SCBWI Germany / Austria’s annual barbecue
took place on August 6th
Five writers / illustrators and their families
travelled to a town near Stuttgart to chat about their work, share their
recently published books and eat together. A book swap meant that children and
adults also went home with new books to read.
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| Top row: Linda, Angela, Sanne. Bottom row: Catherine, Twyla, Marcy. |
So, why did everybody make such a fantastic
effort to travel (a long way in several cases!) to meet up?
Marcy
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| Deep in conversation |
One of the reasons I love coming to our
SCBWI Germany/Austria summer BBQ is because I live so far away from our other
writers! Germany is big! But once a year I make sure to plan a six hour drive
(round trip) to join up with some of our favourite writers and illustrators.
It’s also a chance to include my family in my SCBWI world. Our children play
together while we catch up, laugh a lot and have a connection moment with our
artist selves. I love seeing these faces in real life and not just on Facebook.
It’s like a family reunion but without the drama!
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| Angela signing her book |
Angela
Thank you for hosting such a beautiful day
for our group, Catherine! It was wonderful to see everybody’s newly published
books and to be the first to hear about new works before they are published.
I’m always inspired and excited after spending time with my SCBWI family.
Twyla
How do we ex-pat writers and illustrators
assuage our need for tribal contact, scattered as we are across southern
Germany? A summer’s afternoon BBQ and chance to catch up with fellow members of
SCBWI Germany lured me willingly out of my creative cave and persuaded me to
undertake the strenuous car-less trek from Munich to a small town outside
Stuttgart on August 6th. Naively confident in my logistical
planning, I ultimately arrived at Catherine Friess’ home almost in tears after
a scary double-decker bus ride through steeply hilly country, two right and two
wrong S-Bahn journeys and one more local bus ride before a short walk to the
venue, a mere seven hours since leaving Munich…. And why am I going on and on
about how hard it was for me to get there? Because giving up was never an
option! I need my SCBWI tribe. It is my hope that they need me too i.e. that I
can be helpful in moving us all forward in our endeavours.
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| Members' Books |
And it was so worth it! Catherine and
Michael hosted us warmly and provided a perfect setting for sharing
conversation, food and our books. I was eager to hear about everyone’s current
projects, challenges and thoughts on writing and illustrating. It was a treat
to hear Angela read aloud Catherine’s texts for picture books-in-progress. We
discussed future workshops (e.g. the Illustration Retreat in September and Frankfurt
Book Fair) as well as the upcoming Europolitan Conference and meeting up to
draw at the Munich Zoo. Many laughs were shared at the dinner table and our
sense of creative community was strengthened. Thanks again to the Friess family
for making this gathering possible. And I think next time there should be a
fabulous door prize for whoever takes longest to get there…
Sanne
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| Illustration by Sanne |
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| Book Swap |
Linda
The SCBWI summer BBQ is the perfect mix of
work and play. We can do all the things we normally do at meetings -share story
ideas or works in progress, discuss literature and the writing life - but we
also have time to connect on a personal level. Family members also come along
and it's great to learn about everyone. Add in the book swap, good food, and
lots of laughs and the day is perfect. I can't wait to do it again next year.
Catherine
I welcome any opportunity I get to meet up
with fellow writers and illustrators and our meetings always leave me with new
enthusiasm for my writing. My husband and I really enjoyed hosting the BBQ this
year and the atmosphere was both relaxed and inspiring. It was fantastic to
look at members’ new books and hear the stories of how they came about, great
to see the children choosing new books from the book swap and I very much
appreciate the help that Twyla and Angela gave me with two of my picture books.
The SCBWI Germany / Austria BBQ is a great way to strengthen our creative and
personal relationships with one another and the time that we spent together
flew by far too quickly!
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| Good food and good conversation |
Hopefully you will be able to join us at
the BBQ next year!