Happy November!
I apologize for this newsletter being a bit late. As most of you know, I am an American and the recent election has taken up more of my thoughts and energy than expected. And while this is a politics-free space, I just want to say a big thank you to all of you for your commitment in creating stories and art for children. The world needs more art, more stories, more hope and more examples of love right now. Our work as children book authors and illustrators has never been more important, and please know that I am inspired by all of you and am therefore renewing my dedication to creating examples of hope and light to lead us through these turbulent times.
A few announcements:
· All SCBWI Illustrators have until NOVEMBER 22 to submit artwork to be showcased at the Bologna Illustrators' Exhibition. Please see the SCBWI 2017 Bologna Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition for more informaton on how to submit.
· The deadline for the annual Tomie DePaola Award for an illustrator to attend the SCBWI New York Conference is DECEMBER 1. Visit for more information please visit the website.
· The New SCBWI-Postcard Contest is a great way for illustrators to get their work out there. Deadline is DECEMBER 1. If any Germany/Austria members take part in this challenge, please also send Illustrator Coordinator Sanne your submissions so we could replace the images on the Germany/Austria homepage. For more information on how to participate in the contest, please visit the main SCBWI website.
· The next NRW Scrawl Crawl is DECEMBER 3 in Köln from 10AM -12PM. Meeting place is the Ludwig im Museum, Heinrich-Böll-Platz, 50667. The focus will be a plot exercise based on Dan Wells' videos. If you have questions, feel free to send Laurel Decher a message ldecher AT gmail DOT com.
· Registration is now open for the 18th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York. And soon, the Europolitan Conference (May 13 & 14, 2017 in Brussels, Belgium) will be rolling out its new website. The entire Europolitan team is very excited for next year’s conference and hope you will be too.
· A roundup of SCBWI members’ thought and impressions of the Frankfurt Book Fair is up on the blog. If you’ve ever been curious about book fairs and wondered if they are worth the journey, you might be surprised by what our members thought.
· And a reminder that November is PiBoMo or Picture Book Month. This is an international literacy initiative that celebrates the print picture book during the month of November. If you love picture books, each day on the blog a picture book champion will explain why picture books are so important to them.
The rest of 2016 will be pretty quiet. But don’t despair – Sanne and I are busy planning events for 2017. If you are interested in volunteering or if you have any suggestions for workshops, webinars, blog posts, please contact either one of us. And if you have a book coming out or have signed with an agent or achieved any milestones in your creative career, please also let us know so we can share and celebrate with you.
All the best and keep on creating!
Patti