Washington State Book Awards Ceremony on Saturday, October 13th!

Here's our plan for Saturday. It's all free, and it's all amazing!

9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m: KISS (Keep It Simple, Silly) Art Show 

10:00 a.m.-noon: Savvy and smart Holt editor Tiffany Liao's talk on Mirrors, Windows & Doors: Writing & Thinking Cross-Culturally

Noon-7 p.m.: Lunch, a little writing, some sketching, Saturday errands, and then back to the Seattle Central Library for the...

7:00-9:00 p.m.: Washington State Book Awards!

Come to the Washington State Book Awards THIS SATURDAY NIGHT and support another year of great books. We've got more than a few members that are finalists (see the whole list here), so come cheer them on! It's inspiring, fun, and free. More details on Facebook.

Good news, upcoming classes, and a meeting recap!

For a lot of parents, teachers, and and anyone else that devotes a lot of time to kids, this week is for catching up on what might have slipped past us as we soaked up the last hazy days of summer vacation. Here are a few bits and bobs for what's been happening and what's on the way for our community. 

Good News!

The Washington State Book Awards finalists were announced, and you probably recognize lots of names. Congratulations to all! 13 Books for Youth honored in Washington State Book Awards, sponsored by the Washington Center for the Book! (Awards are for books published in 2016.) :

 Picture Books:

• “Thunder Boy Jr.” written by Sherman Alexie and illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Little, Brown Books for Children)
• “A Ticket to the Pennant: A Tale of Baseball in Seattle” written by Mark Holtzen and illustrated by John Skewes (Little Bigfoot, an imprint of Sasquatch Books)
• “Are You an Echo? The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko” written by David Jacobson, with translation by Sally Ito and Michiko Tsuboi, and  illustrated by Toshikado Hajiri (Chin Music Press)
• “Journey: Based on the True Story of OR7, the Most Famous Wolf in the West” illustrated by Robin James and written by Emma Bland Smith (Little Bigfoot, an imprint of Sasquatch Books)

Books for Early Readers (ages 6 to 8)

• “Narwhal Unicorn of the Sea” by Ben Clanton (Tundra Books)
• “Zach and Lucy and the Museum of Natural Wonders” written by the Pifferson Sisters (Jennifer Bradbury and Stephanie Guerra (Simon Spotlight, an imprint of Simon & Schuster)
• “Quackers” by Liz Wong (Alfred A. Knopf)

Books for Middle Grade Readers (ages 8 to 12)

• “Cleo Edison Oliver: Playground Millionaire” by Sundee T. Frazier (Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic)
• “Some Kind of Courage” by Dan Gemeinhart (Scholastic Press)
• “Audacity Jones to the Rescue” by Kirby Larson (Scholastic Press)

Books for Young Adult Readers (ages 13 and up)

• “Useless Bay” by M.J. Beaufrand (Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams)
• “Essential Maps for the Lost” by Deb Caletti (Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster)
• “Up to This Pointe” by Jennifer Longo (Random House)

Congratulations to all! Winners will be announced at the Washington State Book Awards ceremony and reception on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Seattle Public Library’s Central Library in downtown Seattle. The celebration is free and open to all. The reception includes light appetizers, a no-host beer/wine/beverage bar, book sales by Third Place Books, and booksignings by these fabulous authors! Come cheer them on and celebrate the great talent in Washington’s kid lit community!!!

More information here. 

New deals!

Stephanie Campisi's picture book Luis and Tabitha, about an alley cat who goes to extraordinary lengths to win over the owner of the indoor cat he loves, will be published by Familius in 2018. Hollie Mengert will be illustrating. Congratulations to you both!

Nancy Siscoe at Knopf has acquired Sauerkraut by Kelly Jones, a middle grade comedy about a boy haunted by the ghost of his great-great grandmother and an old family recipe. Publication is planned for fall 2019; Mandy Hubbard at Emerald City negotiated the two-book deal for world English rights.

Classes and meetings

Suzanne Selfors will be teaching  a class through BARN on Bainbridge. WRITING THE MIDDLE GRADE NOVEL is a four session class, held on Tuesdays, Oct 17 - Nov 07 from 6:45 - 9pm. It's open to writers of all levels, and will be half lecture and half workshop. If you have a work-in-progress or simply need encouragement to begin your middle grade story, please join us! Classes will be at Writers' Room, BARN, 8890 Three Tree Lane, BI, WA 98110, and you can find registration information here. 

Children's Book Insider is offering a free online workshop on Tuesday, September 19th at 5 PM PST, called Why You Should Be Writing for the Middle Grade / YA Market ....and How to Succeed At It! The workshop will feature award-winning author Alice Kuipers ( Life on the Refrigerator Door, The Death of Us) and Children's Book Insider Publisher Laura Backes (SCBWI member/multi-time speaker).  It's absolutely free and nothing will be sold, open to all writers, and registration is first come, first served. Register here if interested.

 

For our northern members, the next Northern Network meeting will be Wednesday, September 13th at Barnes & Noble in Bellingham at 7:00 PM. Come prepared with a list of topics you'd like to discuss in our 2017-2018 meetings!

There's still time to register for the free information meeting on UW's Certificate in Writing program with Jolie Stekly.

SCBWI WWA meeting recap

Missed our presentation with Rosemary Wells? She drew a standing-room only crowd on Wednesday night at SPU. She shared wisdom gained over a 40+ year career in children's books, including when to trash your draft and start over. She also surprised us with special guest Anna Johnson, a long-time sales rep for Candlewick Press, who answered questions about the business side of the industry and how social media and technology have changed publishing over the years.

Joni Sensel and Beth Bacon were also on hand to talk more about next month's Weekend On the Water retreat. There are still a few spots available--register today!

Other Rosemary quotes:

"I have very limited talent, but I apply it faithfully. I work very hard."

"Revision is inevitable, like death and taxes."

"It's a serious thing to publish a book." 

Don't miss our next meeting on October 11th with Simon & Schuster editor, Liz Kossnar! More details coming soon.

Hear All About It!

Curtis Manley's JUST RIGHT: SEARCHING FOR THE GOLDILOCKS PLANET, an exploration of the search for an Earth-like planet, with illustrations by Jessica Lanan, again to Emily Feinberg at Roaring Brook Press, by Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency for the author and Edward Maxwell of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates (World). Publication Winter 2019

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Submit your books to the Washington State Book Awards!

 

Did you have a book published in 2016? Make sure it was nominated for a 2017 Washington State Book Award! You can email the State Book Awards at wsba@spl.org and ask if your title was received yet, and we’ll let you know. Publishers or authors can submit four copies of a book, along with the entry form, in one of these four categories for books for youth: Picture books, books for ages 6 to 8, books for ages 9 to 12, and young adult books. 

 

The deadline isn’t until April 1 (for books published in 2016), but we would appreciate having entry forms for nominated titles and books in hand by February 10.

 

The Washington State Book Awards are administered by the Washington Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library. SCBWI WWA member Linda Johns can answer any questions you have at wsba@spl.org.

THANKS! And get those books in!

  

Linda Johns 

Librarian – Reader Services

The Seattle Public Library | ☎ 206.386.463

 

Currently reading: Malice by Keigo Higashino

Just read:: Dietland by Sarai Walker 

 

Schedule note: I work Sunday through Thursday each week.

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Announcing the SCBWI WWA Inclusivity ScholarshipTwo scholarships, awarded to one author and one illustrator, will cover the full cost to attend the April 8, 2017, day of programming at our Spring Conference. Applications are open now. Click here for details.

Call for PresentersAre you interested in presenting at one of our 2017-2018 Monthly Meetings? Click here for details and application.

Call for ArtistsSubmit your work for an amazing opportunity to showcase your work in a juried group show of WWA SCBWI illustrators at Aljoya Thornton Place. Deadline for submission is March 10, so get drawing.

Stay Informed With the Chinook UpdateClick the “Join Our Blog” button at the bottom of our homepage to get to the Chinook Update blog. Scroll down to the “Get the Chinook Update by e-mail” box on the left. Enter your email address, hit “submit” and you will start getting local and relevant kid-lit news, including reminders of our monthly meetings and other SCBWI-related events sent directly to your in box.
Thanks, see you Wednesday night! You won’t want to miss it!
Dana Arnim and Dana SullivanCo-Regional Advisors, SCBWI Western Washington   

 
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Stay tuned for interviews of our conference faculty. First in the lineup is Patricia Hruby Powell, author or picture books, poetry, and middle grade - fiction and non fiction, and  dancer and choreographer! Ohhh, I can't wait myself to finally get the Skype with her.

That's all for now,

Kathleen

2016 WASHINGTON STATE BOOK AWARDS!

2016 WASHINGTON STATE BOOK AWARDS

This Saturday, October 8, 2016, 7 – 9pm!

Seattle Central Library

The Washington State Book Awards recognize outstanding poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and children's and teen literature published in 2015 and penned by a Washington writer. The four adult literature categories are: poetry, fiction, biography/memoir, and history/general nonfiction for adults. The Scandiuzzi Children’s Book Award honors a children’s picture book and one book each for early readers (ages 6 to 8), middle readers (ages 9-12), and young adults (ages 13 to 18). 

We’ll begin the evening in the Microsoft Auditorium for the awards ceremony where we’ll announce the winners and hear brief readings from the winning titles. A reception, book sales and signing will follow in the Central Library Living Room on Level 3. Both the awards ceremony and the reception are free and open to all. 

A panel of independent booksellers and librarians will select the finalists and winners. Finalists will be announced in mid-September.

The Washington Center for the Book administers the annual Washington State Book Awards (formerly the Governor's Writers Awards), given for outstanding books published by Washington authors and to bring attention to the quality of writing being produced in Washington. Books are judged on literary merit, lasting importance and overall quality of the publication. 

For more information on the awards, criteria and previous winners, please see the Washington State Book Award page.

Library events and programs are free and open to the public. Tickets and reservations are not required.

Note: The Library will close at its regular Saturday time of 6 p.m. and will reopen at the Fourth Avenue entrance at 6:30 p.m. for this event. Parking in the Central Library garage will be available for the $7 weekend rate. 

The authors of the award-winning books and the illustrator of the picture book will receive a $500 honorarium, thanks to generous support of The Seattle Public Library Foundation, Eulalie and Carlo Scandiuzzi, The Elliott Bay Book Co., Third Place Books, and University Book Store. 

This event is presented in partnership with the Elliott Bay Book Co. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Happy Reading!

EGGS-cellent news!

GREAT NEWS!

Jennifer K. Mann is this year's winner of the Scandiuzzi Children's Book Awards in the Picture Book category at the Washington State Book Awards!

Can we get a WOO-HOO?

Jenn reads from her award-winner! (Goodreads)

Jennifer's debut picture book, TWO SPECKLED EGGS, won the award at Saturday night's event at the Seattle Public Library.

For the complete list of winners, click HERE.

Book Award finalists read

This SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, finalists for the Washington State Books Award will read from their nominated works at University Book Store in the University District at 3PM.

Those reading are:
Mary Cronk Farrell, Maureen McQuerry, Jennifer K. Mann, and Jennifer Longo.

Come support our local talent and celebrate their books! See you there!

WA State Book Award finalists announced, and...

...there are more than a few names we recognize in their respective categories of the Scandiuzzi Children’s Book Award Finalists:

 Picture Book

• “Little Green Peas: A Big Book of Color” (Beach Lane Books) written and illustrated by Keith Baker of Seattle
• “Two Speckled Eggs” (Candlewick Press) written and illustrated by Bainbridge Island resident Jennifer K. Mann of Bainbridge Island
• “Hands Say Love” (Little Brown Books for Young Readers by George Shannon of Bainbridge Island, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo
• “S Is for Salmon: A Pacific Northwest Alphabet” (Sasquatch) written and illustrated by Hannah Viano of Seattle

Books for Middle Readers (ages 9 to 12)

• “Phoebe and Her Unicorn” (Andrews McMeel Publishing) by Dana Simpson of Des Moines, Wash
• “Ken Jennings’ Junior Genius Guides: Maps and Geography” by Ken Jennings of Seattle (Little Simon)
• “Time Out of Time: Book One: Beyond the Door” by Maureen McQuerry, of Richland (Amulet Books)

Books for Young Adults (ages 13 to 18)

• “Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific” (Abrams Books for Young Readers) by Mary Cronk Farrell of Spokane
• “Between Two Worlds” (Wendy Lamb Books) by Katherine Kirkpatrick of Seattle
• “Six Feet Over It” (Random House Books for Young Readers) by Jennifer Longo of Seattle
• “The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender” (Candlewick Press) by Seattle resident Leslye Walton

Wonderful, wonderful news for all! Congratulations and high-fives
to everyone for such an incredible honor!

Congrats to our state book award winners!

Kudos to SCBWI Western Washington authors and illustrators honored at last week’s Washington State Book Awards!

The winner of the Scandiuzzi Book Award for Books for Middle Readers (ages 9-12) was member Suzanne Selfor's The Sasquatch Escape!

And the Scandiuzzi Book Award finalists included, for picture books, members Nina Laden, writer, for Once Upon a Memory, and Julie Paschkis, illustrator, for Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar; and for early reader books (ages 6 to 8), author Kirby Larson for Duke. Way to represent us, superstars!

Award-finalist-nominee-o-rama!

The list came out last week, but I wanted to raise a mighty "Huzzah!" to the finalists of the 2014 Washington State Book Award, as nominated by the Washington Center for the Book.


In the category of Books for Early Readers, Middle Readers, and Young Adults, the list reads like a Who's Who of our SCBWI-WWA members:

The Wrap-Up List, by Steven Arntson Wise Young Fool, by Sean Beaudoin And Then, Story Starters, by M.H. Clark Jumped In, by Patrick Flores-Scott  The League, by Thatcher Heldring Duke, by Kirby Larson  The Sasquatch Escape, by Suzanne Selfors In other award news, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association has published their list of nominees for the 2015 award. To see the full list, click here. Among the names we were happy to see Laurie Thompson, for Be a Changemaker, Lois Brandt, for Maddi's Fridge, Maureen Doyle McQuerry's Time Out of Time, Marissa Meyer's Cress, Toni Yuly's Early Bird, Kelly Milner Halls' Ghostly Evidence, Patrick Jennings' Guinea Dog 3, and others. Please let me know who I left out! Congratulations to all of you! Well done!

Great news for Jillian!

 Looks like some serious congratulations are in order!

Jillian Coats, who writes as J. Anderson Coats, was just awarded one of two 2013 Scanduzzi Children's Book Awards for her young adult novel, The Wicked and the Just. Check out the article featuring all the winners of this year's Washington State Book Awards. The exciting announcement was made today by the Seattle Public Library's Washington Center for the Book.

Well done!

Washington State Book Awards

The Washington Center for the Book administers the annual Washington State Book Awards (formerly the Governor's Writers Awards), given for outstanding books published by Washington authors the previous year. They are looking for more children's authors to honor for 2012. The deadline for 2012 submissions is April 1.

You can find the 2011 winners, entry guidelines and submission form here on the Seattle Public Library website.

Good News for Erik Brooks

Cupcakes and Sunshine for Erik Brooks!!! Eric's fall 2010 book, POLAR OPPOSITES, won the 2011 Washington State Book Award for picture books!! You can read about it here on Erik's blog. Congratulations Erik!!