SCBWI--the personal gets national
02/13/08 18:36
So I just
got back from a national SCBWI conference . . .
Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators,
for those of you who are neither . . . and I was more
than happily surprised. Before I wrote YA and before
my Ph.D., I was a poet for grown-ups. In that
particular time of my writing life, I hung out with
some really cool people who wanted to help each other
get better at their work. I also knew some highly
competitive and crabby people who saw everyone as a
threat. I was expecting a few more threatened people
at SCBWI, but what I got was about 1000 people who
were supporting each other all the way. WOW. Who
knew?
I also got all sorts of good info, wonderful speeches from Susan Patron (the Newbery Queen of Scrotums, if you don't know what I mean, go find out), Richard Peck (omg, what a speech!), and Carolyn Mackler, and invites to submit from 2 publishers, which I will do if my current deals fall through. I got to trip Carolyn Mackler, eek, but then I got to tell her my favorite line from THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHRE BIG ROUND THINGS was Shannon's insult of "onion-loving fuckers." Oh man, I laughed. Go read the book if you want to know.
Other bonuses of the weekend: marvelous Thai food, NY-style pizza, amazing pumpkin ravioli, and a couple bagels. Yum. PLUS I got to travel with two of my favorite people (who are also in my writing group) and hang out with other writer friends from here. All in all, a stellar weekend.
I also got to see (though not talk to) Arthur Levine, the man who brought Harry Potter to America. Bless you, Arthur Levine! He's bald and very emotive, which doesn't surprise me on either count
But now I've got a cold. : ( Thank you, airplane air, and the germs of nine bazillion people in NYC. However, despite the hangover of work, tiredness, and germs, I came home reinvigorated to write and renewed in my commitment 1) to this group of people, and 2) to writing for kids, big or small. I've never been to a conference where every single panel was worth my money, but it was true at SCBWI.
One more time: wow.
I also got all sorts of good info, wonderful speeches from Susan Patron (the Newbery Queen of Scrotums, if you don't know what I mean, go find out), Richard Peck (omg, what a speech!), and Carolyn Mackler, and invites to submit from 2 publishers, which I will do if my current deals fall through. I got to trip Carolyn Mackler, eek, but then I got to tell her my favorite line from THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHRE BIG ROUND THINGS was Shannon's insult of "onion-loving fuckers." Oh man, I laughed. Go read the book if you want to know.
Other bonuses of the weekend: marvelous Thai food, NY-style pizza, amazing pumpkin ravioli, and a couple bagels. Yum. PLUS I got to travel with two of my favorite people (who are also in my writing group) and hang out with other writer friends from here. All in all, a stellar weekend.
I also got to see (though not talk to) Arthur Levine, the man who brought Harry Potter to America. Bless you, Arthur Levine! He's bald and very emotive, which doesn't surprise me on either count
But now I've got a cold. : ( Thank you, airplane air, and the germs of nine bazillion people in NYC. However, despite the hangover of work, tiredness, and germs, I came home reinvigorated to write and renewed in my commitment 1) to this group of people, and 2) to writing for kids, big or small. I've never been to a conference where every single panel was worth my money, but it was true at SCBWI.
One more time: wow.