Current Scratch: Workshop, Next, Pinterest, Craft

Howdy, folks!  I know the sunshine and perfect weather is calling. How do you keep moving forward with your work? Come to our Schmooze where we will discuss Balancing Writing Life--Goals & Deadlines.

The SCBWI Brazos Valley Schmooze topic this Wednesday, March 28, is "Balancing Your Writing Life" with Jacqueline Gramann, speaker. Join us at 10 a.m. in the Science corner at Barnes & Noble, 711 Texas Ave. in College Station, TX.

Open critique before the meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. Bring 5 copies of 5, double-spaced pages of a work in progress for peer review.

Local authors Kathi Appelt, Kathy Whitehead and Sherry Garland are all signing at the Texas Library Association conference on April 17-20 in Houston, TX. at the George R. Brown Convention center.  Here is the link.

Don't forget the upcoming yearly events:

SCBWI Saturday Workshop  Finding the Story
August 18, 2012 10 am/ Arts Center
Mary Wade, SCBWI Houston—Non-fiction
Jessica Lee Anderson, SCBWI Austin—Fiction

and

Writing Retreat  Speakers TBA
November 3, 2012
Glory Inn in Bryan Texas
Program:TBA

Good news for Molly Blasidell (intrepid Scratchpadder): 1. Her eBook THE BIG FUZZY COAT was published by Meegenius!  2. Her YA comedy novel PLUMB CRAZY is in the Quarterfinals of the Amazon Breakout Novel Contest. An excerpt is available HERE for the Kindles.

WORKSHOP

Creating an Authentic Cultural Voice

Putting imagination, experience, empathy, and research to work for you

April 26 – April 29, 2012

Workshop Leaders: Mitali Perkins, Donna Jo Napoli

Special Guests: Kathryn Erskine, Alvina Ling, Stacy Whitman

If you have any further questions about the event, please feel free to contact Jo Lloyd at jo.lloyd@highlightsfoundation.org; or call, toll-free, 877-512-8365.

NEXT

Here is an article in PW about what is coming next in children's books. This is a Bologna Bookfair 2012 perspective.

PINTEREST

Into social media?  A new popular form is Pinterest. It is online bulletin board space for you to pin and share the things you love, I'm trying this out. Here is a link to my boards.

Here is some stuff about the growing Pinterest fad and discussion about copyright.  Discusison on Downtown YA. Check it out.

Here is another post about Pinterest at Rachelle Gardner's blog -- 13 things you may want to know about it.

CRAFT

Check out the PLOT WHISPERER blog for some plot rx. 

Searching for  your original voice?  Here is some good advice CHERYL REIF WRITES blog. Check it out.

Need some tricks to help you slip in description of your characters? Check out LET THE WORDS FLOW blog. 

The views expressed here are my own, and not necessarily those of the SCBWI.

 

Current Scratch: Extras, Locally, Better

Our Schmooze this month will fall on  3-28-12 at the College Station Barnes and Noble.  Bring copies up to 5 copies for gentle critique at 9:30 a.m.  Our program begins at 10 a.m. and the discussion topic will be Balancing a Writing Life. 

Also locally, sign up now! Free workshop on "Boy Books" March 24 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Andy Sherrod will be our workshop leader on March 24 for our SCBWI Saturday on "What Makes a Good 'Boy Book' and Why Should We Care?" Join us from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the  Gander Mountain, 2301 Earl Rudder Freeway South, College Station, TX. Bring your own lunch. The event is free, but seating is limited, so we do need to know how many people plan to come. Please contact me at lizBmertz@gmail.com to sign up.

 

Mark your calendars for other special events: 

 

Also mark your calendars: Young Poets on the Brazos awards ceremony will be at the College Station Conference Center on Tuesday, April 24 at 7pm.

 

Want to dig deep into award winning children's books.  CLBC (ChildLitbookclub) is a local group of authors who delve into children's books.   If you want to come to the CLBC meetings and get our reading list updates: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChildLitbookclub/

 

The required reading is:

April: Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

The March reading list includes books by Brian Selznick and Robert Lawson. The required reading is The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. The Great Wheel by Robert Lawson is suggested reading. Optional reading follows: Rabbit Hill; The Story of Ferdinand; They Were Strong and Good.  Shirley Hoskins will be the discussion leader in March.

For everyone participating in CLBC:

May: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

September: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead and A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle

October: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

EXTRAS

CBLC participants, here are some fun goodies to go with the books.

Charlotte's Web trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OLkY9DTx9I&sns=fb&fb_source=message

Ender's Game author Orson Scott Card will be the keynote speaker for Teen Book Con, April 14, 2012 at Alief Taylor High School, 7555 Howell Sugarland Road, Houston TX, 77083

http://www.teenbookcon.org/Home.php

A Wrinkle In Time trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJnZTVjLh1c&fb_source=message

 LOCALLY

The Houston SCBWI Conference is on March 31st.  Here is the link.

TLA Texas Library association state wide conference is coming up. Here is a link to the scoop: April 17-20 at the George R. Brown Convention center, Houston, TX.

BETTER

 

Perhaps you need more conflict for your character. This Kidlit.com post might help.

 

Wavy Lines: One Writer's Zigzagging Journey offers three things you really ought to know if you write children's books. 

 

Reading Rainbow is coming back as an app!  Check it out.

 

A thoughtful article from PW about how teens are choosing to read.

 

The views expressed here are my own, and not necessarily those of the SCBWI.

Current Scratch: Critique Groups, To Market, Luck, Revolution, Workshops

Howdy, folks!  Spring is in the air.  I hope that you the season is inspiring you to start new projects.

Our Schmooze this month will fall on  3-28-12 at the College Station Barnes and Noble.  Bring copies up to 5 copies for gentle critique at 9:30 a.m.  Our program begins at 10 a.m. and the discussion topic will be Balancing a Writing Life. 

Also locally, sign up now! Free workshop on "Boy Books" March 24 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Andy Sherrod will be our workshop leader on March 24 for our SCBWI Saturday on "What Makes a Good 'Boy Book' and Why Should We Care?" Join us from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the CORRECTION:  Gander Mountain, 2301 Earl Rudder Freeway South, College Station, TX. Bring your own lunch. The event is free, but seating is limited, so we do need to know how many people plan to come. Please contact me at lizBmertz@gmail.com to sign up.

We have an Annual Poetry Contest for local 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders.  If you are interested, on the online blog, fill out the form in the left sidebar.

Also note the upcoming Houston SCBWI Conference is in March.

If you want to join a critique group use our handy form found in the online sidebar on the left.

Critique Groups

A solid nuts and bolts article about critique groups. 

Over at the Purple Crayon with Harold Underdown, a good article about how to find a critique group. 

To Market

Here is a contest that may be of some interest to fantasy writers: Fantasy-Faction Writing Competition.

Luck (Cause Saint Patrick's Day around the corner...)

How to make your own luck using social media over at Rachelle Gardner's blog.

 The Revolution


Penguin is no longer distributing their books through Overdrive.
Discussion about this change at PWxyz blog. 

Workshops


Check out the Highlights Foundation page for information about the upcoming Founder's Workshops.  Scholarships are available.

The views expressed here are my own, and not necessarily those of the SCBWI.

Current Scratch: Local Author Opportunities, Business Talk

Howdy, folks!  Another great week to create children's books! Yay for the rain!

 

Our Schmooze this month will fall on 2-29-12 at 10 a.m at the College Station Barnes and Noble.  The topic is effective critiquing.

Also locally, sign up now! Free workshop on "Boy Books" March 24 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Andy Sherrod will be our workshop leader on March 24 for our SCBWI Saturday on "What Makes a Good 'Boy Book' and Why Should We Care?" Join us from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Arts Center, 2275 Dartmouth, College Station, Texas. Bring your own lunch. The event is free, but seating is limited, so we do need to know how many people plan to come. Please contact me at lizBmertz@gmail.com to sign up.

We have an Annual Poetry Contest for local 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders.  If you are interested, on the online blog, fill out the form in the left sidebar.

 

Also note the upcoming Austin SCBWI Conference in February and the upcoming Houston SCBWI Conference  in March.

 

If you want to join a critique group use our handy form found in the online sidebar on the left.

 

Check out our very own Sherry Garland's new book VOICES OF THE DUSTBOWL. Here is a link to the Pelican Publishing website to check it out.  Here is a peek at the cover:

 

Also consider voting for Molly Blaisdell's THE BIG FUZZY COAT, a finalist in the MeeGenius! Author Challenge, a contest on Facebook.  Vote for her book here:

 

 

Local Author Opportunites

 

On Friday, February 24th, the 6th grade GT classes at Brenham Middle School will host the 2012 Authors and Poets Luncheon at the Giddings Stone Mansion in Brenham, Texas.  It is a great experience for the students to meet local authors.  The event starts at 11:30 with a luncheon catered by the parents and then a brief talk by each author (5-10 minutes) on what they are working on/their writing process/inspiration, etc.  The event wraps up around 2:00.  Come out and enjoy a day in Washington County! Please contact April Albrecht if you are able to attend. aalbrecht@brenhamisd.net

 

Also, Giddings Public Library & Cultural Center and the Giddings Area Chamber of Commerce invite all published Texas authors to submit a book for consideration in their upcoming 7^th Annual Texas Word Wranglers Festival on Friday, September 14, 2012.  For more information: contact Minnie Simmang by email at minnie@simmang.com> or  meks@gvec.net.  

 

Business Talk

 

Rachelle Gardner of Books and Such Literary Agency offers a provocative discussion about knowing your business, your custormers and understanding the need for adaptability at her website.

 

You might be wondering how does Amazon fit into the new publishing paradigm. It's reported that Barnes and Noble and Books-a-Million refuse to shelve the Amazon books. Yep, there some tussling going on out there. Here are some thoughts over at the Behler blog.  

 

Here's another article over at PW: How to Navigate a Changing Business? Children's Agents Shed Some Light  By Matia Burnett. This article also gives a dip into the minds of several top agents.

The views expressed here are my own, and not necessarily those of the SCBWI.

Current Scratch: The Revolution, Agent Resources, Free, Opportunity

Howdy, folks!  Another great week to create children's books!

Our Schmooze this month will fall on 2-29-12 at 10 a.m at the College Station Barnes and Noble.  The topic is effective critiquing.

Also locally, sign up now! Free workshop on "Boy Books" March 24 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Andy Sherrod will be our workshop leader on March 24 for our SCBWI Saturday on "What Makes a Good 'Boy Book' and Why Should We Care?" Join us from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Arts Center, 2275 Dartmouth, College Station, Texas. Bring your own lunch. The event is free, but seating is limited, so we do need to know how many people plan to come. Please contact me at lizBmertz@gmail.com to sign up.

We have an Annual Poetry Contest for local 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders.  If you are interested, fill out the form in the left sidebar.

Also note the upcoming Austin SCBWI Conference in February and the upcoming Houston SCBWI Conference  in March.

If you want to join a critique group use our handy form found in the sidebar to your left

.  

Local Authors is in the news. 

Kathy Whitehead's Art From her Heart  is featured at Sunday Story Hour and http://www.nyhistory.org/. 

   

Molly Blaisdell's picture book in the MeeGenius! Author Challenge was featured on KBTX as a "Gem of the Day." Here is the video:

Vote for THE BIG FUZZY COAT here.

The Revolution

Maybe you should consider opening up to the world of e-books and social media.
5 Reasons to Embrace the Brave New World

Agent Resources

Chip MacGregor answers questions about agenting, querying, and responding. He's a savvy one.
Chip MacGregor .com: Ask the Agent

Free

Here is the link to a free e-book with publishing advice from some top children's authors like Kirby Larsen, Natasha Wing, and more.  Here is the link: http://cbiclubhouse.com/2012report/. Enjoy!

Opportunity

Writing Round-Up. the Texas Mountain Trail Writers Spring Retreat might be a thing you want to check out.  Western Writers might need a trip out the Davis Mountains.

The views expressed here are my own, and not necessarily those of the SCBWI.

Current Scratch: ALA Youth Media Awards, Agent Info, Popular Agencies

Howdy, folks! Yay for the glorious rain. I hope that's got you holed up writing and illustrating!

 

Our Schmooze this month will fall on 2-29-12 at 10 a.m at the College Station Barnes and Noble.  The topic is effective critiquing.

 

Also locally, sign up now! Free workshop on "Boy Books" March 24 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Andy Sherrod will be our workshop leader on March 24 for our SCBWI Saturday on "What Makes a Good 'Boy Book' and Why Should We Care?" Join us from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Arts Center, 2275 Dartmouth, College Station, Texas. Bring your own lunch.

The event is free, but seating is limited, so we do need to know how many people plan to come. Please contact me at lizBmertz@gmail.com to sign up.

We have an Annual Poetry Contest for local 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders.  If you have contact information of someone who is interested in participating in this yearly event, please email me.

Also note the upcoming Austin SCBWI Conference in February and the upcoming Houston SCBWI Conference  in March.

 

If you want to join a critique group use our handy form to your left on the screen.  

 

Finally, noteworthy, Molly Blaisdell is finalist in a nationwide publishing Facebook contest with a New York digital publisher MeeGenius!.  Winning brings a publishing contract,  an e-library of books for Sul Ross Elementary in Bryan, and a $1500 cash prize.   Please give her e-picture book THE BIG FUZZY COAT a look, and if you like, give it a vote.  Feel free to pass this on to whomever you wish.  Here is the link: http://www.meegenius.com/challenge/book/6068/the-big-fuzzy-coat-by-molly-blaisdell/.

 

ALA Youth Media Awards

 

The Newbery? The Printz? The Caldecott?  Follow this link to the winners of the 2012 Youth Media Awards.

 

Agent Resources

 

Are you looking for an agent? Here are some helpful resources to guide you on your journey. 

 

The Association of Author Representatives  --  a professional organization of literary agents with a canon of ethics that all member adhere to. You might want to read that canon of ethics on the site.  Familiarizing yourself with agent ethics is a smart move.

Popular Agent Databases.

QueryTracker  - Agent Database

 AgentQuery  - Agent Database

Popular Blogs and Websites:

http://www.novelnovice.com/ -- here is a link to an excellent sample query letter.

 Chuck Sambuchino’s Guide to Literary Agents Blog – great resource especially for current report of new agents.

Casey L. McCormick – Literary Rambles, an excellent agent resource for children’s authors. Many, many, helpful interviews from various children’s book agents – all genres are represented.

www.nathanbransford.com A great article about how to find a literary agent offered by author Nathan Bransford. Check out the forums on his site for networking too.

guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/ – informative blog with agent news.

http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/  offers numerous interviews with agents. 

http://www.agentsavant.com/ Especially if you want to know about literary agents and digital publishing.

http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com/ This blog is a great place to connect with agents.

To get you started, check out these worthy agencies

Here are some well known Literary Agencies that represent children’s books.  Just a starting place, folks. There are way more agencies out there.

               

Writers House

Andrea Brown Literary Agency

Erin Murphy Literary Agency                      

Nancy Coffey Literary Agency   

Greenhouse Literary Agency

Adams Literary

Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency

Word Serve Literary Agency

 

The views expressed here are my own, and not necessarily those of the SCBWI.

Current Scratch: Awards, YA, Smiles

Howdy, folks! I hope you are enjoying our way early spring weather. We meet on  Jan. 25,  2012 at the College Station Barnes and Noble at 9:30  for critique (bring copies) and 10 AM for the Schmooze.  Molly Blaisdell will be speaking: Do You Need an Agent? How Do You Snag One?

Also locally:

The Children's Literature Book Club meets on the last Thursday, January 26th, at 4:30 pm in the Arts Council board room. Our book to read this month is Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.

 

Also note the upcoming Austin SCBWI Conference in February and the upcoming Houston SCBWI Conference  in March.

 

Awards

 

Here's the lists of this year's children's finalists for the Mystery Writer's of America's 2012 Edgar Awards:

 

Best Juvenile: Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger (Abrams/Amulet); It Happened on a Train by Mac Barnett (Simon & Schuster); Vanished by Sheela Chari (Disney-Hyperion); Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby (Scholastic Press); The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey (Egmont USA).

 

Best Young Adult: Shelter by Harlan Coben (Putnam); The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson (Putnam); The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall (Knopf); The Girl Is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines (Roaring Brook); Kill You Last by Todd Strasser (Egmont USA).

 

YA

 

Here's an interesting article in PW called "YA Comes of Age," discussing the juggernaut status YA has in today's publishing climate.

 

Are you a writer of young adult novels?  You might enjoy checking out this blog: YA Highway -- a road worth traveling if you are interested in writing for young adults.  This blog is an immense resource for every aspect of YA fiction.

Smiles

Here is the real scoop on how books are created from Annie Burrows author of the Ivy and Bean series. 

Here is a blog post: "Eat the Butt Lies That Can Posion our Writing Career." This one might make you smile and think. 

The views expressed here are my own, and not necessarily those of the SCBWI.