New England SCBWI
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators

Sunday, April 13, 2008

8:30 – 9:00 am Registration & Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 9:50 am Interview with Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak and Twisted
9:50 – 10:00 am Break and Book Sale
10:00 – 12:00 pm Sunday Workshop Session A
12:00 – 12:15 pm Break and Book Sale
12:15 – 1:00 pm Lunch, Book Sale, Networking
1:00 – 1:15 pm Break and Book Sale
1:15 – 3:15 pm Sunday Workshop Session B
3:15 – 4:00 pm Book Signing

Sunday attendees can choose two two-hour workshops or one of the four-hour in-depth workshops. Please note the number of the workshops you prefer: 30-35 for Sunday session A, 36-41 for Sunday session B. Put those numbers on the registration form. That choice will not be binding, but will help us assign space.

Workshop Key:
AUTH – Author, ILLUS – Illustrator.
Beg – Beginner, Int – Intermediate, Adv – Advanced, Exp – Experienced.
PB – Picture Book, ER – Early Reader, CB – Chapter Book, MG – Middle Grade, YA – Young Adult, MAG – Magazine, F – Fiction, NF – Nonfiction.

Click here for information about the workshop leaders and links to their websites.

Sunday Session A — 10:00 am to 12:00 noon

30. Capturing the Market: Self-Promotion, part 1 with Toni Buzzeo. As publishers’ marketing departments allocate fewer dollars to promotion of midlist books, we can be proactive promoters. Learn how to complement the efforts made by your publisher, while building a name for yourself and sales for your books in the marketplace. In the first half of this two-part workshop, attendees will engage in detailed discussions of the uses of speaking, signing, author packets, and brochures for self-promotion. Bring enough copies of all of your own self-promotion materials to share. (Not required to take both parts of this workshop, but recommended.) [AUTH, ILLUS; Exp, Adv; ALL genres]

31. Illustrator Academy, part 1 with professional illustrators Brian Lies and Lita Judge, plus Susan Sherman, Art Director at Charlesbridge, and Victoria Jamieson, Designer at Greenwillow. These experts will take a limited group of 24 illustrators through a two-part workshop focused on revision in illustration. Each participant will bring final art (that they would like to revise), and the art supplies needed to create a new image. Demonstrations, critiques and personal feedback will be the key elements of the day. A 1:6 ratio will assure participants personal attention in groups led by a professional. Participants should take both parts of this workshop. [ILLUS; Int, Exp, Adv] [NOTE: The Illustrator Academy is now full. If you have not registered so far, please look at the other Sunday options.]

32. Building & Maintaining an Online Presence, part 1 with Greg Fishbone. Being an author or illustrator online is about more than just having a website. Blogs, social networking sites, and professional forums are some of the other tools you’ll need to learn about in order to craft an effective “online presence” to market your works and advance your career. In this hands-on workshop, participants will create a set of individualized goals for a professional online presence and learn the tricks and techniques for making them happen. We recommend participants take both parts of this workshop. We also recommend participants bring a laptop, but it is not required. [AUTH/ILLUS; Exp, Adv; ALL genres]

33. Point of View: the Craft of Narrative Perspective with Sarah Aronson. Often, the first decision we make as writers is point of view. The advantages and pitfalls of that choice will affect how you tell your story. Sarah will discuss the benefits and risks of first person, third person limited, second person, and the omniscient point of view. Participants will examine how POV helps with plot and voice, and will also work on a series of exercises to help evaluate the POV of their own works-in-progress. [AUTH; Int, Exp, (Adv); PB, MG, YA]

34. The Basics at Warp Speed with Harold Underdown. Want to brush up on the basics but not sit through several presentations? Then attend four presentations in one, as Harold covers manuscript basics (format, genres, and age groups), finding publishers (researching, contacting, guidelines), finding an agent — or not (what agents do, difficulties, options), what comes next (types of rejection, contracts, acquisitions). Plus, analyzing catalogs; how to uncover more about a publisher. Q&A time. [AUTH; Beg, Int; All Fiction + NF trade market]

35. Flap Your Funnybone with Debra Garfinkle. There are techniques of humor writing that can be beneficial to any writer, even those who believe they are not naturally funny. Debra shares ‘Helpful Humor Hints’, including how to tailor humor to the age of the readers. Whether participants wish to write humorous chapter books or novels, or to apply comic relief to serious manuscripts, the tips and writing exercises in this workshop will be beneficial. [AUTH; Beg, Int, Exp; CB, MG, YA, (PB)]

Sunday Session B — 1:15 to 3:15 pm

36. Capturing the Market: Self-Promotion, part 2 with Toni Buzzeo. In the second half of this two-part workshop (see #30 above), attendees will engage in detailed discussions of the uses of additional promotional materials such as curriculum guides, postcards, and posters, as well as connections with media and target markets, and involvement in the children's literature community. (Not required to take both parts of this workshop, but recommended.) [AUTH, ILLUS; Exp, Adv; ALL genres]

37. Illustrator Academy, part 2 with Brian Lies, Lita Judge, Susan Sherman (Art Director, Charlesbridge) and Victoria Jamieson (Designer, Greenwillow). See description of Part 1, workshop #31 above. [ILLUS; Int, Exp, Adv] [NOTE: The Illustrator Academy is now full. If you have not registered so far, please look at the other Sunday options.]

38. Building & Maintaining an Online Presence, part 2 with Greg Fishbone. See description of Part 1, workshop #32 above. This half of the workshop includes more hands-on work: outlining goals, plan website, starting a blog, ongoing maintenance. Recommend participants bring a laptop, but it is not required. [AUTH/ILLUS; Exp, Adv; ALL genres]

39. A Writer’s Toolbox with Emily Herman and Anne Sibley O’Brien. What do you do when you know a story isn’t working but you don’t know how to fix it? Don’t despair; get out your Toolbox. This workshop will introduce participants to specific tools that will help create, structure, and deepen stories. Herman & O’Brien will share tools for development of character, plot, conflict, etc. from the “Triple Cross” to the “Underpants Factor.” There will be time to experiment with tools individually and to share the discoveries made. This may be an intense approach for some beginners. [AUTH; Int, Exp, (Beg, Adv); ER,MG,YA (PB)]

40. Pitch & Package: How to talk about your work and write about your projects to make a market-aware and savvy impression with Sarah Shumway, Editor at Dutton. An editor offers insider information about how and why she turns a submission into an acquisition. Plus, she will discuss effective ways an author might pitch and package her submissions to best represent the work and convince an editor the project will succeed in the marketplace. Attendees are encouraged to bring a project for which they’d like to refine their pitch. Hands-on components: creating a “title information” sheet, plus considering competition and developing a “hook” for a book. [AUTH; Beg, Int, (Exp); ALL genres] [NOTE: Because of the available space, this workshop will be limited to the first 80 people who arrive. Please have another choice in mind for this session in case it fills up. We will try to have the handouts available for all attendees.]

41. The Write Sisters: Build, Maintain, and Ignite Your Writers' Group with Janet Buell, Kathy Deady, Muriel Dubois, Diane Mayr, Andrea Murphy, Barbara Turner, and Sally Wilkins. Critiquing and collaborating on projects together since 1988, the Write Sisters will show you how to retool and refocus your author or illustrator group. Identify your group’s strengths, principles, and goals—and turn them into a business plan/mission statement the whole group can implement. The Sisters will show you ways to keep your group connected and moving forward. Leave with a plan of action and plenty of ideas you can use right away. [AUTH/ILLUS; Int, Exp (Adv); ALL genres]