Hugs and Hurrahs!

Sarah Perry aka S.J. Lomas is celebrating the release of DREAM FREQUENCY, the sequel and conclusion to the DREAM GIRL duology. What a gorgeous cover! 

Neal Levin's poem BROTHER FOR SALE was published in the April 2017 issue of SPIDER. Cheers, Neal!

Monica Harris continues her steady sales (16 pieces!) to Data Recognition Corporation in various states which provide content for school state wide assessments. The specific topics are confidential, but here's a sample from her Wisconsin work:
*  Grade 4 Listening assessment - kids listen to the passage and then answer questions concerning the topic.

*  Grade 3 Informational assessment - students read about the nonfiction topic and then answer questions concerning their understanding. 
Congrats on your steady work, Monica!

Rebecca Grabil signed a contract with Eerdmans Books for Young Readers for the picture book, MAMA EARTH'S NEW YEAR, to be published early 2019.

Plus, her picture book with Atheneum, HALLOWEEN GOOD NIGHT, will be released July 25th! AND, it earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly!

Jean Alicia Elster has been selected to receive a 2017 Kresge Artist Fellowship in Literary Arts, awarded by Kresge Arts in Detroit, a program of The Kresge Foundation. We're so proud of you, Jean Alicia!

Shutta Crum, Jean Alicia Elster, Jack Cheng

On May 3rd, SCBWI-MI members Shutta Crum, Jean Alicia Elster and Jack Cheng joined fellow-author Ruth Behar at Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor for a special Children’s Book Week middle-grade authors panel. Shutta served as panel moderator and guided the authors in a discussion on a wide range of topics from diversity to character motivation. What a great event!

Buffy Silverman wrote four titles for Lerner Publishing's SHARK WORLD series. TIGER SHARKS IN ACTION, ANGELS SHARKS IN ACTION, GREAT WHITE SHARKS IN ACTION, and MAKO SHARKS IN ACTION are swimming out this month. Way to go, Buffy!

On June 24th, Kazoo Books in Kalamazoo hosted a reception for the Oakwood Neighborhood Association’s annual Oakwood Neighborhood Reunion. Local writers attending this reunion and autographing their books for children included SCBWI-MI members Janet Ruth Heller and Kate Seifert.  

Plus, Janet Ruth Heller was interviewed about her books and advice for writers on author Mindy McGinnis's website. 

Mary Vee's junior fiction book for elementary readers, WILLIAM WORTHINGTON WATKINS III, featuring a boy main character, veterans, and mystery with humor was published in May and is available on Amazon.

Amy Nielander

Amy Nielander's picture book THE LADYBUG RACE earned a Bronze Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, Children's Picture Books category. See all of the winners here. We're thrilled to see your book and artwork continuing to earn accolades!

Kristin Bartley Lenz's article, THE POWER OF CONTESTS: CREATE YOUR OWN LUCK, was published on the Writer's Digest Guide to Literary Agents Blog.

YARN (Young Adult Review Network) published Heather Smith Meloche's short story, TRIFLES, about complicated sisterly love and tough choices. Bravo, Heather! Read the story HERE.


Kirbi Fagan won the Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist 2017 (Presented by the New England Science Fiction Association) and she's a Muddy Color Rising Star 2017! She's also our 2017-2018 SCBWI-MI Illustrator Mentor!

And we saved the best news for last: Charlie Barshaw has officially joined the Mitten blog team! Charlie has been a frequent contributor for some time, and now he's taking over the quarterly Writer Spotlight feature for Patti Richards. Stay tuned - he might be reaching out to interview YOU!

Coming up on the Mitten Blog: Nina Goebel unveils our new summer blog banner and introduces our next Featured Illustrator!

Paying it Forward: Cathy Bieberich - Mentor Extraordinare, a Volunteer Tribute by Monica Harris

If you ask people about SCBWI Michigan volunteer, Cathy Bieberich, several things might be mentioned. Her boisterous laugh and wickedly sharp sense of humor might be first. Her diligent work ethic would certainly be high on the list. A few members may even reminisce (with chuckles) about her karaoke skills and interpretive dance prowess.

While these are just a few of her sparkling wonders, one of Cathy’s biggest accomplishments as a SCBWI volunteer is the strong mentorship program. Sadly, Cathy is stepping down (or should I say retiring) from her Mentorship Coordinator position; a position she has held for 9 years. Her personal journey actually began when Cathy won the novel mentorship in 2002 with Audrey Couloumbis. At the end of their mentorship session, the two remained close friends and shared their writing. When Audrey had another book published, Cathy was humbled to find her name included in the dedications. Filled with gratitude from the entire experience, Cathy choose to give back in the best way she knew…to expand, strengthen, and coordinate the mentorship program.

Even while working full time, Cathy made sure to put together an outstanding program.  She devotedly located and secured mentors.  While this may sound easy, it is not. Many writers and illustrators are busy with their own careers so it would often involve a little ‘pay it forward’ coaxing on Cathy’s part.  After that, capable judges were secretly contacted (again, sometimes needing a bit of coaxing).  Once submissions rolled in, Cathy coordinated every detail including sorting and coordinating the submissions, making sure the judges received their copies (either by mail or electronically), and then tabulating the results for the mentor.  A tedious job, to say the least, but Cathy embraced it with the excitement of a 2-year old being handed a Labrador puppy!  It was a time of thankfulness and generosity, which Cathy juggled like a three-ringed circus professional.

While I can certainly dwell on how much we’ll miss Cathy’s hard work, I know with certainty that her presence will continue to be felt within the Michigan chapter. For example, Cathy was the pioneer for our speaker-shadowing program. Speakers will continue to have a SCBWI “shadow helper” in order to make them comfortable during conferences.  The program has been so successful that other national SCBWI chapters have adopted it.

If there’s ever a moment when the Advisory Committee needs a helping hand, Cathy will be there to offer both her left and her right. Whether it’s stuffing folders for conference participants, greeting them at the registration table, or bringing cold water to the members of a panel, she will be there…. selflessly offering her time and cheerful smile.

What I admire most about Cathy is her devotion to make new people feel welcomed.  If someone is sitting alone at a table, she makes a point of joining them. If a participant is lost, Cathy takes time to walk them to the appropriate conference room.  She doesn’t do it for any sort of glory. She doesn’t expect a pat on the back. She does it because she believes in our chapter, our members, and our dreams. We are in this together and the best way to help each other is to be supportive.

Without a doubt, she will be missed in her role as Mentorship Coordinator. Yet, I find it uplifting knowing that she will continue to be a pinnacle example of what makes our Michigan chapter so wonderful. Thank you Cathy---my role model, my writing buddy, and my dear friend.

Although she’ll deny it, Monica Harris is usually an accomplice and backup dancer to Cathy Bieberich’s karaoke singing! As a previous AdCom member and a retired Co-RA, she does have to worry about her reputation, you know? She lives in Kalamazoo…oh oh, there goes her status in the witness protection plan (gulp).


Coming up on the Mitten blog: Behind the Conference Scenes, a new Featured Illustrator, and another round of Hugs and Hurrahs. We want to trumpet your good news! Please send your children's writing or illustrating news to Patti Richards by Sept. 26th.

Working with a Foreign Market by Monica Harris

BUON GIORNO! SELAMAT DATANG!

I’ve had the good fortune of writing books for two Korean children’s publishing companies - TunTun Publishing and Caramel Tree. When fellow writers discover this, they are immediately curious about the experience. So I thought I’d share some of the questions I’ve been asked and some insight on the opportunities.

The first question is always – “Do you speak Korean?”

No, I do not speak Korean. Both companies are educational publishers who create educational English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. Their programs involve leveled reading books and teacher materials to help Korean kids from ages 3+ learn English.

How did you get your foot into the door?

It’s all about connections! For TunTun Publishing, I had met the SCBWI International Regional Advisor from Korea while attending the New York conference. She was an American living abroad due to her husband’s job. The editors at TunTun learned about her and reached out with a request for native English speaking writers who specifically wrote for kids. They wondered if she knew any. She certainly did! The Regional Advisor sent an email to several writers with the details on how to submit ideas. I jumped at the opportunity and BOOM! Six books later, my foot is no longer pinched by the door.

For Caramel Tree Publishing, it was again by making connections. While at the 2009 Los Angeles SCBWI conference, I attended a presentation on writing for foreign markets. One of the gentlemen sitting in the audience talked about his experience with the Korean market. After the presentation, we struck up a conversation. It turned out that he was the Vancouver-based English Editor with Caramel Tree Publishing. Over the next several years, I sent him stories, which I thought might fit into his program. He loved them all, but just couldn’t find a good fit within their current program. Luckily, he believed in me and was willing to take a risk. He presented my works to the Korean editorial group and stressed that I had the skills needed to be “part of the team.” The group agreed and took me on as one of their work-for-hire authors (2014). I am currently working on 16 books for their upcoming list!

Work-for-Hire? What does that mean?

Work for hire means the publisher gives me writing assignments. They are often subjects that the publisher needs in order to round out their ESL programs. I work under a contract, which requires revisions, illustration suggestions, and readability statistics. Deadlines are usually quite short and the pay is reasonable ($300-$500 per book project). My name appears on the book, but I do not earn royalties on sales. Each contract states how many complimentary copies I will receive but, because they’re sold in Korea, I don’t usually have an opportunity to buy additional copies for school visits. So I usually ask for 10 copies instead of the standard 2.

What have you learned from the experience?

• When communicating with editors whose first language is not English, keep sentence structure simple. Email miscommunications usually occur because of basic misunderstandings in the language.

• Research the culture you’re writing about. When writing a breakfast scene, for example, don’t assume that Korean kids eat cereal, oatmeal, or pancakes. Korean breakfasts are usually hot soup. Don’t be afraid to ask the editors for guidance. It isn’t seen as a weakness; it’s seen as respectful.

• My teaching degree is valuable. (Which makes my father very happy!) Having an understanding of the learning process and making sure the books are in check with learning objectives has certainly given me a leg up.

• That there’s an extra element of intrigue when you receive a package with foreign words and/or symbols on it. It makes me appear worldly, mysterious, and secretive to my mail carrier too. (wink wink)

NOTE: The title reads as “Good morning” in Italian and “Welcome” in Malay.  Because I know you were going to Google it anyways.  J

Monica writes picture books, puzzles/games, magazine stories and articles, nonfiction easy readers, and educational materials. She lives in Kalamazoo where she enjoys hiking and belly dancing. She is the author of 14 books (16 more to come) and more than 230 magazine pieces. She is also an instructor with the Institute of Children’s Literature. Learn more about Monica at her website: www.monicaharrisbooks.com

Coming up in the weeks ahead: take-aways from the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York, Small Press Success, Kiddie Litter cartoons, and another round of Hugs and Hurrahs. Subscribe to The Mitten blog and you'll never miss a post. Simply enter your email in the Follow by Email box at the top of the sidebar.