SCBWI-MI Shop Talks and Much, Much More!

Shop Talk – a gathering of writers and illustrators for the purpose of resourcing, sharing and encouraging each other.

Thanks to the dedication of many members in SCBWI-Michigan, we have four very active Shop Talk groups throughout the state:

•             Lansing Area – LAST – led by Charlie Barshaw and Ann Finklestein
•             SE-Mitten - Farmington Hills – led by Patti Richards and Jennifer Rumberger
•             Grand Rapids West – led by David Stricklen
•             Ann Arbor Area – led by Betsy McKee Williams

Each group has their own schedule and meets regularly every four to six weeks. Everyone is welcome attend. A variety of topics are covered by the groups from speakers on craft, social media, critique sessions, sharing resources, hearing author behind-the-scenes stories, etc. Each group is tailored to fit the needs of their attendees.

If you are interested in attending a Shop Talk near you, please check our Calendar of Events on the SCBWI webpage or contact the coordinators. Contact information can be found here. Also be sure to follow our chapter Facebook page and join the MichKids listserv. Future dates are always posted on both locations.

If your area of the state doesn’t have a Shop Talk, please consider starting a group of your own. All you need is a space to meet (library, park center, coffee shop, book store) and the desire to meet with fellow authors/illustrators. It’s easy! The Shop Talk coordinators share ideas and are a great resource for meeting topics. We can also help you advertise and share you group with your area of Michigan. Please contact Jennifer Rumberger if you would like to discuss leading a new group.

We hope to see you at a Shop Talk this winter!

Jennifer Rumberger is a wife and mom of two very active boys. She is an administrative assistant during the day and a children's writer in her free time. She has been published in a handful of children's magazines and her picture book, DUCKLINGS ON THE MOVE, is available from MeeGenius/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Our SCBWI-MI authors will be busy this weekend with a number of events. Take your pick or hop around to several. If only they weren't all happening at the same time!

*  SCBWI-MI Shop Talk, Ann Arbor: Sat, Nov 12 – same place, but different time: 1-4pm
AADL Downtown library, 3rd floor freespace meeting room

This will be an informal meeting. We will start, as always, with introductions. Next we will have a sort of Wisdom Circle. Everyone will be invited to write down questions or problems which they are currently struggling with. We will pull questions from a hat and discuss one at a time, sharing our collective expertise. People can choose whether to claim their question, or to have it remain anonymous.

Questions? Contact Betsy McKee. For Shop Talks later this month in other cities, go here.

*  Picture book author trio at the Book Beat in Oak Park, Sat. Nov. 12, 1-3pm

Lisa Wheeler will be reading from The Christmas Boot, her classic holiday tale newly illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. She will also be giving a “story behind the story” talk. Lisa Rose will be reading from her book, Shmulik Paints the Town. Deborah Aronson will be reading from her book Where’s My Tushy? and her new book, Dragons from Mars.

*  4th Annual Children's Author Meet & Greet. Sat. Nov. 12, 1-3pm. Frenchtown Dixie Branch Library, Monroe. 

Enjoy an Autumn afternoon with 11 amazing authors of books for children of all ages.

Coming up on the Mitten blog: Learn more about Capital City Writers Association, an SCBWI Magazine Merit Award Winner, and the SCBWI PAL program.

*  Our amazing SCBWI-MI PAL leader, Dawne Webber, has been hard at work on the upcoming Merry Mitten Holiday event. More details to come, but for now, here's a peek at the website and Facebook page. They just went live and are ready to "like" and follow and share, but the official logo and artwork is still to come.

Have a wonderful book-ful weekend!
Kristin Lenz