2017 Liz Conrad Awardee Jason Bradley Rollins wins Mentorship with Loraine Joyner

2017 Liz Conrad Awardee Jason Bradley Rollins wins Mentorship with Loraine Joyner

Southern Breeze Region Liz Conrad Award is a scholarship awarded annually to one budding illustrator in the children's book field.  It includes tuition to the annual conference and to Illustrators' Day or the Illustrators' Intensive, depending on the conference that year. This year, a mentorship was added to the award.  This scholarship is open to Southern Breeze SCBWI members only and would be an impressive honor to add to one's resume.

Loraine Joyner, Peachtree Publishers Art Director and long-time advocate for our region, judged the submissions.  Applicants were asked to submit representative work and a brief biography and information sharing why they are interested in pursuing a career in the children’s book industry.  After much deliberation over many submissions, Loraine chose Jason Bradley Rollins illustration.

 

Jason’s animated host of characters reflects the real-world antics of animals.  He had this to share:

“….my love for animals pushed me towards the veterinary field and I attended college for my Associate in Science and acquired my registration and license as a veterinary technician. After twenty years of my writing and drawing being on the back burner while wrestling dogs and cats, I am ready for a change. I have recently joined SCBWI in hopes of improving my skills and possibly achieving my dream of sharing my stories and seeing my characters in print.”

We hope he enjoyed this year’s Illustrator’s Day and Springmingle.  We know you will produce great work under the mentorship program.  

Take a look at some of the other submissions:

Southern Breeze has so much talent! Many thanks to everyone who submitted work for the award.  

We look forward to seeing your work next year. 

ATTENTION: Illustrator DEADLINES!!!

Hello everyone.

I want to encourage you to IMAGINE, CREATE & PREPARE for the journey of creating marvelous products for kidslit. There are some wonderful opportunities for you to take advantage of in our region.  

Just a little reminder:
Liz Conrad Scholarship and Art Director Mentorship
DEADLINE:  January 15th!  
It's right around the corner and this cold weekend will be a great time to write something up and submit.  Loraine Joyner, Art Director of Peachtree Publishers, is excited about assisting the awardee in their own career development.  Take advantage of the guidance.  It's valuable and....it's FREE! #nobrainer 

For more information, please go to the Southern Breeze website: http://southern-breeze.scbwi.org/for-our-illustrators/liz-conrad-portfolio-scholarship/


Jim Hoover's, Art Director with Viking Children's Books, Illustration Project 
DEADLINE: Sketches must be submitted to Jim via email by February 10This one will require a little more preparation, so don't miss the boat!  Make sure you follow the directions in the link below and prepare to submit by the deadline.  It's a great opportunity to have a review of your work at the conference.  Shine big ya'll and be seen! 
http://southern-breeze.scbwi.org/jim-hoover/

For more information, please go to the Southern Breeze website: 
http://southern-breeze.scbwi.org/jim-hoover/

For more informations about Southern Breeze & Springmingle:
http://southern-breeze.scbwi.org/

OK, all that being said, we look forward to seeing all of the great work you will put out in the world.  Southern Breeze has so much talent....let's show them who we are!

See you soon! Stay warm!

TeMika Grooms

SCBWI Southern Breeze Region
Illustrator Coordinator 

Southern-Breeze-IC@scbwi.org

#SpringMingle - Come Make Your Illustrations Soar w/ Loraine Joyner - #SBreeze17

Come Make Your Illustrations Soar with Loraine Joyner

Southern Breeze is pleased to announce that Loraine Joyner, former Art Director for Peachtree Publishers, will be the judge for the Liz Conrad Scholarship for Springmingle and Illustrators Day '17, and will participate in the Quickfire Portfolio review on Illustrators' Day. She will also be available for private portfolio reviews.

An added bonus for this year's Liz Conrad Scholarship includes a mentorship with Loraine for the winning illustrator. The winner of the scholarship will work with Loraine to complete the following in accordance with specified formatting and deadlines:

● a picturebook storyboard, including main character sketches and selection

● roughs for a selected scene

● final drawing of a scene

● final finish of a scene

● 3 character finishes of the main protagonist showing 3 distinctly different emotions, each from a different angle or point of view, but with no settings or secondary characters

The Mentorship will include meetings in person, skype, email or phone and will reflect what it would be like to work with an AD on a picture book project complete with required format specifications and deadlines to meet.

What an amazing opportunity for a lucky illustrator!

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Click  :::HERE::: to log in and register.

~See you in March~

#SpringMingle - Illustrator's Day - #SBreeze17

Illustrator's Day

SCBWI Illustrators and Writers across the Southern Breeze region will gather in Decatur, Georgia for the love of children’s literature on March 10-12, 2017.  Our region boasts of many talented and awarded illustrators and authors.  Join us for Illustrator’s Day and Spring Mingle weekend to learn new skills and network with art directors, editors and agents. 

In case you haven’t heard, Illustrator’s Day is a day geared towards the craft and professional development of visual storytellers of all levels.  The day always includes valuable interactions through informative sessions, critiques and industry connections.  This year has special opportunities you will not want to miss!

Michael Joosten, Editor for Random House, will present a session titled,Lovers of Covers:  All You Need to Know About Creating a Memorable Book Cover.  Because we do often make our book choices because of their covers, attendees will learn about what publishers, art directors, editors, sellers and buyers are looking for in a stellar cover. 

Jim Hoover, Associate Art Director at Viking Children’s Books, will also challenge us to make magic with pictures and words through the Illustration Project: Visual Story Telling in Two Spreads.  Figure out how to hook your audience and present dynamic visual storytelling in only two spreads.  Who is your audience?  The Art director, editors and agents who will provide valuable feedback during the unveiling at Illustrators Day 2017.  What a way to be seen! For more information on the project please visit: http://southern-breeze.scbwi.org/jim-hoover . A limited number of participants will be accepted. Register Early!

And the icing on the cake is that this year, Loraine Joyner, retired Art Director of Peachtree Publishers, will be judging our annual Liz Conrad Scholarship.  The scholarship opened on December 1^st  and will be awarded to one budding illustrator in the children's book field to attend our Illustrators' Day and Springmingle Annual Conference in Atlanta. Loraine has also graciously decided to offer a free mentorship to the winner! Don’t miss this opportunity.  Details can be found at http://southernbreezewriters.blogspot.com/p/scholarship.html.  Deadline is January 15, 2017.

Many Illustrator Day attendees choose to extend the weekend by joining in on Spring Mingle.  The weekend will feature keynotes, breakout sessions, many critique opportunities to encourage skill development and a Saturday night gala to let your hair down.  (Who said book nerds weren’t cool, right?).  Tell a librarian, a teacher and your friends. We’ll see you soon for the big Spring Mingle in Decatur!

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for SCBWI Members! 

Click  :::HERE::: to log in and register.

~See you in March~