Tag: illustration

Important SCBWI info for Illustrators

This month I finished the first draft of a YA manuscript, so I basically made the month of December a no-blog month. However, SCBWI news has been piling up. Today, information for illustrators. First, congrats to all those who took on the Tomie dePaola Award challenge. I've seen some beautiful pieces. Today, a call for art for the bulletin and next, info about the Bologna Book Fair from Bridget- the SCBWI International Illustrator Coordinator. Whether or not you travel to Italy, your work could. Read on!
Anna
PS: I'm busily reading and reviewing quite like a squirrel gathering nuts for winter. Exciting book reviews will start again on Wednesdays after the New Year.

ART SPOT:

Ever since Tomie dePaola insisted the I be added to the SCBW, the society of children's book writers and illustrators have been trying hard to serve their illustrator members. Now Sarah Baker, head of all-things-illustration-and-design at SCBWI headquarters in Los Angeles, has an exciting new initiative. A new column called Art Spot will feature one artist who submits a black and white spot illustration to the National Bulletin. In addition to a feature article about their work, and their experience, the artist will receive $100. Since the bulletin is viewed by industry professionals around the world including editors and art directors, the winner will enjoy wide publicity of their portfolio. 
Sarah is looking for art work that is well-designed, and well-executed. Remember that spot art should engage the viewer and lead them to read an article. There are many regular features in the Bulletin. Become familiar with the table of contents and see if you can link your artwork to regular features. Make sure your artwork is child-friendly. Since the artwork will be black and white, consider how your use of value adds to the piece. Good Luck!

BOLOGNA BOOK FAIR:

PAL illustrator members of SCBWI across the world, even if you can't make it to Bologna yourself, don't miss this chance for your work to be visible at the international Bologna Book Fair, We will be showing a select number of illustrator's promotional pieces 
in our special Illustration Portfolio Display at the SCBWI stand at the Bologna Book fair and also online in our SCBWI Bologna 
Illustrators' Gallery. 

Deadline for email submissions: February 14, 2012.
Full details on how to apply are on http://www.scbwibologna.org/display-portfolio.php
If your work is selected, we'll contact you with details about snail mailing a quality print-out of the piece.

If you are coming to the fair, then how about promoting your work at our SCBWI stand?
Duelling illustrator sessions, on-the-spot illustrations to a read-aloud story, and other live art demonstrations have been particular 
popular events at our past SCBWI stand.
To apply for a Showcase slot check out
http://www.scbwibologna.org/showcase.php

Why not book a slot, or share a space alone or with another PAL,then send out announcements ahead of time, and invite your publishers there to come and watch? There are no children at the fair, but publishers, agents and foreign rights people may well enjoy a break from their busy schedule to be reminded that it all starts with a good idea and a pencil, pen, brush and paint or even your laptop!

And if you aren't yet published but are going to be in Bologna for the Fair, how about booking ahead for 5 minutes of feedback on your 
portfolio from a publishing pro at the Stand?

Disclamer: SCBWI information on their website www.scbwi.org  is accurate and true. Any opinions here are my own and not necessarily the opinions of SCBWI.

Illustrator Day! Give Away #2

Well friends. It's that time again. Prizes!!!

A huge thank you to the following people who are helping to spread the word on twitter, facebook, and blogs about NESCBWI's Illustrator Day! Check them out. (If you helped and you're not listed here, please give me the link in the comments below. I'll enter you right away.)
@melindabeavers (who won last week)
@23catsinaroom
@jeanettelarson
@Michaelrapa
@WendyMartinArt
@juanamartinez
@matthewboehm
@kellylight
@johnlechner
@ImDanielleEGray
@erniedelia
@aliciapadron
@smilingotis
@anindita
@thewritejoyce
@TheWackyBrit
@DiandraMae
@mehenniger
@smozer
@faughnanc
@classicsixbooks
Patty Mynczywor

The hat please…Ooops. My helper is napping.

The winner is…
Russ Cox! @smilingotis
I have your info because you already registered to come to Illustrator Day!
Please tell me in the comments if you want me to send your prize or give it to you in Manchester.
Congratulations

You too can be entered to win a sketchbook/drawing pencil/eraser set. We will have one more drawing next Monday, 11/14.
Then all the winners will be put back in the hat for the grand prize drawing in Manchester at Illustrator Day! on November 19th for a copy of Keynote Speaker, Salley Mavor's Golden Kite winning book Pocket Full of Posies!


Shop Indie Bookstores

Next drawing: next Monday, 11/14/11

If you missed the origninal call for help, here's the gist. New England SCBWI is sponsoring an amazing afternoon of speakers and workshops for working and aspiring illustrators. (All minors must be accompanied by a paying adult participant.) The event venue has been generously donated by New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH. Illustrator Day! is November 19th from 1-6 pm. Help us spread the word.

  • Link to this blog on facebook, or twitter or through your own blog (tag me on facebook or give me the blog link in the comments here.)
  • Retweet any information from me @annawritedraw or @casey.girard and make sure to use the #illustratorday hashtag
  • Or blog about the event on your own. 
  • Make sure to include the registration page url: http://tinyurl.com/illustratorday-registration

Thanks for your help.

Illustrator Day! Give Away #1

I know that you were all waiting with bated breath to see who would win prize #1 in our Illustrator Day! Give away. 

Thanks to the folks who helped us spread the work about Illustrator Day!:

Then my faithful assistants drew a name:

And the winner is…

@melindabeavers
(Who also won the NESCBWI poster contest at the last conference. Melinda Beavers, I think you have to move to New England now!)
As soon as Melinda sends me an address, I'll send her a sketchbook, pencils and an eraser.

Next drawing: next Monday, 11/7/11

IF you missed the original call for help, here's the gist. New England SCBWI is sponsoring an amazing afternoon of speakers and workshops for working and aspiring illustrators. The event venue has been generously donated by New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH. Illustrator Day! is November 19th from 1-6 pm. Help us spread the word.

  • Link to this blog post with twitter (use #illustratorday so I can keep track),
  • or share on facebook (tag me in the comments),
  • or blog about the event (send me your link).

To register for Illustrator Day!

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.

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!

Call for Submissions from Tu Books (an imprint of Lee & Low)

Just the other day I got to be with New England Web guru and ARA Greg Fishbone, author of Galaxy Games published by Tu Books. Check it out then submit your own speculative fiction. Read guidlines carefully please.

Call for Submissions

Tu Books publishes speculative fiction for children and young adults featuring diverse characters and settings. Our focus is on well-told, exciting, adventurous fantasy, science fiction, and mystery novels featuring people of color set in worlds inspired by non-Western folklore or culture. We welcome Western settings if the main character is a person of color.

We are looking specifically for stories for both middle grade (ages 8-12) and young adult (ages 12-18) readers. (We are not looking for picture books, chapter books, or short stories. Please do not send submissions in these formats.)

For more information on how to submit, please see our submission guidelines at http://www.leeandlow.com/p/tu_submissions.mhtml. We are not accepting unagented email submissions at this time.

What we’re particularly interested in seeing lately: Asian steampunk, any African culture, contemporary African-American stories, Latino/a stories, First Nations/Native American/Aboriginal fantasy or science fiction written by tribal members, original postapocalyptic worlds, historical fantasy or mystery set in a non-Western setting.

We look forward to reading your book!

LEE & LOW BOOKS, Inc.
95 Madison Avenue, Suite 1205
New York, NY 10016

Member Monday: New England RA Meeting

Hello New England Writers and Illustrators!
Yesterday, all of the RA's and ARA's from the New England came together with the Conference Co-Directors to review all the fabulous events and programs that are in the works and to discuss how to best serve the membership. These meetings tend to happy every six months or so. One big one a couple months before the big annual NESCBWI conference, and one a few months after.

The conference plans are cruising along under the enthusiastic and well-organized eyes of Kathryn Hulik and Joyce Johnson. They are working closely with volunteer coordinators, editor/agent recruiters, critique and quick query coordinators, and the registrar to plan a fabulous conference. Remember that all of us who work for SCBWI are volunteers. If you'd like to get involved, follow this link to get more information. The deadline for conference workshop proposals is this Friday, September 16th and the committee reported that they already have over 100 proposals for conference workshops. (Click here if you'd like to know more.) The competition to present will be tight this year but our new venue won't. This year's conference, "Keeping it Real: Reality and World-building in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Illustration" will take place April 20-22, 2012 at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel, Springfield, MA.

The competition to present will be tight this year but our new venue won't. This year's conference, "Keeping it Real: Reality and World-building in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Illustration" will take place April 20-22, 2012 at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel, Springfield, MA. The ballroom is so big that the directors are planning a sit-down lunch. There are also plenty of break-out rooms for great workshops!
 
I’d love for all of you to take a moment to go to the SCBWI site and look at the top menu. You’ll see a pull down tab labeled “Regions.” Click on “Regional Chapters” and find your state in red text in the “United States of America” box. When you click there, you’ll see five tabs. The first is “Basic Information.” This shows a basic blurb about us and our website. Next you’ll see that I’ve uploaded a current copy of the NESCBWI Newsletter. That means that you don’t have to go through a variety of hoops to get it. (It’s also available under the “Regional News” tab.) I’ve also uploaded some of the bigger NESCBWI events that are in the works. (More details on these are on the “Upcoming Events” tab.) Finally, information and links about the annual conference, including volunteering info is located under the “Regional Conference” tab. When the registration link comes out in January, I’ll post that too.
 
The meeting was very productive. Newsletter Features Editor, Francine Puckly is working on a way that you all can share news and events through a Google Form that will get published in the newsletter. We are all working on how to share information from SCBWI national with all of you. And here is some BIG news.

New England SCBWI welcomes Casey Girard as our new Illustrator Coordinator. Casey will work with all three New England RA's to better serve the needs of our illustrator members. Casey and I will be working on establishing an Northern New England ENCORE! program of the best illustrator workshops from our annual conference. We are hoping she can revive our "Illustrator Day" with speakers and demonstrations, and plan sketch crawls and retreats.  Congratulations, Casey and thank you for all the work you've already done to coordinate the conference Illustrator's Academy for the last two years!
 
Keep writing and drawing!
Anna

Farmer’s Market Frenzy!

Farmer’s Markets are full of color, families, dogs, and all-around community. They are great places to draw, write, and be inspired.

In the last two weeks we have left of good summertime, I've invited my SCBWI members to meet up at local farmer's markets around Northern New England to write poetry and sketch. Unfortunately, I only have a few takers so far. Therefore, I'd like to open it up to all SCBWI members.

Visit a farmer's market between August 29th and Labor Day (September 5th). After your Farmer’s Market Frenzy visit, choose your favorite poem or image and email it directly to me at NorthernNERA at nescbwi dot org with the subject: “Farmer’s Market Frenzy.”

Poetry no more than ten lines and in the body of the email.
Images (sketches fine!) should be 72 dpi as attachments.

Make sure you give me the credit name and any links you want me to include- blog, facebook, twitter addresses all fine.

On September 7th, 12th, and 14th, I’ll publish the images and poems on my blog and link to my facebook & twitter sites with the credit and links you provided.

Happy Harvest time!

Summing Up

It’s been quite a long time since my last post. Much has been going on and since it is too long to explain I’ll just sum up. (Did you get the Princess Bride allusion there?)

Jobs: I’ve applied to a writing specialist job at Bates and a teaching position at the Friends School of Portland. I’ve been interviewed at the Friends School so it seems that is more likely to come through. Contacting the Bates folks today to follow up. I also applied to LL Bean’s for retail sales position at the Bike, Boat and Ski shop. I was psyched when they called to offer me the job. I went in to fill out all my paper work, watch their harassment video (not how to, but how not to), and get cleared by their health department. Turns out that the job I was offered was a "level 5" position which requires lifting a 50 lb. box to the height of 76 inches. I did 40 safely, but needed spotting on 45 and help on 50. So bad news…no Bike, Boat and Ski job. Good news…they called yesterday and offered me a position in camping. Discount, here I come. Summer weekends, good-bye.

Triathlon: I’ve been training like crazy and after watching the Polar Tri last Saturday, I’m really excited about the celebration that my first race will be. The race is coming up soon, next Saturday, May 22nd, there is still time to donate to the cause. All money goes to help with YMCA scholarships for camp and membership. The "Mighty Mama’s" (our team) is so close to our $200 goal. Please help.
And because I’m a crazy girl, I’ve already signed up for my next Tri with the Bath Y. (Not a fundraiser) so I’ll get a chance to do all three sections and be timed for both transitions.

VCFA/Writing: I’ve been chugging away churning out picture book manuscripts this semester and have at least 2 or 3 that I feel are submission quality. One is with an editor now and I’m hoping to hear something soon. I need to revise my novel and start subbing to agents but things have been so busy that I’ve had to put that on hold.

Book Review Wednesday: Um… I’m really sorry. I just haven’t kept up and there’s really no excuse except, well, all the other stuff I’ve been doing.

Illustration: The Great Goose Auction is over and I’m trying to find out what happened with my two painted eggs. More on that later. My Fufu And Fresh Strawberries illustrations are awaiting an input of funding to The Telling Room in Portland. They are hoping for grant money to make the design and publication possible. Right now, I’m working on illustrations for my picture book Roar which I will show at the Illustrator’s Academy this Sunday. I’m also working on my poster for the showcase and trying to get my portfolio together too. I’ve been happy doing the whole portfolio thing on line so it’s kind of a pain to get all the images together, printed out and assembled in the book. So on that note, here are some images to take a look at. Enjoy.