Banner art by Michelle Weltz

Quarterly Question

We have collected your responses from the last several poll questions and we’ve heard you! You’ve all given us lots to ponder and plan. As such, we’re going to take a break from posting a new question for now. Stayed tuned for future events and resources based on your feedback. Thanks to all who participated.

Here are the results from last quarter’s question: What are you interested in learning more about?



The querying process: 8

Preparing for talks with an agent who shows interest: 6

Marketing your work: 1

Preparing for a professional critique: 2

Other: 1

Please send comments to Regional Advisor Jodi Hausen at montana-ra@scbwi.org. Thank you for your input.

News and Announcements

Awards and Grants

Current or upcoming opportunities include:

Voting for the Crystal Kite Awards are now open: Each year SCBWI recognizes great books from around the world. The Crystal Kite Awards are chosen by other children's book writers and illustrators, making them the only peer-given awards in publishing for young readers. To vote for nominated books, log in to scbwi.org and navigate to your Member Home page. A link to the Crystal Kite voting should be at the top of your newsfeed or you can go to the link in the heading above.

Volemos Grant: open to authors of Hispanic/Latinx/Ibero-American heritage who are early in their career (1-3 traditionally published books) or not yet traditionally published. Submissions open through June 30.

Ezra Jack Keats Award: In honor of Ezra Jack Keats, the legendary author and illustrator of children’s books including The Snowy Day, Whistle for Willie, and Peter’s Chair, SCBWI will award one cash prize of $3,500 to a promising BIPOC illustrator. Submissions open through June 30.

Featured Illustrator: features one illustrator member each month. The Featured Illustrator’s art is highlighted prominently on the homepage and all SCBWI social media.

Draw This!: A monthly art prompt, part of the SCBWI publication Insight. Two winners will be featured in Insight and on SCBWI social media.

Pitch Perfect Translation Grant: The SCBWI Pitch-Perfect Translation Grant assists children’s book translators in the development of a specific translation project into English, which is not currently under contract. Up to two winners will be selected annually. Submissions are open July 1 through July 31.

Visit the Awards and Grants page of the SCBWI website to learn more about these awards. And remember to check the newsfeed on your member home page for other opportunities.

Ready to take your children’s book career to the next level?

Wherever you are in your publishing journey, the Virtual Summer Conference provides an opportunity for growth, creativity, and connection. Dive into every aspect of the children’s book world from writing and illustrating to translating, marketing, and self-publishing. Put your art in front of industry pros in the career-launching Portfolio Showcase. And get inspired by sessions tailored for illustrators, authors, nonfiction writers, graphic novelists, and more—no matter your path or publishing background. Best of all? You’ll have access to all 50+ sessions until September 14th, so you can learn and grow at your own pace.

Join us and invest in your passion. It’s time to bring your stories to life!



Registration is now open for the Virtual Summer Conference which takes place July 31–August 3. Follow this link to learn more and register.

Meet our new Social Media Coordinator

Come Join our Monthly Virtual Hobnobs

The virtual hobnobs are held at 7 p.m. Mountain Time on the first Thursday of every month. They provide a way for the members of this widespread region (and others) to feel a sense of community and camaraderie as we do the hard work of creating kid-lit. The tips offered during the Tip Potlucks provide a bonus list of resources.

It has come to our attention that some members have not attended the virtual hobnob because they feel they have no advice to offer others. Rest assured, there is no requirement to share a tip at these gatherings. These tips serve as conversation starters. (Some very interesting discussions having spun off from them.)

Also, please note: You don't need to be an expert to share a tip. We're all in this crazy realm of kid-lit creation together. If you have found even the tiniest thing that has inspired, motivated, or helped you in the slightest way, it's probably worth sharing.

If you would like to see a virtual hobnob in action (and hear the recommended tips), follow this link to watch a recording of a recent session.

Tip or no, please join us at our next virtual hobnob on July 3rd.

May Virtual Hobnob Recap

We will begin recording our virtual hobnobs to share with all of you. The May meeting was not recorded. However, you can read the notes and access the links we shared in the chat via this document.

June Virtual Hobnob with Joshua Harper Recap

Joshua Harper is the writer, producer, and marketer for the graphic novel series Lumi and the Moonlight Gang. Josh gave us a run through of what his process has been like to get the project off the ground, including:

• how the project started,
• how he found an illustrator to collaborate with,
• how he planned the project out,
• how he approaches bookstores and book fairs to sell the book,
• how he funds the project,
• what he has had to learn to make the project, and
• what his plans are for the future.

It was a riveting and fascinating talk. Here's the zoom link where you can see our talk!

Learn more about Joshua and his series at Lumiandthemoonlightgang.com.



Photos courtesy: Abbi Dooley, Polson Library Director

For 12 months during 2024, writers and illustrators across the nation met and created work together based on a series of 12 prompts created by writer and regional member Megan Emmot.

2024 SPARKS! artwork and writing is currently on display in the Wayne & Joyce Erickson Family Montana Art & Culture Gallery at the Polson Public Library. A huge thanks to Abbi Dooley, Director of the North Lake County Public Library District for giving us space in the library and another huge thanks to Marcia Dalphin Williams for getting it set up for us! The show will be up until the end of June, then it will be moving onto Great Falls! If you are near Polson, please go check it out!

Thank you to every one of the creators who participated. Your words and artwork are inspirational and wonderful. Each one of you are creative powerhouses, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with next! Thank you for showing up to the meetings and contributing to this little idea!

If you weren't able to make it to our in-person exhibitions, have no fear! Watch our virtual showcase.

Don't forget: Sparks sessions have resumed! 

On the first of every month through April 2026, we will email you a shiny new prompt written by Megan Emmot. You can use this prompt to create a new story, poem, or illustration for your portfolio. We will share our work at our monthly co-working sessions, which will take place on the second Saturday of each month at 1 pm Mountain Time. (Sharing your work is always optional.)

You can work on the prompts even if you don't attend the co-working sessions and you can attend the co-working sessions even if you don't work on the prompts. The sessions are meant as a way to socialize, share your work, get feedback, and to set aside some time to work on your creative project. The sessions are generally divided into two 45-minute blocks: one for working, the other for sharing. 

All creators are welcome at these sessions. Links to the sessions will be emailed, so keep your eyes peeled for them!

Email montana-ic@scbwi.org if you have any questions.

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the Rocky Mountain Kid Lit Festival in Billings, which was my second time participating in this annual celebration of children’s literature. It’s a free event and a collaborative effort between This House of Books, Billings Public Library, and SCBWI Montana. This year’s May 3rd event included a day of writing workshops for both kids and adults, a panel discussion on small presses and self-publishing, and concluded with a social reception for writers and illustrators.

Beginning bright and early Saturday morning, Jessica Vitalis presented “The Building Blocks of Story: a Writing Workshop.” Jessica is the author of four Middle Grade novels, The Wolf’s Curse, The Rabbit’s Gift, Coyote Queen, and Unsinkable Cayenne. Jessica’s presentation style was warm and engaging as she guided authors through her loosely-structured method of planning stories. She covered the basics of plot, character, and theme in a way that was straightforward and approachable, even for those who don’t like plotting. (Any fellow “pantsers” out there?!) The planning template she shared left plenty of space for updates and revisions as a story is refined and I walked away with so many practical revision tips that I could apply right away to my own creative process.

Jessica’s second workshop, “Creating Cool Characters” was geared toward young writers. About a dozen attentive kids (plus several young-at-heart adults) participated in hands-on exercises for creating interesting, memorable characters and writing descriptive scenes. Jessica drew on examples from Unsinkable Cayenne and invited active audience involvement throughout the session. A few brave souls shared their work with the group and asked thoughtful questions about being a writer and getting your work published. I gleaned just as much from the youth workshop as I did from the one for adults.

A break in the middle of the day allowed for plenty of time spent in reflection, finding inspiration, or enjoying lunch with friends and fellow kid-lit creators from around the state. 

Then, everyone came back together in the afternoon for a panel discussion on self-publishing and small presses. Julie Schultz from This House of Books moderated the conversation and panelists Emily Romrell, Tiffiny Spire, Mark Taylor, and Precious McKenzie offered insights about their unique and wide-ranging experiences with publishing. They shared their personal pros and cons of working with small independent publishers, academic presses, self-publishing, and Kickstarter campaigns. Many spoke of the challenges of upfront costs in choosing some of these routes to publication. By contrast, they also spoke of enjoying the freedoms and choices afforded by choosing these routes over large publishing houses. 

Additional topics of discussion included knowing your market and paying attention to what readers want, the importance of professional book design, ensuring independent bookstores can acquire copies of your book to sell, understanding the language of publishing contracts before you sign, and thoughts about the role of AI in the future of publishing. Each panelist brought insightful perspectives to these topics and engaged the audience in further discussion.

The day concluded with a reception at This House of Books, where we munched on cookies and chatted casually about creative ideas, pets, and upcoming summer plans. The workshops and panel discussion were fabulous, but I think it’s these pockets of time just chatting with other writers and illustrators that feed my creative soul the most. It’s not hard to be inspired when you’re in a room with other people who are putting forth their brilliant, funny, weird, and meaningful ideas into the world, one project at a time. I thoroughly enjoyed participating in this event again this year, and I hope to see the Rocky Mountain Kid Lit Festival continue to grow in the coming years.

Megan Emmot writes stories, essays, and poetry from the mountains of northwestern Montana. Always curious, she fills the corners of her days with adventures in the woods, books, baking, and crafts of all kinds. She believes poetry is for everyone and that you’re never too old for picture books. You can connect with Megan on Instagram @meganemmot or by email megan.emmot@gmail.com.



Celebration Corner

—where we share book news

of our Montana members