Theodor Geisel (aka "Dr. Seuss") was born and grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. The influence of Springfield can be seen throughout his work. Drawings of Horton the Elephant meandering along streams in the Jungle of Nool, for example, mirror the watercourses in Springfield's Forest Park. And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street is filled with Springfield imagery and, importantly, was the first children's book Dr. Seuss wrote and illustrated. It was rejected more than twenty times before being published by Vanguard Press - a fact for all of us to keep in mind as we dive into the 2012 NESCBWI Conference here in "The City of Firsts!" (source: www.seussville.com)
]]> As New England's 4th largest city, there is much going on in Springfield. So if you want to take a break, let the conference sink in, or dine with friends, Springfield offers many culturally diverse options!DINING
Italian
Cajun
German
American
Vietnamese
Mexican
Indian
Middle Eastern
PLACES TO GO, THINGS TO DO
The Museum Quadrangle - 21 Edwards Street, 1-800-625-7738
The Quadrangle - a campus of five museums surrounding the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden. Admission to the Quadrangle includes admission to all museums:
Club Quarter
A grouping of 60 clubs, bars, and Restaurants around Stearns Square, Worthington and Main Streets. LGBT and dance clubs are integrated with hip-hop, rock, jazz and blues clubs.
Forest Park - Sumner Avenue, 413-787-6434,
Forest Park is one of the United States' largest urban parks (at 735 acres) and also one of its most historically important urban parks. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted - the famed designer of New York City's Central Park - Forest Park is nearly as large, and similarly diverse. Amenities include the Zoo at Forest Park, which features many exotic animals; the United States' first public swimming pool (1899;) numerous playgrounds; an ice-skating rink; a formal rose garden; the 31 acres Porter Lake, which features fishing and paddle-boating; 38 tennis courts; numerous basketball and bocce courts; lawn bowling fields; Victorian promenades and water gardens; dozens of hiking and walking trails; an aquatic park; numerous sculptures; and the Carriage House of Springfielder Everett Hosmer Barney, the man who invented the ice skate and popularized the roller skate during the 19th century.
Basketball Hall of Fame - 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue, 413-781-6500
A shrine to the world's second most popular sport. Built beside the Connecticut River it features numerous restaurants.
Mulberry Street
The street featuring the house that inspired Dr. Seuss's first children's book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.
Connecticut River Walk Park
The Connecticut River Walk and Bikeway includes 3.7 mile stretch along the Springfield riverfront which provides outstanding opportunities to bike, run, walk or rollerblade in view of stunning scenic vistas of the Connecticut River, the Springfield city skyline, and Memorial Bridge. The river walk passes through Springfield's Riverfront Park and offers direct access to the Basketball Hall of Fame via a pedestrian bridge.
True or false?
If you answered TRUE to any of the above statements (except the last one), then you need to sign up for a NetWit Social Media & Promotion Consultation at the 2012 NESCBWI conference. A team of social media "wits" are ready to answer your burning questions about marketing on the "net." We have knowledge to share and have experienced success in areas you want to be successful. ]]> What Can I Ask?
Skyping
Promotion
Blogging
Katie Davis - Author/illustrator of nine books for children, host of #1 podcast in iTunes in Children's Publishing, and author of How to Promote Your Children's Book: Tips, Tricks, and Secrets to Create a Bestseller. Her website is www.katiedavis.com
Kate Messner - Award-winning author, former journalist and middle school English teacher, and 2012 TED speaker. She's Skyped with more than a thousand kids in classrooms from Chicago to Bangkok and maintains a popular online list of authors who Skype with classes and book clubs. Her website is www.katemessner.com.
Greg Fishbone - Author of the Galaxy Games middle-grade series from the Tu Books imprint of Lee & Low Books, longtime New England SCBWI webmaster and technology advisor, and founder of the Class of 2k7 debut author group and subsequent 2k Class cooperative marketing groups. His website is www.gfishbone.com
We are pleased to announce that we got together to form, for the first time ever at an SCBWI conference, an industry panel composed entirely of independent editors. We are experienced in-house editors, now working on our own, and answerable only to ourselves.
On the panel, we will answer all of your pertinent questions on any topic relating to children's book publishing, so be sure to attend on Friday, April 20, 2012 from 7:45 to 8:45 pm.
Start thinking about your question now. Then submit it at the registration desk. We'll get through as many questions as we can, and you'll even have a chance to win an independent door prize....
]]> Panelists:J.L. Bell, after a decade as an acquiring editor for the trade division of Addison-Wesley, has spent a decade as a specialized consultant to publishers, literary agents, and authors.
Eileen Robinson worked with many authors while an executive editor at Scholastic. She now runs her consulting business, F1rst Pages, and recently launched Move Books, which is dedicated to publishing books for boys.
Tamson Weston has worked as a bookseller and editor at several NY publishers, and now runs Tamson Weston Books, her editorial consulting business.
Harold Underdown, panel moderator, works as a children's editor and consultant when not busy with his website, The Purple Crayon.
]]>So they went along and went along until they met Turkey Lurkey
"Good morning, Goosey Loosey, Ducky Daddles, Cocky Locky, Henny Penny,
and Chicken Licken," said Turkey Lurkey, "where are you going?"
"Oh, Turkey Lurkey, the sky is falling and we are going to tell the King!"
"How do you know the sky is falling?" asked Turkey Lurkey.
"Ducky Daddles told me," said Goosey Loosey.
"Cocky Locky told me," said Ducky Daddles.
"Henny Penny told me," said Cocky Locky.
"Chicken Licken told me," said Henny Penny
"I saw it with my own eyes, I heard it with my own ears,
and a piece of it fell on my tail!" said Chicken Licken.
"Then I will go with you," said Turkey Lurkey, "and we will tell the King!"]]>
The NESCBWI Conference Planning committee is excited to announce the addition of Submissions Strategy Consultations as part of our schedule for 2012.
Lionel Bender will meet with individual authors and illustrators - published and unpublished - looking to determine the viability of their idea or portfolio and to select efficiently and effectively those publishers or agents who might be interested in their work. Lionel will focus on how authors and/or illustrators should go about determining their target publishers (or agents).
Harold Underdown will meet one-on-one with experienced published and pre-published authors interested in creating a targeted submission plan or proposal (for agent and/or editor submissions). Query letters, sample materials, and submission plans will be discussed.
Note: Both of these consultations are for experienced authors and illustrators who have already created presentation material or done significant revision and have a completed book or illustration portfolio that hasn't found the right editor/agent yet. The difference between them is that Lionel will be meeting with people who have not started the submissions process, while Harold will meet with people who have.
]]> Individuals interested in either of these opportunities will be able to register as part of the conference registration process. Consultations are $45 for SCBWI members, and $50 for non-members and will be assigned in the order in which they are received. Please note: Prices updated on 1/7/12Lionel Bender is Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Book Packager/Creation House Bender Richardson White (http://www.brw.co.uk) producing children's illustrated nonfiction and educational materials for the international coedition market. He has edited more than 1200 books, and is the author of 70+ children's nonfiction books. He regularly attends major international book fairs and at writers conferences he gives workshops on the business of children's book publishing. BRW has contracted numerous US SCBWI authors and editors.
Harold Underdown has worked at Macmillan, Orchard, and Charlesbridge, and has experience in both trade and educational publishing. He edits picture books, novels, and nonfiction. Harold is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Children's Book Publishing, now in its third edition. He founded and runs "The Purple Crayon," a respected web site with information about the children's publishing world at www.underdown.org. He speaks and gives workshops at conferences, including the Highlights Foundation's Chautauqua Retreat, SCBWI's national conferences, and regional conferences all over the country.
]]>Shelley Rotner is a photojournalist and author of more than thirty award-winning books, including Many Ways.
Dan Yaccarino is an internationally acclaimed author/illustrator of over 30 children's books and the creator/producer of the animated series Oswald and Willa's Wild Life, as well as the designer behind The Backyardigans. Among his many honors, such as the Bologna Ragazzi Award and New York Times' 10 Best Illustrated, Dan has been invited to the White House to read his books.
Brian Lies is the creator of the NY Times bestsellers Bats at the Beach, Bats at the Library, and Bats at the Ballgame, and the 2011 winner of the New England Crystal Kite award.
In the past, SIG meetings have been on topics as wide ranging as Character Development, Illustrating with Technology, Magical Realism, and Publishing Trends among many others. Please help us generate this year's list of SIGs by completing the survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MPV3TJL.
]]>Ready to jump into your manuscript head first in a small group of dedicated writers? For the first time, the New England SCBWI conference will offer small, intensive academies for authors at the 2012 Spring Conference from Friday, April 20 through Sunday, April 22 in Springfield, MA.
Before signing up for an academy, make sure you have a completed manuscript that you are ready to workshop. In the months before the conference, the academy groups will submit materials to the academy faculty or to each other.
The academies will kick off on Friday with a meet and greet session to introduce participants to each other and to start discussing your work. On Saturday, the academies will disperse and participate in regular conference intensives, keynotes, and workshops. Then, all day Sunday will be devoted to synthesizing everything you have learned throughout the weekend, and working with the academy group to make real progress on your manuscript.
]]> Nonfiction Author AcademyTanya Lee Stone, Susan Campbell Bartoletti, and Elizabeth Partridge spoke in a compelling keynote panel with moderator Ken Wright at the 40th Anniversary SCBWI LA conference in 2010. Now, they're coming to New England!
On Sunday, following their Keynote Panel, these nonfiction stars will each give a short lecture directly followed by a workshop, so you can apply what was just discussed to your own work. Come whip your WIP into shape and help critique your peers!
The nonfiction academy is an interactive 2-day experience open to nonfiction writers with a completed draft (either a nonfiction picture book or a full manuscript of a nonfiction book for older readers) ready to be critiqued and revised. Prior to the conference, you will be matched with two other attendees. Your small group will read each other's work ahead of time and come prepared on Friday to give each other meaningful and detailed feedback. (Manuscripts need to be sent to Tanya Lee Stone by March 10th).
Patridge is best known for her YA photo biographies on Dorothea Lange, Woody Guthrie, and John Lennon. Her latest books are Marching for Freedom: Walk Together Children and Don't You Grow Weary, and Dogtag Summer. Her honors include Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Printz Honor, National Book Award Finalist, and SCBWI Golden Kite.
Stone is the most recent author of Almost Astronauts (Sibert Medal, YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction, Jane Addams Honor, Bank Street Award) and The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie (SCBWI Golden Kite), as well as other award-winning nonfiction narratives about people who push boundaries.
Bartoletti's Newbery Honor/YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction/Sibert Medal/SCBWI Golden Kite/Jane Addams award-winning nonfiction includes Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow (Scholastic) and They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of An American Terrorist Group (Houghton Mifflin).
Picture Book Academy
In the Picture Book Academy led by Anne Broyles, Sarah Lamstein and Laya Steinberg, participants will work individually and in small groups to revise at least one picture book manuscript. Leader input will focus on plot, pacing, characterization, language/style, narrative arc, scene/summary and more.
Participants will submit a finished picture book manuscript ahead of time for small group critique and will work throughout the Academy to revise and improve their work. Some writers may find time to apply what they are learning to additional picture book manuscripts.
Anne Broyles' picture books, Shy Mama's Halloween and Priscilla and the Hollyhocks have been Notable Social Studies Trade Books, Bank Street College's Best Children's Books of the Year, and on the short list for the Massachusetts Book Awards.
Among Sarah Lamstein's publications are four picture books. Her latest, Big Night for Salamanders, was a Smithsonian Notable Book 2010 and Massachusetts Book Award Must-Read 2011.
Laya Steinberg is the author of the award-winning picture books Thesaurus Rex and All Around Me I See.
Novel Academy
Are you ready to devote a whole weekend to your middle grade or YA novel in a supportive group? Here's what will happen after you sign up:
Before the conference: Get ready! You will receive a questionnaire to help you analyze your own work and others.
Because we learn so much by reading like a writer, you will be expected to read and critique two works in progress the month before the conference. Your completed draft must be received by Sarah by March 10. We request that novels be no longer than 250 pages, 12pt font, double spaced.
On Friday: Feedback is an important part of the revision process.
Following a short lecture to inspire and motivate you, novelists will meet in their assigned critique groups. Working with a mentor, each group will discuss the strengths of each novel and offer suggestions for revision. Mentors include Author Tami Lewis Brown and Editor Noa Wheeler of Henry Holt.
On Sunday: prepare to re-imagine, rethink, and revise!
Writers Caroline Coman, Nancy Werlin, and Sarah Aronson will offer lectures, activities, and discussion all devoted to helping you get to the heart of your characters and stories.
The Fine Print
Each author academy will be limited to 24 writers, and in order to participate, you must register for all three days of the conference. Participants will be expected to meet certain conditions, such as having a completed manuscript, or being willing to read and critique others' work in advance of the conference.
]]>Like Quick Queries, participation in Manuscript Critiques requires registration for both Friday and Saturday of the conference. Critiques will be scheduled on both days, and your slot will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis by genre and editor/agent availability.
Submitting your critique materials before the deadline does not guarantee you a spot, and that is why it is important to prepare your submission now! Slots will not be held (prior to receipt of materials). Critiques are assigned only when ALL the materials have been received (check, MS, registration form).
You will find out at least two weeks before the conference if you have received a Quick Query or Critique slot, and you will receive your meeting time when you arrive at conference registration.
See you in April!
Saturday, March 10, 2012, 10:00 - 3:15
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
125 West Bay Road, Amherst, MA
Are you feeling unsure of your path after publication?
Do you wonder how best to handle the promotion of your book?
Many children's book creators are supplementing their publisher's book promotion efforts with the advice and tactics of marketing consultants. Is this the right step for you?
Listen to authors and illustrators discuss their relationship and work with their marketing partners, Deborah Sloan and Kirsten Cappy. Then ask question of your own.
For additional information and registration form, 2012-1 Carle Flyer.pdf.
Questions: Email mas@melissa-stewart.com.
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Get Ready to Keep it Real!
The 26th Annual New England SCBWI Conference will take place from Friday, April 20 through Sunday, April 22, 2012 at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel in Springfield, MA. The theme this year is "Keeping it Real: Reality and Worldbuilding in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Illustration"
Friday, April 20, 2012
NEW! Eric Carle Museum Event
Agent Quick Queries
Manuscript Critiques
Peer Critiques
Hands-on, Creative Workshops for Authors & Illustrators
Independent Editor Keynote Panel
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Sara Zarr: Author Keynote
Harry Bliss: Illustrator Keynote
Manuscript Critiques
Marketing Consultations
Special Interest Group Meetings
Workshops for Authors & Illustrators
Open Mic Night
Sunday, April 22, 2012
NEW! Full-day Academies for Novels, Picture books, Non-fiction and Illustration
"It's a Great Time for Nonfiction" Keynote Panel
Intensive, Hands-on Workshops for Authors & Illustrators
Registration begins January 23rd, 2012 at
www.regonline.com/nescbwi12
Please mark your calendars now for our upcoming event designed for everyone who loves literature for young people (and the authors and illustrators who create it!) titled "The Exquisite Conversation: An Adventure in Creating Books," to be held Saturday, December 3 at 1:00 PM in the Kresge Auditorium (48 Massachusetts Avenue) at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This special presentation is co-sponsored by the Cambridge Public Library and The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance.
This lively and informative event will feature a panel of our nation's most gifted storytellers and illustrators. A discussion of the rollicking episodic story game The Exquisite Corpse Adventure (Candlewick Press) will quickly evolve into a fascinating conversation about creative writing, narrative illustration, and the creative process! Who knows, we may even explore Andre Breton and the wild and crazy Surrealists who inspired our exquisite game!
Thanks! I look forward to seeing you there!
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