Upcoming Book Events with Leigh Bardugo, Kevan Atteberry, Kelly Jones, & more!

Autumn is the best season (Fight me.), and one of the best parts is all the new releases and book events.

August 31:
Grab your shield and head down to University Bookstore to hear Leigh Bardugo talk about her newest, WONDER WOMAN: WARBRINGER. Priority signing tickets available in advance.

September 6:
Back to School with SCBWI WWA and Rosemary Wells! Details soon.

September 7-10:
Highlights Foundation offers an Illustrator Getaway in the Poconos with our own Elizabeth Rose Stanton, SCBWI WWA Portfolio Show winner Mike Curato, Giuseppe Castellano, and more. Registration details here.

September 8:
Kirkus likes it, and we bet you will, too. Kevan Atteberry launches his newest picture book, I LOVE YOU MORE THAN THE SMELL OF SWAMP GAS, from Brick & Mortar Books in Redmond.

September 11:

Knight takes rook, but look, Martha Brockenbrough launches ALEXANDER HAMILTON: REVOLUTIONARY from University Bookstore. 

September 17:

Wendy Wahman launches PONY IN THE CITY at University Bookstore. 

Watch PONY IN THE CITY's book trailer:

September 19:

Kelly Jones launches MURDER, MAGIC, AND WHAT WE WORE at Secret Garden Books!

September 26:

Ben Hatke discusses Mighty Jack and the Goblin King with Kazu Kibuishi at University Bookstore.

October 1:

Amanda Hosch celebrates her middle grade debut, MABEL OPAL PEAR AND THE RULES FOR SPYING, at University Bookstore. 

October 4:
Cressida Cowell visits the peninsula to kick off a new series, starting with THE WIZARDS OF ONCE, at Liberty Bay Books and Sylvan Way Library.

October 11:
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Editor Liz Kossnar visits SCBWI WWA! Details soon.

October 13-15:
Weekend on the Water Retreat! New venue and revamped programming! Registration now open.

November 4:

May 4:
It's not until May 4, 2018, but tickets are available for Sherman Alexie conversing with YA dynamos Jenny Han, Matt de la Peña, and Nicola Yoon for his Sherman Alexie Loves: Sherman's Book Club- YA Edition. Info for the May 4th event here, see the rest of SAL's season here.

Double-check times and whatnot with bookstores before you set out for events. If you snap a great picture, tag us at @scbwiwwa on Instagram and/or Twitter, and we'll try to repost. If you have good news or an event coming up, let us know!

Support book culture.

Support independent bookstores and libraries.

Support authors.

❤️

Weekend on the Water Retreat Coming Up!

Save Oct. 13-15 for a creative explosion!

Mark your calendars for October 13-15, the dates of this year’s fall retreat. We’re mixing it up with a whole new approach (including a sweet new location!) We’re calling it “Inspiration and Motivation for Creatives Retreat: Weekend on the Water,” and it’ll also be full of connections — between your work and your life, and among you and your tribe. It’ll including programming for creatives of all stripes — illustrators as well as writers, from seasoned pros to beginners — and it'll launch you high into NaNoWriMo or the 2018 of your creative dreams.

One example of this year’s potent opportunities: Every attendee can create their own Insight Book in a session led by local artist and author Wendy Wahman. 

What’s an Insight Book?

It’s art and writing, collage and doodling, improvisation with yourself. Anyone can make one — you need not be an artist. You start with nothing in mind, then a line or a color triggers an aha! One line, written or drawn, leads to another.

Non-artists surprise themselves by making art. When you’re done, you a hold a book in your hands. Your book. Your insights. A new door to your creative heart.

What’s it look like?

What people who’ve done it have said:

“This was a great exercise for Residency – getting out of my head and putting my hands to work, working with the random arrangement of lines, listening to the shapes, finding the colors of the text. I took the text I'd written in my book from our workshop and put it into lines and verse for a poetry class a few days later, and it is a wonderful start to a piece called Forest for the Trees. It is always exciting to me when work can cross genres, and when a bigger piece is born from a seemingly small prompt. And, I hope this becomes a habit.”   –  Samantha Claire Updegrave, Whidbey Writer’s MFA Residency

“I was lucky enough to take part in Wendy Wahman’s workshop on Insight Books last month. Not only is she a talented author/illustrator and a great presenter, but she did something that, in the middle of an intensive writing residency, was pivotal. She encouraged us to play. The result was a beautiful book and a wonderful sense of inner peace.”  –  Mureall Hebert, Whidbey Writer’s MFA Residency

Want to learn more?

See more examples and praise on Wendy’s website. 

Watch this space for more details about retreat opportunities. Registration will open in mid-August. In the meantime, plan to attend and get psyched for a weekend like none you’ve ever enjoyed!

TOMORROW: Illustrator's Day at U Bookstore

SATURDAY • OCTOBER 3 • 11:00AM
University Book Store's First Annual Illustrators Day
U District store

See how illustrators bring books to life! Join us for a full day of fun presentations by professional illustrators at University Book Store's First Annual Illustrators Day.

Drawing on easels or projecting images from their computer on a big screen, illustrators will demonstrate and explain how they take words and a blank page and bring stories to life through drawings that reflect both the book they're illustrating and their own unique style. Some illustrators will even be calling on audience members to help them out! Guest illustrators will also stick around after their presentations to answer questions and sign copies of their books.

AND WOW, WHAT A LINEUP!!!

11am – 12pm    Mike Cressy, author and illustrator of Super Alphabet

12pm – 1 pm    Julie Paschkis, author and illustrator of P. Zonka Lays an Egg

1pm – 2pm    John Skewes, author and illustrator of the Larry Gets Lost™ series

2pm – 3pm     Wendy Wahman, author and illustrator of Don't Lick the Dog

3pm – 4pm    Ben Clanton, author and illustrator of Rex Wrecks It!

4pm – 5pm    Paul Schmid, author and illustrator of Oliver and His Egg

5pm – 6pm    Matthew Holm, author and illustrator of the Babymouse series

Book it with Wendy!

Bookmaking Workshop with Wendy Wahman

 

When:  Saturday, August 8th

Where: Mockingbird Books: 7220 Woodlawn Ave NE, Seattle    /   206.518.5886
Time:  1-3pm
Cost:  $5
Ages:  7 & up
Limit 20 participants, please email  info@mockingbirdbooksgl.com to reserve a spot.

Let's make an 'Insight Book' together.  What's an Insight Book? It's art and writing, collage and doodling. It’s improvisation with yourself. You start with nothing in mind, then a line or color triggers an, ah ha! and you put that down. One line (written or drawn) leads to another.

Anyone can make one. Non-artists surprise themselves by making art.
When you’re done, you a hold a book in your hands. Your book. Your insights.

Creativity strengthens your brain by exercising the associative muscles of your mind Plus it’s really fun – but I don't have to tell you guys.

May meeting this THURSDAY!

A friendly reminder to one and all:

Please join us! Hope to see you there!

Indies First Storytime reading

In honor of Children's Book Week, authors and illustrators around the country are giving back to their youngest fans. Gathering at independent bookstores all around the county, they will spend all day Saturday, May 17 reading children's stories out loud and helping get kids excited about summer reading. At University Book Store, they'll be celebrating Indies First Storytime Day with visits and readings from favorite authors, illustrators and bibliophiles.
 
Schedule of Author Readings, University Book Store, Bellevue

11am:   Samantha Vamos (children's author, Alphabet Trucks)
Noon:   Wendy Wahman (children's author and illustrator, Snowboy 1, 2, 3)

Wahmans 1, 2, 3

Please join Wendy and Joe Wahman (Snowboy 1, 2, 3) for a special event at University Book Store, Bellevue (990 102nd Ave NE) on Saturday, November 9 at 2pm.

Featuring drawing, hot cocoa, reading, and a sung rendition of Snowboy. Sounds like the perfect welcome to the wintry season.

Wendy Wahman reading

The fabulous illustrator Wendy Wahman will be appearing from 3-4pm this coming Wednesday, August 21 at the Barnes & Noble store in Silverdale, WA, as part of a Back to School fundraiser for the Kitsap Humane Society (ongoing, 11m-4pm). Wendy will be reading, signing and leading drawing games!


Get your paws over there!

Wendy Wahman's book trailer selected for festival

Meow!

The first of two book trailers illustrator Wendy Wahman ever made, for A Cat Like That, was just selected for Minneapolis, Minnesota's Walker Art Center's "CatvidFest,"(Internet Cat Video Festival) from over 7,000 entries.

The Festival was created to share a sincere love of cats and cat videos from crowd-sourced content within the context of a leading contemporary art museum.

 And again––Meow! [The sound of paws clapping]

Weekly wrap-up

Registration for the 10th annual Western Washington University's Children's Literature Conference ends next Friday, January 25. Faculty includes Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Brian Pinkney, Katherine Applegate, and Michael Grant. Conference date: February 23, 8am-3:30pm.

Redmond Association of Spoken Word (RASP) presents Wendy and Joe Wahman, who will read from Snowboy 1, 2, 3. Friday, January 25 at 7pm. Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, 16600 NE 80th St, Redmond. 

Children's book illustration classes with local illustrator Craig Orback begin in January, both in Seattle and Bellevue. Check his website for details on Children's Book Illustration I and II, to be held at Bellevue College (Saturdays, January 19–March 9) and North Seattle Community College
(I: Tuesdays, January 15-March 5; II: Mondays, January 14–March 18).

From Carnegie Hall:

For those of you who might not have seen or heard, The Fault in Our Stars/Paper Towns/ Looking for Alaska author John Green, along with his Nerdfighter sidekick sibling Hank, sold out Carnegie Hall on January 15 for a variety show-cum-literary hootenanny. Special guest Neil Gaiman! For the video of the very entertaining proceedings, click here.

From Lois Brandt:

I wanted to make sure that everyone saw this tweet from Sarah Davies at Greenhouse Literary Agency: GHL moving strongly into picbooks with @JuliaChurchill developing a new US & UK PB list. She'll be open to US PB subs from next week. 2/2

From Lynn Hooghiemstra:
I've added a new feature to my blog, a monthly interview with either an author, illustrator, editor or agent. This month's guest is UK YA author Richard Hardie, writer of the Temporal Detective Agency series. He also shares some good advice he received early in his career from an agent.

An honor for Snowboy!

Congratulations to Wendy Wahman, whose picture book Snowboy 1, 2, 3 was chosen for Shelf Awareness Book Trailer of the Day.

In her words, "Wahoo! I'm stoked (to use an old California euphemism)!"

Read the full details here. We're stoked for you, Wendy!

Wendy Wahman's Mitten Drive

Great news from Wendy Wahman, illustrator of the forthcoming Snowboy 1, 2, 3, which was written by her husband, Joe Wahman.

She writes:

We're having a mitten drive to celebrate the launch of the book. Your mittens will be delivered to kids who will need them this winter. Please send new or lightly worn children's mittens to:

Snowboy

1719 126th Ave. S.E.

Bellevue, WA 98005

Or bring them to Thursday's PSM meeting at Seattle Pacific University, or to the book launch event at Secret Garden Books on Tuesday, from 6:30-8:30pm. Joe will be setting the words of the book to music, for your additional entertainment!

Please forward to all who might like to donate or spread the word about our mitten drive.

I'll be bringing this flyer, plus a basket for donations to events and SCBWI meetings until Dec. 1st. 

Thanks,

Wendy

But wait! There's more!

Wendy will also be showcasing her talents at this weekend's Sammamish Arts Fair, doing art with kids and reading from her books, and painting faces this Saturday from 1-3pm.

Bellevue Book Readings

Saturday is a great day to get some Christmas Shopping done! It's also a great day to get out and support fellow SCBWI WWA members! We have several fellow members who will be at local bookstores and other venues doing book readings and signings! And we all know that books (especially signed by the author and/or illustrator) makes wonderful presents!!

You can catch Wendy Wahman, Samantha Vamos, Carmela D'Amico at the Bellevue University Bookstore tomorrow, Saturday December 3, at 11:00 a.m, for A Very Special Storytime!!!

While you're in Bellevue you can head over to Bellevue Square Nordstroms and catch Kevan Atteberry who will be reading and signing BOOGIE MONSTER (written by Jodie Bissett and illustrated by Kevan) from noon to 2 p.m.

Third Place Books Events

Sunday July 17, at 2 p.m. Third Place Books (Lake Forest Park) will host Wendy Wahman and her new book, A CAT LIKE THAT, and also their friends Samantha Vamos (THE CAZUELA THE FARM MAIDEN STIRRED), Paul Schmid (A PET FOR PETUNIA), Carmela D'Amico (SUKI, THE VERY LOUD BUNNY), Kevan Atteberry (TICKLE MONSTER AND BOOGIE MONSTER), Richard and Steffanie Lorig (SUCH A SILLY BABY). There will be stories, crafts, and maybe a prize or two.

Here's the link for more information. You can also visit their website.

Happy Birthday to A CAT LIKE THAT!!

Happiest Birthday wishes to Wendy Wahman's A CAT LIKE THAT, which celebrated it's book birthday June 21! Click any of the links below to find out more information!

“Striking illustrations and a pitch-perfect portrait of an unnamed pet’s personality combine to showcase charming (and practical) advice on how to make friends with a feline.” – Kirkus Reviews

trailer • website • email • blog

facebook • henry holt bfyr

Wendy Wahman at Secret Garden

Author/Illustrator Wendy Wahman launches her new book, A CAT LIKE THAT, at Secret Garden Books on Thursday, July 7, starting at 7 p.m.

Here's what Secret Garden has to say about Wendy:

We love a great animal person, and if there ever was one, Wendy is a great animal person. Animals have no better champion to tell their side of the story than Wendy, and the super-bonus is that kids totally vibe to the way she tells them, too!

We're awed by how well animals and even the tiniest kids are getting along out there, in no small part due to Wendy's books!

We are thrilled to be hosting the west-side launch for her second book A CAT LIKE THAT, which looks to be right up there in our fannish attentions! It's purrrrrfect!

For more information on Wendy, and her work, visit her website.

Wendy Wahman Book Launch Dates

Wendy Wahman sent me an email letting me know that all you lucky SCBWI WWA members can go straight from her Eastside book launch party for A CAT LIKE THAT to Kid Lit at Red Robin on Sunday, June 26!

Wendy is having Eastside and Westside book launch parties so you can head to the one that's closest to you (or both since they're on different dates & also because book launch parties are so much fun!).

Here's the book launch dates:

Sunday, June 26 at 3 p.m. at Parkplace Books in Kirkland

Thursday, July 7 at 7 p.m. at Secret Garden Books in Ballard

For more information on Wendy, and her work, visit her website. You can also see her fabulous trailer here.

Check Out Wendy Wahman's First Book Trailer!

Wendy Wahman has made her very first book trailer for her second children's picture book, A CAT LIKE THAT, which is being launched June 21. You can check out her book trailer here (it's a wonderful trailer with fabulous music). For more information on Wendy, and her work, visit her website, and/or her facebook page.

Good News & Reviews for Stephanie Barden!

Woohoo & Good news for Stephanie Barden! There's lovely write up in the latest issue of Notes from the Horn Book for Stephanie's new book CINDERELLA SMITH (in the Chapter Books for Young Readers section). Here's what they have to say:

The eponymous main character of Cinderella Smith by Stephanie Barden is a bouncy, entertainingly dramatic (she says, “Alas” a lot) young girl with a penchant for losing shoes—here, a special ruby-red tap shoe that she needs to play the Pumpkin Blossom Fairy in her dance recital. If she can’t find the shoe, it’s so long, solo. Cinderella’s energy, captured expertly in illustrator Diane Goode’s emotive line drawings, is infectious; readers will delight in her expressions (e.g., dribbly-spit for Seattle drizzle) and enthusiastic use of adverbs and will look forward to Cinderella’s next appearance.

You can check out the latest issue here (and a big thanks to Wendy Wahman for sending the link).

Local Authors Gather at Elliot Bay Book Company

Fellow SCBWI authors Wendy Wahman (DON'T LICK THE DOG, and forthcoming A CAT LIKE THAT) and Samantha Vamos (BEFORE YOU WERE HERE, MI AMOR, and the forthcoming THE CAZUELA THAT THE FARM MAIDEN STIRRED) joined authors Jane Porter and Karen Burns at the Elliott Bay Book Company for book signing, and a chat with Verity Mom's Rosemary Garner. They had a lot of fun, and sent the link (thanks Samantha!) to share with the Update.