Participating writers and artists include: Mary Jane Begin, Christoper Denise, Anika Denise, Marlo Garnsworthy, Jill LaMere, Ellen Blomgren, and Mara Berkley.

Entrants must be residents of New England who have not been published in book form and are not under contract with a book publisher. (See the guidelines for more detail on what “unpublished” means.) Each person can submit only one entry, whether in picture books, novels, poetry, or nonfiction.

All submissions must be postmarked by Monday, February 2, 2009.

Full conference information including schedule, faculty, and registration is now available at the main SCBWI website: http://scbwi.org/events/ny_09/conf_ny_09.htm.

All active SCBWI Members should look for the conference brochure in the mail. The main sequence of the conference will take place on January 31st and February 1st with an optional day of Writers' or Illustrators' Intensives available to a limited number of conference-goers on January 30th.

Weekend registration includes accommodations and meals. You will have the opportunity to work with others who are committed to quality children's literature in small groups and will also benefit from a thirty minute one-on-one critique with your mentor. You will also enjoy all of our mentors’ presentations (Saturday and Sunday) and intimate after dinner Q&A sessions, including a “first pages activity.” The setting allows for quiet meditation, networking, or attention to your individual project—you design your own retreat!

Saturday only participants will enjoy presentations from author, Ellen Wittlinger and senior editor, Jennifer Rees. Afterwards, visit with other professionals over a relaxing lunch that boasts an outstanding menu. Although one-on-one critiques are not included, genre-based peer group critiques take place all afternoon.

Sunday only participants will enjoy presentations from our author/illustrator, Maryann Cocca-Leffler, and editor, Sarah Shumway. Enjoy the company and professionalism of other participants over a delicious lunch.

December 1, 2008 is the postmark deadline for applications, and the 2009 mentors are: Esther Hershenhorn, Yuyi Morales, Laurent Linn, Ellen Hopkins, Lynda Sandoval, Terri Farley, and Susan Hart Lindquist.

Details are available on the Nevada SCBWI website, www.nevadascbwi.org

For this event, SCBWI New England is teaming with the Alliance for the Study and Teaching of Adolescent Literature (ASTAL) at Rhode Island College in Providence. The registration fee of $50 includes a buffet lunch.

For information and a simple registration form, download this PDF file, print it, fill it out, and mail it in. Additional information on the workshops and presenters is below. The registration deadline is 3 November.

Directions to Rhode Island College.

• SCBWI Paints the Town Red: A Conference Recap (PDF) by Michelle Parker Rock
  
• 2008 Summer Conference Daily Overview (PDF) by Nancy Lewis
  
• Conference pictures by Rita Crayon Huang!
  

...to share ideas, triumphs, and struggles
...to discuss what SCBWI-NE can do to help us as published members
...to grow as artist
...to be inspired by experts in the field
...to get connected

Sue Alexander, the SCBWI's first member, who from the day she joined envisioned the possibilities of the organization and then for nearly forty years worked tirelessy, unselfishly, and courageously to insure that the vision became a reality, died suddenly last Thursday. For many years she chaired the Board of Advisors, administered the Golden Kite Award, and oversaw the Executive Office's day to day operations. And she did all this while raising a family and authoring numerous books from schoolroom favorites like Small Plays for You and A Friend to classics such as Nadia the Willful.

The Sue Alexander Award, given each year to the most promising manuscript critiqued at the summer conference, honors her generosity in mentoring and promoting the work of aspiring authors. She is irreplaceable, but her legacy will long endure.

We would like to put together a book of tributes and remembrances from those of you who knew Sue, or were touched by her work. The book, when completed, will be presented to her family, her hsband, Joel and her three children, Stacy, Marc, and Glenn. To add your thoughts, you may respond to this Discussion Board thread.

With sadness,

Steve and Lin

This is one of the largest regional SCBWI conferences, and we welcome proposals from
everyone. We also encourage artists and writers of color, those who are differently abled,
and others from underrepresented groups to propose conference workshops. In addition to
our customary emphasis on fiction, we will spotlight illustration, poetry, graphic novels, and
non-fiction.

The conference will take place Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, April 24th through 26th, 2009 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Illustrators were invited to submit their best pieces on the theme "Take Flight," with winners selected by a jury of conference faculty on the basis of their storytelling, character, setting, color, focus, and composition. Entrants were divided into published and unpublished categories and People's Choice prizes were awarded for entries selected by conference attendees.

Here are the winners and the randomized ballot numbers used for the anonymous judging:

Published 1st Place: Frank W. Dormer (#20)
Published 2nd Place: Kim Jacobs (#1)
Published 3rd Place: Wayne Geehan (#13)
Published Honorable Mention: Robert Squier (#14)

Unpublished 1st Place: Kelly Light (#47)
Unpublished 2nd Place: Brad Garman (#58)
Unpublished 3rd Place: Sam McCullough (#41)
Unpublished Honorable Mention: Kevin Gillespie (#66)

People's Choice 1st Place: Kelly Light (#47)
People's Choice 2nd Place: Jennifer Meyer (#5)
People's Choice 3rd Place: Priscilla Alpaugh Cotter (#62)
People's Choice Honorable Mention: Laura Foltz-Felice (#55)