capping this at 12 interviews, so get in touch soon!  

Thanks!

PiBo posts

Tara Lazar, the founder of PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) and our very own Deb Lund teamed up for two very special joint posts in this blog entitled Write Wild, about high-concept picture books. To read the posts, click here. I think quite a few of you out there will find it relevant as well as interesting. Thanks, Deb!

Think you're ready to submit?

Member Wendy Wahman shares this good post about submissions and how to answer the question, "Is it ready yet?" The post includes answers from a round-up of writers and illustrators, all with slightly different perspectives. If you're wondering this question yourself, check it out.

Arty inspiration

Need a creative kick in the drawers? Try one of these:

• This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney (left), which is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

 

• This Seven Impossible Things post featuring debut author/illustrator Lori Nichols and a new perspective on leaves (just in time to make you long for spring).

 

• A great post on book layout, with free templates, from Tara Lazar.

— Contributed by Street Team member Suzanne Kaufman, who says she's going to focus on tips and new artists for the next month

Artsies & PB lovers: Check out this blog

Every two weeks we'll try to connect to you a few of the amazing websites and blogs that are out there for illustrators. The first is Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, also known as 7-imp. This lovely blog, which focuses primarily on illustration and picture books, is crafted by Jules Danielson. Julie received her Master’s in Information Sciences with a focus on children’s librarianship. She has juried for the Society of Illustrators’ Original Art Award, as well as the BolognaRagazzi Awards for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy. She writes about picture books at the Kirkus website and provides occasional picture book reviews for BookPage. WILD THINGS, her book about children’s literature that was written with Betsy Bird and the late Peter D. Sieruta, will be published by Candlewick Press in 2014.

A good place to start: this week's interview of Aaron Becker, the author/illustrator of JOURNEY, one of the top books of the year. Check it out!

—Contributed by Street Team member Suzanne Kaufmann

Monday morning catch-up!

Welcome to this, the Monday edition, of what I call "Playing Catch-Up"! Now that the turkeys have been reduced to stock and the pie pans contain nothing but crumbs, 'tis the time for me to catch up on some of your news.




Apologies to the stalwart crew who made it to the Kid Lit Drink Night on Bainbridge Island a couple of weeks ago! Here's the long-awaited recap of what went down on The Island, courtesy of Jennifer Mann:

Seven intrepid SCBWI-ers traveled from far and wide on a very dark and rainy Friday night recently to join up on at Casa Rojas Cantina on Bainbridge Island for Kid Lit Drink Night November 16. Kevan Attebury came all the way over from the Eastside (but departed before our photo shoot); Christina Wilsdon joined us from Seattle; Rowena Russell traveled from Bremerton; and Andrea Lawson came down in the dark from Port Townsend. Margaret Nevinski, Dawn Simon and Jennifer Mann made the relatively short journey from other dark and rainy neighborhoods on the island. Although we competed for the Noisiest Group Award with a large and lively crowd imbibing at the Cantina before seeing Breaking Dawn at the theater next door, we did manage to silence the room when we loudly brainstormed brilliant and unexpected markets for Kevan’s Monster-a-Day project. We also solved some vexing Photoshop problems, discussed the current state of publishing and generally toasted the wonder and joy that is children’s books. It was a great night to venture out into the rain! Next time maybe we’ll aim for a sunny summer evening, and a spot on the deck of the Harbour Pub.


Plus:

Check this out! Lois V. Harris was interviewed on Stacy Thies’ blog.

Karen Robbins will be signing Care For Our World and children will be doing an art drawing from her Shoe Print Art book at Market Street Shoes (2232 NW Market St #101, Ballard) on Tuesday, November 27 at 7pm. This is a combined book event with Secret Garden Books and Market Street Shoes. Please bring a slightly used pair of shoes to place in the collection box for Soles 4 Souls.  



 

Back from Weekend on the Water

Brenda Winter Hansen writes about the Weekend on the Water, which took place in Port Ludlow last weekend.

See her blog post to hear all about it! See Brenda's wonderful blog for more insights, literary and culinary and otherwise.

It was, truly, a terrific, inspiring, and relaxing time for thinking about how to keep our butts in chairs through the winter!

Catch Kirby Larson's Friend Fridays

News from Kirby, which in turn means good news for all:

I'm switching things up at my blog, kirbyslane.blogspot.com, a bit and am adding a new feature called Friend Fridays. I want to use those posts to celebrate my friends' new books. I try to keep up, but my SCBWI friends are just too danged prolific! (I mean that in a good way, of course.) If you have a new book out or coming out, please send me a heads-up at kirby@kirbylarson.com.

Thanks!

Here's to You!!!

SCBWI WWA is an amazing region!!! Not just because we live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest or have an incredibly talented and hard working Advisory Committee (which we do...they are truly wonderful), but because we have the most amazing people that make up our region. 

I'm getting married this summer and moving to Idaho (which puts me in the Inland Empire Region). I'm sad to go but excited for a new chapter in my life. I'm handing the Update reins over to Emily Russin who will field all your e-mails and keep the Update running smoothly for all of you. You can get in touch with her through the same update(at)scbwi-washington(dot)org address. 

I joined the Advisory Committee two years ago and have had a fantastic time getting to know people by being the Update Editor. It's so fun to see people at conferences and say, "Oh, nice to put a face with the name" and hear all your good news, ideas and celebrate with you on your writing adventures. I'm very thankful for my time as the Update Editor and want to say thank you to each of you for making the experience unforgettable. Many blessings to each of you and Happy Writing!!! 

Writing and Revision Resources

Here are some great resources to help with your writing and revision process! Thanks to Laurie for always sharing her amazing resources!!

This blog post on A Totally Random Romp (by Jean Reidy) offers a quick exercise to use with your critique group or critique friends. A great tool for novel writers!

Here's a post for What Writers Need To Know About Formatting (FAQs) on Writer's Digest. This is a great resource for those new to writing or a refresher for those who need it.

On writeoncon there's a great post on the whys and hows of revision called Revising Your Way to Success. Need I say more?

ETA: Joni's pirating in here to add these don't-miss "before and after" revision views gathered by YA novelist Maggie Stiefvater.

Interesting Items to Check Out

We have so many amazing members in SCBWI WWA and they are so good about sending interesting items to share with our members!!!


Here's a few to check out!


Holly Black's Live Journal Page 
A great post by Holly Black (one of our 2011 Annual Conference Faculty) where she discusses word count and part of her process of writing her new MG book DOLL BONES. 


Thanks to Kevin Cain for sending this in! You can find out more information on Kevin, and his work, by checking out his blog and website. 


NPR Article on the Artistry of Children's Picture Books.

Thanks to Mara Pina who found this through the SCBWI LinkedIn group. You can check out Mara's blog, the writing blues. 

Author's Guild Blog Post "Publishing's Ecosystem on the Brink: The Backstory"

A very interesting post with links to check out. Thanks to our fabulous Joni who passed this along. You can find out more about Joni, and her work, on her website. 

Illustrator Saturday Blog featuring Kathleen Kemly

A really great blog by SCBWI New Jersey RA Kathy Temean that features an illustrator every Saturday! This post features our own SCBWI WWA member Kathleen Kemly (and some of her wonderful illustrations). 

 

 

Fun Facts About Children's Books

Thanks to Samantha Vamos for sending this fun Mental Floss blog post. It's a few fun facts about children's books spotted at the library. 

For more information on Samantha, and her very interesting work, you can check out her website. 

Susan Uhlig Wants Your Feedback on School Visits

From Susan Uhlig:

Hi, some of you will recognize my name--I was the RA from 2000 to 2002 while the region was Washington/Northern Idaho. I've recently moved to Vancouver, WA from Kansas. So lovely to be back in the PNW!

I posted about School Visits on my blog and have had some feedback. If any of you have suggestions/warnings/et al you'd like to add, I'm going to collect those (with permission of course) and post with credit for the author and link to websites/blogs, so would love to have yours too. Please email me directly at sue(at)susanuhlig.com.

For more information on Sue, and her work, you can check out her website.

Good News for Kirby Larson!

So much Good News for fellow SCBWI WWA member Kirby Larson!!

First, check out this story on her blog. She recently had one of her dreams has come true!! When she wrote The FRIENDSHIP DOLL, she secretly hoped that some reader might be inspired to look for and find one of the missing dolls. And it's happened, thanks to an intrepid librarian!! Such a great story to check out!

An on that note of Good News, THE FRIENDSHIP DOLL, has just received the following Good News!

-The NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Committee has selected the following titles to be included in the Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2012 master list, a cooperative project of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Children’s Book Council (CBC). Also on the list, Dori Jones Yang's DAUGHTER OF XANADU!

-The THE FRIENDSHIP DOLL was selected as a NCTE/CLA Notable Children's Book in the English Language Arts

- THE FRIENDSHIP DOLL has been nominated for a Maine Student Book award (news to be formally announced April 2).

Lots of great news for Kirby!!! For more information on Kirby, and her work, you can also visit her website.

Good News for Joni Sensel

Congrats and a big round of applause to our own Joni Sensel!! Joni is one of five winners for the She Writes "Young Adult Novelist" contest.

The five winners will get feedback on their synopses and excerpts, as well as guidance about next steps toward publication from agents ELIZABETH KAPLAN (Elizabeth Kaplan Literary Agency) and KIRBY KIM (William Morris Endeavor), and editors MICHELLE H. NAGLER (Bloomsbury), LANIE DAVIS (Alloy), and STACEY BARNEY (Penguin Putnam).

You can visit She Writes here. You can also visit Joni's website to find out more about Joni, and her work.

A Few Goodies for the Illustrators

A few great links for illustrators to check out! Thanks to Laurie for sending!!

Illustrators should head on over to Steven Salerno's blog for an amazing post about his artistic process in the development of his latest book project!

Here's some required reading for anyone who thinks picture books are easy. Laurie's agency posted this fascinating account of the process of a recent picture book sale. Check out the link.

Mindy Hardwick News

Mindy Hardwick is talking about her new upper middle grade book, STAINED GLASS SUMMER, and mentoring at-risk kids on Carrie Pearson's Mentor Monday Blog Series. Carrie Pearson is a Michigan SCBWI member and hosts a weekly blog series about mentors. Here's the blog link to check out.

To find out more about STAINED GLASS SUMMER, including a free teacher's guide, visit Mindy's website.

Blogoversary with Cool Prizes!!

Happy 4th Blogoversary to The Bookshelf Muse blog! What celebration isn't complete without presents and The Bookshelf Muse has a few for lucky contest winners!!

One of the prizes is a chance to have a character named after you in fellow SCBWI WWA member Marilee Brother's final book, MIDNIGHT MOON, in her UNBIDDEN MAGIC series. Not only that, you get to choose if your character will be good or bad.

Marilee did this before for her book, SHADOW MOON and the winner, Angela Ackerman (who by the way, chose to be bad and is an SCBWI member) happens to be one of the ladies behind the Bookshelf Muse!! A great idea in how we can support one another as fellow artists. For more information on Marilee, and her work, you can check out her website.

The Write Path Review and Giveaway

Fellow SCBWI WWA member Dorine White has posted a review of Joni Sensel's new book, THE SKELETON'S KNIFE, on her blog. Plus, she's giving away a signed copy! Here is the link. The contest runs for eight more days. Thanks Dorine!!!

To learn more about Joni, and her third book in the Farwalker Trilogy (which I can't wait to read!), you can check out her website.