It's Here! #LA17SCBWI! The 2017 SCBWI Summer Conference!

*tosses biodegradable confetti*

There's so much great stuff in store over the next four days, but here are some highlights that I'm really jazzed about:

Friday's LGBTQ + Allies Q&A Social
7:30pm - 8:30pm
Once again I'll host this warm and friendly gathering, with special conference faculty guests! If you're writing and/or illustrating content for kids with LGBTQ characters and themes, this is the place to find your tribe-within-the-tribe.

Saturday's Diversity Social
12:30pm - 2:00pm
Putting together the engine of SCBWI and the diversity fuel of #WeNeedDiverseBooks, let's tune up our ride, work as a team, and break some speed records on achieving more diversity in children's and teen literature!

Community
Four days with my fellow children's book writers and illustrators and agents and editors and publishers and art directors and industry peeps!

Getting Inspired
All those keynotes! All those craft sessions! All those panels!
I can't wait.

Sharing
I'm honored to be leading SCBWI Team Blog in live-blogging the conference at http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/ and updating social media (for me, mainly twitter) with the hashtag #LA17SCBWI.

Here's the full team:

Thanks for letting me share!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

An Interview with Sona Charaipotra, SCBWI Guest Team Blogger for the Summer #LA17SCBWI Conference

Filling in for SCBWI Team Blogger Martha Brockenbrough for this 2017 SCBWI Summer Conference, is journalist and author Sona Charaipotra!

Author Sona Charaipotra

Here's our interview:

Lee: Welcome, Sona!

Sona: Thank you! Hello to my SCBWI LA attendees! So pleased to be in your presence this year.

Lee: Please share a bit about you, and what's been your journey as a children's content creator.

Sona: I’m Sona Charaipotra, the co-author of the dance dramas Tiny Pretty Things and Shiny Broken Pieces, co-written with Dhonielle Clayton. Dhonielle and I met in the MFA Writing for Children program at the New School, and bonded over the fact that we rarely saw ourselves represented on the page (or screen!) as kids and teens. To change that, together we co-founded CAKE Literary, a boutique book packager with a decidedly diverse bent – we create fun, delicious, page-turnery books for kids and teens with real, organic diversity to them. Our latest is title is The Gauntlet, by Karuna Riazi.

I also have a Masters in screenwriting from NYU – and my thesis script there was developed for the big screen by MTV Films – so I’m a huge believer in three act structure, in screenplays and in fiction.

Lee: Tell us about your blogging/social media/online background. What do you use, what do you love, and why?

Sona: Before I did the New School program and met Dhonielle, my day job was interviewing celebrities – from Hilary Duff to Priyanka Chopra. I was a writer at People, an editor at the dearly departed TeenPeople, and have since contributed to MSN TV, Vulture.com, TeenVogue, Cosmopolitan, The New York Times and other publications. I frequently write about books for Bustle.com, Parade.com, and the BN Teen blog.

Lee: Now we want to hear about your journey so far with SCBWI!

Sona: I’ve been an SCBWI member for years – and I’ve been to the NYC conference and local events before. But this is my first LA conference. I’ve heard it’s intense, in the best way. Looking forward to meeting so many amazing people. Definitely join us at the WNDB Diversity Social if you can!

Lee: Yes! I'll be there, too. What project(s) are you currently working on?

Sona: The next book Dhonielle and I have coming out is called The Rumor Game – and it’s juicy and delicious! It’s due summer 2019 from Disney. I have a lot of other things cooking (that I’m super-excited about!!!), but I can’t talk about them just yet. As for CAKE, look for our next one, Love Sugar Magic, by Anna Meriano, via Walden/Harper in February 2018.

Lee: Can you tell us about your involvement with #WeNeedDiverseBooks?

Sona: The values of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement go hand in hand with those Dhonielle and I promote through CAKE, so we’ve both volunteered with the non-profit organization since 2014. I’m proud to serve as the head of content for WNDB – and we’ll be launching a new initiative to elevate diverse voices this fall. Look for our website relaunch at http://www.diversebooks.org later this summer!

Lee: The top three things you're looking forward to about #LA17SCBWI are:

Sona: LEARNING! I’ve been in publishing now for five years, but I feel like when it comes to writing and publishing, you never stop learning.

CONNECTING! Kids’ book people are the best people. I’m such an introvert (so introduce yourself!), but I can’t wait to meet you guys.

SHARING! Need diverse book recs? I’ve got tons! Ask me what you should read next!

Lee: Thank you so much, Sona! We're delighted you'll be joining us!

Sona: So excited! See you soon!

Find Sona on Twitter @sona_c, and on the web at www.SonaCharaipotra.com

You can find out more about The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators 2017 Summer Conference here.

An interview with Susie Ghahremani, SCBWI Guest Team Blogger For The Summer #LA17SCBWI Conference

Filling in for SCBWI Team Blogger Don Tate for this 2017 SCBWI Summer Conference, is award-winning illustrator Susie Ghahremani!

Illustrator Susie Ghahremani

Here's our interview:


Lee: Welcome, Susie -- The boygirlparty is in the house!

Susie: Thank you!

Lee: Please share a bit about you, and what's been your journey as a children's content creator.

Susie: I’ve been a full-time illustrator for 15 years, but only recently made my way over to kid lit! Only a few years ago, I illustrated my children’s book debut, What Will Hatch? written by Jennifer Ward (pub. Bloomsbury). The experience of working on a picture book was so unlike any of the hundreds (thousands?) of projects I worked on prior, I felt I was tapping into another career entirely. It prompted me to join SCBWI to build my knowledge and community.

I’m slowly becoming a more seasoned children’s publishing professional. Jennifer and I now share an agent — Stefanie von Borstel of Full Circle Literary; last summer, I was thrilled to be recognized with a mentorship at the portfolio show at the Los Angeles Conference (#LA16SCBWI); and my author debut Stack the Cats (pub. Abrams) (http://stackthecats.com) released just a couple weeks ago!

Lee: Congratulations! Tell us about your blogging/social media/online background. What do you use, what do you love, and why?

Susie: I love social media for the constraint of its brevity and interaction. There’s no such thing as a one way transmission there; it’s a conversation.
You can find me most frequently here on Twitter and Instagram 

I also have a longform blog on my site and an extremely personal blog though I somewhat rarely post to those these days.

Recently, I became a team blogger for the SCBWI Mentorship Alumni blog: KidLitArtists — where we share process, inspiration, and tips for other SCBWI-oriented illustrators.

Lee: Now we want to hear about your journey so far with SCBWI!

Susie: I can’t say enough good things about the materials and community of SCBWI. Being part of SCBWI these past few years has given me a profound hope for my future as an artist and author: that I am working toward a life of work, not just the “next project” and that there is always more to learn, and a new direction to steer toward.

Winning one of last summer’s LA Conference mentorships gave me something I haven’t had since college: thoughtful guidance and critique from luminaries.

I enjoy the strong sense of community — both amongst fellow illustrators as well as the diverse, inspiring, noble community of publishing and education. Can I also just give a shoutout to Sarah Baker at SCBWI? She is an actual angel and nurtures so many opportunities for illustrators at all stages of their careers.

Susie's illustration (left page) in the SCBWI Bulletin

Lee: What project(s) are you currently working on?

Susie: I’m working on my next book as author-illustrator with Abrams Appleseed now — Balance the Birds! My editor, art director, and agent are incredible, insightful collaborators. I’ve also been busy with the release of Stack the Cats (lots of signings, events, etc.); working on a solo art show this autumn in Chicago; making things / shipping things / running my online shop and all the other things you might expect that add up to life and work as an author/illustrator!

Lee: The top three things you're looking forward to about #LA17SCBWI are:

Susie:

* Seeing friend and fellow artist Sean Qualls present
* Filling up my sketchbook with inspiring quotes I’ll reflect on for a lifetime. (I wrote so much last year, I had to go out and buy another sketchbook mid-conference!)
* Being part of Team Blog!

Lee: Thank you so much! We're delighted you'll be joining us!

Susie: Me too! Thanks for having me!


Susie is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). When not painting, illustrating books, designing stationery and gifts, exhibiting her work internationally, running her online shop, or connecting with the illustration community, she lives in sunny San Diego with her husband and zillions of pets. Find her at www.boygirlparty.com or on instagram/twitter at @boygirlpartySusie

You can find out more about The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators 2017 Summer Conference here.