Month: October 2011

Prizes?! Illustrator Day?! Awesome!

Did someone say prizes? Well, yes I did. You could win a sketchbook, 

OR drawing materials,

OR Illustrator Day Keynote Speaker, Salley Mavor's Golden Kite Winning Book

Shop Indie Bookstores

How? You might ask…how could I win one of these great prizes?
You can help me publicize NESCBWI's Illustrator Day event.
1. Share this blog post on facebook and tag me so I know you did it.
2. Tweet or retweet this blog post and other info about the event with the hashtag #illustratorday.
I'll put all of your names and tweet handles in a box and pick out names until the prizes are gone- from now until:
ILLUSTRATOR DAY!

When: Saturday, November 19, 2011
Time: 1:00-6:00
Where: Emma Blood French Auditorium (The French Building) on the New Hampshire Institute of Art campus in Manchester, NH. 
The schedule for Illustrator Day 2011 will be as follows:
(Please note this is an updated schedule with a later registration time. AJB 10-25-11)

1:00–1:30 Registration
1:30 Welcome
1:45-2:45 Salley Mavor – Keynote Golden Kite Winner 2011
(5 min break)
2:50-3:50 Carol Goldenberg Award winning Book Designer
(25 min snack break)
4:15-5:00 Carlyn Beccia and Jennifer Morris Digital Painting Duels Encore
from the 2010 Annual Conference
(5 min break)
5:05-6:00 continued Digital Painting Duels
Registration Fees for SCBWI Members and Students: $50 all day
Public Registration Fee: $75 all day.
Checks should be payable to NESCBWI and should be sent by November 15th.

For more information and to register click here! Now! No, really, now.

Confessions of a Conference Junkie

Okay, yes. I just attended the SCBWI Los Angeles National Conference. And yes, I’m going to the Winter Conference in New York. And well, fine I’m at the Mid-Atlantic SCBWI Conference this weekend but I am not, I repeat NOT a conference junkie.
 
A conference junkie would squeal when seeing writing friends from long ago and far away. I saw a bunch of friends from my time at VCFA and friends I met as far back as 2004 at the Highlights Chautauqua Writer’s Workshop. I did not squeal once. But I did hug a lot.
 
A conference junkie would take notes furiously filling up pages and pages in her notebook or lap top. I didn’t even bring a notebook. But I did reuse all the pages in my folder writing down crucial information such as: “Figure out what your character is most afraid of and make them face it,” (Caroline Abbey), “We are allowed three lines for a positioning statement. That’s it,” (Chelsey Eberly), and “The moments that define us are when we choose to loose something to gain another,” (Abby Ranger).
 
A conference junkie would sidle up beside famous people and have perfect strangers take their picture.

 
No. No. New England Crystal Kite winner Brian Lies and I go way back. I knew him WAY before he became an “overnight success.” (After 25 years of hard work.)
 
So you see, I am not a conference junkie.
 
(How many days until New York?)

Five on Friday

1. Don't forget that the NYC SCBWI conference registration starts on Monday, 10 am PDT. Hopefully you got your postcard in the mail. If not, click here for more information.

2. My husband came home on surprise visit. He's away with the Navy and hasn't been home for a month. The whole family is very happy and I can't believe how relaxing it is to just write, plan my next lesson, do SCBWI stuff, and exercise without having to shuttle children, take care of the dog, make dinner, do laundry, clean the car, and vacuum the stairs. (The last two I just don't do when he's not here.) We'll see him again next weekend at the Mid-Atlantic SCBWI conference in Dulles, VA.

3. My WIP is moving forward fabulously. A huge thank you and shout out to the entire community for their cheering and support as I tackle daily word count. Another huge thank you to my fellow Cheese Sandwiches who check in with me during the week to make sure we are all on track. It takes a village to write a book.

4. Speaking of a village. Another shout out goes to Lynn Conway, a librarian at Georgetown University who helped me this week by answering silly questions about Riggs Library such as: Do the stairs in the library cling or clang when you ascend? What stained glass is in the round windows? Are the book cases painted gold or do they just shine in the pictures because of the flash? Once again I'm reminded of the awesome and selfless nature of the librarian.

5. Casey Girard, NESCBWI Illustrator Coordinator has been working hard to put together an Illustrator Day Event for the region. Here's what we know. It will be on November 19th from 1 pm – 6 pm at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH. (Yes. In a month.) It will include an award-winning book designer, Carol Goldenberg, and a reprise of the "Dueling Digital Painters" Workshop with Carlyn Beccia, and Jennifer Morris from the spring NESCBWI conference. Keynote speaker to be announced! Watch this space and www.nescbwi.org for more information.

SCBWI NY Conference Info!

Most of us are enjoying the amazing temperatures this fall. This weekend I walked in the woods, read in the sunshine, chose pumpkins, and picked apples. (Come on, Anna. How many pies do you really think you're going to make?) It is hard to believe that registration for the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City begins next Monday, October 17th!

You won't find the final schedule on the website yet. It will be posted in the next few days, but here are the basics. The conference starts on January 27th with optional writing and illustration intensives. The 28th and 29th are full of fabulous keynote speeches, presentations from various publishing houses, and some sort of display event for illustrators. The conference will take place at the Grand Hyatt New York and special rates are available. I suggest you get your reservations early.

If you are an illustrator, I urge you to get to work on a piece of art for the Tomie dePaola Award. This year's contest requires an illustration of text from the traditional Chicken Licken, "The Sky is Falling," story. Download the guidelines and text here. The deadline is December 15th. The winner will be announced on January 2nd and will receive a $1,000 gift certificate for art supplies, plus full tuition, transportation and accommodations to the New York Winter Conference held in Manhattan. The winning piece of art will also be featured at the annual winter conference in New York.

Leave a comment if you are planning to be there!

Five on Friday

1.This morning I braved our first frost and went on a bike ride. I came back with numb toes and fingers, but it was just beautiful. Perhaps it's time to move my bike riding inside. I'm amazed by the people who commute by bike all winter long.
2. My kids have a four day weekend. Today is a teacher furlough day, and while I'm happy to have my children home, I'm unhappy that our teachers are loosing pay.
3. With kiddos around there will be cleaning. Beware all you piles of dog fur in the corners! Stand back pile of laundry! We will defeat you.
4. I had a few wonderful writing days this week with high word counts, and dramatic scenes. I can really feel the forward movement of the manuscript (profluence, thank you Sarah Aronson). Very exciting to be climbing out of the muddy middle.
5. Monday, October 10th is my 18th Wedding Anniversary.