Volume 2 | January 25, 2020
SCBWI Brazos Valley News
Join us Wednesday, Jan. 29, for Molly Blaisdell's Envision Workshop! Some preparation is required. See details below and online.
We have a new conference scholarship winner and an opportunity for first look critique at Leap into Kid Lit!
Caldecott-winning author-illustrator Brian Floca will be in Belton on Feb. 7. Details below.
Check out SCBWI Webinars!
Envision Workshop with Molly Blaisdell
Think about this: envision. /ɪnˈvɪʒən/ verb. (transitive) to conceive of as a possibility, especially in the future; foresee. Go beyond dreaming and making goals for your creative journey: envision your future.

Join us at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, in the College Station Barnes & Noble for an Envision Workshop with author Molly Blaisdell. We will perform a number of exercises to help us on the road to success this year and to create a clear picture of what we want to achieve in 2020. 

Please bring a selection of picture/word cutouts from magazines that express how you want to feel in the future and please make sure the cutouts are small, no more than 3 in. x 3 in. Bring pictures to share if you have extras. We will have some pictures available, too, so please come even if you don't want to do this ahead of time. You will also need a pen or pencils or markers. We will have some blank booklets and paper available. Bring your own blank, unlined journal or paper if you prefer.
 
Molly has published over 30 books for children and has used these methods successfully for years to help jump start her creative journey.  
Brian Floca Lecture in Belton
Feb. 7, 6-8 p.m.
Caldecott Award winner Brian Floca kicks off the 2020 Spring Lecture Series at the Bell County Museum, 201 N Main St, Belton, 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7. We are planning an SCBWI meet up to hear about the writing and illustrating processes of this Temple-born-and-raised artist “who has reached the peak of the children's literature world.”
The museum website also says, “A book signing will be held as well. Some copies of his Caldecott Award-winning book Locomotive will be available for purchase, or guests can bring their own books.”

If you are interested in carpooling from College Station or meeting us in Belton, use the subject line Floca Lecture and email [email protected] by Feb. 6. We will need to leave College Station by 4:15 p.m. 

Leap into Kid Lit Conference Updates
Art by Naomi Canale
New Scholarship Winner
We have a new scholarship winner to announce! Please join us in congratulating Alicia Salazar ! Alicia is a Mexican American children’s book author who was also once an elementary school teacher and a marine biologist. She currently lives in the suburbs of Houston, TX, but is a city girl at heart. When she is not dreaming up new adventures to experience, she is turning her adventures into stories for kids. She has been selected for our Amplifying Unsung Voices scholarship for her picture book manuscript, ELENA AND HER MANDOLIN.

First Look Submissions Due Dec. 31

We are happy to offer conference attendees the opportunity* to have their work critiqued as part of our "First Look" panel with all our faculty. 
 
Registered attendees may submit the first 150 words of a story OR attach an image as a jpeg file BY JANUARY 31st . Please note whether the submission is MG, YA or PB at the top. The title may be included as well. Neither category nor title will count towards the 150 words. 
 
We will compile the entries (with no names attached) in PowerPoint to show the speakers during their panel on the day of the conference. The critique will be a brief, general first impression of the work given in front of the conference audience.

*We cannot guarantee every submission will be critiqued. There is no additional charge for First Look entries.

Webinar Series: Beneath the Surface: Going Deeper with Our Writing
Mondays, Jan. 27, Feb. 10, & Feb. 24, 2020, at 8pm ET/7pm CT
Join SCBWI Eastern Pennsylvania for one webinar, or all three!
Register for one ZOOM  webinar for $15 each, or all three for $40!
This webinar series is not to be missed for middle grade and young adult authors.
(Lectures will be recorded for those who miss the live feed.)

Part I: Writing Between the Lines: How the unspoken elements of dialogue reveal character, emotion, and voice, and tension, and how this propels your story forward.

Part II: Writing Between the Scenes: How transitional material between scenes develops tension and pulls your story forward.

Part III: Writing Beneath the Skin: Deepening the Emotion in your Story
 
Detailed descriptions of each webinar are on the Eastern Pennsylvania website https://epa.scbwi.org/events/webinar-going-deeper-with-our-writing/


For more SCBWI Webinars, go here .