7-Year-Blogiversary! Kudos to Our Team and a Fond Farewell from Co-Editor Kristin Lenz

 

It's been seven years!

When I transitioned the SCBWI-MI members-only newsletter into a public blog in August 2014, I wanted to continue many of our beloved Mitten traditions, but I was also energized to create something new with a reach beyond our Michigan membership. Here was an opportunity to nurture our community and showcase our members’ writing and artwork beyond our SCBWI borders; a chance to connect and interact not just with each other, but with teachers, librarians, booksellers, and readers around the world. Mitten newsletter co-editor Jodie Fletcher left to pursue other projects, but first she set us up on Blogger. (See what Jodie’s been working on since then at Devicconnection.com. Her new book, The Journal of a Spiritual Seeker is out now!). Nina Goebel and Patti Richards joined me to form our first blog team, and we met at a coffee shop in Royal Oak to discuss the shape and vision of this new blog-to-be. 

Over the years, our blog team has grown and shifted in new directions. Patti moved on to run the Farmington Hills Shop Talk and other projects (including her own blog and several published books!). After writing numerous guest posts, Charlie Barshaw stepped up to cover the Writer Spotlight interviews. Sarah LoCascio took on the Hugs and Hurrahs. Jodi McKay created the Book Birthday celebrations, which Lauren Nyquist later jumped into when Jodi became co-RA. Lauren moved out-of-state this summer, and Christy Matthes recently came on-board. Isabel Estrada O’Hagin and Angie Verges started the Equity and Inclusion Corner. Meanwhile, Nina continued to coordinate every aspect of the quarterly Featured Illustrators, even when she returned to school for a master’s degree in art therapy and pursued a new career. Congrats, Nina!

Our community is so generous. You’ve shared your time and knowledge and experience on our blog every week, including on-going features such as Dear Frida Pennabook (Jay Whistler’s alter ego), Ask the Editor by Katherine Gibson Easter, and Painless Self-Promotion by Debbie Gonzales. There are too many contributors to name, and I know I'm forgetting some because... 7 years! To date, over 400 posts have been written by Michigan members with hundreds of thousands of views!

My favorite part of the job is corresponding with members from around the state—learning from you, helping you learn, and feeling inspired by your growth and success. Mitten posts have been written by seasoned professionals making my job a snap, as well as novice writers who took my requests for revisions in stride as they earned their first publishing credit. Way back when I was a new SCBWI-MI member and the Mitten was a snail mail newsletter, I submitted my first article, Cook Your Book, to editor Kris Remenar. She responded with interest and encouragement, and asked me to add “more meat.” She was a good role model, and I’ve shared her advice many times.

Nina and I had planned to hand over the blog reins a couple years ago, but new partnerships continued to develop, and then the pandemic turned everything upside down. 

Alas, it is time. 

The Mitten blog needs the fresh eyes of new leadership, and I’m excited to see the changes that develop from the enthusiasm of new co-editors. They’ll be walking into an established routine with a supportive team but will have the opportunity to create new features and explore new directions and formats.

What’s next for me? I’m still writing everything from YA novels to poetry. My agent has one novel on submission (please send good vibes!), I’m drafting another, and I have a poem in a forthcoming anthology (Rhyme and Rhythm: Poems for Student Athletes). But I’m also excited to move in some new directions, including teaching a Creative Writing Workshop for Social Workers. I’ll still be here for SCBWI-MI events (I’m presenting on a poetry panel with Shutta Crum and Heather Meloche on Sept. 11th for the Farmington Shop Talk), and I’m looking forward to writing an occasional Mitten blog post - something I rarely had time for as co-editor!

Who will be the new Mitten blog editor(s)? I can’t wait to find out! 

Look for the position descriptions and application link in the SCBWI-MI monthly newsletter that RA's Carrie and Jodi will email to all members next week. I’ll be standing by to answer questions and provide as much support as needed during the transition. 

Thank you again to everyone who has contributed to our SCBWI-MI blog over the years. What a grand team effort! The blog calendar is already filling up for fall, but we're always looking for guest posts. Learn more on the Submissions page. 

With much gratitude,

Kristin Lenz

Kristin Bartley Lenz is a writer and social worker who has lived in Michigan, Georgia, and California. Her debut young adult novel, The Art of Holding On and Letting Go, was a Helen Sheehan YA Book Prize winner, a Junior Library Guild Selection, and an honor book for the Great Lakes Great Books Award statewide literature program. Her fiction, poetry, essays, and articles have been published by The New York Times, Writer's Digest, Hunger Mountain, Great Lakes Review, The ALAN Review, Literary Mama, Women On Writing, and The New Social Worker. She also writes freelance for Detroit area non-profits and manages the Michigan Chapter blog for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

Learn more at www.kristinbartleylenz.com

Our humble beginning seven years ago: 

https://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/2014/08/welcome-to-mitten.html

Our first Featured Illustrator and blog banner from Heidi Woodward Sheffield: 

https://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/2014/09/illustrator-interview-heidi-woodward.html

Neal Levin shared dozens of his Kiddie Litter cartoons:

https://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/p/kiddie-litter.html

Flash back to a few of our most popular posts with thousands of views:

• Self-Publishing Success: https://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/2020/01/self-publishing-success.html

• If You're Blogging and You Know it, Raise Your Hand: https://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/2018/04/if-youre-blogging-and-you-know-it-raise.html

• Writer Spotlight: Fatma Al Lawati: https://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/2018/09/writer-spotlight-fatma-al-lawati.html

• Back to School: MFA Week (a 7-day series!): https://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/2016/09/back-to-school-mfa-week-day-seven-thats.html

*Find posts on any subject using the search box in the right sidebar.

Coming up on the Mitten Blog:

Kidlit horror, faith-based writing and publishing, plunging into Michigan history, website tips, a Writer Spotlight, Book Birthdays, Equity and Inclusion Corner, and another round of Hugs and Hurrahs. We want to trumpet your good news! Please send your writing/illustrating/publishing news to Sarah LoCascio by Sept. 7th to be included.