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

I’ve gotten a request to pass this information along for members to share with budding authors and artists in this age range…

Cheerios® Launches Next Spoonfuls of Stories® Children’s Book Contest to Give Would-Be Authors the Chance for Cash Prizes and Publisher Review

Starting April 16, 2008 and going through July 15, 2008, Cheerios invites previously unpublished adult authors to submit their children’s book manuscripts in the second Cheerios® Spoonfuls of Stories® Children’s Book Contest. The book should be suitable for children who are 4 to 8 years old. Cheerios will provide cash prizes to up to three winners, and the top winner will have their book evaluated by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing for a potential book deal. A book deal is not guaranteed. For a complete list of rules and to submit an entry online, go to www.SpoonfulsofStoriesContest.com.

Last year, Cheerios received close to 1,000 entries in the Children’s Book Contest, and Shellie Braeuner, an SCBWI member from Nashville, Tenn., was named the grand prize winner. In addition to her $5,000 prize from Cheerios, Braeuner received a book deal from Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. Her winning story, The Great Dog Wash, is being published and will be printed and available in Cheerios boxes in the spring of 2009. The book also will be available in hardcover on bookshelves in the summer of 2009. Two first prize winners, Alison Anderson of Cumberland, Wisc., and Kate Heilman, an SCBWI member from Chicago, each received $1,000 from Cheerios.

SCBWI Writers of Lower Fairfield Present…

The Imago Foundation for the Arts will host an exhibit titled “Words & Pictures: Rhode Island Celebrates Children’s Books,” from 21 February to 1 March 2008. The foundation’s Imago Gallery is at 16 Cutler Street in Warren, Rhode Island.

The exhibit features the work of children’s-book creators Mary Jane Begin, Christopher and Anika Denise, Jill Lamere, and Marlo Garnsworthy.

New Hampshire SCBWI member Lita Judge has been named a Gold Award winner in the 2007 National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) for her book, One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II. Full results will be announced Nov. 1, 2007, in 40 regional parenting magazines across the country and online at Parenthood.com.

Congratulations, Lita!!!

One Thousand Tracings is Lita’s first picture book as author and illustrator. Her newest book, D is for Dinosaur, has just been released this month. For more information go to LitaJudge.com.

The British publisher Egmont is making a little media splash with its new imprint 2Heads. The imprint’s website describes its strategic advantage this way:

We consult children and parents throughout the creation, writing and illustration of the books to make sure our fiction series are the best they can be.

2HEADS is different from any other imprint that currently exists because we believe that children should play a key role in shaping the series fiction that they really want to read. So we involve the readers and their parents in lots of different ways throughout the development and writing of our stories to ensure that every 2HEADS series really hits the mark with children.

On the one hand, that’s called “market research,” and it’s an aspect of most businesses that book publishing usually skips.

Sharon Arts Center Galleries Presents:
The Power of Pictures: Celebrating New Hampshire Illustrators

Exhibition Open: May 4, 2007 - May 27, 2007.
Opening Reception: Friday May 4th, 2007 from 5:00-7:00 PM, public invited.

Lita Judge and Beth Krommes are New England SCBWI members.