But What About the Books?

When we had to cancel our wik'20 conference in Birmingham, there was disappointment all around. But there was so much to do to get all of our speakers ready with the online format that we didn't have a lot of time to think about all the extra events that go along with a conference. Events like the Book Signing and Portfolio Show, which was also unfortunately cancelled.





But then I heard our Membership Coordinator, Paula Puckett, talking about the books she'd ordered from the conference. What a great idea, I thought. So I asked her to share her book-buying info:




There are SO many favorite things about attending an SCBWI Southern Breeze conference, and seeing books by some of our SB authors/speakers is right up there at the TOP of my list! I love, love, LOVE the chance to catch up with a few long-time friends, make NEW friends, buy their books, and have them sign my very own copy.

Things changed up just a bit for this year, and the Conference Team has been busy putting together our conference in an online format. Now is the time to sign up, if you haven't already done so. But what about the books? you might be asking. How can you get the books? 

Little Professor Book Center in Homewood, AL is Birmingham's Oldest Independent Bookstore. They are also the wonderful folks who were going to be at the conference, selling us all of those books.

And here is what they are saying:

"We would be happy to handle book sales for the people interested in books from the conference. In fact we have already handled a few orders. Please give anyone interested in purchasing books our contact information."

Orders can be sent to any of the following:

Email - lphomewood@gmail.com

Phone - (205) 870-7461 T

Text message - (205) 526-3332

"We also have begun offering a local delivery service. Free for addresses within 10 miles of the store and $5.00 for the rest of the Birmingham area."

And what a stellar line up of books from WIK speakers they have available for us! Just take a look at this list: 

Answering the Cry for Freedom by Gretchen Woelfle and R. Gregory Christie (illustrator)
Bugs Don’t Hug: Six-Legged Parents and their Kids by Heather Montgomery and Stephen Stone (illustrator)
Counting Birds by Heidi E.Y. Stemple and Clover Robin (illustrator)
Cowhide-and-Seek by Sheri Dillard and Jess Pauwels (illustrator)
Dictionary for a Better World by Irene Latham, Charles Waters, and Mehrdokht Amini (illustrator) Eek You Reek!: Poems about Animals that Stink, Stank, Stunk by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, and Eugenia Nobati (illustrator)
Emily Writes by Jane Yolen and Christine Davenier (illustrator)
The Falling Between Us by Ash Parsons
FireTruck vs. Dragon by Chris Barton and Shanda McCloskey (illustrator)
Fly With Me by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Adam Stemple, and Jason Stemple
Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford and R. Gregory Christie (illustrator)
Girls Like Us by Randi Pink
Grandma’s Purse by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
The House on Dirty-Third Street by Jo S. Kittinger and Thomas Gonzalez (illustrator)
Into White by Randi Pink
Just Like Me by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
A Kite for Moon by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, and Matt Phelan (illustrator)
Love, Agnes: Postcards from an Octopus by Irene Latham and Thea Baker (illustrator)
Mama’s Work Shoes by Caron Levis and Vanessa Brantley-Newton (illustrator)
Maple by Lori Nichols
Mapping the Bones by Jane Yolen 
Meet Miss Fancy by Irene Latham and John Holyfield (illustrator)
Miriam at the River by Jane Yolen and Khoa Le (illustrator) 
Mousetropolis by R. Gregory Christie
Octopus Escapes! by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer and Frank W. Dormer (illustrator) 
Oliver: The Second-Largest Living Thing on Earth by Josh Crute and John Taesoo Kim (illustrator) Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and John Schoenherr (illustrator)
Rosa’s Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights by Jo S. Kittinger and Steven Walker (illustrator)
The Shifter by Janice Hardy
The Singing Rock & Other Brand-New Fairy Tales by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer and Simini Blocker (illustrator)
Something Rotten: A Fresh Look at Roadkill by Heather Montgomery and Kevin O’Malley (illustrator)
T-Bone the Drone by Shanda McCloskey
Two By Two by Lisa Lowe Stauffer and Angelika Scudamore (illustrator)
Until I Break by Kara M. Bietz
You Nest Here with Me by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, and Melissa Sweet (illustrator)

Thank You, Thank You, Thank Yous all around. To Little Professor and their Team for bringing us BOOKS! To all of the Volunteers and Conference Team for working to bring us a conference in (yes) another format. Thank Yous to our Faculty and Speakers, for what you have done and are yet to do.

 All my best,
 Paula Puckett
SB Membership Coordinator

Breezers in Your Neighborhood--MARCH!

All kinds of events going on all over the Southern Breeze region so take a look and come out and join us!


Sunday, March 8th

Both author Jennifer Swanson and illustrator TeMika Grooms will be at Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Georgia as part of the Atlanta Science Festival. Come out for this free event and book-signing and find out if you have what it takes to be a human crash test dummy!

When: 2:00 to 3:00 PM

Where: Little Shop of Stories Bookstore
             133A East Court Square
             Decatur, GA





Monday, March 9

From LL Suzanne Purvis in the Florida Panhandle:

When: 10:30 AM

Where: Santa Rosa Mall Food Court
             Fort Walton Beach, FL

What: Bring a craft tip to share and up to 500 words for critique or positivity pass OR up to three illustration spreads for critique or positivity pass.


Friday, March 13- Saturday, March 14

Join us in the Birmingham area for Illustrators' Day, Writer's Intensives, and wik'20! It's all happening at the Homewood Public Library and the Aloft Hotel and there are still a few spots left. Get all the information and register HERE today!


Saturday, March 21

Author Randi Sonenshine has busy times ahead with the launch of her debut picture book, The Nest That Wren Built! She'll have fun bird crafts and an interactive presentation of her story at this free event, though there may be limited copies of the book available. (Books are available for pre-order and should arrive in time for signing.)



When: 10 AM

Where: Cartersville Library
             429 W. Main Street
             Cartersville, GA


Sunday, March 22

Join Randi for a Storytime!

When: 2:00 PM

Where:  Little Shop of Stories Bookstore
             133A East Court Square
             Decatur, GA

On April 4th, Randi will have another book-signing and storytime at Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA. Find more details in Breezers in Your Neighborhood in April. And if you have news, let us know! We'd love to join you at your next event!

Breezers in Your Neighborhood--MARCH!

There will be plenty of Breezers in the neighborhood of Decatur, Georgia on the weekend of March 16th and 17th when we Spring To Success with Springmingle'19! Illustrator's Day and writers' intensives are scheduled for Friday and on Saturday, join us for the conference--there's still room for a few more at the conference only so hurry and register here!

But if you can't make the conference or Illustrator's Day, you can still pop in for a visit at our reception on Friday evening! Come and see our illustrators' portfolios, purchase member and SM'19 faculty books, and say hello to our Coretta Scott King Honors Book Award illustrator, Laura Freeman, who'll be joining us to sign her honor book, Hidden Figures. The reception is FREE and we'd love to see you!




What:  SCBWI Southern Breeze Portfolio Show, Reception, and  Book-Signing
Where: Decatur Public Library, First Floor Conference Room
              215 Sycamore Street
              Decatur, GA  30030
When:   4:00 to 6:30 PM



                     





Breezer Kerry Madden-Lunsford and her newly released picture book, Ernestine's Milky Way, will be at the following dates, locations, and times:

Monday, March 4th Alabama Booksmith Birmingham, AL at 5:00 pm

Tuesday, March 5th UAB Professor Book Celebration at AEIVA at 3:30 pm

Saturday, March 23rd Homewood Public Library, Homewood, AL 10:30 am

Decatur Book Festival Roundup!

The skies stayed clear, and the sun stayed hot this year at the Decatur Book Festival. The Southern Breeze SCBWI booth, in the children’s zone on Sycamore Street, was staffed by a baker’s dozen of brave and cheerful authors and illustrators including Kim Sullivan, Jodi Wheeler-Toppen, Jill Dubin, Janie Watts, Vickie McEntire, Andy Klein, Alayne Smith, Linda Hodge-McLoud, Susan Allen, Lucyann Wagner, Laura Freeman, Morgan Young, and me.

While we didn’t sell as many books as we would have liked, we talked with dozens of families, teachers, librarians, and grandparents. We handed out fliers about SCBWI to aspiring authors/illustrators, and made some contacts that hopefully will result in school visits and other opportunities.

Plus, the Festival itself was fantastic! There were booths featuring everything from yummy foods to MFA programs. And well-known authors gave talks and signed books in about a dozen venues throughout the weekend. There was no charge for festival visitors, including attending any and all of the speakers’ programs. (I think this festival is Atlanta’s best-kept secret!)

This year marked the first time in a number of years that Southern Breeze had a booth presence at the festival, so it was a bit of a learning experience. I hope we’ll have a booth again in 2019, and make some changes so we can reach even more people (and sell more books).

So whether you’d like to be involved in planning, staffing the booth, or simply as an attendee, pencil in Labor Day weekend. I know I’ll be looking forward to this festival each year from now on.

A big thanks to the Breezers who staffed the booth, the Breezers who stopped by to say hello, and to Ivan Pegram (Sharon’s husband) for shooting photos.

~Lisa Lowe Stauffer

About Lisa Lowe Stauffer

Lisa Lowe Stauffer’s debut book is TWO BY TWO (Zonderkidz), a playful, rhyming story about animals rocking the boat on Noah’s Ark. Her twenty-year journey to publication was helped by the encouragement of many, many critique partners, including lots of fellow Breezers. LisaLoweStauffer.com