March 2025

Words from your Houston SCBWI Co-Regional Advisor


Happy March, everyone!

I’ve been told I can be a bit long-winded, and I truly believe that if we can’t take a critique and use it to grow, then we might be in the wrong line of work. So, here’s my little pep talk for all of our incredible creatives: Keep embracing growth. Every bit of feedback is an opportunity to evolve and become even better at what you do!

Let’s keep pushing ourselves to learn, adapt, and shine brighter each day. 

Annie Harmon

Co-Regional Advisor

Houston SCBWI

Notice: We are looking for local social hosts and an updated list of all our self-published authors. If you want to know more, keep reading till the end!

HOUSTON CHAPTER EVENTS

Critique Groups

About Us

Houston Events

We encourage you to register for all events via our website.

Upcoming Meetings

Register for March's chapter meeting

Houston Chapter Critique Group


Where: online

When: March 3rd 2025

5:30 PM – 6:30 PM CST

 

What: An informal critique group to meet before most of our chapter meetings.


Details: All written and illustrated works-in-progress intended for the children’s market are welcome.

Please view the group's guidelines prior to attending. Free to all.

Click to let us know you'll be there!

April's Chapter Meeting

Register here! 

Fuel Your Craft

Sign up for our region's many activities below!

We will visit and share for the first 10-15 minutes and then it is independent work time. I will provide some inspirational music for your listening pleasure as well as an optional drawing prompt. When the music stops, we will share our work! Just think, all the advantages of a peer group but without the drive in Houston traffic!

Click here to register

Houston Lift-Off!


With the power of community, we are creating stories and illustrations in just 30 minutes! Join us March 11th for the next community session. Remember, after the 30 minutes, we open the mics to share.

And maybe one of these stories or illustrations will be added to a Houston Lift-Off anthology.

Click to let us know you're coming

Stay In the Know

Click to email Tiffany
Click to email Sanyu

A stronger community- Together on Discord


Ever wish you could reach out to your SCBWI community? Isn’t that supposed to be one of the biggest benefits of being part of an organization with like-minded creatives? Houston SCBWI has heard the need for a stronger, more active community, and we’re answering with a dedicated server where we can share our joys, frustrations, ideas, and creativity—all in one place.


Have a question? Find the right #channel and let the community help.


Have a piece you are especially proud of and your spouse doesn’t want to hear about it for the hundredth time? We do! Post it in #pitch-me, or #finished-it! We’d love to celebrate with you


Stuck in a plot hole? Jump into one of the genre-specific channels and brainstorm your way out.


Forgot the link to the next chapter meeting? Look at my scribbled red circle. That’s where our chapter events are; jump in and grab the link.


Want to connect one-on-one? Check out the voice channels at the bottom of the list (with video and sharing capabilities like Zoom). Whether it’s for a critique session or just a chat, they’re available for all members to use—except for the Chapter Critique Group channel, which is reserved for chapter events.


This only works if we come together as a communitychecking in, sharing ideas, lifting each other up and being lifted up. Please, join our server and check in and participate in whatever way fits your life: once a day, once a week, or even once a month.

We are Houston SCBWI-- watch us Lift Off! 🚀

Space City Scribes Blog

Read the latest interviews here!

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




The Written Word


As writers create their written Word.

We scribble, then scramble to erase.

Rewrites wear a hole in the paper.

The page becomes hard to face.


You step away, collect your thoughts.

Gain your footing pencil in hand.

Just the right order, no less it can be.

Your words must be perfectly planned.


An author with so much wisdom to share.

Getting it correct is the ultimate key.

Because once you share your written words.

That’s where they will always be.






JCS 2/24/2025

Have News? Share It With Us For Our Members Corner Newsletter! (published the 10th of each month)

Submit author & illustrator news for the next newsletter by the 5th 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.

SCBWI Awards & Grants

Go to "Member Home" then click "My Awards" to find monthly opportunities!

Our Volunteers

From left to right: Jacob Reynolds, Margaret Lea, Tiffany Obeng, Jennie Smith (above), Sabina Grey (below), Annie Harmon (above) Lynne Kelly (below) Kaye Marc-Charles, and Jim Smolski. Missing from the picture due to schedule conflict, illness or having just signed on is Cheryl McCosh, Sydney Dunlap, Sanyu Ntanda and Sam Kelty.

Regional Team

Co-Regional Advisor:

Kaye Marc-Charles

Co-Regional Advisor:

Annie Roi Harmon

Asst. Regional Advisor:

Lynne Kelly

Illustrators Coordinator:

Jennie Smith

Regional Advisor Emeritus:

Vicki Sansum


Chapter Volunteers

General Webmaster

Sabina Grey

Newsletter Editor

OPEN!

Critique Group Coordinator:

Jacob Reynolds

Newsletter Column Writer: 

Jim Smolski

Kidlit Correspondents

Margaret Lea

OPEN!

New Membership Coordinator

Sam Kelty

Programming Chair:

Cheryl McCosh

Social Event Coordinator

Sanyu Ntanda

Local Event (POD) Coordinators: 

OPEN POSITIONS!

PAL Coordinator

Sydney Dunlap

Self-Pub Coordinator

Tiffany Obeng

Social Media Crew

OPEN! 


OPEN Volunteer Positions

We want to create a chapter that is more involved, engaged, and active, and we need your help to do it!


Click here to apply.

Stay on top of the latest SCBWI News!

Join the conversation in Discord! Sign up here! 


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"


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Chapter Logo and Header Design by Marissa Valdez


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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.