I thought I would point out www.theoatmeal.com just incase you have not found it on your own.  It blends learning and fun.  Yes, that is a good thing to do, even with adults.

Take a minute to visit, this is just the first tip they offer to help you remember when to use a semicolon.  http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon

Kathy

The final deadline to apply is February 12, 2010

This year is the 26th year for the Highlights Annual Writers Workshop at Chautauqua, NY. During that time they have given out 275 scholarships to help individuals with a serious interest in writing for children and who have an established financial need.

Scholarships vary in the stipend awarded depending on an applicant’s requirements and the funds available. Funds for scholarships come from two sources: a Foundation Endowment Fund or scholarships that are funded annually by donors.

The deadline is quickly approaching. Applications must be postmarked no later than February 12, 2010. Please visit www.HighlightsFoundation.org  or contact:

Jo Lloyd
Program Assistant
Highlights Foundation, 814 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431
Phone: (877) 512-8365 (toll-free) or (570) 251-4557
Fax: (570) 253-0179
jalloyd@highlightsfoundation.org
http://www.highlightsfoundation.org/
for more information.

The Writers Workshop at Chautauqua is July 17-24, 2010

If you decide to attend this summer, you will spend a week learning from and getting to know children’s book and magazine editors, award-winning authors, and prize-winning illustrators. Plus, you will get to work one-on-one with a publishing professional to polish and shape your manuscript. Maybe wander shady streets between historic gingerbread houses with people who are eager to talk about writing for children. Sit on a porch and critique manuscripts, grab a coffee or dip into a bowl of ice cream, experience creative renewal in a unique setting.

I attended this writing workshop when I first was getting into children’s books.  Highlights is a very good host and provides a lot of help and an exciting time – worth applying for a scholarship.

Kathy

Marysue Rucci will move to Putnam on March 15 as editorial director where she will “build her own roster of authors and help the Putnam imprint acquire and develop new bestselling franchises both in fiction and nonfiction.” 

Rucci has been executive editor at Simon & Schuster, where she has worked for 13 years.

Publishers Marketplace reports that Kathleen Tucker will retire as editor-in-chief at Albert Whitman & Company at the end of April. The company is seeking a replacement.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY’s compilation of emails for people who’ve recently
left firms brought the news of two departures from the Dutton divisionbof Penguin: Maureen Sullivan, formerly Executive Editor, and Margaret Woollatt, formerly Associate Editor.

 

In the Knopf and Crown editorial department at Random House Children’s Books, Michele Burke has been promoted to editor and Allison Wortche has been promoted to associate editor.

In the Random House Books for Young Readers division, four

assistants have risen to the level of Assistant Editor: Jessica Waters,

Courtney Moran, Courtney Turco, and Clare Swanson. They all report to

Editorial Director Jennifer Hershey.

 

Usually becoming an Assistant Editor means one of your goals becomes

acquiring a certain number of projects per year, so these are people to

keep our eyes on.

 

Howard W. Reeves, publisher of Abrams Books for Young Readers and Amulet Books will become editor-at-large of the company.

Following Brendan Deneen’s departure, FinePrint Literary Management has hired Pouya Shahbazian as a literary manager/producer, specializing in book-to-film and TV deals for clients and also running FinePrint Productions, producing and packaging film and television projects. He co-founded ManDown Pictures & Management in 2007 after working at the Broder-Webb-Chervin-Silbermann Agency.

I hope Maureen Sullivan will want to continue her career in the book publishing industry, since she was a favorite of the NJSCBWI chapter and we don’t want to lose her talent.  Congratulations to Michele Burke and Allison Wortche on their promotions – both were definitely deserved.  Best wishes to all the other people who have changed positions and help promote the authors and illustrators of children’s books.

Hope you are enjoying the pictures from the conference.

Kathy

LEHIGH VALLEY STYLE (a Pennsylvania Regional Publication)
http://www.lehighvalleystyle.com/about-us
—
We prefer a written proposal of 250 to 300 words as a preliminary query. The proposal should convince us that we should cover the subject, offer descriptive information on how you, the writer, would treat the subject and offer us an opportunity to judge your writing ability. Background information and writing credentials are helpful.

You may send your submission via electronic mail to editor@lehighvalleystyle.com. If you have supporting material
or clips of previously published work, you may prefer to send your proposal through the United States mail. Address it to:

Lisa J. Gotto, Editor-in-Chief
Lehigh Valley Style
3245 Freemansburg Avenue
Palmer, PA 18045

If you send your proposal by post, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for materials to be returned. If we decide to commission an article, the writer receives full payment on publication. If the article is found unsuitable through no fault of the writer, 25% of the payment serves as a kill fee.

Lehigh Valley Style is buying First North American Serial Rights only. Our article length ranges from an 1,800-word HomeStyle column to a 2,500-word full-length feature. We consider focused subjects that fall within the general range of Lehigh Valley Style interests, such as: home design, engaging personalities, gourmet food, art, culture, health, wellness, beauty, and fashion. We do not consider previously published articles. We have a three-month lead time. Pays 50 cents/word and up.

And here is my backyard – glad I didn’t have to go anywhere.  More pictures tomorrow.

Kathy

ALABAMA WRITERS’ CONCLAVE 2010
WRITING COMPETITION GUIDELINES

Deadline: April 20, 2010 (postmark). P Prizes: 1st: $100; 2nd: $75; 3rd: $50; 4th: $25 and up to 4 Honorable Mentions.

WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED at the AWC Conference Banquet at the Hilton Birmingham Perimeter Park Hotel, Birmingham, Alabama on JULY 17, 2010.

Contest Rules: Entries must be original, unpublished, and may not have won a money prize in any contest. (Sitting AWC voting Board Members are not eligible.) Multiple entries are accepted, but only one prize is awarded for each category.

Entry Fees

For all categories (EXCEPT Poem and First Chapter Novel): $5.00 per entry if AWC member, $8.00 per entry if non-member.

For First Chapter Novel: $10.00 if member, $12.00 if non-member.

For Poem: $3.00 per poem if member, $5.00 if non-member.

Writing Competition Categories

Fiction - maximum 2500 words.

Short Fiction – maximum 1000 words.

Juvenile Fiction (stories for ages 4-12) – maximum 2500 words. MUST LIST GENRE AND TARGETED AGE GROUP (i.e. picture book, 3 & up).

Nonfiction – maximum 2500 words (PLEASE SPECIFY IF WRITTEN FOR ADULT OR CHILDREN).

Humor (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry) – maximum 2000 words or 50 lines (for poems).

Traditional Poem (any “form” poem, i.e. villanelle, sonnet, sestina) – maximum 40 lines.

Free Verse Poem – maximum 60 lines.

First Chapter of Novel – up to 10 double-spaced pages, first chapter ONLY.

http://www.alabamawritersconclave.com/contests.html for the details on how to submit.

Hope you are enjoying the pictures.

Kathy

Crafting a Career as a Children’s or Young Adult Author—Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

When: Monday, February 8
Where: Cervantes Institute, 211 East 49th St., New York City
What time: 7 p.m.

With Brian Floca, Richard Peck, Jane O’Connor, and Marilyn Singer; moderated by David Levithan

Free and open to the public

What was it like to begin a career as a children’s or young adult author 20 or 30 years ago, and what challenges do young authors and aspiring writers face today? A panel of distinguished authors will discuss issues of subject matter, book censorship, access to publishers, and book promotion. How did writers confront these issues in the past, and how do they deal with them in the current publishing climate? What will children’s publishing be like tomorrow? Join moderator David Levithan, best-selling young adult author and Vice President and Editorial Director of Trade Publishing at Scholastic; award-winning author-illustrator Brian Floca; Newbery Medalist Richard Peck; Jane O’Connor, best-selling author of the Fancy Nancy picture books and Editor-at-Large at Penguin Books for Young Readers; and award-winning author of poetry, novels, picture books, and non-fiction, Marilyn Singer.

There will be a booksigning after the panel.

PEN American Center
588 Broadway, Suite 303
New York, NY 10012

E-mail: pen@pen.org
Telephone: (212) 334-1660
Fax: (212) 334-2181

The price is right, so if you are in the area, you  might want to consider attending.  If you do please let us know.

Kathy

Last weekend I attended Eddie Gamarra’s workshop about television and new media.  Eddie is a literary manager/producer at The Gotham Group.  He represents screenwriters, directors, animators, authors, illustrators, publishers, and animation studios around the world that specilizes in children and family entertainment.  His main focus is in animation and literature ranging from picture books, novels, anthologies, and graphic novels.  He is located in Los Angeles and his clients include numerous New York Times best-selling authors, illustrators, as well as Oscar, Emmy, Caldecott, Newberry, and Geisel award winners.

He had some interesting things to say, here are some:

1. The reason they tell people to start with selling your book and then approach Hollywood is because Hollywood buys all rights with any idea, so at least you if you have sold the book, then you still have something that will give you on going income.

2. No one reads in Hollywood.  It is all concept – ideas – not story, not characters.  So if you want to sell a book for a movie, etc. then you need to come up with a pilot script and movie trailer.  It’s all sound bites in LaLa Land.  If you are lucky a producer might hand your book to his housekeeper to read.

3. There’s no money in TV – it’s all merchandising.  He coined a word, “Toyettic.”  But remember once you sell your idea, you lose control over the toys and other merchandising ideas.

4. He said that your book will need a strong male character for it to make it in the movies, since there are about 8 male actors that will really sell a movie at the box office.  The ladies don’t have that same affect on sales, so if your story is about a child, you need to make sure there is a strong adult male in the screenplay that will carry the movie.

5. Television is character driven.  He gave the example of Homer Simpson.  It is Homer and how the audience knows him that allows the show to go on for 20 years.

One thing you should know about the Gotham Group; they will not even open something sent to them unless you have been recommended by someone they know.  So if you have something that is exceptionally great, you better find someone who could contact them on your behalf or it will never get seen.

Below are some photos of editors at the Friday night cocktail party.

If you attended the conference and want to share any of your notes or thoughts, we’d love to receive them.

Thanks,

Kathy

Steven Withrow wins the David L Harrison Adult “Poem Inspired by a Word” Contest for January.  This months word was “Time.”  Steven does a great job telling a story with his poem.

 

THE TIME SHIP

By Steven Withrow

I boarded August Twenty-Ten
That silver ship at Chronos Key.
I’m sure of this, but then again,
It might have been another me.

I signed ship’s log as second mate,
Just nineteen summers to my name.
I perfectly recall the date—
It’s Time itself that’s not the same.

The captain read my duties clear:
To chart our course, night’s watch to keep,
To rouse her crew should bearing veer,
To hail and interrupt their sleep.

We sailed twelve cycles undisturbed,
A glancing headwind at our prow.
Our compass slumbered unperturbed,
Until we reached the Straits of Now.

I stalked the crow’s nest, falcon-eyed,
Regarded marvels in the Stream,
Saw dwarf stars dawning on the tide
And dying there, a sailor’s dream.

Our minds stretched thin, our lives pressed short,
We drifted, time-tossed, toward our berth,
A startling, unfamiliar port,
Though all signs told us this was Earth.

On shore leave, as I write this poem,
The calendar reveals “LV.”
We’ve landed on the sands of Rome.
We’re stranded: Fifty-Five B.C.

And Julius Caesar, six years hence,
Will cross the mighty Rubicon,
And we’ll bear witness, present tense,
Before our Time Ship journeys on!

Congratulations, Steve!

___________________________________________________________________

Pictures from Friday night cocktail party with editors and agents. 

More pictures to share tomorrow.

Kathy

  

Twenty Writing Tips From Jane Yolen

The amazing Jane Yolen ended the SCBWI Winters Conference in New York City this past weekend and shared 20 Writing Tips with us.  She felt they could also be used by the illustrators in the audience.

 

 Here’s the list: 

1. No exclamation points.
2. Easy on the adverbs.
3. Don’t let your characters float by giving them endless dialogue.
4. Have fun.
5. BIC – Butt in chair.  HOP – Heart on Page.
6. P not F – Passion not fashion.  Write what you like.
7. Remember your story does not have to have a happy ending – just a meaningful ending.
8. Fall through your story.  Bury yourself in your work.
9. You don’t have to be the best, just be the best you can be,
10. Find the right word.
11. First lines should portend what is going to happen.
12. Exercise your creative muscle everyday.  If you write one page everyday, you will have written 365 pages, more than you need for a novel or 73 picture books.
13. Every artist nurtures and nurtures create.
14. Truth – we all need an editor. Love the process. Don’t get caught up letting rejection get you down.
15. Money flows towards the author, not the other way around.  Don’t pay for book reviews, agent readings, etc.
16. Don’t miss the small things in your writing.  Don’t ignore the landscape.
17. Read what you have written out loud.
18. Writers block is all in your mind.  Read newspapers, magazines – watch a movie, go shopping, don’t read someone elses book, because you can get stuck in their voice or characters.
19. Realize there are going to be projects you never complete.
20. Even while you are working on a project, write little things, doodle on artwork on paper.  These can work like the sorbet between meal courses to cleanse your palette.

I must point out I did my best trying to write it down as Jane talked, but she had a lot of extra things to say about each one.  Hope what I did get helps you.

Kathy

Many of you know I attended the SCBWI conference in NYC this weekend.  I promise I will share some of the highlights and my notes on the various workshops I attended tomorrow.  In the meantime, I thought I would remind you of the WIP Grants available from the SCBWI for writers. 

Plus…

A number of you told me that you write other things while working on your novels and picture books.  Some mentioned writing short-stories, so I have included two contests where you can submit a short-story, maybe make some money and build name recognition.

GRANTS FOR CHILDREN’S WRITING
From Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators
http://www.scbwi.org/Pages.aspx/WIP-Grant

In any given year, an applicant may apply for: the General Work-In-Progress Grant OR the Work-In-Progress Grant for a Contemporary Novel for Young People OR the Work-In-Progress Nonfiction Research Grant. The Grant for a Work Whose Author has Never Had a Book Published may not be applied for — it will be chosen from all the entries in the other Work-In-Progress categories. The Grants are available to both full and associate members of the SCBWI. They are not available for projects on which there are already contracts. Four Grants of $1,500 will be awarded annually, one in each category. Four Runner-Up Grants of $500 will also be awarded, one in each category. Applications accepted between February 15 and March 15, 2010.
_________________________________________________________________________

WARREN ADLER SHORT STORY CONTEST
http://www.warrenadler.com/writing-contest.shtml

$15 ENTRY FEE
The stories must be no longer than 2,500 words. Subject matter is completely open to the author. The goal of the contest is to encourage and publicize the short story as a viable and quality literary form.

First Prize: $1,000. People’s Choice
Prize: $500. Three remaining finalists: $150 each.

_________________________________________________________________________

THE “SCARE THE DICKENS OUT OF US” SHORT STORY CONTEST 2010
http://clarklibraryfriends.com/

$20 ENTRY FEE
First prize, $1,000 and a trophy.
Second prize, $500 and a ribbon.
Third prize, $250 and a ribbon.
Junior contest prize $250 and a trophy.

The contest is a Friends of the Dr. Eugene Clark Library fundraiser and is privately funded. All entry fees go to the Friends and are used for library projects. The contest is open to published and unpublished writers alike. The ghost story must be 5,000 words or less, in English, and typed double-spaced. Deadline October 1, 2010.

Let me know if you decide to submit something.  Good Luck!

Kathy