Grüß
Gott!
First
off, Maria and I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope that
2015 will be the most creative and successful one yet.
Now
on to business. :-)
UPCOMING
EVENTS:
February 18,
2015
Speak Write
Up.
Members of SCBWI Germany + Austria are invited to join the
Vogelweh Library's Write Club in a reading night on 18 February from 5:00 PM -
8:30PM at the Vogelweh Community Center in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The first
fifteen people who sign up are welcome to read a portion of their work to the
group (up to five minutes of reading) and receive written feedback (optional).
Spaces are limited. To sign up write to healther.kerley@us.af.mil If you do
not have access to the military base and would like to attend please write to
Angela Cerrito CerritoSCBWI@gmail.com to make arrangements. The
event is free. Writers are welcome to bring a guest or two and are requested to
contribute to the shared potluck.
April 4 and
5, 2015
SCBWI
Europolitan Conference 2015
For the second time, SCBWI regions in
continental Europe are working together to bring you a conference
packed with workshops, presentations and opportunities to share your work.
Attend sessions that meet your interests, whether you’re published or
unpublished, an illustrator and/or a writer.
• Work with our faculty in
small groups to develop your craft
• Register for a
professional critique to get individual advice on your projects
• Meet fellow members and
potential critique partners
• Enter some friendly
contests and get your work noticed
• Join us for our
Children’s Literature Cocktail Party and Illustrators’ Gallery
Optional activities include a Friday afternoon Scrawl Crawl
through the old city center of Amsterdam, and a peer-critique brunch
on Monday. Both are for writers and illustrators!
SOME
IMPORTANT CHANGES TO SCBWI
The Bulletin
As
members, you know the Bulletin is certainly a proud staple of SCBWI, and a
beautiful addition to our resource materials, but in this day of instant
digital communications, it is no longer the most effective way to deliver news.
As a result, the Bulletin will change from a bi-monthly publication to a
quarterly publication. Commencing after the March/April issue, there will
be four Bulletins a year: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. The Bulletins
will carry feature content, columns, People, regional news, and in-depth
magazine-style interviews.
But
the BIG NEWS is that in addition to the quarterly Bulletin, there will be a
MONTHLY, ONLINE newsletter to all SCBWI members. This brand-new publication
will feature breaking industry news, updates, tips, contests, success stories
and trending topics. It will be a much more efficient way to keep members up to
date on everything they need to know that might affect their careers and
creative choices. While it will mean more work for SCBWI staff to gather and
disseminate this information, we feel it is SCBWI's obligation, as the leading
voice for writers and illustrators of children's books, to keep abreast of the
news and get it out to our members in a timely and more frequent fashion. We
hope you agree, and will enthusiastically support our new, monthly, digital
newsletter.
The Blueboards
We
are happy to announce that as of February 2, new boards will be added onto the
SCBWI Blue Boards that will focus on the important topic of diversity in
children's books. In conjunction with the non-profit organization We Need
Diverse Books, SCBWI has developed the following categories: Diversity in
Children's Stories, Ethnic and Cultural Minorities, Illustrating Diversity,
LGBTQI, and Disabilities.
If
you are unfamiliar with the Blueboards, it is an online forum and chat center all
SCBWI members can access from the main SCBWI website (http://www.scbwi.org). If you
are logged in to your SCBWI profile you will be able to access thousands of
topics ranging from SCBWI news to market and publishing news to tips from
professionals. These boards are a vital resource for all our members and I hope
you will take advantage of them.
The
Blueboards are just one resource for SCBWI members. Be sure to keep your
profile up to date and submit your books to be listed in the bookstore. Or if
you are proficient in your craft, submit yourself to be a speaker on any number
of topics. All these topics you can learn more about when you visit the SCBWI
website, http://www.scbwi.org/our-new-website/.
And
as a closing note, in light of the recent, horrific events in France, I like to
remind you of the value of art. It opens our hearts to new experiences, new
joys and yes even new fears. But only by confronting our fears will we be
elevated to new heights. So my wish for 2015 is that all of you keep creating. No
matter how hard it is or how many obstacles or fears you face. Keep creating
because the rest of the world needs it.
All
the best,
Patti
