SCBWI New York Conference 2025 Notes & Pics by Kara Marsee

Going to the NYC conference was something I had thought about for years, but the timing, the cost, and not feeling my work was “prepared enough” - got in my way. But this time, I had worked hard to prepare for the Midwest Conference in Spring of 2024, and I learned a lot from the portfolio showcase I participated in there. So I entered the drawing for the scholarship that Shutta Crum generously offers to SCBWI-MI members. When I came home from work in October and found out I was the winner, I was so excited! I scrambled to register, and I still felt like I had a lot of preparing to do. 

I was thrilled when one of my critique partners, my friend Anne Awh from Chicago, said she’d go too. We did phone check-ins with each other to keep each other on task. I did 6 new pieces for my portfolio and updated my dummies. I lost track of how many times I rearranged my portfolio. 

The Portfolio showcase was enormous and was over before I could even see half of the portfolios. I came home with a beautiful array of postcards from fellow artists. I happened to see someone carrying my postcard, who asked if I was published. I said “not yet.” Her response was, “You will be.” I treasure that comment.

Some of my favorite quotes, and notes from the weekend:

“Gathering here together during these uncertain times feels like a creative act of rebellion. One thing is certain, the people who create children’s books are the friendliest, most encouraging people” - Sarah Baker, Executive Director of SCBWI

Erin Estrada Kelly spoke a lot about bravery. 

One form of bravery is “Writing and letting other people see it.” 

“Do something even when drowning in self-doubt.” 

“We’re here because we have a dream, a hope to tell stories.”  

“Biggest regret at the end of life is not trying at all.” 

“Being here is betting on yourself and that is deeply meaningful.”

Peter Brown enjoys the process of getting into the heads of his readers. He is struck by the idea that we are animals, but we feel removed…whereas children don’t feel as removed.

I found it fascinating that Peter thought of each chapter of WILD ROBOT as a Picture Book, because that’s what he knew how to write. Writing a novel was new for him, and it was a big challenge. 80 chapters = 80 key plot points.

If you have stories that you really love, you will work through the times when you’re “lost in the woods” like Roz. “Pick projects that you genuinely love.”

Sophie Blackall’s speech was so endearing, just like herself, and her stories.

She offered tips like, “Remember People’s Names” “Give Voice to your own Astonishment” and “Dig Deep.” She also reminded us to stand tall, collaborate, and build community, as she built the amazing Milkwood Farm.

 

In Suzanne Kaufmann’s Creative Lab, she
encouraged us to “embrace the MESS.” (I love this!)

“Just write down what happens - even if it’s insane. Turn off the internal #$@! editor”

“Keep pushing, keep thinking of the feeling”

She played a Mr. Rogers clip, the “You’ve got to DO it” song (12 minutes in, from this episode)

Suzanne showed us her process, and how she worked through challenges during the development of her new book BLUE, which is coming out this spring. 

“If you get stuck on something, ask for help from a friend, take a break, or go to bed thinking about your question, your answer may come in a dream.” 

In Catia Chien’s Creative Lab, Catia guided us through examples and pushed us to examine lighting and value work in illustration.

“What can the value do for the story - what can it show, and what can it hide?”
“Protect that place in you that loves the work. We all make mistakes, but there is learning.”

Catia also gave us time to work on our pieces, which was so valuable while her information was fresh. I sat near Heidi Woodward Sheffield and we talked together about our works in progress. This lab really made me reconsider a scene in one of my dummies and walk away with a stronger composition.
 

The biggest highlight of the conference for me was attending the Society of Illustrators gallery, to see “The Original Art” show, an annual celebration of the fine art of children’s book illustration. It was thrilling to see so many beautiful pieces of art in person. I got to “party” in Lian Cho’s PIG TOWN PARTY, with one of Michigan’s ICs Jen Boehler, and see the originals for some of my recent picture book loves, like “WHAT’S NEW DANIEL?” by Micha Archer and “WORM’S LOST & FOUND” by Julie Wellerdiek. There was art by Rahele Jomepour Bell, Matthew Cordell, Ye Guo, and so many others I felt like a kid in a candy shop.  

Laurent Linn, the AD at Simon & Schuster Books, as well as the President of the SCBWI Board of Directors, introduced the members of the SCBWI Advisory Council who were present, as well as the Illustrator Coordinators.

It was so nice to have these introductions and to meet just some of the many hands who contribute to making SCBWI such a vibrant community. Inside the red bags everyone received was the greatest souvenir - a printed catalog of the exhibit.
 

As a “thank you” to Shutta, I bought an autographed GRANDMA HEAVEN written by Shutta Crum, illustrated by Ruth McNally Barshaw, and brought it with me to NYC. My intention was to find a little free library I could put it in. I imagined finding one in Central Park, but that wasn’t the case. Luckily, I was able to meet up with another critique partner, Hannah Krueger from Brooklyn, and she was able to deliver the book to a little free library in Brooklyn.  

Yes, NYC is large and intimidating. But there are things that can only be done in NYC - like eating at Ellen’s Stardust Cafe (where the waitstaff belt out Broadway tunes), with Amelia Bothe, who I just met while dropping off portfolios. Or taking in the amazing art at the SOI gallery. And no matter where I go, I feel like SCBWI is a family- a family of dedicated, talented, generous people, like Shutta Crum, the SCBWI volunteers, my critique partners, and the new people I met, one who helped guide me through subway shutdowns- but that’s another story! 

-Kara Marsee is trying to embrace her messy desk in Ann Arbor Michigan, where she works on picture book writing and illustrating. By day she works in the office of an elementary school, where she works with magicians (teachers) and cares for wild things. She shares her home with a hungry house rabbit, 2 growing boys, and her husband, who is also an artist. You can follow her on Instagram, Facebook or BlueSky. 

Shutta's Scholarship - Now Threefold! Revisit the Magic with Four Previous Winners

https://michigan.scbwi.org/2020/10/24/shuttas-scholarship-is-here-again-threefold/

 

Shutta will pay the full tuition fee for three (!) Michigan SCBWI members to attend the SCBWI (online) Winter Conference.

• One scholarship will go to an illustrator or author/illustrator. 
• One scholarship will go to a pre-pubbed member. 
• And one scholarship will go to a general member. 

The qualifying rules are listed on the application form on the SCBWI-MI website and at Shutta’s website. 

The deadline to apply for the scholarship is by midnight on November 15, 2020. Applications will be accepted beginning ASAP. The winner will be drawn at random and notified soon after November 15th. 

DOWNLOAD SHUTTA'S SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION HERE

The online conference is February 20-21, 2021. Registration starts on October 28, 2020. See the national SCBWI website for conference details. 

Past winners have included: Sara Kendall, Laura Stewart, Meline Scheidel, Andrea Donahoe, Lindsey McDivitt, Amy Nielander, Kelly Barson, Vicky Lorencen, Elizabeth McBride, Taraneh Matloob, and Betsy Williams. 

Here are some of their experiences shared right here on the Mitten blog in previous years. Revisit the magic of the conferences in their posts, and click on their names to see what they've been up to since then. Yes, some of their books are now out in the world!

Laura Stewart, 2019:
https://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/2019/03/scholarship-winner-laura-stewarts-scbwi.html

Meline Scheidel, 2018:
https://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-2018-scbwi-winter-conference.html

Andrea Donahoe, 2017:
https://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-2017-scbwi-annual-winter-conference.html

Lindsey McDivitt, 2016:
https://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/2016/03/four-fears-float-away-at-scbwis-nyc.html

OH, THE PEOPLE YOU’LL MEET... at an SCBWI conference. (And a scholarship opportunity!)

Registration is now open for the 17th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City. Have you dreamed of going? What's holding you back? Time, travel, money, fear? Charlie Barshaw is here to share his experience attending a national SCBWI conference, and we'll tell you how you might qualify for a scholarship to cover the cost of the NY conference registration AND airfare.

http://www.scbwi.org/17th-annual-scbwi-winter-conference-in-new-york-2016/

OH, THE PEOPLE YOU'LL MEET by Charlie Barshaw

In the past I’ve emphasized the talent present at the SCBWI national conferences.(http://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/2015/02/one-liners-abound-at-new-york-conference.html) The 2015 SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles was no different. From Mem Fox to Kwame Alexander, with agents and editors by the bushel, it was a spectacularly star-studded affair. 

But, keynotes and breakout sessions are only one reason to attend a national conference. Another great reason is the creative community, the people, your peers, who you meet.

Lin Oliver announced that a record 1,173 attendees paid for the conference. Of those, 736 were, as we like to say in the biz, pre-published.

So, more than half of the writers and illustrators at the conference were figuratively in the same boat, and literally in the same ballroom for the opening speech.

Silly me, I forgot the business cards that Ruth had printed and cut for me. (I am, the card proclaims, a writer and literary agency intern.) Almost everyone else I met had one, and I came away, even the introvert I was, with contact information from at least a dozen new creative friends and acquaintances.

It started on Friday morning when I recognized Owen in the registration crowd. He’d been at my a.m. NY round table in February. I’d admired his work, gotten his contact information and promptly lost it. And my brain, usually a rusty trap, gave me his correct name right away. Owen and I would meet several more times over the weekend, and we’ll likely be trading YA manuscripts.

One fortunate encounter happened on Friday night when I participated in a peer group critique. Our mid-grade novel group had me and four other writers, and every single set of pages was uniformly excellent. I met Naz, Tiffany, Eric and Kathryn. Three of them live within driving distance in California and scheduled a date to meet again. Tiffany and I planned to join in electronically, and suddenly I have a new crit group.

Afterwards, outgoing Naz persuaded me to visit the hotel bar, where I paid $13 (!) for a glass of wine and gathered more cards. I met Lori, a YA fiction writer who had written a manuscript about a transgender teen. The story, she said, was semi-autobiographical. That same evening I met writer Jeanette just long enough to snag a card from her, too.

The next day, I sat next to Rhonda, who has a published MG out but was disappointed that her publisher passed on the sequel. However, she had another story in the pipeline and was encouraged at its prospects.

I stood in a long line waiting for Adam Rex to sign my copy of THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY. I talked with Marshalla, in line ahead of me, about schools and plays; she was a NY educator. I asked if I could use her lovely name for one of my MG characters, and she agreed.

At the “Sparkle Party” that night I ran into former SCBWI-MI member Betty Raum, who’s now RA for North Dakota. I also met Virginia, who is the Illustrator Coordinator for the Louisiana/Mississippi region. Virginia also draws the LSU tiger mascot for the school.

I met Stephen on Sunday when we found the last open table for a luncheon. He’s a balloon illustrator and children’s author. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to explore the balloon thing with him.

Molly, who I met in fast-talking editor Jordan Brown’s breakout, might be able to share notes so we can piece together all the great advice he loosed.

I met Carolyn Flores in New York and was thrilled to meet her mother in LA, a children’s writer in her own right. I declined taking Carolyn’s card early on, but accepted her evocative postcard at the signing party on Sunday because she still had a few left.

I met Owen again on Monday before the Intensives when Stephanie appeared. She’s writing YA and opened one of her WIPs with a suicide note.

These are connections. Some will go nowhere, but some will last a lifetime. Owen met up with author Paul Fleicshman after a 30 year absence, and they reconnected in a heartbeat.

There are many good reasons to attend an SCBWI conference, on the national and local level. Perhaps the best reason, though, is for the people you will meet, the networks that may form, the friendships and creative support that will almost certainly result.

Charlie has recovered fully from a stroke which left him unbalanced. He can now walk a straight line and still twist a sentence into knots. He's currently working on his YA and revising his MG, "Nuts" with his new-found LA crit group. 

  

Thanks to Charlie for sharing his experience. Are you intrigued? Feeling more comfortable about attending one of the big SCBWI national conferences? If the expense is holding you back, SCBWI-MI member Shutta Crum has the solution:

http://michigan.scbwi.org/2015/10/12/shuttas-scholarship-solution-to-the-winter-doldrums-is-here-again/

Shutta will pay the full early-bird registration fee for a Michigan SCBWI member to attend. ($425.00) The qualifying rules are listed on the application form posted here and on Shutta’s site. (Deadline to apply for the scholarship is by midnight, Dec. 5, 2015.) SCBWI-MI will reimburse the scholarship winner for the cost of airfare.

We're so fortunate to have such a supportive chapter!

Coming up on the Mitten blog: A Kidlit Welcome, Adding Mystery to Your Writing, Planning a Critique Group Retreat, more Kiddie Litter cartoons, and another Member Spotlight. See you next Friday!

One-Liners Abound at New York Conference

What do you get when you plop a four-star Grand Hyatt Hotel on top of the world’s busiest train station?

You get a grandiloquent setting for the 16^th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference, February 6-8, 2015 in New York City. I was lucky enough to be one of several hundred attendees, my way paid by the Tribute Fund, a grant that recognizes the service of the local volunteer members. 

On Friday, I attended a Writer’s Roundtable intensive, where 25 of the biggest names in publishing’s editors and agents sat at a round table with eight other writers and critiqued their first 500 words. It would take a whole blog post just to mention every name; suffice to say that I was honored to sit with Kate Sullivan, senior editor of Delacorte Press in the morning, and Molly Ker Hawn, an agent for the Bent Agency based in London in the afternoon.

That was just one of three intensive tracks on what was essentially a bonus day. The real conference kicked off on Saturday morning, and the list of keynote presenters is so long, and my word count so restricted, that each person only gets one sentence.

Anthony Horowitz said “Remember the first line is the line the reader will read in the store.” He followed that up with his first line of the first book in the Alex Rider series, "When the doorbell rings at 3 o’clock in the morning, it’s never good news.”

Next up was the Keynote Editor’s Panel. 

Justin Chanda said, “The business is cyclical; we need picture book readers to graduate to middle grade to young adult.”

Laura Godwin added that “It takes about $50,000 to start up a picture book: we’re not going to put up that investment lightly in our partnership with you.”

Beverly Horowitz said, “People love books for children who will grow up to be adult readers.”

And Stephanie Owens Lurie indicated that research suggested, “Kids prefer physical books.”

Our first breakout offered choices A-K, where agents, art directors and editors discussed “Seven Essentials You Need to Know About...” I chose Executive Editor Jordan Brown, who said “The Number One Rule with Writing: you can do whatever you want, as long as it works.”

After a lunch in the catacomb food court of Grand Central Station, we returned for another one of eleven breakout sessions. This time I chose Senior Editor Ben Rosenthal who discussed thrillers, “You need to hook immediately; you turn on the faucet, the reader can’t (and doesn’t want to) turn it off.”

More afternoon keynotes followed. Herve Tullet, a gangly French artist, talked about a transformative presentation where he “invited a child to draw wiz me, drawing scribbles zat became an idea; from zat scribble it became a story.”

Next, author Kami Garcia admitted she “broke a lot of rules writing for a group of teens, not writing to be published.”

Afterwards, illustrators displayed their portfolios during the Art Browse, followed by a Gala Dinner and Optional Socials (for those of us still standing).

SCBWI-MI Co-RAs, Carrie Pearson and Leslie Helakoski, with Taraneh Matloob, the winner of Shutta's NY Conference Scholarship. Congrats, Taraneh!












Sunday went by like a New York minute.

Legendary children’s writer (and SCBWI’s first Regional Advisor) Jane Yolen spoke briefly, urging the crowd “No more ‘starting,’ just do it.”

Author/illustrator Laura Vaccaro Seeger effectively demonstrated the magic of her concept picture books by showing them to the audience. She suggested journals for writers and artists “so you have a place to collect your thoughts, ideas and doodles.” But she went a step beyond and numbered the pages and made a table of contents, for easy brilliance retrieval.

Best-selling author James Dashner confessed, “My method has nothing to do with trends; I write stuff that’s cool to me...there’s no magical formulas, you just have to be passionate about it.”

The Keynote Agent’s Panel featured Barry Goldblatt (who appeared at an SCBWI-MI conference a few years ago with author and wife Libba Bray). He said that an agent’s job "is 24/7; it doesn’t ever turn off.”

Jennifer Laughran said a good query letter is “long enough to cover everything but short enough to get you interested, like a gray skirt.”

Tina Wexler advises writers she needs “writing with heart, not writing to pay the bills; I want passion and you on the page.”

Finally, Newbery Award winner Kwame Alexander sent the crowd out on a delirious note. He described his unlikely rise to fame as an author and poet. His secret? “You have to say ‘Yes!’”

New York City. Editors. Agents. Authors. Illustrators. It is an experience never to be forgotten. Make it a goal to go to at least one national SCBWI conference in your lifetime; it will transform you.

Charlie Barshaw is currently stitching together the tattered remains of his middle grade story about a squirrel invasion while fiendishly contemplating major surgery on a YA WIP. He’s also co-planning a spring conference with his wife, author/illustrator Ruth McNally Barshaw.


For more highlights of the NY conference and plenty of photos, visit the official SCBWI conference blog. But first, click on the links above because Charlie carefully collected all of them for you!

Coming up on The Mitten blog: small press success, writing character emotions, and another round of Hugs and Hurrahs. Send your good news to Patti Richards (info@pgwrites.com) by March 25th to be included.

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Have a great weekend!

Kristin Lenz