Friday, December 15, 2017

Book Awards from the Mitten State by Kristin Bartley Lenz



Earlier this year, I was honored to learn that my YA novel, THE ART OF HOLDING ON AND LETTING GO, was selected for the 2017-2018 Great Lakes Great Books state-wide literature program. And I was delighted to see that several of our SCBWI-MI members have books for younger readers on this list. Looking at you, Lisa Wheeler (DINO-RACING), Laurie Keller (WE ARE GROWING), Alison DeCamp (MY NEAR-DEATH ADVENTURES), and many more from previous years!

I had assumed the Great Lakes Great Books (GLGB) program was only for Michigan authors, but I was surprised to see authors from all around the country on the lists. And I soon discovered that booksellers and librarians often confused the program with other similarly named awards, such as Great Lakes Great Reads and the Great Michigan Read. Curious to learn more, I reached out to the GLGB co-chairs from the Michigan Reading Association. They were happy to answer my questions. Introducing Trish Sippola and Lynette Suckow!

Tell us a little about yourself. What and where do you teach and how did you become co-chairs of the Great Lakes Great Books Program?

Trish Sippola - I'm a 3rd Grade Teacher at Birchview Elementary in Ishpeming, MI. This is my second year as co-chair on GLGB. I first came on the GLGB committee 4 years ago and was also involved in the Michigan Reading Association which is how I got involved in the committee.

Lynette Suckow - Even though I now work as a reference librarian at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette, MI, my background is in elementary education and children’s literature. I became the GLGB Award committee chair 10 years ago and have been a committee member even longer. Trish, who is also passionate about books, became a co-chair so we could move the committee in a new direction and make it more relevant to new teachers.

There are several award programs with similar names - Great Lakes Great Reads from the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association and Great Michigan Read from the Michigan Humanities Council. Tell us about MRA's Great Lakes Great Books program and how it differs.

Great Lakes Great Books has been around for the past 30 years. We are one of two Michigan Reading Association committees to directly involve students in the reading process. Our mission is to share current literature recommendations with classroom educators. The books on the GLGB list provide interesting stories for grades K-12 and have to be less than two years old. The second part of student participation is to allow them to vote on their favorite book from the list. This is where the “award” part comes in, as a winner is chosen in each age category based on popular vote.

The 2017 Michigan Reads title by SCBWI-MI member Lisa Wheeler 
We differ from the Great Michigan Read program from the Michigan Humanities Council, which features an array of programming around a single adult or YA title every other year, and from Michigan Reads! One Book One State Children’s Book Program from the State of Michigan, which chooses a single title annually to be used in schools, libraries, Head Start programs, and Great Start collaboratives.

The Great Lakes Great Reads list from the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association is an excellent, but short list of recommended titles for all ages of readers. Great Lakes Great Books suggests 40 titles in five age levels for reading with students. We hope the similarity of names doesn’t diminish the separate goals of each literacy committee.

SCBWI-MI member Jack Cheng's middle grade novel was chosen for the 2017 Great Lakes Great Reads list.

Do you read all of the nominated titles? How do you choose the final 8 titles in each age category?

We have a committee this year of 11 readers from schools and libraries from across the state who read throughout the year and add our favorites onto a list for each other to read. Some of us specialize in certain grade-levels so we may not all be reading all of the books K-12, but there are a few of us who do.  We hold a meeting in January to go over our list from the year, keeping in mind to choose fiction, non-fiction, illustrated, culturally diverse, well-written books. We bring our top 2 favorites from each grade-level category to the table to discuss, and from there we end up choosing the final 8 for each category.  Since we have members from far and near, some join in electronically.

How do students find out about the selected titles and award winners?

The MRA website has a downloadable packet of election information, along with grade level bookmarks, participation certificate, and a nomination form for suggesting future GLGB titles. We also have beautiful GLGB posters published by PermaBound Books for classrooms and libraries which are available at all MRA conferences and board meetings. We’re working to get an electronic version of that poster on our webpage. The winning book titles are announced in March at the annual MRA Conference. Additionally, when a classroom sends in their votes, we will email them back with the final award winners long before they are publicly announced.

Anything else you'd like us to know about GLGB?

Great Lakes Great Books Award committee work is a labor of love.  Members have a passion for books that blinds them to fact that they spend a whole year reading and evaluating new publications.  The effort pays off when Michigan students are treated to some of the best literature of the year.  It also keeps teachers aware of which books are currently available for enriching their classroom libraries. GLGB is definitely great!

Thanks for your time, Trish and Lynette! There's still time for students in all grades to vote for their favorite book. To see the list of 2016-2017 winners, the nominated titles for 2017-2018, and student ballot forms, go here. Students have until January 25th to submit their vote. And I just realized that today is the last day to nominate a title for the 2018-2019 award! That form is also included in this packet.

The 2017-2018 Great Lakes Great Books Award winners will be announced at the Michigan Reading Association Annual Conference, March 17-19, 2018 in Detroit. Will you be there?

And I'm sure there are even more Michigan book awards that I've overlooked in this post. Please let us know in the comments, so we can check them out.

Coming up on the Mitten blog: Vacation! Happy holidays from the SCBWI-MI blog team! We'll return in January to kick off the new year with Nina Goebel introducing our new Featured Illustrator. Followed by Patti Richards trumpeting your good news in our Hugs and Hurrahs. Please email Patti your writing/illustrating/publishing good news by Monday, January 8th, to be included. Finally, don't be surprised if you hear from Charlie Barshaw - he's planning our 2018 Writer Spotlights - it could be you!

Our SCBWI-MI chapter volunteers are busy planning 2018 events and more. Here's a sneak peek:

Attention Novelists!
SCBWI-MI is happy to help you with your New Year’s Resolutions

Resolution 1: Figure out your membership status. (This is easier than it sounds.)
If you are pre-published, you are an associate member.
If you are published, it depends on the publisher.
If your publisher is on this list of traditional publishers, you are a PAL member.
If your publisher is not on that list, you are a full member.
To check your official membership status, go to www.scbwi.org and click the Member Search box at the top right hand corner. Enter your name to look yourself up. If your listed membership status is not correct, contact SCBWI by email and explain the situation.

Resolution 2: Finish a draft of your novel. (This is as difficult as it sounds, but you can do it.)

Resolution 3: Apply for one of the SCBWI-MI Novel Mentorships (This is really easy.)
The submission window for the PAL mentorship with Leslie Connor is in April 2018.
The submission window for the non-PAL mentorship with Kelly Barson is June 2018.
The submission instructions will be posted on the SCBWI-MI website. You’ll need to submit 10 pages and a synopsis.
Make sure you apply for the correct mentorship! SCBWI-MI can do wondrous things, but we cannot yet turn back time – if you miss your submission window.


For questions, contact SCBWI-MI Mentorship Coordinator, Ann Finkelstein.

See you in the new year!
Kristin Lenz


Friday, December 8, 2017

Artistic Evolution: How the Cakeasaurus Picture Book Grew into a Traveling Art Exhibit and More by Marian Short

I first met Cakeasaurus during a latte-fueled afternoon in 2008. I saw an imaginary movie poster with a monster rearing up behind a fully lit birthday cake, upraised claws clutching the "C" and "S" in his name. The caption warned: "No Cake is Safe."

Next, I saw the same monster, leaning against a wall, arms folded; (again) multiple lit birthday candles dangled from his mouth. While the first monster seemed to rule through (confectionary) terror, in his second guise he was smug, a little sassy -- an oddly appealing hooligan. Having a ridiculous sweet tooth myself, I contemplated the potential ramifications of a town struck by widespread cake thievery.

I drank more coffee and jotted down the first draft of a picture book about a town beset by a cake-stealing monster, a pivotal kitchen showdown, and brave child with impressive kitchen skills.

I had already been printmaking for several years and selling prints through local stores, Etsy, and alternative craft fairs, so the ideas of
A.) exploring the Cakeasaurus story by making woodblock prints, and
B.) selling prints of page designs as I went along arose pretty quickly.
Thus, The Cakeasaurus Picture Book Project was born.
An “intro” sign for craft fairs
Now, my savvy readers, I imagine you nodding: “Ohhh, you did a subscription service? Crowd-funded it and sent a new page every x months?” To whom, I say: “Where were you in 2008?” Alas, no. While I wrote the backbone of this picture book quickly, I tweaked many facets over time; and some pages of the story attained clarity before others. I sketched, drew, and carved out of order, around the edges of a full time job and changing life conditions. For a long time when I sat at my dinner table, I faced a wall of taped-up unfinished drawings, which taunted/inspired me, depending on mood.

Gradually, I carved my woodblocks and the number of undrawn pages dwindled. About halfway through -- 15 pages more to design, carve and print! -- impending motherhood galvanized me. First it was a race against flagging energy and a belly that literally came between me and my carving. After my daughter’s birth, it became a race to nail down as much as I could before she learned to walk…

…And I won! Or something like that. I succeeded in carving woodblocks for every page of the book, hundreds of Cakeasauri prints decorate walls around the world, and I got the satisfaction of seeing my whole project laid out as a rollicking exhibit with almost 50 pieces.

This project was quite a journey -- not bad for something that started with doodles scribbled in a café. And this is something that I try to remind myself, when I feel lackluster, or cowed by an unwieldy idea. This was most definitely unwieldy – but still worthy. By taking creative “meandering” time, and by breaking its development down into stages, it took me to unexpected places.

Will it find a publisher in traditional book form? Unclear. But what grew clear early on was that different aspects of this project demanded different things from the story. A well defined graphic may sell well on its own, but cause a part of the overall tale to drag; likewise, pages necessary to the story may not lure in the casual consumer; and an ample gallery may inspire you to grow and rethink images previously deemed “done.”

 Woodblock print, with minor digital alterations
A strong seller from the series!...but needs tweaking to fit smoothly into the book
Woodblock print (L); Book version (R), with additional tree, star carvings; digital modifications

Woodblock print (L); Expanded block print with additional carving (R), for exhibit space

One of three process plaques I made for the exhibit 

“Cakeasaurus: Scenes from a Picture Book” was first exhibited through the University of Michigan Hospital’s “Gifts of Art” program (March - June 2017), and a pared down version just closed at the Dexter District Library (August – October 2017). You still have a chance to visit the full exhibit, at the Ann Arbor District Library’s downtown location (multipurpose room, December 1st – January 10th 2018).

What’s next?

Fledgling picture book concepts. The front-running story has a strong plot, but needs a different visual language than this one. Bright, Splashy, and Energetic! I have imagined picture fragments for most pages, but I haven’t seen the faces of the characters yet.

A greater focus on card line development. I have also been selling small batch cards for some time, cards eccentric sometimes problematic – I periodically task myself with creating occasion specific cards like “Thanks!” or “Congratulations!” but what usually happens is an image of a badger who loves kipper snacks. I’m still working on it.

Flying squirrels, elephants, a toddler who negotiates ABOUT EVERYTHING.


Marian Short is a Michigan-based artist and writer, who began printmaking in 1999. Her artwork has been exhibited across the country. Marian originally hails from the suburbs of Philadelphia, where she thrived in an art-filled house (painter/seamstress/calligraphist mother, photographer father and sister); she moved to the mitten in 1994. 

Learn more:
https://www.facebook.com/MarianShortprints/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Cakeasaurus
https://www.instagram.com/akacakeasaurus/
http://cakelurking.blogspot.com/

Marian will be selling prints at the Tiny Expo at the downtown library, this Saturday December 9th, one level above the exhibit.


Many SCBWI-MI members will be signing and selling books and artwork at events this weekend -check out the Merry Mitten bookstore events, the Orion Township Library Author Fair, and the Anton Art Center Picture Book Exhibit. Know of another event? Let us know in the comments below and on the SCBWI-MI Facebook page.


Friday, December 1, 2017

Get Noticed, Gain Business, Be Awesome! 5 Tips for Mastering a Magical 2018 Marketing Plan by Maria Dismondy

While the first snowflake has yet to fall (at least in Michigan!), there’s no doubt the New Year is just around the corner. If you’re anything like me, you can’t wait to hit the ground running in 2018. Here are my top 5 tips for making your marketing efforts really count.

1. Begin with TWO
Have 100 ideas in your head? Before you get overwhelmed, just pick two 2018 goals for your business and start there.

Maybe it’s to sell 10,000 copies of your latest release or to increase brand visibility by gaining social media followers. Whatever your top two goals may be, check them against the SMART Goal Formula to ensure they are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Bound.

2. Make it MINI
Now that you have your goals, write them down and hang them somewhere you’ll see them everyday. That’ll help keep the big picture clear in your mind.

But if you look too far ahead you can easily get overwhelmed. That’s why my next tip is to make mini goals. These are things you can do each day to move closer to the big picture end result.

For example, let’s pretend you chose “gain social media followers” as one of your two main goals. A mini goal for the day could be to post old blog posts on Facebook – so simple!

3. Stick with It
You can’t reach your goals with a “set it and forget it” mentality. A great way to stay on track is to ask a colleague or friend to be your Accountability Partner. This is the person who will call you out, build you up and help you bounce back from business ups and downs.

Another great tool is to turn to planners to stay organized. Below are a few of my favorites. You’ll notice they’re all physical planners, not digital apps. That’s because I believe you have to think, feel and see your way toward what you want. (That, and I like to keep it old school!)

The Day Designer – I love that this brand offers space for daily gratitude. I put a mini version in my purse for on-the-go ideas.

Powersheets – So great for seeing the big picture and easily breaking it down into smaller tasks.

The Passion Planner – This one helps you stay on track while reminding you to find joy in your work. Love that!

4. Lean on your team or hire a team member in 2018!
I fought having a team for years because I thought I could do it all, but once I gave in and started hiring people on a freelance/contractual basis, my business took off! Moral of the story? Delegate, delegate, delegate!

Communication is key to delegating successfully. My team uses the Asana workflow system. From one home-base platform I’m able to assign work, set deadlines, store communications and generate deadline reminders.

I also use a phone app called Voxer to check in with a few key team members. It works just like a walkie-talkie and allows me to quickly shoot over a message without planning formal meetings – talk about simple!

5. Grow, stretch, THRIVE 
Growing means stretching and trying new things. And when it comes to professional development, the sky’s the limit!

Consider attending a local conference or virtual summit, listening to a podcast, planning a networking event with other local authors, attending an SCBWI Shop Talk in your area, hiring a business coach, joining a mastermind, reading or listening to audio books on branding and marketing or opting into a group coaching session – phew! There’s so much available to us (and I thought that sentence would never end)! Commit to what sounds fun to you and give it a try.

INSIDER BONUS! Which marketing strategies REALLY worked for me in 2017? Check out my top 10 picks.

1. Video – Facebook live
2. Podcast interviews
3. Guest writing
4. Speaking at schools and conferences
5. Conducting social media contests
6. Participating in local networking events
7. Attending conferences focused on the business side of writing
8. Appearing on the local news
9. Email newsletters
10. Writing and sharing content consistently on my blog


Award-winning author and founder of the publishing company, Cardinal Rule Press, Maria Dismondy inspires and educates others in the book industry. Her background in early education and research enables her to touch lives the world over while touring as a public speaker in schools, community forums, and at national conferences. When Maria isn’t working, she can be found embarking on adventures throughout southeast Michigan and beyond, where she lives with her husband and three book-loving children. Find out more about Maria’s coaching services: maria@mariadismondy.com.









Coming up on the Mitten blog: An artistic evolution - how a picture book concept turned into a traveling art exhibit, all about the MRA's GLGBs award (yes, we'll tell you what all those letters stand for), and then a two week HOLIDAY VACATION!

SCBWI-MI is already looking ahead to the new year. Attention novelists:


In 2018, SCBWI-MI is offering two novel mentorships. One is open to non-PAL members, and the other is open to PAL members. 
Our non-PAL mentor is Kelly Barson, and our PAL-mentor is Leslie Connor
You can find more information on the SCBWI-MI website
For questions, please email SCBWI-MI mentorship coordinator, Ann Finkelstein.

See you next Friday!
Kristin Lenz




Friday, November 17, 2017

The Making of a Book Trailer: AHIMSA by Supriya Kelkar

Despite being a film major and a screenwriter, when I first entered the world of Book Twitter almost two years ago, I was stunned to find out books had trailers, and was immediately panicked at the thought of making one for my middle-grade novel, AHIMSA.

After all, AHIMSA is set in India, in 1942, and I was in Michigan in 2016. How could I recreate that time and place here? I immediately began scrambling to think of locations that could double for the town I had created in AHIMSA, for actors, and for places to rent a better camera from.

But then I took a breath, began looking at more book trailers online, and quickly realized they didn’t have to look like a big budget movie. I have seen charming book trailers that have the illustrations animated on screen, thrilling trailers that make great work of music and visuals to set the tone, and adorable book trailers that just have children read the book on camera. Despite how different they are, they all work great to engage young readers.

With the pressure off of me, I began to brainstorm. I didn’t have animation skills, and there was no location that I could think of in Michigan that could double for a town in India. But I realized the collage art I did, cutting up Indian wedding cards and making them into illustrations, could work to show the characters and setting in an authentic but visually interesting way. And while I couldn’t animate them, I could write a short trailer script that held everything together in a slide show.

I went to work on the script, and then used that to come up with art that reflected what was being said by cutting up old issues of Entertainment Weekly and several old Indian wedding invitations. I then scanned everything in, used a filter on my cell phone to change the tone of the images, found music to use under YouTube’s copyright free music page, (still making sure I gave the creators credit on the video’s YouTube video description), and put it all together with Windows Movie Maker, simple editing software that didn’t take long to figure out.

So if you are feeling overwhelmed by the idea of making a book trailer, remember to think outside of the box. Trailers don’t have to be big budget as long as they are visually interesting or intellectually stimulating, and sometimes all it takes is something as simple as some old pieces of mail.



Born and raised in the Midwest, Supriya learned Hindi as a child by watching three Hindi movies a week. Winner of the 2015 New Visions Award for her middle grade novel AHIMSA, (October 2, 2017), Supriya is an author and screenwriter who has worked on the writing teams for several Hindi films and one Hollywood feature. Follow Supriya on Twitter @soups25 and on Instagram @Supriya.Kelkar. You can learn more and see AHIMSA’S book trailer here: http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/2017/09/book-trailer-premiere-ahimsa-by-supriya.html











Hey, look! Supriya's book made the list of Michigan bestsellers for October 2017. Cheers!

Coming up on the Mitten blog: Vacation! Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with your family and friends, and we'll see you again on December 1st with 5 Tips for Mastering a Magical 2018 Marketing Plan.

Friday, November 10, 2017

Michigan Kidlit Advocate: Bridget and the Books

https://bridgetandthebooks.com/
Bridget and the Books is a popular blog run by a Michigan elementary school student, Bridget, and supervised by her mom, Melissa. I'm not sure how I first discovered the blog, but I think it came from several directions at once, including a librarian's recommendation and this Detroit News article. And then I was delighted when Bridget herself showed up at Book Beat's 35th anniversary party this summer. She stopped at every table and asked each of the authors to sign the back of her t-shirt. She was still there hours later with her arms full of books. I was even more delighted when Bridget and Melissa later emailed me to request an author interview. Now it's my chance to turn the tables and interview them. Introducing Bridget and the Books!

I’m amazed that you blog nearly every day. (I find it hard to keep up with the every Friday posts here on the SCBWI-MI blog.) Now that you’ve started third grade, is it getting harder to keep up?

Well, kind of but I am not too sure. One reason it is not hard is because I am always reading. Picture books are short so when I don’t have a lot of time, I can do the picture books. I also read a chapter book fairly fast – if I like it, I have a hard time putting it down. Interviews help fill posts too – sometimes we keep those until we need to fill days. In fact, I could use more people to interview.

Question for Bridget's mom, Melissa: I know you supervise all of Bridget’s communication and posting. How have your duties changed/increased as the blog continues to grow?

As the blog has grown in readership, the engagement on Bridget’s posts and social media has also increased. We once had a day we received responses from 30 librarians interested in being interviewed. That was a busy email night.  Thanks to smart phones, I can stay on top of everything where ever I am (which is very helpful as I balance this with my full-time job that involves regular business travel).

Bridget, besides reading and blogging, what else do you like to do for fun? Your mom is a quilter - I love seeing her projects on Instagram. Do you help her with any of the quilts, or do you have your own art projects that you enjoy?

Annoying Little Brother and I are both quilters. We have our own machines. I am trying to improve my sewing skills to include clothing and other items. Mom helps us experiment but she doesn’t usually let us help on her projects.

I also like to draw, ride my bike, play with dolls and use legos. I like to go hiking and I recently got into geocaching. I also ran my first race this fall. I like running.

That's great you have so many different interests. Your blog has quickly gained quite a following, and publishers are sending you books to review. Authors too? Do you receive more books than you can possibly read? You must have an amazing bookshelf (or several) at home. And you also have a Little Free Library in your front yard?

Yea, the free books are pretty awesome. I work with a couple publishing houses (primarily Scholastics/Graphixs, First Second & National Geographic Kids). They either send me the reviewer catalog to pick from or sometimes they email and ask me to review a particular book. We have also received inquiries from an author, illustrator or publisher to review a book. A few authors have me set to receive their new books since they know I am a fan.

I don’t accept all offers because I just can’t read all the books. We also made a rule that the book has to be available online or in a bookstore.

Reviewing books can be the funnest thing but it does take up a lot of time.



How do you choose which books to review and which authors to interview?

Uh, um, pretty much anything I want to read is up for review. I am starting to get a little more picky on chapter books.

As for authors and illustrators, if I review their book and we can connect with them online, we ask if they would be interested in an interview. Newer authors and illustrators are more likely to say yes. I try to highlight new authors and illustrators because they usually don’t have a lot of people who know about them.

I do illustrators because I want to see how creative they are. I think people forget about them sometimes but without them, the book isn’t the same.

You’ve interviewed many authors and librarians, and met many of them in person. Are there any memorable moments you’d like to share? Maybe someone said something especially nice or funny or gave great advice?

  • Nick Tapalansky tweeted I was his favorite literary critic.
  • I was live on air with Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas and I told Guy he was wrong about something. I love Guy!
  • I was interviewed on TV and recently, I interviewed an author for the local cable channel.
  • I was able to help bring Salina Yoon to my school and town. It was really fun to share one of my favorite authors with my classmates. Did you know she helped launch my blog by sharing about it with her author and illustrator friends?

That's wonderful! What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be an author, illustrator, penguinologist, architect and artist. Ok, I might have to only be a few of these but I don’t know yet.

Is there anything else you'd like us to know? Or is there a question you wish I would ask?

A question for Mom, from Bridget: why do you let me do this?
Mom: Bridget needed an outlet to express her voice. I saw she loved reading and was very curious about everything. She was asking to do a vlog, but I knew that wasn’t feasible. I suggested a blog since I had previously managed a few and knew we could manage the time.

As we have been doing this, I am seeing the positive impact it is having on Bridget and her communication skills (as well as confidence). I also finding out how valuable her voice is to the kidlit realm. We really do need to let kids have more say in how they engage with books. I have noticed adults encouraging books that don’t fit the kid or discouraging things like graphic novels as not good enough. Kids need to be able to read whatever interests them.

We let Bridget and her brother pick what they want to read. Bridget has never been too interested in Dr Seuss, so we don’t push it. A lot of people are encouraging her to read Harry Potter right now, but she isn’t interested in it. I wasn’t a fan of Harry Potter, so I understand her hesitance. Her brother leans towards non-fiction which can be a little harder with a 6 year old but we make it work.

A question for Bridget, from Mom: what is something you really hope comes out of your blog?
Bridget: First, I really really really want to meet Mike Mahaick (author of Cleopatra series), Aimee Bissonette (fingers crossed we will in March), Nick Tapalansky and Grace Lin. I would like to do an interview for TV with Vordak the Incomprehensible.


We hope your wishes come true, Bridget!

Keep up with Bridget and the Books here:
Blog: https://bridgetandthebooks.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridgetandthebooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bridgetnbooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bridgetandthebooks/



Coming up on the Mitten blog: the making of a book trailer, a picture book idea turned art installation, create your 2018 marketing plan, and much more!

Have a great weekend!
Kristin Lenz


Friday, November 3, 2017

Writer Spotlight: Jenny Desmond Walters









Jenny Desmond Walters just recently moved to Michigan and joined our SCBWI chapter. She's got quite a story about how she got here. It's a long and winding journey, but I think you'll find it worthwhile:

Your parents were both professional educators. Was there anything in your childhood and developing years that inspired you to write?

My parents definitely had a profound impact on my writing and creative life. In addition to being incredibly supportive people, they each actively pursued their own creative endeavors. My father kept notebooks of inventions he hoped to create, and he published solutions to mathematics problems which had been previously unsolved. My mother wrote poems and songs for children and created educational games and teaching materials before there was Pinterest for teachers. 
I always had access, in our home, to all kinds of art materials, writing supplies, and recycled materials which, I believe, laid a foundation for creativity and imagination in my life. Having access to these kinds of creative resources as a child was powerful. 
In fourth grade, at my elementary school, I wrote and illustrated my first picture book for a school assignment. That was an pivotal experience for me. When I had completed this seemingly impossible task, had created these words on a page, this story with plot and characters, these illustrations to accompany my text, and when I had then read this story to other children, I felt something amazing that has stayed with me to this day. 
I felt the power of sharing a story that was inside my heart and mind and seeing other people receive joy from it. I think it was from that point on that I wrote poems, short stories and picture books simply for my own enjoyment.

You excelled in school (graduating Summa Cum Laude) in education. What was your plan, your ultimate career path?

I think, initially, I was reluctant to pursue education. My mother was a classroom teacher before she became an administrator, and I spent so much time in her classrooms over the years. I never saw myself becoming an educator, but I think all the time I spent with her had a lasting impact on my career choices. 
I still remember several of her young students who I had the opportunity to meet on various occasions. When I was about nine years old, I helped tutor one of her six-year-old students named Charlton. He absolutely stole my heart, and it was probably one of those moments that shaped my destiny even though I could never have known it at the time. I loved being involved with her teaching and her creative content making. 
So, when it came time to choose a career path, it seemed that education was where I excelled. Of course, if that didn’t pan out, I had big plans to be a magazine editor at some big magazine in New York City. As it turned out, my pursuit of education led me to some exciting jobs outside of the classroom but still kept me involved in education.

You worked for PBS and a publisher in some of your earliest jobs. Were you even then chasing storytelling? 

Absolutely! I wrote a draft of my first serious picture book while I was in college. It’s still one of my favorite stories, even though it’s not something that could probably be sold to a publisher. Still, that first stab at writing, and the development of this fantastical story was exhilarating. When I was at the Public TV station I was able to use many creative skills developing on-air content for children, appearing on-air for our Parenting Tips segment, or hosting videoconferences for the Sesame Street Preschool Education Project. Barney and The Magic School Bus were big at that time, so I did workshops for teachers on utilizing shows like these in the classroom. It was probably one of my favorite jobs. 
When we moved to Nashville, I left WSRE TV and began working for Steck-Vaughn Publishers which, at that time, was a division of Harcourt Brace. For Steck-Vaughn I was working with schools across Tennessee and helping teachers and administrators effectively use literature in the classroom. This was a great opportunity for me to see what teachers needed in the way of content and curriculum support for students. 
Those were always great days. Lots of book promotion work took place there in cubicles decorated with the best book swag ever.

You joined Tennessee’s SCBWI in 2001. How did you find it, or it find you?

When I was in Nashville, struggling to figure out how to write a picture book, I felt lost. I’m not sure exactly how I found SCBWI, but I do remember the first meeting I attended. Tracy Barrett, the current SCBWI Regional Advisor Coordinator, was the Regional Advisor of the Nashville chapter at the time, and she was amazing. I felt completely out of place and completely where I needed to be, all at the same time. From then on, every time we moved, SCBWI was my very first connection to be made in every new location.

How did you and your husband meet?

When I was 18, I met the love of my life at a Christmas event near my hometown of Pensacola. Along with my father, my husband is one of the best men I’ve ever known. I’ve been so fortunate to have such compassionate, intelligent, creative men in my life who value women as partners and equals. I think ours is definitely a story of true love, soul mates, and destiny. We’ve been married for 27 years.


Your husband’s job took you and your three daughters across the globe to Tokyo. Was this a welcome life adventure, or did it require a leap into the unknown?

Wow! That’s a great question. I guess it was both a welcome adventure and a leap into the unknown. A few months before the Japan opportunity came up, my mother passed away, and we discovered we would soon be welcoming our third daughter into the world. I think my husband and I were both feeling that life is a gift, and it is also too short. We felt that we needed to live it now while we could. So, we were up for an adventure. However, I recall that I entertained a doubt or two during the 16-hour flight while I was six months pregnant.

You spent 4 years in Japan. What was that like, moving from small town America to a bustling city of new language and culture?

It was so foreign, in every way, from what we had previously experienced, that not a single day passed where we didn’t marvel at some new wonder. The sounds of the crows, the shapes of the trees, the way the sky looked, the architecture, the bullet trains, the tiny cars and narrow roads, the richness of the culture and the openness of people to share their traditions with foreigners – there we so many delights and curiosities that it was like being awakened for the first time. 
I distinctly remember the moment when I realized that there is no such thing as “one right way” to do something. Things I had once thought could only exist in one form or another – things I had never dreamed could be any different than they were and than I knew them to be – suddenly were turned inside out. Everything could be thought of in new and different ways. That was a transformational awakening.

You joined SCBWI-Tokyo, and became an Assistant Regional Advisor (RA). Describe SCBWI in Japan.

SCBWI Japan is a wonderful, vibrant chapter. They hold frequent events throughout the year which support the varied needs and goals of members abroad. One of the best things about our international chapters is the opportunity for expat members and local national members to collaborate. 
We have American members living overseas for a variety of reasons, and we have bi-lingual, international members who are creating work for children in their native language and culture who also see the value of SCBWI as it supports the creation of quality children’s literature. SCBWI Japan also has a very active translation group where members discuss the ins and out of translating and support one another in this field. 
These connections are crucial as our industry strives to seek out diverse voices and cross-cultural perspectives to offer our young global citizen readers. I hope that we SCBWI members who are stateside can find ways to reach out to our sister chapters around the world to support them as they work to raise up members who can write the cross-cultural stories our children need to hear.

After 4 years, you were uprooted to Seoul, South Korea. Many Americans would assume it was a simple transition, from one big Asian city to another. What differences did you notice between Japan and South Korea?

Seoul was dramatically different from Tokyo. It’s hard to articulate without writing an entire book, but it was my impression that, in many ways, Korea was like its food –spicy and colorful. From the red chili peppers and kimchi to the bright, rainbow-colored Hanbok, the traditional dress in Korea, Seoul was strikingly different from Japan. 
It was another experience in mind-broadening as we navigated the culture and came to understand Korean life in amazing new ways. The language, history, and traditions of the country are rich and wonderful. Scholars held the places of highest respect in their society through the ages. Even today, education and scholarship are respected and pursued. As an educator, I find this very gratifying.

According to your Korean radio interview, there was no SCBWI chapter in the country when you arrived, so you founded one. How does one create a writing group in a new place where you’re struggling to understand the language and customs?
                                                   To listen to the interview, click here.

Ha! That’s certainly a big hurdle! It was an adventure, for sure. But, as I mentioned, SCBWI had become the rock that supported me no matter where I moved, so when I found that there was no chapter in Korea, I spoke with Holly Thompson, SCBWI Japan’s RA, and Kathleen Ahrens, International Regional Advisor Coordinator in Hong Kong, about the idea of starting one and having our chapters collaborate in the Pacific region. 
They had both hoped to move in this direction for some time, so they were supportive about the plan to start up a new chapter. We had tons of ideas about sharing expenses for bringing in speakers and mentors from the US. It was also advantageous to have an SCBWI presence in Korea because they have an incredibly rich children’s literature market, and their English language book divisions are continually seeking content from writers. 
South Korea hosts major book fairs and festivals each year, and they even have an entire city dedicated to the book industry -- from artist lofts, to print houses, to distribution warehouses – it all takes place in Paju Book City which I wrote about for the SCBWI Bulletin in 2009.
Finding members was not as difficult as you might think. While our membership numbers were small, we had a wonderful core group of expat writers. Some were in Seoul as military spouses, others were teachers working at one of the many international schools in the city. 
One of our original core members was Christina Farley who now lives in Florida and has just published her fourth novel, The Princess and the Page with Scholastic. Her debut novel, Guilded, is first in a trilogy set in Korea and is a story that she shared with our critique group in SCBWI Korea when she was first drafting it. We had an incredible group, and I remain in contact with almost all of our members. 
One of the best things to come out of SCBWI Korea was the SCBWI Korea Author-International School Network which I created to help connect US authors with English-language international schools across the Korean peninsula. 

You created a thriving SCBWI community in South Korea, but you had to relocate to Germany after 2 years. That must have been bittersweet.

Moving to Germany was very unexpected. We had no plans to make that change, but the opportunity came up. After we weighed all the options, it seemed like we just couldn’t say no. It was only 30 days from the time we were first presented with the idea until we had our feet on the ground in Stuttgart. 
It was incredibly rough, and my oldest daughter, who was in high school at the time, was quite unsettled. In the end though, she told us that moving to Germany was the best thing that ever happened to her. In fact, she is there right now as she tours with a group called The Young Americans. Amazingly enough, the Young Americans have a huge Michigan connection. They perform a dinner theater every summer in Boyne and do music workshops all over the state. All three of my daughters have taken part in Young American workshops in Japan and Germany, so to be here now in Michigan feels very providential.
Another fantastic aspect of being in Germany was getting to connect with SCBWI Germany/Austria and our neighbor, SCBWI Switzerland. The European chapters are vibrant, and they host fabulous events. One of our novel writing retreats took place on a car-less island in Bavaria at a Benedictine convent dating back to the year 782. Our membership was very diverse with incredible talent, and the chapters shared a dynamic connection.

You’ve got numerous picture books with Tun-Tun Books. Who are they, and how did you get started working with them?



I met Tun-Tun Books at the Seoul International Book Fair in Korea. They are an educational publisher specializing in English-language children’s books for Korean speakers. They have an immense book list, and I learned a lot working with them. I published twelve books with them, and it was incredibly insightful to work through their editing process to create books to teach English to non-native speakers. I could do a whole workshop on that topic alone.

You moved from Texas to Troy, MI over the summer. Are you ready for winter?

Absolutely not! I donated all of our snow pants, sleds, and winter gear when we left Germany because I knew we would never use it in Texas. I have never experienced a Michigan winter, so I hope I can make it. My whole family loves the changing of the seasons, and I’ve probably taken 100 photos of leaves this fall, so I think that I will be able to withstand the cold if it means I will have the joy of exquisitely colorful leaves in fall and fresh, new blooms in spring. Living and appreciating life by the marking of the seasons is a practice I learned while living in Japan. I’m feeling very grateful to be here in Michigan, winter and all, because many of the nicest people I know are from here.

14. What’s next for you?
Next on my list is finding a publisher for my recently completed picture book, 100th Day Troubles. It’s about a sequence of things that go absolutely wacky in a classroom on the one hundredth day of school. After several years of working on and thinking about this book, it finally came together last year. I am absolutely in love with this story, and I am hoping and praying I can find someone who feels the same about it as I do. 
While I wait for responses to my first round of submissions, I have two new books that have been swirling around in my head. I’ve started my first drafts of both, and I’m getting that excited feeling again, where I feel like I might have hit on something really special. All of this positive creative energy makes me think that I must definitely be right where I am supposed to be.



Charlie Barshaw appreciates the photo artistry of Nancy Shaw, a splendid Ann Arbor children's author (and pretty good with the lens, too.) Charlie  is working on revising his YA novel while resurrecting his first MG novel. He loves his life in SCBWI.