HELLO!
Notes from your Houston SCBWI Regional Team
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Happy September, everyone! I'm sure we're all looking forward to the cooler weather that's sure to come any day now.
Remember that because of the Labor Day holiday, our monthly meeting will be a week later than usual, on the 11th. This meeting is online only, so we hope you'll join us from wherever you are. You won't want to miss the presentation by our friend Kathi Appelt, award-winning author and all-around delightful human. Keep up with all our events and news on our chapter website.
Illustrators (and people who want to hang with them), your next Sketch Sesh is coming up on September 16th!
We're happy to announce a couple of larger events that are in the works. A Texas-wide conference will take place in Austin during the weekend of May 3, 2024. All five Texas SCBWI regions are planning this together, and it's sure to be an outstanding event. We have some wonderful agents, editors, art directors, illustrators, and authors on our invitation list, and will have more details to share as the faculty is confirmed.
This year's creative retreat was such a hit, we got right back to work on planning the next one. Camp Allen is the perfect place for this type of event, with meeting spaces, plenty of hotel rooms, excellent food service, outdoor activities, and reasonable prices. But that place is BUSY-- the only available dates we could find were for December 2024! So we have a while to wait, but you can mark your calendars for the weekend of December 5, 2024 for our next retreat.
Read on for good news from our members and for more details about our upcoming events.
Happy creating!
Lynne Kelly
SCBWI Houston ARA
houston-ara@scbwi.org
|  | My dog Eloise, ready for more of that rain. | | | | |
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Debut Picture Book Dottie Lee | |
I am proud to announce that my debut, self—published PB, Frances Flamingo: Prima Ballerina, is in the illustration phase of development.
Learning the self-publishing process is a lot like earning a Ph.D.; arduous but rewarding!
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TX Family Literacy Festival hosted by Fran-Victoria Stephens
Story Square’s Lit with Families 2023 Texas Family Literacy Festival at downtown Houston’s Discovery Green has great opportunities for Texas children’s book authors from all genres.
Discovery Green
October 14, 2023
10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Email for more information: alphamagicians@ourstorysquare.com
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Have News? Share It With Us!
Submit author & illustrator news for the next newsletter by the 25th of each month via this form. Event submissions for member book launches and signings can be added to our regional calendar! Please be sure to include the date, time, and location.
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When:
Monday, September 11, 2023 from 7-9 PM
Where:
Zoom
Register Here!
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September Monthly Meeting | |
Join us this September as Kathi Appelt shows us how to
"Write What You Think You Can't"
Sometimes the thing we need to write is also the thing that keeps slipping through our fingers. So, how do we get those words on the page anyways? Let's take a look during our online September meeting.
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September Chapter Critique Group:
What: An informal critique group that meets before our monthly chapter meetings. This month we are meeting online. All written and illustrated works-in-progress intended for the children’s market are welcome.
Where: Zoom
When: September 11, 2023 at 5:30-6:30 PM CST
(Before the Monthly Meeting)
For more info, please email our Critique Group Coordinator, Nancy Blair, at critiquegroups.scbwihou@gmail.com
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Illustrator Corner
Calling all illustrators! We want to feature you! Please submit your completed works to newsletter.scbwihou@gmail.com for a chance to be featured in an upcoming newsletter.
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Register Here
Email Lisa Chow with any questions.
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Featured Illustrator Opportunities
Open each month to members.
Featured Illustrator Interviews
DrawThis Prompt!
The September prompt is: Ancestors
Every month we develop a long list of potential #scbwiDrawThis prompts to choose one word or phrase that will challenge our illustrator members to dig deep and draw. Our goal is to find words rooted in a unique action, mood, point of view, or character theme. We also hope this practice will help you develop new art for your growing portfolios. Share your work with us! Share it often, online and in your member profile page on https://www.scbwi.org/galleries. We want to see what you create!
Official Hashtag: #scbwiDrawThis
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Featured Illustrator: Katie Wray Schon
Katie is an author/illustrator who loves making beautiful books.
Katie grew up in Rhode Island, but now lives in Texas with a wonderful husband and three inspiring kids. They all love adventures, art, bikes, books, baking bread, camping, climbing, faith, family, gardening, music, and road trips.
On most days you can find her out riding bikes or hanging out with the neighbors. The house is rarely tidy, but the door is always open if you're looking for a friend, a snack, or a chat about children's books.
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Thank you for your volunteer service, Angela!
We wanted to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for the incredible newsletters you've created. Your dedication and creativity have made each edition a delight to read.
As you embark on your next adventure, we extend our warmest wishes for your success as a teacher!
See you at the meetings!
-Regional Team
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Angela Y. is stepping down as our newsletter editor. If you are interested in the position, please apply here. | |
BEYOND HOUSTON
CONFERENCES, WEBINARS, AND WORKSHOPS
Find these events and many more Regional Virtual Events from the SCBWI website.
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Save The Date: SCBWI Texas-Wide Conference!
Rope in your pens and paints and projects cause this year we’re holdin’ a conference as big as Texas!
That’s right, for the first time ever, we’ll be holdin’ one conference for all Texas writers and illustrators down in the center of Texas. We’ll have opportunities for you to hone your craft and also pitch and network with agents and editors from any number of houses. Maybe even ones from New York City.
So polish those pitches.
Pore over your portfolios.
And save May 4-5, 2024 on your calendars! (And maybe start makin’ a hotel reservation or two.)
For more information, check out our webpage.
We’ll keep a spot open for ya!
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Draw This Award!
A monthly art prompt, part of the SCBWI publication Insight.
All submissions shown on the online gallery, and two winners featured in Insight, the website, and social media.
Check for submission guidelines.
Click for More Info
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Golden Kite Award
Authors/Illustrators must be a current member through December 2023 to have a book submitted to the Golden Kite Awards.
Books must be published by PAL publishers.
The book submitted must be published in 2023.
Click for More Info
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Charlotte and Wilbur Award For Compassion For Animals
Awards one winning book and one honor book for their dedication to promoting compassion and respect for animals in their readers.
Submissions open July 1st, 2023 and will close on October 1st, 2023.
Click for More Info
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FOLK WISDOM & OTHER THOUGHTS
By Jim Smolski
The smallest ray of sunshine can start a leaf to turn and look with hope. I want to be the sunshine that creates that moment for at least one leaf every day. -Jim
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Even a small pebble creates a splash and ripples in a pond.
So
Speak your ideas out loud
Paint your pictures and show them
Write down your thoughts and share them
They are all important.
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OPEN Volunteer Positions
We want to create a chapter that is more involved, engaged, and active, and we need your help to do it!
Open Positions:
Event Webmaster
Membership Coordinator
PAL Coordinator
Newsletter Editor
Email Meghan or Kaye for more information or apply here!.
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Stay on top of the latest SCBWI News!
https://www.scbwi.org/regions/houston
Newsletter Tip: Be aware of message clipping! To make sure you're getting the full newsletter, by looking for this message at the bottom of the email:
"[Message clipped] View entire message"
If you're not already, please follow us on social media!
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Suggestion Box
Have an idea on how to improve Houston SCBWI?
Leave a suggestion in our Suggestion Box!
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Copyright © 2022 SCBWI-Houston, All rights reserved.
News and other information may be passed on without attribution; original artwork and writing are the property of their creators and may be reproduced only with written permission.
Write to Angela Yeh at newsletter.scbwihou@gmail.com.
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