SCBWI – NJ Conference Recap

Last weekend was the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) New Jersey chapter annual conference in Princeton, New Jersey. Here's a few highlights from the event...

On Friday I participated in an optional Characterization Intensive, a hands-on workshop (led by Abbott, Grosso, Mikulski, Kole) in which we analyzed our book's characters, discovering ways to develop them/improve authenticity. Over the weekend, we listened to keynote presentations (by Newbery Honor winner Grace Lin and Agent Extraordinaire Holly McGhee, to name a few) and attended breakout sessions.

Some of my favorite workshops were Minding Your Own Business led by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen (discussing writing as a business, which was applicable & helpful for freelance writing career), Steampunk 101, by author Natalie Zaman (imagine the movie Sherlock Holmes in books – so much fun), Young Adult's Little Sister, by writers Audrey Vernick and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich (an untapped area of Middle Grade literature) and Talking Voice, by Editor Eve Adler (something I'm really trying to master in my book). Other events included: Agent Panels, a Publishing Market Recap, Auctions, Networking Lunches and Query Letter Workshops. In other words, there was a ton of stuff going on.

I also had my book's first page critiqued a few times by top agents/editors (remember when I went to my first one of these things?) and had a one-on-one meeting with an Executive Editor at a major publishing house (who read the first 20 pages of my book and provided feedback). It was epic! Let's just say there might be a handwritten comment hanging on my fridge right now.

In case you're wondering why I do all this stuff, I wrote a contemporary, realistic middle grade adventure story and soon I'll be submitting it to agents. And yes, (no surprise if you follow this blog!) animals are a big part of my book. I've always wanted to be a children's book author and have been working hard since 2006 to make this dream come true. One day, one day. The comment below – shared at the conference – made my heart sing.

"Everyone is searching for the next middle grade voice" – Annoymous Editor

One of the best things about these conferences is just meeting so many writers and illustrators. The creative energy is really inspiring. I also saw a few people I knew from previous events, so it was great to catch up. Here's me and Gina in the Amphitheatre... She's one of the gals in my critique group, a fellow Write Nite attendee and a very talented writer.

As I'm writing this post, I'm still processing everything. This week will be writing overload for both work & personal projects, so time to get cracking... I'll try to share more event details over the next week or two as time permits. If you aspire to be a children's book writer or illustrator, I suggest joining SCBWI and attending an event in your area. Like, immediately.

Comments

[Bicultural Mam a]

Great recap of the event. It was great meeting you and look forward to following your writing career!

[Ghenet]

Thanks for sharing the video! That's so exciting that you got such positive feedback from an editor. :)