Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Informal Critiques!

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Informal Critiques! 

Manuscripts in hand, you sit down with a group of your peers. They all write the same genre. They all are as eager as you to improve your manuscript.

WIK15 offers the opportunity for you to do that!

After the conference, you'll have the opportunity to sit with other writers / illustrators and chat about your story (and theirs), where it needs improving, where it is strong, suggestions on the tone.

These informal critique sessions are a great way to meet others in your field. Maybe make a lasting friendship. To learn about your craft and to improve yourself on your way to publication.

Not sure how to critique? 

Here are is one way to look at it. Think of critiquing someone's work like a sandwich. You have bread, filler, and bread.

• Bread - Start off with something nice and squishy. What you really like about the story or the writing in general.
• Filler - Get to the meat of what you think. Are there places that can be taken out? Do you see pov shifts? Are there rabbit trails that need to be fixed? Does their work zip and zag in all the right places? How is the plot? Character development?
• Bread - Finish off by saying something nice again. Let them know you appreciate their hard work and give some encouragement.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Formal Critiques!

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Formal Critiques! 

People in this industry tend to be very nice, and that can make it difficult to remember that publishing is a "bunny-eat-bunny" world. As difficult as it might be, however, it is important to learn what we need to know if you really want to get published.

Has your manuscript been critiqued by your critique group, is your prose polished and honed, your plot peeled away and re-layered, is it is as good as it can get? How can you be sure?

When writers submit work to an editor or an agent, their submissions land on an editor or agent's desk, or in their email inbox, and are read in batches. The submission must stand on their own, no author sitting there to add anything or answer any questions. Even worse, in today's publishing world, when a submission is rejected, typically there is no feedback - often not even a polite "Thank you, but we are not interested."

Registering for a written only critique not only guarantees that your work will be critiqued by an acquiring editor or agent, it simulates the real world process but also allows you an opportunity to receive valuable feedback and learn what you might do to make it even stronger before you send it out again. It focuses exclusively on what is on the page, which is what happens in the real world of children's publishing.

Sometimes face-to-face critiques may be a better choice, for example, if you have a specific question to ask about plot and character choices. That is what I did at my last face-to-face critique: how old should my main character be, given the nature of the story and the things she would be doing?

What is really great is that you don't have to choose - you can register for both face-to-face and written only critiques!

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with 1-on-1 meetings!

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with 1-on-1 meetings! 

What Can One-on-One Sessions Do for You?
by Tay Berryhill 

WIK attendees have three golden opportunities to receive feedback from agents: face-to-face critique, written manuscript critique, and one-on-one meetings with an agent. I’ve been fortunate to participate in all three. Each has helped me grow as a writer in different ways; all have advantages.

All written-only critiques are conducted by agents or editors who keenly target craft and marketability issues. Face-to-face critiques offer the same, but with the added benefit of a twelve-minute meeting with the expert who conducted the critique—although that person may not be an agent. One-on-one brings even more to the table—twenty minutes with an experienced agent to discuss anything. Anything. At WIK14, I spent my one-on-one time with literary agent Courtney Miller-Callihan of Greenburg Associates. Prior to our meeting, I submitted elevator pitches and one-paragraph synopses of three works-in-progress for Courtney to read in advance. I also put together a “goodie bag” of queries, first pages, and a full page synopsis of a finished draft, in case time allowed us to expand the discussion.

“...I mentioned a graphic novel I was outlining. Courtney gave me the name of her agent friend who represents graphic novels...”

During our first ten minutes, Courtney addressed the marketability of my WIPs, offering generous feedback on what was appealing and why, as well as potential pitfalls. Her input quickly gave me a clearer picture of which projects merited my attention. I then showed her a first page of the front runner, and she spent the rest of the session suggesting ways to improve it. All good. Before leaving, I mentioned a graphic novel I was outlining. Courtney gave me the name of her agent friend who represents graphic novels. I’m pretty sure that I danced out the door. For writers with a manuscript that needs detailed feedback, the formal manuscript critiques are invaluable. But for those also seeking individualized advice on queries, marketing, rejections, Internet presence, or any other topic an agent can enlighten, one-on-one is an ideal venue. Besides great advice, the meeting gave this tongue-tied writer the chance to relax and “talk shop” in a stress-free exchange with a fellow lover of words. Agents want to help us succeed. Let them. 

ABOUT TAY BERRYHILL:

Tay Berryhill writes young adult novels while also trying her hand at graphic novels and picture book illustrating. She lives in Birmingham with her husband and three dogs.    

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK Get INTENSE!

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
Get INTENSE! 

This year, WiK16 will host two intensives on Friday, October 7, 2016

Writers’ Intensive with Bruce Coville 
The Light Fantastic
The session will begin with an “annotated storytelling” of the first two chapters of The Monster’s Ring, examining in detail the tricks and techniques being used. Then we’ll examine ten specific tips for writing compelling fantasies. Audience: For editors, librarians, teachers, parents, and children, the hook is what pulls us in, what keeps us reading, and what remains with us after the last page is turned. This intensive will explore the hook of the book from many angles, and you will leave with ideas on how to improve your art.

Illustrators’ Intensive with Don Tate
Drawing on Diversity & Style to Create Authentic Characters 
The call for more diversity in children’s literature is not new. However groups like We Need Diverse Books and The Brown Bookshelf have helped to bring more attention to the issue. How do illustrators answer that call? And how can you create authentic characters of color who are outside of your own experience. It’s more than creating white characters in brown face. In session, we will discuss, investigate, draw and develop multi-dimensional characters that will ring true in today’s world. We’ll also work on developing a marketable style. But what is a marketable style/technique? How do illustrators discover and achieve this in their career? Don will conduct a drawing session that includes drawing like other illustrators and attendees will stretch and reach toward new strengths. He’ll also demystify the process of creating a winning picture book dummy. Planning through thumbnail sketches. Rising and falling action. Driving your reader through your story by the use of dynamic page turns, color, and composition. Audience: Illustrators, all levels.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Jodi Wheeler-Toppen

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Jodi Wheeler-Toppen 

Jodi Wheeler-Toppen is a science author and educator with 10+ books for children and teachers from National Geographic Kids, Capstone, and NSTA Press. She is a former high school science teacher, with a Ph.D. in Science Education from the University of Georgia. She loves having adventures with kids—her own and any others who come her way. Find her at www.OnceUponAScienceBook.com or on Facebook @JodiWheelerToppen.

WORKSHOP

• Getting your Books (and you!) into Schools How do teachers decide which books to use with their classes? What makes a teachers’ guide for a book really useful for a teacher? How do you get a teacher’s guide noticed so that teachers will try it out? In this session, we’ll hear from teacher interviews on how they select books. We’ll look at some lesson plans that teachers love and figure out why they work. We’ll look at some publications coming out of educator’s groups that can help us highlight our work for teachers, and help them see how valuable our author visits can be. And it will be fun! Audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels. 

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Lisa Lewis Tyre

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Lisa Lewis Tyre 

Lisa Lewis Tyre is the middle grade author of Last In A Long Line of Rebels, (Nancy Paulsen Books) a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post, a founder of the multi-author blog, Middle Grade Mafia, and a social media evangelist! She is currently working on her second novel, Eight Day Daughter, releasing 2017.

WORKSHOP

• It’s a Tweet Life! Twitter 101 When it comes to getting published, writers should use every tool available. It’s now possible to get noticed, find an agent, even get published because of Twitter! This class is designed to teach you the basics - how to use Twitter, how hashtags work and which ones to use, participating in twitter contests, building your platform, connecting with influencers, etc. Audience: Writers and illustrators, beginner.

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Amy Dees

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Amy Dees

Amy McCoy Dees loves to chat about anything concerning writing and reading, especially for children. An advocate for students, she serves on the Coweta County School board. She has published numerous articles on varying topics such as education, policy making, outstanding student achievement, and parenting. Her Young Adult novel, Freedom’s Secret, was shortlisted for this year’s Georgia Author of the Year Award, 2016. To learn more please visit her at: amydees.com or follow her own Twitter @amy_mdees.

WORKSHOP

• Set Your Work on Fire, Use Social Media as Your Gasoline! Introductions on how to make a book trailer-and post it to social media websites Step by step intros on making a book trailer Where to, when, and how to increase your ‘follow-ship’ Be engaging in PERSON and on social media-How audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels.

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Joyce Sweeney

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Joyce Sweeney

Joyce Sweeney is an awardwinning author, poet and theatrical producer. She is also a writing teacher and mentor .She offers a variety of classes and workshops, live and via Skype  and  her online courses, www. sweeneywritingcoach.com have helped her reach a national audience.  She is a member of Florida SCBWI and serves in their mentorship program.  So far, she has successfully mentored 57 students to traditional publishing contracts.

WORKSHOP

• The Path to Publication In my 25 years of mentoring, I have learned that there are not certain writers who ‘have what it takes’, there are just writers who are willing to DO what it takes. The process of traditional publishing is long and arduous and requires a lot of patience, character building and self esteem to work through rejections and near misses. There are steps to making a writer’s dream come true and knowing the steps and being willing to commit to the work or learning craft and navigating the maze of agents and editors can lead to success....eventually. audience: Writers and illustrators, advanced.

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Cathy Hall

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Cathy Hall

Cathy C. Hall just can’t seem to make up her mind. One day, she’s published in a book of puppet plays, and the next, she’s appearing in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. She’s written children’s books for the Korean educational market and short stories for a Chinese kidlit magazine. She’s like the Where’s Waldo of the writing world (only way better dressed).

WORKSHOP

• So You Want to Get Published  Many of us who join SCBWI think we must get a book published because...well, it’s the Society of Children’s BOOK Writers and Illustrators. But there are many children’s writers who are interested in poetry, short stories, plays, essays, and more--and there are plenty of kidlit markets for these children’s writers. In Part I, I’ll bring those markets to our newest writers, give first-hand tips on how to break into those markets and share the resources a new writer should have on the shelf, virtual or real. In Part II, I’ll discuss PAL membership in SCBWI and how it can benefit EVERY published member! audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels. 

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Joan Broerman

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Joan Broerman

Joan Broerman, Southern Breeze RAE and 1998 SCBWI Member of the Year, writes for all ages across the spectrum of newspapers, magazines, and books. She has contributed to more than a dozen books on the craft and business of writing for children. Her project, “Take a Librarian to Lunch” thanks our tireless partners in research. She blogs about children’s books for busy parents, joanbooklog.blogspot.com.

WORKSHOP

• Rejecting Rejection   Like characters in your book, rejection is layered, not one dimensional. It plays a vital role in the writing process. Reject what rejection does TO you and make it work FOR you to improve craft and redirect marketing energy. audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels. 

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Randi Sonenshine

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Randi Sonenshine

Randi Sonenshine has been an educator and professional developer for over twenty years. An instructional literacy coach and member of the ELA Advisory Council for the Georgia Department of Education, she has taught high school English, middle school language arts, and college reading. As a children’s author, she is represented by Kendra Marcus at BookStop Literary. She lives in northwest Georgia with her husband and two sons. You can find Randi at Facebook, randisonenshine.com, theproseytree.blogspot.com or on Twitter as @rsonenshine.

WORKSHOP

• Not Just for Circle Time: Enriching your Picture Book with Content Connections    Picture books provide the perfect bite-sized segue into core disciplinary concepts and complex literacy skills that span content areas and grade levels. But how can writers navigate the tangled maze of standards that leave many experienced educators shaking their heads? And which standards are the most important, anyway? In this session, participants will learn the answers to both of these questions, plus other practical tips for writing picture books that teachers will turn to again and again! audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels.  

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Kami Kinard

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Kami Kinard

Kami Kinard is the author of The Boy Problem (Scholastic, 2014) and The Boy Project (Scholastic, 2012), which was newly released in paperback July 2016 as part of Scholastic’s WISH series. Her poetry, stories, articles, and essays have appeared in numerous periodicals for children and adults. In addition to her professional critiquing services, she is a SCBWI mentor, and often leads writing workshops at conferences and in schools.  www. kamikinard.com.

WORKSHOP

• The Anatomy of Secondary Characters  When writing novels, we spend a lot of time developing our main characters. But secondary characters need our attention too! This session discusses how to develop secondary characters whose talents and characteristics amplify those of main characters and help them reach their goals. Using examples from many best-selling novels, we’ll look at various types of secondary characters, assigning each a part of the body, based on how they assist the main character. (Hermione Granger, for example, is the brain.) audience: Writers, all levels. 

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Sara Sargent

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Sara Sargent

Sara Sargent is an Executive Editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books, where she acquires fiction and nonfiction in picture book, middle grade, and young adult. Previously she was an Editor at Simon & Schuster, where she worked with New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines, National Book Award finalist Deb Caletti, and Jennifer Echols, among others. She received her Master of Science in journalism from Northwestern University. You can find Sara online at www. sarasargent.wordpress.com.

WORKSHOPS

• Worldbuilding  No matter what genre or category you’re writing in, you need to have the strongest possible world for your novel. We’ll discuss tactics for improving your world and making it so compelling that readers will never want to leave! audience: Writers, all levels. 
• Live Editing    Ever wonder about the editorial process—what we choose to edit and why? Sara Sargent will line edit live, using one page of each participant’s manuscript to show how editors think and how they make tough decisions about what stays and what goes. audience: Writers, all levels. 

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Brooks Sherman

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Brooks Sherman

Brooks Sherman is a literary agent with the Bent Agency, representing picture books, middle-grade, and young adult fiction. His clients include New York Times bestseller Adam Silvera (More Happy Than Not, Soho Teen), Morris Award winner Becky Albertalli (Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Balzer + Bray), and Sam Garton (I Am Otter, Balzer + Bray). You can find Brooks sharing publishing news and horrible puns on Twitter: @byobrooks.

WORKSHOPS

• Crafting a Compelling Query  Pick up tips and strategies for how to make your query letter stand out from the slush. Literary agent Brooks Sherman will share do’s and don’t’s of what to put in your query, and how to format it to keep it tight yet informative. audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels. 
•  Writing a Gripping Opening   How do you craft the right balance of character, setting, and plot in your manuscript’s first pages to hook an agent, editor, and reader? Literary agent Brooks Sherman discusses the characteristics that make up a compelling opening for your middle grade or young adult novel, pointing to concrete examples from published (and soon-to-be-published) works. audience: Writers, all levels. 

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Orli Zuravichy

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Orli Zuravichy

Orli Zuravicky has been in children’s publishing for over fourteen years. She is currently a Senior Editor at Scholastic, where she works on illustrated and photographic fiction and nonfiction for ages 0-7. She specializes in acquiring board books, novelty books, picture books, readers, and nonfiction. She is also a published author, and is currently working on her first middle-grade series.

WORKSHOPS

• Developing a Strong Picture Book Character   In this workshop, I’ll talk about what makes a strong picture book character, focusing on some bestselling characters in the market as examples. audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels. 
• Breaking into the Board Book & Novelty Market In this workshop, I’ll focus on breaking down the board book and novelty market and what makes a break-out bestseller, as well as what kind of challenges the market faces. audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels. 
• Developing a Strong Picture Book Character  In this workshop, I’ll talk about what makes a strong picture book character, focusing on some bestselling characters in the market as examples. audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels. 

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Tansuri Prasanna

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
with Tansuri Prasanna

Tansuri Prasanna holds a PhD in jurisprudence and human rights law from Oxford and a Master’s degree from Harvard Law School. She has worked at the World Bank’s legal department and as a teaching fellow at Columbia Law School. Her love for children’s books motivated her transition into publishing and before joining HSG she interned at Knopf Young Readers and Foundry Literary+ Media. Tanusri is interested in kidlit ranging from picture books to middle-grade and young adult fiction.

WORKSHOPS

• Encouraging Diversity in Children’s Books    This session will discuss the collective action required to promote kidlit that truly reflects the reality of the world around us, so that children can see themselves honestly portrayed in the books they read, in a way that is inclusive of race, religion, gender, socio-economic background, sexual orientation, ability and other identifiers of diversity. audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels. 
• Role of the Literary Agent  This session will discuss the role played by an agent from helping get the manuscript in shape for submission, the submission process, negotiating the publishing contract and managing an author’s career together with the publisher, drawing from HSG’s practices and philosophy. audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels. 

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Don Tate

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Don Tate

Don Tate is an award-winning author, and the illustrator of numerous critically acclaimed books for children, including The Cart That Carried Martin, (Charlesbridge); Hope’s Gift, (Penguin); Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite (Charlesbridge); and Ron’s Big Mission, (Penguin). He is also an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor winner. His recent titles include The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch (Illustrator, Eerdmans, 2015), and Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton (Author and illustrator, Peachtree, 2015). Don is a founding host of the The Brown Bookshelf–a blog dedicated to books for African American young readers; and a member of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his family. 

INTENSIVE

• Drawing on Diversity & Style to Create Authentic Characters The call for more diversity in children’s literature is not new. However groups like We Need Diverse Books and The Brown Bookshelf have helped to bring more attention to the issue.

WORKSHOPS

• My Journey    Overnight success does not always happen overnight. In fact, for Don Tate, overnight success took thirty-plus years to attain. This self-described “Longestcoming up-and-comer” will share his journey from reluctant grade-school reader to published illustrator, and then on to becoming an award-winning children’s book author. In his breakout, Tate will discuss some lessons learned, myths vs. reality, and he will offer practical advice for both aspiring and published authors and illustrators. audience: Illustrators, all levels.
•  For writers and illustrators: Creating Winning Picture Book   Biographies   As an illustrator, words frightened Don Tate. After all, artists create pictures, they don’t write stories. So how did a non-word person go about writing award-winning picture books (one that he did not illustrate)? In his breakout session, Don will reveal all of that, discussing both sides of the bookmaking process. How do creators of picture book biographies find and then zero in on the right information? How can illustrators find their writing voice? And what about research— how do I know what to include and leave out? Don’s breakout will include his process of planning a story from initial inspiration through creating thumbnail sketches and dummy books. audience: Illustrators, all levels. 

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Bruce Coville

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Bruce Coville

Bruce Coville is an SCBWI Advisory Board member and the author of over a hundred books for children and young adults, including My Teacher is an Alien, Into the Land of the Unicorns, and Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. His books have appeared in a dozen languages, and have won children’s choice awards in numerous states, including twice in California. Bruce is also the founder of Full Cast Audio, an audiobook publishing company devoted to producing full cast, unabridged recordings for family listening. 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

• Ripples in the Pond: Why What We Do Matters 

INTENSIVE

• The Light Fantastic The session will begin with an “annotated storytelling” of the first two chapters of The Monster’s Ring, examining in detail the tricks and techniques being used. Then we’ll examine ten specific tips for writing compelling fantasies.

WORKSHOPS

• The Light Fantastic: Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction (a shorter version of the Fantasy/SF intensive)  The session will begin with an “annotated storytelling” of the first two chapters of The Monster’s Ring, examining in detail the tricks and techniques being used. Then we’ll examine ten specific tips for writing compelling fantasies. audience: Writers, all levels. 
• Voice in Writing: The Most Elusive Aspect  Ask editors what they are looking for in a manuscript, and more often than not the answer you will hear is “voice.” Unfortunately, while voice is the element of writing most sought, it is also the one least taught. Indeed, voice can’t really be taught . . . it something a writer must develop. So let’s talk about some ways that you can find your own voice . . . or voices! audience: Writers, all levels.
• At the Intersection of Plot and Character: Weaving Action and Insight  Writers are concerned about plot. Writers are concerned about character. But what we should really be concerned about is the ways in which plot and character intersect – how plot reveals character, and how character drives plot. In this workshop Bruce Coville will focus on these dual, intertwined aspects of storytelling, as demonstrated in his famous “Puddle Story.”  audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels. 

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~