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SCBWI Brazos Valley News
Upcoming Events
Favorite Reads for Hispanic Heritage Month
Membership Perks
Online Offerings from SCBWI
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Brazos Valley Book Report
Thursday, Oct. 8, 7:30pm - via Zoom
Please join us for our Brazos Valley Book Report - a new way to connect with and learn from our Brazos Valley SCBWI members. These meetings will take place virtually, via Zoom, in the middle of every month. Come prepared to discuss a children’s book (PB, MG, YA) you’ve read recently.
Register on the SCBWI website and we’ll send the login information via email (please note, you will receive this information via the email information on your SCBWI account).
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Are you spooked by writing dialogue? Does the idea of making your characters sound current send chills down your spine? Join us for a dynamic discussion of today’s kid slang and lingo. We’ll be sharing the terms our kids, grandkids and students use as well as resources and examples for making your characters sound current (or timeless). This is a group discussion so please come prepared with examples!
As usual, our meetings are free and open to the public. We encourage you to invite members of the Brazos Valley writing community to join us!
Please register in advance to receive login information (you will get an email with the Zoom meeting ID and password the night before the event). The event login information will also be posted in the SCBWI Brazos Valley private Facebook group (not our public page). Join the private group here.
Can’t make the meeting? Don’t worry! A replay will be provided for all registrants after the meeting and will also be posted on the SCBWI Brazos Valley private Facebook group.
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September meeting REPLAY
Our September meeting with Assistant Librarian and 2020 Caldecott Awards Committee member Alia Jones was full of fascinating picture book information. You can watch the replay of the meeting including a chat transcript at the link below. Please do not share this link.
Enjoy!
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Spotlighting Favorite Reads for Hispanic Heritage Month!
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Hispanic Heritage month is celebrated yearly from September 15 - October 15th. SCBWI HQ has put together a new page with resources for celebrating year round: SCBWI | National Hispanic Heritage Month Resources. We thought it would be fun to take this opportunity to share a few of our own favorite Hispanic/Latinx reads!
Board Books:
Lil’ Libros has a really fun series of bilingual board books featuring famous figures and fun destinations.
Cinco Puntos Press has a wonderfully colorful and energetic series by Cynthia Weil that is available as both board books and hard covers.
Picture Books:
Two picture books featuring the words of SCBWI Brazos Valley members are paired with beautiful images by Latinx illustrators. Kathy Whitehead’s LOOKING FOR UNCLE LOUIE ON THE FOURTH OF JULY is a window into Independence Day celebrations of South Texas, illustrated by Pablo Torrecilla. MY FATHER’S HOUSE by Kathi Appelt is a lovely lyrical journey of gratitude for the world we live in, illustrated by Raúl Colón.
As a Texas SCBWI chapter, we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you about the latest Selena picture book biography, Queen of Tejano Music: Selena, released simultaneously in English and Spanish,written by Sylvia López and illustrated by Paola Escobar.
Chapter Books:
Monica Brown’s Sarai series is co-written with Sarai Gonzalez whose appearance in the Bomba Estereo music video “Soy Yo” made her an overnight sensation. The books include high energy illustrations by Christine Almeda. There are four books in the series and they are available in both English and Spanish. Both Monica Brown and Sarai Gonzalez are of Peruvian descent.
Middle Grade:
In keeping with the spooky spirit of Halloween, here are three books featuring ghosts and witches and talking animals, oh my! Two have Texan settings and flair!
Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega features a Dominican teen who must fight off the spirits she accidentally unleashed onto her Florida town with the help of her friend and cat Chunk.
Love Sugar Magic series (there are three so far!) by Anna Meriano features the adventures of Leo, the youngest in a family of witches that operates a bakery in South Texas.
The Total Eclipse of Nestor López follows the adventures of a military brat living in Texas who has to deal with his father’s deployment, talking animals, and a scary witch!
Young Adult:
Furia features an Argentine girl, Camila, who dreams of being a soccer super star. It just debuted and was chosen by Reese Witherspoon for her Book Club. Get your heart racing during the high octane soccer scenes or the ones between Camila and her love interest (or both!).
Graphic Novel:
Our April meeting guest David Bowles’s new graphic novel series, TALES OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT, is a fresh and kid-friendly way to learn about meso-american mythology. The first installment, THE RISE OF THE HALFLING KING, will be published later this month!
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SCBWI Digital Workshops continue on Thursdays at 6 p.m. Central Time through November 19. Registration for each workshop opens the Monday before. Recordings are available for one month following each workshop and registration is not required to view the recordings.
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SCBWI Connects for the Holidays
With the state of our world under Covid, more strongly and collectively than ever, we yearn to connect as creators, readers, and human beings. This holiday season, SCBWI wants to celebrate those connections and continue forging new ones. On December 1, SCBWI will launch the holiday-themed edition of SCBWI Connects. Similar to Camp SCBWI, this holiday edition will feature resources that highlight the diversity of our members and their readers. If you are a PAL member and have a holiday-centric resource to share, stay tuned for an email with guidelines and the submission form. If you’re a PAL member and would like to create a resource, the deadline to do so is November 10 (with some leeway of a couple of days). Learning resources can include classroom guides to accompany your book(s), downloadable print-outs, YouTube readings and/or workshops, and any activity/lesson that will benefit caregivers and educators teaching from home. Please note that resources submitted to the holiday SCBWI Connects program will be approved by SCBWI staff before being shared with the public.
Members, stay tuned for an email with submission guidelines and form. If you have any questions about SCBWI Connects or its upcoming program, please email Kiana at [email protected].
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Upcoming Events--a sampling of online offerings
Spaces Still Available in Nov. 6-7 Virtual SCBWI/Smithsonian Institution Nonfiction Workshop
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The SCBWI/Smithsonian Nonfiction Workshop will be held online, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 -7, 2020. If you can’t attend the live conference, video recordings of all the sessions will be available to registered attendees through Nov. 22.
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2020 North Texas SCBWI Virtual Conference Oct. 10-11
Whether you’re just getting started or are well established…
Whether you’re a picture book author, an illustrator, or a novelist…
WE HAVE YOU COVERED with a LIVE Conference and a slam dunk faculty.
Join sessions presented by McIntosh & Otis Literary, Bradford Literary,
Simon and Schuster, Odd Dot (Macmillan) and more (including a Portfolio Showcase with prizes!) We have an exciting lineup of faculty including top agents, editors, authors, illustrators, and an art director! More information, including remaining critique slots, can be found on our website.
Please send any questions to North Texas Regional Advisor Beth Mills at [email protected].
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Behind the Scenes: An author and editor discuss the collaborative process of creating a novel, Oct. 16, 7pm MT
This is Free to SCBWI members and may be of particular interest to translators and Spanish speaking members. Award-winning author Alexandra Diaz and Senior Editor Sylvie Frank share the start-to-finish process of making a novel, from the idea to the bound book—and everything in between. They’ll take a deep dive into the brainstorming, editing, and copyediting process. And for bonus content, Alexandra will discuss the process of translating her own novels from English into Spanish with assistance from her mother.
*This conversation will be followed by a panel of New Mexico picture book writers discussing their new and upcoming picture books: Illustrator, Melinda Beavers; Author/Illustrator, Jenny Sue Kosteki; Author, Vaunda Micheaux Nelson; and author, Caroline Starr Rose.
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The SCBWI Winter Conference Will Be Digital!
Registration opens Wednesday, October 28 at 10am PT/1pm ET
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The SCBWI Winter Conference will take place in the digital realm on February 20-21, 2021. The conference will provide attendees with a virtual trip to the Big Apple with behind-the-scenes tours of publishing houses, mock acquisition meetings, and an inside look at the book production process.
Keynote speakers include Adam Silvera, Becky Albertalli, Christian Robinson, Matt de la Pena, and Jerry Craft as well as panels of agents, editors, and art directors. The conference will feature The Golden Kite Awards Gala, the career-launching portfolio showcase, and a full-day Intensive for illustrators on Friday, February 19.
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If you are having problems with Zoom or with registering for a Brazos Valley SCBWI event, please contact [email protected]. Please note, unless otherwise stated, all Brazos Valley SCBWI events are free of cost. We are currently requiring registration in order to keep our events private and safe from hackers. Your event login information will be emailed to the email address on file in your SCBWI account.
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