Happy October!
The trees are turning and pumpkins are out in full force. I hope everyone gets a chance to take in the stunning show Mother Nature gives us every year.
Region Events:
New Webinar:
Revise Like an Editor: Five Questions You Should Be Asking Yourself with Catherine Frank
Are you an efficient reviser? An effective one? Do you sometimes just move commas around hoping it will make a difference? Learn how to strengthen your revision strategies and improve your process in this workshop. In this two-part webinar (November 9 & November 16) we’ll talk about the five questions you should be asking yourself (but probably aren’t) when you revise and apply them directly to your work in progress. Please come ready to revise and to support other authors in this crucial part of the editorial process. Expect to come away knowing how to view your draft with an editor’s eye and how to make changes that will truly make a difference to your manuscript. Appropriate for authors of all age groups, although picture book authors should be fairly advance in their craft to get the most out of this workshop.
About Catherine:
Catherine Frank is the owner of Catherine Frank Editorial Services (http://www.editedbycatherine.com), an editorial consultancy specializing in children’s literature and publishing. A freelance editor for more than six years, she is a former executive editor of Viking Children’s Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Books acquired and edited by Catherine have received the Boston Globe Horn Book Award, the Golden Kite Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Award, the New York Times Best Illustrated Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She is a member of the WNBA and the SCBWI. She lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband, two young sons, and a pug.
What:
Two-part webinar with Catherine Frank with an optional written critique of the first 10 pages from your current WIP for an extra cost. Critique will take place after the webinar to allow participants to revise their work as needed.
When:
Part one: Thursday, November 9 from 9pm – 10pm CET
Part two: Thursday, November 16 from 9pm – 10pm CET
Participation in the first webinar is required for participation in the second.
Costs:
SCBWI Member without critique: €35
SCBWI Member with additional critique: €70
Non-SCBWI Member without critique: €45
Non-SCBWI Member with additional critique: €80
For more information or to register visit: https://germanyaustria.scbwi.org/events/revise-like-an-editor-webinar-with-catherine-frank/
Vienna Meet-up:
When: Saturday 7th of October, 4.30pm to approx. 6.30pm
Where: Praxis Wien 5 http://www.praxiswien5.at
The seminar room is great for reading aloud and listening, and there is a kitchen for making coffee / tea etc.
As mentioned, we could (if everyone agrees) each bring along an opening novel chapter and read it out, bringing along a copies so we can read and listen. We might also explain what the novel is about. For those who are interested, they might ask someone else to read out their chapter for them…so they can listen to their own story.
Naturally, if people have other ideas about the evening they are welcome to share them. Please RSVP Paul (paul.malone@chello.at) if interested.
Stuttgart Meet-up:
The Stuttgart group will be meeting at 10.30 am on Saturday October 21st in the children’s section of Stuttgart Library (2nd floor). We will work on individual projects, critique each others’ work and talk all things creative and more over lunch. Please contact Catherine Friess (cjfriess@gmx.com) for more details and to let her know if you would like to be included in the lunch reservation.
Web Meet-up:
Thanks to everyone who came to our very first web meet-up. It was great seeing you all and hearing all the different projects you’re up to. Since Mondays don’t work for everyone, I’ve decided to have a rotating schedule for these meetings in the hope that everyone will be eventually able to meet.
The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 17th from 9 – 10pm on WebEx. In order to have a bit more focus to our conversation, come prepared to talk about how you develop your main characters – be they picture book animals or children, irresistible middle graders, or fearless young adults. What traits do you look for and how do you go from a basic sketch to a fully drawn-out person?
If interested, please RSVP me at germanyaustria-ra@scbwi.org
A few general announcements:
A huge congratulations to our very own Sanne Dufft for her winning logo design for the SCBWI Europolitan region. Go to https://europolitan.scbwi.org to have a look.
On the blog, I interviewed the 2017 SCBWI Europolitan Mentees in order to get to know them as they start their journey of working intensely with their mentor for 6 months. You can find the first of the interviews here: http://germanscbwi.blogspot.de/2017/09/meet-our-2017-scbwi-europolitan-mentee_9.html
SCBWI Nevada has started a website for all regions to post their webinars open to members across the globe. I highly suggest visiting the website once a month to see the latest offerings of workshops from regions all around the world. The website is: https://nevada.scbwi.org/webinars/. I also have a link on the SCBWI Germany & Austria homepage.
A few grant and award deadlines are coming up:
For unpublished authors:
Emerging Voices Award – Established with funding from Martin and Sue Schmitt of the 455 Foundation to foster the emergence of diverse voices in children’s books. Deadline Nov 15, 2017.
SCBWI PJ Library Jewish Stories Award – An award sponsored by the PJ Library to encourage the creation of more high-quality Jewish children’s literature. Deadline Oct. 31, 2017.
For published authors and illustrators:
Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Grant – Critically acclaimed children’s book author Jane Yolen created this grant to honor the contribution of mid-list authors. Deadline Nov 1st.
Magazine Merit Award – For original magazine work for young people in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, illustration, and poetry. Deadline Dec 15, 2017.
Spark Award – An annual award that recognizes excellence in a children’s book published through a non-traditional publishing route. Opens Nov 1 until Dec 15, 2017.
Annual Winter Conference in New York (February 2 – 4, 2018)
The Annual Winter Conference has changed formats. Starting with this conference, SCBWI will offer a shorter and more targeted NY conference, which will focus more on workshops and in-depth work rather than keynote speakers. There will be two main room keynote style sessions, one featuring a panel of editors and publishers, the other featuring the Golden Kite winners, plus one closing keynote. The rest of the sessions, which will be two and a half hours in length, will take place on Saturday and half day Sunday, and will be classroom sized intensive workshops led by editors, agents, and a very select group of master authors. Each writing workshop will be limited to 50 people, and the classroom style will allow people to dive into their own work. Artists will have their own intensive for Saturday and half of Sunday. This means the conference will be smaller, with a limit of between 500 and 600 people.
Registration will start soon so keep your eye open for announcements as it may sell out very quickly.
Stay in touch
A good way to keep in touch with other writers and illustrators between the monthly meet-up is on our Facebook group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/140437529353977/ and if you’re on twitter you can follow us at: https://twitter.com/SCBWIGermany
Wishing everyone a magical October,
Patti and Sanne