Next in the
Growing Together series:
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Thursday, March 4th
at 7:30 p.m.
with author/illustrator Jane Smith
Picture Book Writing for Illustrators:
A Hands-On Visual Approach
Author-Illustrator Jane Smith will share a cumulative series of visual techniques to help you launch your picture book ideas into development, revision, and completion. Together we will explore character sketching, listing-making, plotting blocks, cut-and-paste mini dummy books, and thumbnailing techniques. Arrive with a picture book idea, manuscript-in-progress, or just an open mind and prepare to get the ball rolling on the picture book project you’ve been dreaming of.
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Jane Smith is an author-illustrator and designer with over 18 years of experience writing, illustrating, and designing children’s books. Her picture book titles include the 6-book Chloe Zoe series; Hello, New House; and the forthcoming title, Miss Meow. She lives in sun-kissed Wilmington, North Carolina with her graphic designer husband and super star daughter.
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Pricing:
$10 for SCBWI Carolinas members
$15 for SCBWI members outside of our region
$20 for non-members
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ANNOUNCING
CREATING TOGETHER:
29th Annual
SCBWI Carolinas
Fall Conference
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Artwork by Leigh Anne Carter |
We are so pleased to announce our upcoming annual fall conference, scheduled for September 24th--26th, 2021. This year's conference will once again be a virtual event but will take place over the course of one weekend. We realize this year doesn't look like what we'd hoped, and we want you to know this difficult decision was made after careful consideration of your survey responses as well as direction from SCBWI Headquarters. We are hopeful that in-person gatherings may be possible in late 2021.
The good news is that we are working on a stellar lineup for our fall conference, including art directors, agents, editors, authors and opportunities for critiques. Even though we remain separate from each other, we hope the theme of our conference, Creating Together, will still be felt through all the community-building content we are offering this year. Stay tuned for pricing and registration information.
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Image courtesy of The University of Nebraska Omaha |
Chicago Bookstore Launches National Black Literacy Day |
DL Mullen, owner of Chicago’s Semicolon Bookstore, has dedicated the last year to implementing innovative ideas that support readers in her community. Now, Mullen is adding a national holiday to that effort, and hoping others will join the celebration.
This February 14th, Semicolon’s employees will spread out across Chicago in celebration of National Black Literacy Day, a holiday Mullen and her bookselling team devised last summer. Mullen hopes it is the beginning of a lasting celebration that others will take up nationwide. She has submitted a petition to Mayor Lori Lightfoot asking her to issue a proclamation supporting the holiday, and if Lightfoot does it, then Mullen can reach out to Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker to see if he will do the same statewide. (Story courtesy of Publisher's Weekly)
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Introducing the Carolinas
Equity & Inclusion Team!
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Recognizing that diverse voices, ideas and individuals make everything better, the SCBWI Carolinas chapter, in collaboration with the national SCBWI office, is excited to announce the creation of an Equity and Inclusion team. This team will lead the chapter as we strive to:
- Be more inclusive in programming and membership
- Be more equitable with scholarships
- Be more diverse in all of our resources
More news will be coming soon. We look forward to serving all members of the Carolinas region!
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We had a wonderful time at our first Virtual Book Launch (VBL) on Tuesday, January 26th! Thank you to Chrystal D. Giles for letting us help celebrate the release of her debut middle grade novel, TAKE BACK THE BLOCK. We had a blast!
What is a virtual book launch? A virtual book launch is an online book release event where we talk with authors about their newly-released children’s books. Depending on the number of members’ books released each month, we may have one participant or we may have several.
When do these events take place? The last Tuesday of each month.
Where do these events take place? Online, on Zoom. Attendees will sign up through SignUp Genius and then they will receive a Zoom link for the VBL.
To be eligible to participate, your book must be:
February's Participants include:
Middle Grade/YA: 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Brian Anderson,
The Conjurors: The Rise of The Shadows
Amy Cherrix,
In the Shadow of the Moon:
America, Russia, and the Hidden History of the Space Race
Picture Books: 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Carole Boston Weatherford,
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
Bea Birdsong,
Sam’s First Word
Megan Hoyt,
Bartali's Bicycle
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SCBWI Carolinas members are invited to
Ignite the Spark by writing—and drawing—MicroFiction. Fast, furious fun and inspiration...
all within one hour!
Hosted by our very own
John Strong & Linda Gerber
Ignite the Spark is held every
third Tuesday.
The next meeting will be
Februrary 16th @ 7:30
For more information:
To sign up:
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Volunteer Regional Administrative Team
Regional Advisor, Erica Wood
Assistant Regional Advisor, Elizabeth Rawls
Co-Assistant Regional Advisor, Becky Shillington
Regional Illustrator Coordinator, Ashley Belote
Volunteer At Large, Leigh Anne Carter
PAL Coordinator, Derick Wilder
Critique Coordinator, Vijaya Bodach
Membership Outreach Coordinator, Megan Hoyt
Blog Coordinator, Carol Baldwin
cbaldwin6@me.com
Social Media Coordinator, Carolyn Bennet Fraiser
Ignite The Spark Co-Host, Linda Gerber
gerb@lindagerber.com
Social Media Assistant, Chuck Mall
Volunteer Coordinator, John Strong
Webmaster, Kris Black
Equity & inclusion Team
ei.scbwicarolinas@gmail.com
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Newsletter Banner Art Needed
Be a featured artist in our newsletters!
If you are a Carolinas illustrator, join
Facebook Page (a closed group)
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Critique Group Classifieds:
If you’d like to start a critique group in your area, let us know and we can place an ad for you HERE! The ad will run for two months unless longer is requested.
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DID YOU KNOW that we have a "Critique Group Central" webpage to help members find critique groups all over North and South Carolina AND online? Click HERE for more information! (You must be logged in to your SCBWI account to access this page.)
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Did You Know?
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SCBWI's THE BOOK has a plethora of information ranging from legal contracting questions to local speakers. It also contains a listing of freelance editors. It’s an amazing resource.
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Communication within the chapter is conducted via the Facebook Group and the SCBWI BlueBoards. For those members interested in joining the FB Group, where blogs, announcements, and craft discussion can take place among the membership, find the link on the FB SCBWI Carolinas page and request to join.
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David Bernardy is a writer, an illustrator, a teacher, and a dad. He is primarily a self-taught artist, but he holds an MFA and PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. He joined SCBWI seven years ago and has enjoyed the many friends and mentors he's met along the way. He is currently revising a number of picturebook dummies and seeking representation.
You can see more of his work here:
Instagram:
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A warm welcome to all of our new members—we are so glad you've joined us! If you have any questions, please let me know!
—Megan Hoyt
scbwicmembers@gmail.com
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SCBWI MEMBERSHIP
You MUST be a member to join the WIN Facebook page and/or the new PAL FB group.
You can check your membership expiration on your profile page at www.scbwi.org. You can also renew online if necessary.
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SCBWI uses Constant Contact as its main email blast provider. In order to receive emails you must be signed up with Constant Contact.
Unfortunately, if you unsubscribe to one scbwi.org email, you unsubscribe to all.
If you believe you have unsubscribed use this link
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Don't forget that SCBWI presents opportunities to be involved virtually with webinars happening all across the organization.
for a listing of events held by other regions.
This comprehensive listing is a great way for SCBWI members to connect and build a literary community.
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Some Inspiring News From the World! |
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. (Article courtesy of the History channel.)
Want to share Black History Month with the little ones in your life? Check out national Geographic Kids, here!
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We want to blast your good news throughout our social media, so please send it our way!
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Send news of agency signings, contracts and awards to
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Logo art created by K.A.K. Lecky |
Our Book Fairies program is off to a great start! The purpose of this program is to support our PAL members by getting more of their books out into the Carolinas communities.
Each month, our membership will be notified of new PAL member releases and asked to help out by contacting their local library systems, local bookstores, local schools, and other specialty locations that might be interested in a particular title.
Thanks to PAL coordinator Derick Wilder and Carolinas author Tara Luebbe for all of their hard work getting this new initiative off the ground. We are excited about this new endeavor and look forward to celebrating the success of our SCBWI-C membership!
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Don't forget about the SCBWI Winter Conference coming up Feb.19th -21st! |
The SCBWI Book Launch Parties are a fantastic way to boost your newly-published book's outreach. Design a one-of-a-kind, online book launch party page that lets visitors get an inside look at you and your book. |
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