How to use this Page

SCARLETTA PRESS accept submissions ONLY during their reading period (September 1 to June 1).

SUBMISSIONS ARE CURRENTLY OPEN.

They use Submittable.

While they seek to publish new voices missing from the literary world, they also want to make sure your manuscript will fit their genre community. The books they choose to publish are intellectually stimulating, adding relevant knowledge to readers’ minds. Their Junior Readers and Kids imprints focus on literature and picture books with educational twists, exciting illustrations, and engaging plots.

Genres they focus on include:

• Children’s Fiction
• Middle-grade Fiction
• Educational Fiction/Nonfiction
• Picture Books

They do not publish plays, screenplays, short story collections, or poetry.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

The Tomie dePaola Illustrator Award is given annually to an illustrator of promise chosen by Tomie himself. The award consists full tuition, transportation and accommodations to the New York Winter Conference held in Manhattan. The winning piece of art will be featured at the annual winter conference in New York.

THE GUIDELINES HAVE CHANGED THIS YEAR! TOMIE HAS SET UP A TWO PART CONTEST SO PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW CLOSELY!

Deadline: June 15th, 2014

Award:

The winner will receive a trip to the 2015 SCBWI New York Conference at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan, where the award will be presented. As a special addition to the prize this year, the winner will also get to have lunch with Tomie at the conference!

Eligibility:

The Tomie dePaola Award competition is open to all SCBWI members.

BELOW IS THE NEW 2014 PROMPT
FIRST PART

Visual sequence is key to conveying feeling, action, storyline, interest and character, especially in children’s book illustration.

One of the hardest things to do is to know your character so well—what he, she, or it looks like, how they move, how they project emotion, and at the same time to make the character immediately recognizable and consistent —all without resorting to a generic depiction, but making sure your character has charm, individuality and special qualities that make young readers fall in love with them. All of this is the same whether your character is human, animal, and yes, even vegetable! (Maybe inanimate as well)

The task is to create a six-panel sequence that has a beginning, middle and an end that is obvious, featuring a character of your own invention. It can be funny, sad, dramatic or ordinary, but interesting and with lots of invention and finesse.

I understand that there are computer programs that make “sequence” easier than good old-fashioned drawing. But, I don’t know any of them. I leave it to you.

SPECS: 4 to 6 panels – illustrator’s choice

SIZE: 8 ½” x 14” – horizontal or vertical

COLOR: B&W or Full Color – your choice

NO WORDS

DUE DATE: June 15, 2014. This is very important. Ten semi-finalists will be chosen by July 30, 2014, to go on to the next step: A final assignment that will be announced after the first phase of the competition is complete.

PART TWO WILL BE POSTED AFTER JUNE 15TH!

Guidelines:

Read these instructions carefully! Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will be disqualified.

1. Submit your entry by midnight PST on June 15, 2014. No files received after that time will be considered.

2. E-mail a single, high resolution JPEG, titled with your name (firstname_lastname.jpg) to [email protected] with the subject “Tomie”. The image must be an attachment, not a link or showing in the body of the e-mail. No original artwork should be mailed. All submissions must be digital. You will receive a confirmation e-mail within three days.

3. Tomie will select the 10 semi-finalists July 30, 2014.

4. You must be a current SCBWI member to win.

Do you want to be included in the “unofficial” gallery of submissions?

Three years ago, Diandra Mae, Illustrator Coordinator for the SCBWI Houston region, started an “Unofficial Gallery” of submissions to the award. It was such a great success that we’ve made it more official and easier to enter. Any SCBWI member who enters the award is eligible to be included in the gallery. The gallery will not be made public until the winning piece has been chosen and announced.

If you are interested in having your submission included please follow these guidelines that will be posted after round one.

Questions? Email the Grant Coordinator – [email protected]

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Literary agent Frances Black and media relations executive Debra Caruso have announced the formation of E-Lit Books. The epublishing company is focused on helping issue titles by their clients when they are unable to find acceptable homes with major publishers. “We have so many wonderful authors whose manuscripts are not getting attention from the big publishers, but that doesn’t mean they’re not writing great books,” Black says in the announcement. She adds that the inclusion of “media relations, both social and traditional, will be the ‘it’ factor in our delivery system.”

At Henry Holt, Serena Jones has been promoted to senior editor, while Paul Golob moves over as executive editor while continuing to manage the imprint’s relationship with the New York Times. Both Jones and Golob will report to Gillian Blake.

At Harlequin, Tina James has been promoted to executive editor, Love Inspired.

Jessica Regel has joined Foundry Literary+Media as a domestic agent and Foreign Rights Associate for the agency’s children’s list, further growing Foundry’s Books for Young Readers department. She spent the past 11 years as an agent at Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency.

Shannon Hassan will join Marsal Lyon Literary Agency at the end of August. Previously she was an agent at the Warner Literary Group.

HarperCollins Canada will handle sales and distribution for UK-based children’s publisher Usborne Publishing Ltd.

Rachel Hecht is re-joining Mary Anne Thompson Associates as executive director of Children’s/YA scouting. In addition, the scouting firm has been appointed North American scout for Baltos Lankos in Lithuania, covering the adult market.

CALL FOR ILLUSTRATIONS: Please remember to send in your illustrations for August. It is a great way to get seen and keep your name out there to get noticed. Send them to Kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail.com with August Illustrations in the subject area. Please submit .jpgs at least 500 pixels wide.

For writers who like having a picture prompt may use the above illustration by Randy Gallegoes for inspiration. Randy was featured on illustrator Saturday August 3rd. http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/illustrator-saturday-randy-gallegos/

I do not have the Guest Critiquer confirmed yet to announce, but you can start sending in your first pages for September’s critique.

WRITERS Sending in a First Page: Please attach your double spaced, 12 point font, 23 line first page to an e-mail and send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Also cut and paste it into the body of the e-mail. Put “September First Page Critique” or “September First Page Picture Prompt Critique” in the subject line. Make sure you have your name on the submission, a title, and indicate the genre.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: September 19th.

The four chosen and their critiques will be posted on September 27th.

Talk Tomorrow,

Kathy

CALL FOR ILLUSTRATIONS: Please remember to send in your illustrations for July. It is a great way to get seen and keep your name out there to get noticed. Send them to Kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail.com. Please submit .jpgs at least 500 pixels wide.

For those writers who enjoy doing the picture prompt for their first page, above is July’s Picture Prompt illustration which was created by John Manders. He was featured on May 25th. Here is the link: http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/illustrator-saturday-john-manders/

WRITERS Sending in a First Page: Please attach your double spaced, 12 point font, 23 line first page to an e-mail and send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Also cut and paste it into the body of the e-mail. Put “June First Page Critique” or “June First Page Picture Prompt Critique” in the subject line. Make sure you have your name on the submission, a title, and indicate the genre. 

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JULY 18th .

The four chosen and their critiques will be posted on July 26th. I will announce who our Guest Critiquer is next Friday.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

MELISSA FAULNER, Editorial Assistant, ABRAMS Books for Young Readers and Amulet has agreed to share her expertise with us and critique the four winning first pages for us in May.

Thank you everyone who sent in something for April. I read them over and each month wish I could pull off getting a critique for each one, but the editors are being very generous with their time, but please know I enjoy reading them. Feel free to resubmit a first page and try again. 

I am looking forward to meeting Melissa at the conference and reading her critiques for May. Next week I will include a short interview with Melissa on Friday. 

May’s submission deadline will be May 22nd, due to the Memorial Day.

Below is this month’s picture prompt for those of  you who like them. This illustration is by Maria Bogade. She was featured on Illustrator Saturday on Feb. 9th 2013 and I missed showing off this illustration. Thought it might provide some inspiration for a story. You do not have to use it. Feel free to submit a first page from a work in progress.

WRITERS Sending in a First Page: Please attach your double spaced, 12 point font, 23 line first page to an e-mail and send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Also cut and paste it into the body of the e-mail. Put “May First Page Critique” or “May First Page Picture Prompt Critique” in the subject line. Make sure you have your name on the submission, a title, and indicate the genre. Also let me know if you were able to post of facebook or Tweet. You will get your name in the basket for each time you comment, tweet, or mention on facebook, giving you a better chance of being picked. If you end up doing more things to get additional entries, then e-mail me a note by May 20th. The four chosen and their critiques will be posted on May 31st.

Call for illustrations for May: Thank you to everyone who sent in an illustration for April. There are a couple that I didn’t get up. I promise I will use them in the days to come.

You can send anything, but I am especially looking for illustrations that reflect the month. I hope you will send something for May. This is a good way to get your work seen. Don’t wait, I will post the illustrations as they come in. Please make sure the illustration is at least 500 pixels wide and include a blurb about yourself and a link to see more of your work. Please send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com and put “May Illustration” in the subject box.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Welcome to Undiscovered Voices 2014!

Before everyone gets excited, this opportunity is only open to SCBWI members in good standing that reside in one of the current 27 countries of the EU, 4 European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, or 5 candidate countries (as listed here) 

Since I get close to half of my visitors from outside the United States, so I wanted to make sure those visitor knew about this. There is a separate contest for unpublished illustrators (see bottom).

Undiscovered Voices is a competition for unpublished and un-agented writers and illustrators living in the EU. In partnership with SCBWI British Isles and Working Partners.

Open for entries: 1st July to 15th August 2013

An anthology will present a selection of novel extracts from 5+ to Young Adult novels and be sent to editors and agents in the UK. The anthology is produced thanks to the kind support of Working Partners Ltd. To submit your written extract, please read the following eligibility criteria, rules and information, and then go here to fill in the online submission form and upload your entry.

• Click here for Tips for Writers. 

Submission eligibility:

• You must be a member in good standing of SCBWI and reside in one of the current 27 countries of the EU, 4 European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, or 5 candidate countries (as listed here).
• Only un-agented writers may submit work for consideration. Writers must remain un-agented until the anthology is published in February 2014.
• You must be an unpublished fiction author. This means you have not had a novel or collection of short stories accepted for publication or currently published in any country. Authors with only picture books published may submit. Authors who have only published non-fiction books or who have only been published in newspapers, magazines, anthologies or non-print medium (i.e. radio, web, etc.) are also eligible. Similarly authors who have ghost-written for book packagers or have self-published may submit work (but not an extract from any self-published work). Authors with adult fiction published are not eligible.
• Any submissions that do not follow the following guidelines or include the appropriate information will be disqualified. 

Submission rules:

• Find out more about previous Undiscovered Voices finalists here.Your submission must the first 4,000 words of an already completed novel for children, aimed at any age from 5 years to Young Adult.
• Your submission must be written in English.
• No picture book texts will be considered.
• You must include a synopsis of your novel at the end of the extract, which should be a maximum of 75 words.
• The author’s name must not appear anywhere on the extract or synopsis.
• The document should be written in 12 point, with a page number on every page.
• The document that is uploaded must be a .doc, .docx or .rtf file.
• Only one submission per member.
• You must fill in every required field in the online form, including a biography of a maximum of 50 words, written in the third person. Should you be selected, this is how it will appear in the anthology.
• You may not resubmit any extract from a novel you submitted for consideration in previous Undiscovered Voices anthologies. Authors included in previous anthologies may not submit an entry for the current anthology. Honorary mentions from previous anthologies may submit, as long as it is from a different novel.
• Submissions must be entirely the original work of the author and must never have been published, self-published or published on any website.
• Submissions should not include or require any graphic art or special fonts.

Submission information:

Find out more about previous Undiscovered Voices finalists here.

• There is no submission fee for this contest, but you must be a current member of SCBWI and live in one of the current 27 countries of the European Union, 4 European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries or 5 candidate countries.
• The contest opens for entries on 1st July 2013. The deadline is midnight on 15th August 2013.
• To submit your entry, go here to fill in the online form and upload your extract. Submissions are only accepted by this means. They will not be accepted by email or by post.
• By submitting your entry, you agree to give SCBWI-BI permission to publish and promote (both online and offline) the extract in the 2014 anthology together with your name, as it appears on the SCBWI roster, and email address. No pen names can be used.
• A panel of children’s book editors and agents will make the final selection for the anthology in autumn 2013, and the long-list will be announced in December 2013 and the selected entries in January 2014.
• The ebook will be produced in early 2014 and copies of the anthology will be distributed free of charge to a comprehensive list of UK children’s book editors and agents, as well as a select list of US agents and editors. It will also be distributed to the media in order to achieve the most widespread industry attention to the authors and their stories.
• The authors of the selected works will receive one copy of the anthology (in ebook format). In addition, they will receive judges’ written comment sheets on their work. The selected authors will be invited to attend a ‘getting discovered’ workshop (18th January 2014) and the book launch party (26th February 2014) to meet in person with the judges and other agents and editors who attend.
• To become a member of SCBWI, visit http://www.scbwi.org/Registration.aspx. For membership queries, please email [email protected]. You can find out more information at www.scbwi.org or www.britishscbwi.org.
• Copyright remains with the author.
• The judges’ decision is final.
• No corrections or alterations can be made to submissions after receipt. The selected pieces will be proofread prior to publication.
• Entry implies acceptance of the rules and eligibility criteria, as listed above.
• A list of selected authors and honorary mentions will be posted on the Undiscovered Voices Blog and updated on the website once the judging is final and the results are compiled.
• You can contact us with any queries about the anthology, the submissions process, rules or eligibility at: scbwianthology “AT” hotmail.co.uk

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

WRITERS Sending in a First Page: Please attach your double spaced, 12 point font, 23 line first page to an e-mail and send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Also cut and paste it into the body of the e-mail. Put “March First Page Critique” or “March First Page Picture Prompt Critique” in the subject line. Make sure you have your name on the submission, a title, and indicate the genre. Also let me know which steps you took, so I will know how many times to put your name in the basket. If you end up doing more things to get additional entries, then e-mail me by March 23rd. The four chosen and their critiques will be posted on March 1st.

The above is the First Page Picture Prompt for March. Illustrated by Jen Betton. Jen was featured on illustrator Saturday if you would like to see more of her work. http://wp.me/pss2W-6bk You can also visit her website: www.jenbetton.com or her blog: www.jenbetton.blogspot.com

AUTHORS: If you have a new book coming out and want to be considered for a post, please e-mail me at: Kathy.temean (at) gmail.com

Call for illustrations for March: You can send anything, but I am especially looking for illustrations that reflect the month of March. Last month I did not get many of your illustrations. I hope you will send something in. You do not have to wait, I will post the illustrations as they come in. Please make sure the illustration is at least 500 pixels wide and include a blurb about yourself and a link to see more of your work. Please send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com and put “March Illustration” in the subject box.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Click picture below to have a chance to win a free illustration calendar and print. Juana Martinez-Neal and Angela Matteson were both featured on Illustrator Saturday, so you know it will be full of great art.

WRITERS OF THE FUTURE CONTEST

1.  ENTRANTS RETAIN ALL PUBLICATION RIGHTS
2. NO ENTRY FEE IS REQUIRED
3. JUDGED BY PROFESSIONAL WRITERS ONLY
4. PRIZES EVERY THREE MONTHS: $1,000, $750, $500
5. ANNUAL GRAND PRIZE: $5,000 ADDITIONAL!
6. OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW AND AMATEUR WRITERS OF NEW SHORT STORIES OR NOVELETTES OF SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY

DEADLINE: March 31st

SEND YOUR ENTRY BY MAIL TO:
L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest
PO Box 1630
Los Angeles, CA 90078

CONTEST RULES

ILLUSTRATORS OF THE FUTURE CONTEST

1. OPEN TO NEW AND AMATEUR SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY ARTISTS WORLDWIDE
2. NO ENTRY FEE
3. ENTRANTS RETAIN ALL RIGHTS
4. ALL JUDGING BY PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS ONLY
5. $1,500 IN PRIZES EACH QUARTER
6. QUARTERLY WINNERS COMPETE FOR $5,000 ADDITIONAL ANNUAL PRIZE

DEADLINE: March 31st

SEND YOUR ENTRY BY MAIL TO:
L. Ron Hubbard’s Illustrators of the Future Contest
PO Box 3190
Los Angeles, CA 90078

CONTEST RULES

Good luck!  This contest run every quarter, so if you can’t enter this one, you can try to make the June 30th deadline.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Wordless picture books contain only pictures and little or no text. They depend entirely on carefully sequenced illustrations to present the story. The illustrations must be highly narrative.

Although wordless picture books are generally aimed at preschoolers (aged 4 to 6), some of them are also intended for older children because they contain complex plot structures, subtle imagery, and sophisticated tone.

Can a wordless book be effective in helping children to learn a language?

“Definitely!” says Dawn Jeffers publisher at Raven Tree Press. ”Wordless picture books and picture books with limited words are both beautiful and educational. They help children develop language, creative thinking and enhance future reading and writing skills. Using wordless picture books, children learn that reading follows a left-to-right pattern. They learn that stories generally have a beginning, a middle section and an ending. They also learn to identify details, see cause and effect, make judgements and draw conclusions.”

Educators are using them to teach writing to children and also to help teach non-English speaking kids English. These are some of the reasons publishers have gravitated to “Wordless Picture Books.”

Lucy Cummins & Alexandra Cooper ran a Wordless Picture Book Workshop at the June 2012 NJ-SCBWI Conference. I asked Diana Patton if she would write up something to share with you.

Here’s Diana:

Art Director Lucy Cummins and Senior Editor Alexandra Cooper at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers ran an enjoyable workshop/talk. They worked as a well-oil machine and worked brightly and efficiently together to present us with lots of good information dotted with generous amounts of humor.

They discussed the characteristics of wordless picture books:

1. Story is easily understood in sequence.
2. Story has a real beginning, a middle, and an end.
3. They speak to a universal experience.
4. Different people can interpret the same book differently.
5. The story guides the reader gently but allows the reader to create their own narrative.
6. The story has boundless appeal.
7. Great page turns.
8. They can be “read” by people who speak any language.
9. Characters whose thoughts and actions “read” very clearly.
10. Story that is full of emotion.
11. Story should be deceptively obvious.

If you don’t need dialogue, if there are lots of active verbs, you may have a wordless picture book in you.

Why do some books work wordlessly?

Alex and Lucy shared excellent examples of this genre of purely visual storytelling and excellent examples of sequential storytelling . We saw:

Peggy Rathmann’s Goodnight, Gorilla
Alexandra Day’s Good Dog, Carl
Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman.
Chris Raschka’s A Ball for Daisy, the 2012 Caldecott Winner
David Wiesner’s FLOTSAM
Jerry Pinkney’s The Lion and the Mouse (also Caldecott Winners 2007 and 2010)
Barbara Lehman’s The Red Book (Caldecott Honor Book)

Pinkney’s The Lion and the Mouse is the awesomely beautiful retelling of an old tale; Lucy emphasized that if you retell a tale, you must have a new take on it. She recommended reading Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics and his Making Comics (interestingly enough, my youngest son Shawn, the game designer, had already given me these books to study!)

Both Lucy and Alexandra stressed the importance of page turners. And of course, they discussed the reasons why your story might be told wordlessly. There should be an element of universality. For example, your imagination runs away with you, or you take a tale everyone knows and do a role r

Agent at Sheldon Fogelman Agency has agreed to be our Guest Critiquer for July. Sean works on children’s books for all ages at the Sheldon Fogelman Agency in NYC. His clients include Zachariah O’Hora, Hyewon Yum, Mark Fearing and Hillary Homzie.

He is drawn to flawed, multi-faceted characters with devastatingly concise writing in YA, and boy-friendly mysteries or adventures in MG. In picture books, he looks more for unforgettable characters, off-beat humor, and especially clever endings. He is actively looking for new clients, but he is not currently interested in high fantasy, message-driven stories, historical fiction or query letters that pose too many questions.

Here is the prompt for July:

Brian Bowes was featured this year on Illustrator Saturday. http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/illustrator-saturday-brian-bowes/ I think all of Brian’s illustrations could tell lots of stories, so I think you will have fun writing for this one. You can see more of Brian’s work by visiting his website: www.studiobowesart.com

WRITERS: Please attach your double spaced, 12 point font, 23 line first page to an e-mail and send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Also cut and paste it into the body of the e-mail. Put “July 23rd First Page Prompt” in the subject line.

ILLUSTRATORS: You still have until July 26th to submit an illustration for June. I’m looking for illustrations that are “Out of this world”. I am going to let you interpret that and use your imagination. So show off a little and send it something for July. I will post the illustrations as they come in during the month, but I will definitely post all by July 31st. Please make sure the illustration is at least 500 pixels wide and include a blurb about yourself and a link to see more of your work. Please send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com and put “June Illustration” in the subject box.

Hope you submit something.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

0 Comments on Free Fall Friday – Guest Critiquer Announced as of 1/1/1900

Below is the first page picture prompt for the March. It was illustrated by Kris Aro McLeod and I feel it gives you a lot of choices on where to go with your story.

Deadline to submit is March 25th.  I will announce who our guest critiquer will be next Friday.  Please attach your double spaced, 12 point font, 23 line first page to an e-mail and send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Also cut and paste it into the body of the e-mail. Put “March 25th First Page Prompt” in the subject line.

ILLUSTRATORS:  Here is your chance to show off a little.   Since the old saying is that, ”March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb,” I am looking for an illustration that incorporates some type of weather in with the piece.  This gives you a lot of leeway.  Heck, just some wind in someone’s hair would fill the bill.  I may post soem during the month, but will definitely post all on March 29th, so I need to receive your illustrations no later than March 27th. Please make sure the illustration is at least 500 pixels wide and includes a blurb about you and a link to see more of your work. Please send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com and put “March Illustration” in the subject box.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Okay illustrators, you have two months to come up with a New Jersey SCBWI Logo for the June 2012 Conference. The winners get their artwork and name printed on the faculty and attendee bags, plus First and Second Place winners get to attend the invitation only faculty dinner on Saturday night. This will be our 5th annual Logo contest and the winner will walk away with a beautiful trophy award and more. The winner must attend the conference or be available to attend to receive their trophy. Details on submitting are below:

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

WRITERS here’s Betsy:  Thank you, Kathy, for asking me to write something for this week’s Free Fall Friday. I love the picture you chose, illustrated by Courtney Autumn Martin (www.slumberlandstudio.com or Illustrator Saturday http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/illustrator-saturday-courtney-autumn-martin/).

The image is quite evocative, starting with the focal point of the girl’s face. The florescent green reflected on her cheeks and eyelids creates an ominous feeling. It makes me want to know more of her story. Where is she headed and why? Whose arm does she cling to? Is she saving the person or taking them against their will? It seems she is at least protecting them.

I ask myself these questions as I study the dark-haired girl wearing the contemporary headband and dress. Is she a mermaid or just a girl? Either way, I love her bare feet! Her body reflects confidence, yet her taut mouth and eyes suggest something else. Worry, perhaps, or maybe, uncertainty.  And it could just be how the light reflects off her eyelids.

Courtney has chosen colors that work well together and create an illusion of two different worlds. For me, I am most curious about the underneath; what lies at the depths of the sea. Courtney hints at this through the florescent green swirls. I also love the moon, and the sense that it is growing further and further away.

What draws you to this image? Study it for a few minutes and then close your eyes. Try to visualize a movie. Can you see the girl before she jumps into the water? Can you see her after she has reached the ocean floor, or to where she is headed? Choose a point of view before you start your first page. Write from the girl’s point of view, the other person’s point of view, or someone beneath the image, who is watching the girl descend. For fun, you could also focus on the girl simply moving through the water. Describe the scene without actually saying she is swimming. Can you show rather than tell us?

As for me, I will probably dream about this picture, and then wake up in the morning with mermaids on my brain, which will lead to a story or an idea or . . .

I hope you have signed up for the 2012 New Jersey SCWI Annual Conference! I’ll be there!

Happy writing! Betsy   http://betsydevany.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/all-in-a-days-work/

Thanks Betsy!  Deadline to submit is February 20th.  I will announce who our guest critiquer will be next Friday.  Please attach your double spaced, 12 point font, 23 line first page to an e-mail and send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Also cut and paste it into the body of the e-mail. Put “February 20th First Page Prompt” in the subject line.

ILLUSTRATORS:  Here is your chance to show off a little.  Last month only one of you submitted a piece of art.  The prompt for February is something that will convey the flavor of the month.  This leave you quite a broad range to be creative.  I will post on Feb 29th, so I need to receive your illustrations by February 27th. Please make sure the illustration is at least 500 pixels wide and include a blurb about you and a link to see more of your work. Please send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com and put “February Illustration” in the subject box.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Writing Competition

Tarcher/Penguin and Julia Cameron are seeking undiscovered writing talent!

1.  This competition is open to novel and novella-length fiction as well as narrative nonfiction.
2.  Submissions should be no more than 10 pages (roughly 4-5,000 words maximum), and only one submission per person will be accepted.
3.  All submissions must be work that has not been published previously or awarded any prize in a prior contest or competition.
4.  Submissions should be sent electronically within the body of an e-mail (no attachments) to [email protected], along with your full name and contact information. Be sure to put “TTA [Your first and last name]” in the e-mail subject line. Submissions must be received by March 2, 2012.
5.  Semi finalists will be contacted March 23 to submit (electronically) the full manuscript. The winner will be chosen by Julia Cameron and announced online on April 26.
6.  The winning piece will win a cash prize of $5,000 and a manuscript review by a Penguin editor.
7.  View the complete official rules

TIMELINE

Submissions accepted from Jan 1, 2012 through March 2, 2012
Semi-finalists chosen: March 23 (Tarcher-Penguin will contact semi-finalists for additional material, which will need to be submitted to us by April 6). The semi-finalists’ manuscripts will be reviewed by Tarcher-Penguin editors.
Winner announced: April 26

HOW TO ENTER

1. To enter the Tarcher Top Artist Competition (the “Contest”), entrants must submit one or the other type of creative piece, as follows:

• An original drawn or painted piece of artwork, in jpeg or PDF format based on the theme of the book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

OR

• A fiction or narrative non-fiction written sample taken from a novel or novella-length manuscript; the entry to be no longer than ten (10) pages (roughly 4,000-5,000 words maximum).

The initial entries (of the written samples) must be sent to [email protected] within the body of an e-mail. Be sure to put “TTA [Your first and last name]” in the e-mail subject line. In addition, each entry must include the entrant’s full name, email address, mailing address, telephone number, age and website URL if applicable. Initial entries (of original artwork) and a brief description of how it ties in to the title, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, should be either e-mailed to [email protected] (file size no larger than 200KB; e-mail subject line “TTA [Your first and last name]“) or, preferably, posted to the Tarcher Top Artist Flickr group page (you must include your full name and age in the description area). These submissions will be used in the selection of ten semi-finalists in each category. Final winner selection will take place as outlined below under Judging.

2. Contest begins January 1, 2012. Writing submissions are due no later than March 2, 2012, 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time (ET). Art submissions are due no later than June 1, 2012, 11:59:59 PM ET. Limit one entry per person and per email account. The sole determinant of time for the purposes of receipt of a valid entry will be the computer servers of Tarcher Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. (“Sponsor”). Proof of transmission (screenshots or captures, etc.) does not constitute proof of receipt.

http://www.tarchertopartist.com/official-rules/<

We’ve been toiling away to get everything set up for this years New Jersey SCBWI Conference registration. We’ve got a lot of cooks in the kitchen trying to get this feast on the table. Since every detail of what is going to happen during the conference will be on the online registration form, it has brought things up to the beginning that we would have done in April and May. Thus, the heavy lifting started in November. It’s more than just putting in the schedule. Example: Lots of applications had to be filled out so you could pay as soon as you register. One of the hold ups is on the approval end of making this happen. Meanwhile, we are working on the set up.

You will be able to click a button and read the bios for each faculty member and see their likes and dislikes before clicking the button to sign up for one of the times still available.

Each workshop will have a detail button that will describe the session.

I have set up an email for everyone on the faculty doing critiques, so this year you will not have to spend money mailing in your manuscript, because you will be able to e-mail it anytime before the deadline to the e-mail provided on the registration form. In years past, some of you had made plans for a vacation with your family, which made it hard to submit your manuscript in on time. This method eliminates these problems and it also reduces the amount of manuscripts we have to juggle. I think we had close to 300 critiques last year, so many hands had to be available to get them out the door and in the right hands.

There have been corrections on the schedule from last week. I have made some of them, but check again on Friday. I should be able to check and correct what I put up, so you can get ready for opening day. Also, I made a few changes in the individual faculty schedules. This was made with an eye for trying to put as many critiques on the schedule that would not take you out of a workshop. There still are some, but many less than last year. Also check the individual schedules later this week. I am working to get more information about their likes and dislikes on each schedule.

If you sign up for an Intensive, the three critique option, take a consultation spot, register for a First Page Session, do a pitch, and sit with a different editor/agent at lunch on Saturday and Sunday, you will meet 9 different editors/agents without even counting the workshops, Pitch Critique Session, and other networking available.

We are including a box lunch with the Intensive Workshops on Friday. The editors and agents will be eating their lunches with you before the start of the workshop. This provides another opportunity to network. This year we have included a beginners level Children’s Book Writing 101 for all the new people starting out. There is so much to learn. Most of us have spent years learning all the things we need to know. You should be able to cut off a few years by attending this 4 hour session. Anita Nolan is teaching it and she does a great job. If you are new to the field, you will learn so much.

Last year we had our first Mix and Mingle with all the editors, agents, art directors and authors. It was a tremendous success. I personally introduced members to editors and agents. I know of two where I made a match, so you should try to attend. It is fun on top of providing a lot of time to talk with everyone.

You can sign up to do the Writer’s Critique Group on Saturday night after dinner. The only thing I ask is that you do not sign up if you do not plan to do the critiques for the other people in you group. It is very disappointing to the other member who have spent their precious time to critique your writing and then not show up.

I started thinking, what about the poor illustrators? Why haven’t I planned a group for them in

Last Sunday I announced that Dianne Ochiltree would critique the four first pages for us. Dianne will do the first pages for January. It is my pleasure to let you know that EDITOR, HEATHER ALEXANDER from DIAL has agreed to critique three first pages.

Please attach your double spaced, 12 point font, 23 line first age to an e-mail and send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Also cut and paste it into the body of the e-mail. Put “December 20th First Page Prompt” in the subject line.

Give it a try. The worse thing that could happen is you throw it away. But who knows, it might be the start of something big.

ILLUSTRATORS: Here is your opportunity to get noticed. Each month I will post a word prompt that you can use to inspire an illustration. I will feature your illustration. If you are interested, then the word prompt for is “Celebrate.”

Please send a 500 pixel wide .jpg by December 27th to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail.com. Hope the illustrators will jump aboard and send something in for posting on December 31st. Would be a wonderful way to end this year and welcome in the new.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Yesterday, Ariane briefly mentioned her book with uTales and I said I had info on this to share with you. uTales is in Beta testing right now, but anyone who wants to go on can use this link: www.utales.com/invitation  and use the password: kathy to get into their site. They will ask you to agree with their terms and agreement, but this is not giving any of your rights away.

This could be the answer to all you writers who would like to do something with your book, but can’t find an illustrator.  Below are some questions you might have.

What is uTales?

uTales is a world of digital picture books for kids, driven by a worldwide community of passionate and professional writers and illustrators.

uTales is both a website and an app, but more importantly uTales is one big disruptive idea. We’re a global community aiming to innovate and improve the concept of books in every way we can. We’re making picture books more modern and engaging. We’re making a greater variety of picture books more accessible for kids everywhere. We’re eliminating boundaries for talented storytellers to get published. And we’re trying to make the world a little better for kids, one story at a time.

How does uTales insure the quality of the books?

Only books approved by uTales will be featured in the uTales store and apps. uTales is proud to have an internationally diverse editorial advisory panel in place to approve all books before they are published to insure and uphold the highest safety and quality standards for our readers. This panel is made up of award-winning professional editors, authors, illustrators, and educators.

Our UQEP panel is led by children’s book editor and consultant, Emma D. Dryden, who has, over the course of the past twenty-five years, edited and published hundreds of books for young readers in her work with Margaret K. McElderry Books and Atheneum Books for Young Readers, imprints of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. Emma oversees drydenbks, her own children’s book consultancy company, is a member of the American Library Association, and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Board of Advisors.

How do I support charity by using uTales?

We are very proud to have a partnership with Pencils of Promise, and that we, together with our uTalers, help them build schools in developing countries. Our uTalers have the choice to give up to 100% of their earnings to support Pencils of Promise – so every time you read one of their books, you bring education to a child in need.

Beyond that, we create specific uTales books with 100% of the earnings going to Pencils of Promise – and we hope to be doing even more together with PoP in the future. We’re building uTales for the kids.

For more information on Pencils of Promise, check out their fantastic website: www.pencilsofpromise.org

Can I end my uTales subscription at any time?

Yes you can.

For how long will I keep books I have purchased on uTales?

For as long as you have an account registered with us.

How do I create books on uTales.com?

Simply start a new book in our create tool on the website.
Once your book is approved by our UQEP panel (a process that generally takes from a few days up to two weeks), it will be available globally on uTales.com and in the uTales apps.

Do I give away all my rights as a creator?

No, of course not! We are trying to offer the most transparent and simple setup on the market. You’ll find al

Every year at the June conference we run and Silent Auction and Chinese Auction to raise money for our Scholarship Fund.  We always use all the money to help members with financial problems throughout the year attend our events.  The money went fast this year with so many members finding themselves in difficult situations due to the economy. 

The Scholarship Fund helped over 16 members this past year attend events they otherwise would not have been able to afford.  It looks like the economy is starting to tick up, which is a good thing, but we still need to replenish the fund for this coming year.

Members who have helped the chapter by attending New Jersey events, donated their time or donated items to previous raffles, get top priority over other members with similar financial needs.  So your efforts to help the chapter and others does not go unnoticed and could someday end up helping you, too.

Here is what we do:

I call every editor and agent who attended one of our events to see if they can donate a critique and join us at one of our Summer Networking Dinners.  The results get listed in the Silent Auction.  Attendees bid on the things that interest them throughout the conference.  With the Silent Auction you can write down a dollar amount and then if someone wants to beat your bid, that person writes in a higher amount.  This goes back and forth until the person with the highest bid at the end of the conference wins.

We usually have a few full manuscripts critiques in addition to many partial critiques.

The Chinese Auction consist of items people have donated.  Here are some things people have donated in the past:  All-in-one color printer, Phillies baseball tickets, vacation in Maine, theatre tickets, restaurant gift certificates, wooden desk sets, office supplies, gift cards, framed art work, books, massages, exercise equipment, theme baskets, Free year SCBWI membership, Free entrance to a New Jersey event, and much more.  We sell tickets and you can place your tickets in the container that corresponds to the item you want to win.  At the end of the conference a winning ticket will be pulled for each item.  You can win more than one time.  Everyone who donates an item worth more than $25 will receive five free tickets to use.  You do not have to attend the conference to donate an item. 

Note Published Authors: - Even if you are going to attend the conference, donating a few of your books is a nice way to get your name out there to promote you and your books. 

Note Illustrators:  You can only  have one piece  of art in the Art Exhibit.  Donating another piece of your work will get a second piece seen by all the faculty.  Again even if you can’t attend, this is a great opportunity for an illustrator to get their work in front of the art directors, agents and editors.  A small price to pay to help create some buzz.

Please contact Betsy at [email protected] if you would like to donate something to help.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Hope you are working on creating a logo for our bags.  Winning will get you into the Faculty Dinner.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Juried Art Exhibit and Portfolio Display and Contest June 4th and 5th.

Come out and meet Leeza Hernadez, Former 2011 Tomie dePaola Award winner and Katia Wish 2011 Tomie dePaola Award winner at the conference.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Only 10 days left to get the “Early Bird” pricing for the June 3-5, 2011 New Jersey SCBWI Conference being held in Princeton, NJ.

http://www.newjerseyscbwi.com/events/110604%20conference.shtml 

You may pay by using PayPal.  Just go to www.paypal.com. Figure up your total, add $10 and send it to [email protected]. PayPal does not charge the sender a fee for using their service.  You will still need to snail mail your registration or if you have a scanner, you can scan and e-mail.  
 
FIRST TIMERS:  We have a special session for you to get the most out of your conference experience. Sign up on the registration form near the bottom of the first page.  

BOOKFAIR: If you are a published author and plan to participate in the book signing, you need to let Kelly [email protected] know what books need to be ordered.  We are having a bookstore in Princeton sell the books. This is another reason to sign up early.  We are planning to do local promotion this year, so if you register late, you may miss this important opportunity.
 
ILLUSTRATORS:  We are having our Fourth Annual Logo Contest.  The winner will be recognized, receive an award at the June Conference and will have their artistic logo with their name appear printed on the tote bags given to the faculty.  The top three winners will be invited to the Faculty Dinner on Saturday night. Here is how you can enter:
 
Tote Bag Logo will need to be 4″ wide by 6″ high and submitted at 300 dpi resolution. 
 
Other possible sizes for additional give-a-ways:
6″ wide X 2″ high
3″ wide X 4″ high
5″ wide X 3″ high
4″ wide X 6″ high
 
There isn’t any shadowing in logo art, so it must be solid one color art.  Print color white.  If you can use Photoshop, send the art with a transparent background.  If not, we will take out the background. The picture on the left is this year’s faculty bag. You can submit more than one design, so even if you don’t get chosen for the tote bag you may get your work printed on one of the other size items above.  

Please e-mail to: [email protected] by April 8, 2011. Make sure you use your name in the file names you submit.  And put ” 2011 Logo Contest” in the Subject area.   

See Last Year’s Winner

Click for Runners-ups

Other Submissions

Illustrators’ Exhibit: 

In 2006 the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston was asked to direct The Brown Foundation Fellows Program at the Dora Maar House. Imagine spending up to three months in this spacious classic eighteenth-century, four-story stone residence in the village of Ménerbes, France in the Luberon area of Provence.  The town house was once occupied by Général Baron Robert, one of Napoleon’s well-decorated generals in the Republican Army.

In 1944 Pablo Picasso purchased the four-story mansion for Dora Maar, an artist and surrealist photographer who was his companion and muse in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Dora Maar owned the house until her death in 1997, when a resident of both Ménerbes, France, and Houston, Texas, purchased the house and began a five-year rehabilitation project to update the spacious residence and gardens.

Her goal was to make it a retreat for scholars, artists, or writers, where they could work undisturbed on their research, art, or writing for one to three months.

If you are an outstanding mid-career professional, you could apply for a fellowship to enable you to reside in the Dora Maar House and focus on the creative aspects of your work.

The Dora Maar House has four private bedrooms, each with a private bath, three studies for writers and scholars, a studio for artists, and a piano. There are shared kitchen, library, living and dining rooms, along with two beautiful gardens. The house is equipped with high-speed wireless internet, printer, fax, and laptops for the fellows’ convenience.

I definitely think I could be inspired writing on that garden patio.  I bet you could, too.

Travel expenses are paid by the foundation and fellows receive $50 a day for living expenses. 

Here is the link to apply:  Forms to apply

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

3 Comments on Time For Creativity In The South of France, last added: 10/18/2010