December events

 YEAR-END EVENTS

 
<sup>12/1
Garfield's Books, Tacoma, 1-4pm
Jingle Book Bash
Appearances by Northwest YA authors, including Helen Landalf, Megan Bostic, Jennifer Shaw Wolfe, and others. Panel, signings, games, treats, and prizes! 

12/1
Rob Schouten Gallery, Greenbank, Whidbey Island, 1-4pm
Anne Belov's book launch party
The painter-turned-cartoonist/blogger ("The Panda Chronicles") celebrates the release of her new book of cartoons, The Panda Chronicles, Book One: Your Brain on Pandas. In attendance will be her characters, Bob T. Panda and Babette de Panda. Also, original cartoons will be on display.</sup>


12/5
Barnes & Noble, Bellingham (4099 Meridian St), 7pm
Northern Network Meeting

The Great Critique is coming to Seattle on January 7! To prepare for it, we are going to do an informal “Mini Critique” session. To participate, please bring 5 copies of the first chapter of a story, a picture book manuscript, poem, nonfiction piece, or other writing. Illustrators, please bring 1-2 samples of your artwork. Don’t worry if you’re not able to be at the Seattle meeting. You’re very welcome to join in the fun in Bellingham! Here are the particulars:

Questions? Call Rebecca Van Slyke at (360) 354-5797, or email her.

  

^12/6

^{East West Bookshop, 7-8:30pm} 

^{Authors' Roundtable} 

Beginning Thursday December 6, from 7-8:30pm, Bill Kenower will lead a monthly roundtable at East West Bookshop in Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood. Here is your chance to talk about success, failure, acceptance, rejection, writer's block, writer's envy, and a writer's joy. Everything will be on the table, and everyone will is welcome. Sign up now.  Space is still available.

12/8
^{Finally Found Books, Black Diamond, 11am-2pm}
Young Adult Author Day
Come meet Northwest YA authors, including Helen Landalf, Joni Sensel, Kendare Blake...and special guest Peg Kehret!

12/13
SCBWI-WA Professional Series December Meeting, 7-9pm
Stay tuned for exciting (and delicious!) details! Save the date!

12/17
Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, 7pm
Lish McBride, Necromancing the Stone (second in the YA Necromancer series, following Hold Me Closer, Necromancer)

Kid Lit Drink Night - December

Let's get started on our holiday celebrations by raising a glass of cheer! 

Please join us on Friday, December 7 at 7pm 

for 

Kid Lit Drink Night 

at Hale's Brewery in Ballard!

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.  



 

Randi Platt's book release and events

Well, That Platt Woman’s gone and published another novel! 

This one’s a Christmas story for all ages!

LIBERTY’S CHRISTMAS, by Randi Platt

A girl in search of an education, a draft horse in search of one last chance, a derelict tractor in search of a missing gear, and a young Mexican-American in search of a home. These unlikely compatriots join forces and risk everything for a small bit of something during a time when nothing was king - The Great Depression.

Randi will be appearing at the following events, so come support her latest release:

TODAY! Monday - November 26 - 7pm - Joeseppi’s Ristorante - 2207 N Pearl, Tacoma - come early for dinner then join us in the back room for coffee and cookies!

Wednesday - November 28 - 7pm - Madrona Links Restaurant- 3604 22nd Avenue NW, Gig Harbor, Wa - come early for dinner then join us in the back room for coffee and cookies!

Friday, November 30 - 6:30pm - Liberty Bay Books - 18881 Front Street NE - Charming downtown Poulsbo!

Saturday, December 1- 5pm - Mostly Books - 3126 Harborview Drive - Gig Harbor - come down for the lighting of the Christmas tree across the street and join me and author Casandra Firman who will be autographing copies of her own Christmas book, ONE CHRISTMAS IN OLD TASCOSA!

Stacey R. Campbell's YA debut out today

Anacortes author Stacey R. Campbell's debut YA novel, Hush (Green Darner Press, a new imprint of Gemelli Press), releases today as an e-book, and the paperback will follow in mid-January. Please see her website for more details and information about Stacey, as well as her Facebook fan page.

The first in a planned series of Lakeview books,
Hush begins the story of a quest to find a missing heir to one of Europe's thrones, from the exclusive grounds of a boarding school to the United Kingdom. And it begins the story of Blakely and Max, and how their paths cross in the search for the truth.




Congratulations, Stacey! 

Helen Landalf's paperback release

Here's the good news Helen Landalf shared at the Professional Series Meeting last week, which everyone should know about.

Helen's debut YA novel, Flyaway, has just released in a paperback edition from Graphia, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, with a beautiful new cover.

 

 We agree, it's gorgeous! Congratulations, Helen!

Mark Holtzen book release

Mark Holtzen announces the release of his self-published children's book, The Pig War, which has garnered some impressive attention. It is being sold in about fifteen bookstores around the region  and received a starred review from Kirkus. Way to go, Mark!

When his parents send him to remote Mobray Island for a summer with his curmudgeonly grandfather, bookish Kell thinks his time is going to be a boring bust. But he and his boisterous sister Grace are quickly drawn into events from the island’s past—The Pig War of 1859. By summer’s end Kell learns that Mobray Island holds more adventure than he bargained for: shady ancestors, shadier neighbors, and even some discoveries about himself.

Mark was also a recent guest blogger on the PNBA site. Click to read his post.

The rest of November: Events worth your while

For the rest of this month, here's a sampling of author/illustrator events. Please not that from this point onward, I will need to receive your event/appearance by the middle of the month BEFORE you're scheduled. That way I can be more efficient and timely, and you'll get the most comprehensive, up-to-date schedule. For those pesky, last-minute events, of course send them my way and I will try to fit them into a weekly post highlighting goings-on and newsy tidbits.


TODAY, Tuesday, November 13, is Inside Story, featuring amazing book releases from our very own chapter! The lineup is extraordinary, and if you can get yourself up to the Mill Creek University Book Store by 7pm, you will be rewarded for your effort. Really.

Saturday, November 17: Teen Book Brunch
Featuring Helen Landalf (Flyaway), Martha Brockenbrough (Devine Intervention), J. Anderson Coates (The Wicked and the Just), Megan Bostic (Never Eighteen).
University Book Store, Mill Creek, 11am

Wednesday, November 28: Graphic Artists Guild Workshop
"The Secret to Happy Clients," with Patricia Belyea. Winning clients is hard enough, but how do you keep them coming back for more? Learn about client profiling, the dynamics of securing and retaining clients, and tips on making your clients delighted with your services.
Seattle Design Center, noon-1:30pm (doors open at 11:30am)
Pre-register for discount price. Further details at www.seattleguild.org.

 
Because this month began with such a bang at Weekend on the Water, with special guests Jordan Brown and Anne Ursu, it wouldn't be right to keep it under wraps. The latest writeup about this dynamic duo's take on revision and craft left many brains spinning, and here's Janel Kolby's post. Hopefully some of the nuggets of wisdom will make you sit up and have that long-awaited creative epiphany!


Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Welcome to the holiday season! 

Inside Story is TONIGHT!

SCBWI Western Washington's Fall 2012 Inside Story is happening tonight! 

We hold this party twice a year to celebrate new books by local authors and illustrators, and to share the secret "stories behind the stories" with fellow children's book lovers. Each presenter gets a couple of minutes to share inside information about their books. Booksellers, librarians, teachers, media people, and all other kidlit lovers are all invited. 

We'll have fun and PRIZES!

The Fall 2012 Inside Story will take place TONIGHT, November 13 at 7 p.m. at University Bookstore in Mill Creek. 

Congratulations to our fall presenters:

• Kim Baker with PICKLE
• Sean Beaudoin with THE INFECTS
• Martha Brockenbrough with DEVINE INTERVENTION
• Erik Brooks with WHO HAS THIS TAIL?
• Robyn Chance with EWELA'S UNBAALIEVABLE JOURNEY
• Kevin Emerson with THE FELLOWSHIP FOR ALIEN DETECTION
• Brenda Z Guiberson with FROG SONG
• Kathleen Kemly with MOLLY, BY GOLLY!
• Karen Kincy with FOXFIRE
• Randall Platt with LIBERTY'S CHRISTMAS
• Karen Robbins with CARE FOR OUR WORLD 
• Jeanne Ryan with NERVE
• Carole Lexa Schaefer with ABCERS
• Paul Schmid with PERFECTLY PERCY
• Maggie Smith with PIGS IN PAJAMAS
• Trudi Trueit with STEALING POPULAR
• Wendy Wahman with SNOWBOY 1,2,3
• Suzanne Williams with ZEUS AND THE THUNDERBOLT OF DOOM

We hope you'll be there to help us celebrate these wonderful new books!

Show your support for Rollin

One of SCBWI Western Washington's respected illustrators and teachers, Rollin Thomas, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and we'd like to show him how much we're all thinking of him as his treatment proceeds.

Rollin has been a member of our local organization for at least 15 years and is always generous with his time and skills. About ten years ago, he began teaching in the UW certificate program and has since moved to the Pratt writing/illustrating program. Currently, he has gone home to Spokane for his treatment, but he will be returning to Seattle. We at SCBWI would like to help Rollin while he is in treatment. Contributions — which we'll give him for use on art supplies or anything else he needs right now — can be mailed to Joni Sensel, who'll gather them up and get them to him.

If you'd like to participate, send a check (payable to SCBWI WWA -- we'll consolidate it) c/o Joni to:
58402 114th Street East
Enumclaw WA 98022

Questions? You can email her at joni (at) jonisensel (you know, the dotcom thing). And feel free to pass the word to other writers and artists who may know him.

What's going on: The Weekend Edition

Karen Robbins has a busy day today! First, she will be at the Picket Fence in Sumner this afternoon from 10-noon, signing Care For Our World.  Then she'll be at Chico's in Westwood Village signing Care For Our World and Shoe Print Art from 1-5pm.  Chico's is generously donating 10 percent of their sales to Soles For Souls during the four hours. Please bring a slightly used pair of shoes for S4S for the shoe collection.



For those of you who missed last Thursday's Professional Series Meeting at Seattle University, Rebecca Van Slyke has graciously sent her take on the "Hands-On Picture Books: Making a Great Re-Read-Aloud" portion of the evening:
  
Ben Clanton (Vote for Me!) gave an entertaining talk on how to write and illustrate picture books that make kids say, “Read it AGAIN!” at the end. He showed many examples of books that were interactive. Kids love to be personally involved in the story. Having a character directly interacting with them is exciting to the picture book-aged crowd (ages 4, 5, and 6— although older kids love these books, too.) These books have strong central characters, are relatable, and even a bit subversive. Specifically for illustrators, simple expressions, humorous exaggeration and a great interplay between words and pictures make for a winning book. Even white space is important, allowing for the child’s imagination to fill in the blanks. Examples of these RE-read-alouds are Mo Willem’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and his Elephant and Piggy series; There are Cats in This Book by Viviane Schwarz;  The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone; and Ben Clanton’s own Vote for Me! Looking at these books will help increase your manuscripts’ “read it again!” potential.

Upcoming: Please support our local published members with recent book releases this coming Tuesday, November 13 at 7pm at Inside Story at the Mill Creek University Book Store, an always-impressive showcase of writers and illustrators from our chapter.

Think Tank open to all (first come, first served)

Interested in the legalities of publishing contracts so you're prepared before you get the chance to sign the next one -- or the first one? The Nov. 17 Think Tank with attorney Matt Hooper still has spaces, so you don't have to be a PAL member to attend. See more details here and let Joni know if you'd like to attend! (At this point, we'll probably have you bring your $25 fee to that session rather than trying to mail it now, just in case.)