Bring Your Career into Sharper Focus with WIK'20 and Meeting Members!

Look for this display at wik'20!

Whether you’re a newcomer or a long time conference attendee, you’re sure to find folks to help you along your creative journey at WIK'20!  Of course, the faculty have lots to share but Membership Coordinator, Paula Puckett hopes you'll mix and mingle with all the members; think about the benefits of expanding your network of writers and illustrators! Though yes, sometimes it’s hard to be a new person in a situation where it might seem like everybody knows everybody else.

So we began something a few conferences ago with a Membership Display and are continuing with this because it seemed to be helpful. Here’s how this will work:

Each area in our region has been divided and posted on the Membership Display.  Look for the largest major city which is closest to where you live, select the corresponding color slip of paper and put it in your name tag.  Then go out there and introduce yourself, especially to those who have the same colored tab in their name tag. Chances are good that they could live somewhere in your area.

If there is not an active Local Liaison close to where you live, consider becoming one yourself. The names and email addresses of Local Liaisons are on the SB webpage. Local Liaisons are volunteers who hold Local Events from time to time. Ask the Regional Advisors, Assistant Regional Advisors or Membership Coordinator to send you information and guidelines about becoming a Local Liaison if you think you would like to participate in this volunteer position.

Some LLs choose to belong to critique groups too, but their main function is to provide opportunities for local members to get together and pass along information about SCBWI Southern Breeze. It’s a bit of work, but it’s the FUN kind of work. 

See how this works?  And anyway you look at it, you will soon begin to develop and expand both your knowledge base of the art and craft of writing/illustrating, along with your network of creatives.  Win, win, win!

All my best,

Paula Puckett

Membership Coordinator

Paula B. Puckett spins stories and yarn. She grows vegetables, frequents flea markets, and makes stuff. She is a retired elementary art educator and a 20+ year member of SCBWI. Follow her on Twitter with @Runswithalpaca or

paulabpuckett.wordpress.com.

Still time to register for wik'20! Click here and register TODAY!

Is Mentorship For You?

Jo starts her mentoring early!

The Southern Breeze region is gearing up for the opening of our mentorship program on February 15th and here's Jo S. Kittinger, Mentorship Coordinator, with the latest news:

You've been writing for years, but now feel stalled. A published author's insights can help move you forward.

Last year, one writer found success with selling not one, but two magazine articles in the course of her mentorship! (If you have been struggling to sell a book manuscript, you might consider trying magazine writing. The demand for material is greater and the competition is less.) And while this program does not promise publication, it can help you polish your craft.

The following mentors are available for 2020:

Kara Bietz, Young Adult

Claire Datnow, Nonfiction Middle Grade

Nancy Raines Day, Picture Books

Jamie Dodson, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, NF

Avery Hurt, Nonfiction magazine articles

Jo S. Kittinger, Picture Books, Easy Readers, fiction or nonfiction

Heather L. Montgomery, Nonfiction, books and magazines, grant writing

Johnna Stein, Magazine articles

Tracey M. Cox, Picture Books (non-rhyming)

Learn more on the Southern Breeze website and remember, spaces are limited so not everyone who applies can be matched with a mentor, but every applicant will receive a critique of the work submitted. The application window is short--February 15 to March 20--so don't delay!

If you have any questions about our mentorship program, please contact Jo Kittinger. Remember, you'll find lots of information and the application on the website! Good luck!

Bring Your Career into Sharper Focus with WIK20 and INFORMAL CRITIQUES

If you've taken a look at the SCBWI Southern Breeze Facebook page recently--you do know there is an SCBWI Southern Breeze Facebook page, right? You'll also know that the SCBWI Southern Breeze Facebook page is a great place to check in daily and see what's happening around our region. And when you check in, you're going to see this:

This is why we go to conferences: community, craft, career. It's also what you'll get with the informal critiques that we offer at every conference.

The informal critiques are free, and they're an excellent opportunity to meet with other writers and writer/illustrators who write exactly what you write (or illustrate).

Looking for picture book writers who can give you feedback? We've got that, and author-illustrators, too. Non-fiction, only, please? Sure, we've got that as well. But what about novels, you ask. We'll put you in a group with Middle Grade or Young Adult. We have your community, but it doesn't end at wik20. There's no reason why you can't continue to critique with friends you meet at a conference.

Your group might be a couple of new writers but you'll also have a facilitator who has a bit of experience. And before you think that writer sitting next to you who's never attended a conference won't be much help, you might be surprised to know that he or she won the writing contest the year before. So the level of craft in your informal group might be varied but it will be mighty--and you will learn plenty!

Finally, we know it's not always easy to put your work out there, whether it's a professional manuscript critique or an informal critique. But SCBWI Southern Breeze is rooting for you, so take a deep breath and share, knowing that we all started at the beginning and we all know exactly how you feel. We promise to give your work the same thoughtful and thorough consideration that we'd want. Then keep putting the work in and the day will come when your career will take off.

See this great post from our Critique Coordinator, T.K.Read for more information about how the informal critiques work. We'll be meeting in the Aloft Hotel this year for critique, sure, but what we're really after is community and craft and career! See y'all there!

Click here and register today for wik20 and bring your career into sharper focus!

Breezers in Your Neighborhood: FEBRUARY!

Breezers meeting all over the region in February, so come join us!


Friday, February 7th

When: 3 - 6 PM

Where: Skyland Shopping Center
             US Highway 90
             Mobile, AL

What: Breezers Joyce Scarbrough, Candice Conner, Christa Stanley, and Lady Lester will be some of the contributing authors signing copies of Valentine's Day Pieces at Mobile Bookseller. This is the third edition of the Pieces anthology series sponsored by the Mobile Writers Guild.

Monday, February 10th

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.

Also from Suzanne Purvis, Local Liaison in the Florida Panhandle:

Each Tuesday, we are holding a Write-in at Niceville Library. Writers will say hello and then spread out to write. We can get together around lunch and go out to eat or not. Then write again in the afternoon. This is completely flexible, so come for half a day or the full day or an hour. No RSVP is necessary, just show up and write. And if you're the only one, it's fine. Write and accomplish!



Saturday, February 29

When: 10 AM to Noon

Where: East Cobb Library
             4880 Lower Roswell Road
             Suite 510 B
             Marietta, GA  30068

What: From Kara Bietz, the new Local Liaison of the Cobb County are...

"It's a Meet and Greet! Come mingle with your fellow Cobb County Southern Breezers for a morning of discussion and idea sharing. What kinds of programming would you like to see in Cobb? We'll also discuss the upcoming WIK conference and answer any burning questions you may have about getting the most out of your conference experience. We will finish off the morning with a First Pages Panel! Polish the first 100-200 words of your manuscript for a quick critique from our panel of experts. This will be an anonymous activity, so leave your names off of your work, please!" 

Love is in the air in February and we love spreading the word about your FREE events! If you have an event coming up, let us know! Contact Cathy Hall (southern-breeze-ara2@scbwi.org) with all the details before the first of the month in which your event will occur.

On Board at the Smithsonian: Breezer Carmen Agra Deedy!

We just got big news about our own Southern Breezer, Carmen Agra Deedy!

Deedy moved with her family from Havana to Decatur, Georgia during the Cuban Revolution, and now she's a celebrated author of children's books, published in both English and Spanish. And what a storyteller! She's enthralled audiences for years, including Southern Breezers when she gave a keynote at one of our Springmingle conferences. But really, there's SO much more to this Breezer, so on to the news!

The Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents voted Oct. 21 to appoint Carmen Agra Deedy and Brandon Neal to the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board in January 2020. They will join 17 community and business leaders dedicated to building the Libraries’ collections, increasing digital initiatives, advancing education, creating high-quality exhibitions and programs and securing a financial legacy. “I am pleased to welcome Carmen Agra Deedy and Brandon Neal to our Board,” said Scott Miller, Deputy Under Secretary for Collections and Interdisciplinary Support and Interim Director, Smithsonian Libraries. “They bring with them decades of extraordinary leadership and expertise in key areas. Their outstanding work has enhanced communities around the country—Deedy through storytelling and literacy and Neal through advocacy and fundraising.”

“It is an honor to serve the Smithsonian Libraries, an organization with a venerable and storied past. As an immigrant, this appointment is especially poignant; during my formative years America’s libraries were both university and sanctuary,” said Carmen Agra Deedy. “I am elated to work with this exceptional Board, whose collective vision and quiet diligence is ensuring that the Libraries’ second century will be as celebrated as its first.”

The Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board consists of members from across the United States. The mission of the board is to help the Libraries to provide authoritative information and create innovative services and programs for Smithsonian researchers, scholars, scientists, curators, historians and other staff, as well as the public at large.

About the Smithsonian Libraries

The Smithsonian Libraries maintains a collection of more than 2 million volumes and serves as an educational resource for the Smithsonian Institution, the global research community and the public. The Libraries are located in Washington, D.C.; Edgewater, Md.; Chantilly, Va.; New York City; and the Republic of Panama. 

There are lots of ways to connect with the libraries but here's a good starting place: library.si.edu. 

About Carmen Agra Deedy 

Deedy is the author of eleven books for children, including The Library Dragon, The Cheshire Cheese Cat, Martina the Beautiful Cockroach and 14 Cows for America, a New York Times bestseller. Her personal stories first appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered. 

She is host of the four-time Emmy-winning children’s program, Love That Book! An award-winning author and storyteller, Deedy is also an accomplished lecturer, having been a guest speaker for both the TED and TEDx Conferences, the Library of Congress, Columbia University, the National Book Festival, and the Kennedy Center, among other distinguished venues. 

Deedy’s dedication to libraries and librarians has been life-long. She served on the Dekalb Public Libraries Board of Trustees, in her home state of Georgia, as an Author Library Advocate for the American Library Association. A life-long supporter of the Smithsonian, she opened the 2016 Art of the Book Lecture Series for the Libraries. Deedy’s newest picture book, Rita and Ralph’s Rotten Day (Scholastic Press), illustrated by Pete Oswald, will be released on March 3, 2020.

Oh, the places you'll go when you join SCBWI! Big congrats to Southern Breezer, Carmen Agra Deedy! (And P.S. If you've never explored the Smithsonian Libraries, take a look! It's a treasure trove for readers and researchers: free images, educator resources, and all kinds of online digital delights--all there, just for you! And thank you to Carmen Agra Deedy for helping with the mission of this amazing library system!)