Hugs and Hurrahs

Happy Friday Michkid Friends!

As I’m putting the finishing touches on this installment of Hugs and Hurrahs, it’s a beautiful sunny and breezy day in the Mitten. The first in a long, long, LOOOONNNGGG time! So it seems only right that it’s time to celebrate our happy publishing news from the first three months of 2018. Be sure and adjust your sunglasses, because as always, Michigan kidlit folk are shining brightly!

Here we go. . .

Hats off to Joe Kimble who was interviewed about his picture book, MR. MOUTHFUL LEARNS HIS LESSON, on Michigan Radio in January. Here’s a link:

http://michiganradio.org/post/children-s-book-mr-mouthful-teaches-kids-and-adults-virtue-speaking-plainly

Joe also spoke at several elementary schools in Phoenix and San Diego this winter and had a book signing at the Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix.

Way to go Joe!

A big hurrah to Janet Heller, who recently presented “Nine Tips for a Successful Book Signing Event” for the Motown Writers Network Monthly Meet Up at the Detroit Public Library Main Branch. Janet will also be speaking at the Festival of Faith and Writing on Friday, April 13, about “Writing and Revising Religious Poetry and Prose.”

That’s awesome, Janet!

Congratulations to Neal Levin who won the latest Saturday Evening Post “Limerick Laughs” contest. His winning limerick is announced here:

http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/02/20/humor/fun-games/novemberdecember-2017-limerick-laughs-winner-runners.html

So proud of you, Neal!

A big round of applause for Lisa Wheeler, whose new book, People Don't Bite People, was released April 3rd, 2018, and has received two starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal. AMAZING!

In other news, Lisa’s book, The Christmas Boot, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, (Dial Books for Young Readers) has been translated and released in China with TB Publishing. Also, 8 of her 10 Dino-Sports books, illustrated by Barry Gott, (Lerner Publishing) have been translated and released in Korea by Woongjin Think Big Co. Ltd.

You’re an international star, Lisa!

Hop! Hop! Meeehh! Meeehh! Clomp! Clomp! Oink! Oink! Buffy Silverman's four new titles for Lerner Publishing's Little Pets series are now out. Read all about these cute critters in Dwarf Rabbits, Pygmy Goats, Mini Horses, and Mini Pigs. Buffy also ventured into the World of Gaming with two other Lerner books: The World of Pokémon and The World of Mario Bros.

You’re amazing, Buffy!

Woo Hoo for Erin Fanning! Her hi-lo novel, Cloud Warrior, about bravery and rediscovering old friendships during a kayaking disaster, was published in January by Saddleback Educational Publishers. Here's the URL: http://www.sdlback.com/cloud-warrior/

Way to go, Erin!

Hats off to Monica Harris who recently sold SIX writing pieces (3-fictional and 3 informational) to Data Recognition Corp / Michigan Department of Education.

That’s awesome, Monica!

Kevin Dangoor (writing as Barnaby Quirk) indie published his third middle-grade novel, Virtual Grunt, on March 9th. Kevin and Chris Africa and will be talking about indie publishing at the next Ann Arbor SCBWI Shop Talk on April 21, where Kevin will share some of how the book came to be.

So excited for you, Kevin!

Hat’s off to Jack Cheng, whose untitled middle-grade novel was recently acquired by Dial Books, following his award-winning debut, See You in the Cosmos. His new book takes place in a near-future Detroit, is set partly inside a video game, and follows Chinese-American seventh-grader Octavia Lu and her burgeoning friendship with Dante, an African-American boy newly "bussed in" to her suburban school in a self-driving car. Publication is set for spring 2020.

Way to go, Jack!

Three cheers for Rhonda Gowler Greene, who has a new picture book coming out with Bloomsbury in May— Let’s Go ABC! Things That Go, from A to Z, Illustrated by Daniel Kirk.

In other good news, the text from Rhonda’s book, Sing Praise, was commissioned several months ago by St. John’s Cathedral of Knoxville, set to music, and sung at their February 4th treble choir festival.  Sixty kids (3rd grade - high school) from area Knoxville churches made up the choir, and Rhonda got to attend the performance!

That’s so inspiring, Rhonda!

Students around the state recently voted for the 2017-2018 Great Lakes Great Books Award. Lisa Wheeler's picture book DINO-RACING was the winner for grades K-1, and Kristin Bartley Lenz's YA novel, THE ART OF HOLDING ON AND LETTING GO, was one of the two honor books for 9-12th graders. See the complete list of winners and honor books for all ages here. The 2018-2019 nominees have also been announced, including Jack Cheng for his middle grade novel, SEE YOU IN THE COSMOS. See all of the nominees and voting instructions here. 

So proud of you Lisa, Kristin and Jack! 

Anita Pazner is celebrating! She earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults Degree from Vermont College of Fine Arts in January.

That’s quite an accomplishment, Anita! 

And finally, I did my first school visit entitled, ARE YOU MY FRIEND? based on my book, ALL ABOUT SOCIAL NETWORKING, in North Carolina just a few weeks ago. We had about 60 kids attend, and we talked about what true friendship looks like, the differences between real live friends and social media friends and how to stay safe online. It was so much fun (and I think the kids liked it tooJ).

Isn’t it great to be part of such an inspiring group of children’s writers? And remember, no matter where you are on your publishing journey, we think you’re pretty special!

Send all of your happy publishing news to me, Patti Richards, at pgwrites5@gmail.com.  

Featured Illustrator Basya Cohen

MEET BASYA

This questionnaire goes back to a popular parlor game in the early 1900s. Marcel Proust filled it out twice. Some of our questions were altered from the original to gain more insight into the hearts and minds of our illustrators. We hope you enjoy this way of getting to know everybody.

1. Your present state of mind?

Slightly anxious but hopeful.

2. What do you do best?

Procrastinate. Besides that, draw and paint and hibernate, according to my 9-year-old brother.

3. Where would you like to live?

Imladris. More realistically, Birmingham, MI.

4. Your favorite color?

Blue. Specifically, turquoise. Also Alizarin Crimson.

5. Three of your own illustrations:

6. Your music?

I tend to go through stages. Lately I’ve been listening to Imagine Dragons, The Vamps, and Nina Simone. While doing work that requires reading, research, or more brainpower, I usually listen to instrumental music like Classical (especially Debussy), New Age Piano or Celtic.

7. Your biggest achievement?

My MFA. Boy, that was hard!

8. Your biggest mistake?

Not quoting a price before I did a project. Total disaster.

9. Your favorite children's book when you were a child?

How can I choose just one?

Goodnight Moon. Harold and the Purple Crayon. The Little House Books. Number the Stars. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.

10. Your main character trait?

Honesty.

11. What do you appreciate most in a friend?

Someone who’ll listen and empathize but isn’t afraid of having a passionate discussion.

12. What mistakes are you most willing to forgive?

Ones that are easily fixed. Ones that don’t have big repercussions.

13. Your favorite children's book hero?

Harry Potter. Eugenides (from the King of Attolia series).

14. What moves you forward?

Hope. Encouragement. Belief in myself. That elusive moment when everything falls into place and I feel chills because I know I’ve created something magical.

15. What holds you back?

Fear. Fear of failure. Fear that I’m not good enough.

16. Your dream of happiness?

Painting in a beautiful art studio with sunlight streaming through the wall to ceiling windows that look out on a wood with a bubbling brook and mountains in the distance.

17. The painter/illustrator you admire most?

Another impossible choice. Here are a few of my favorites:

Past: William Adolphe Bouguereau, Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, John Singer Sargent 

Current: Robert Papp, Jim Daly, P.J. Lynch

18. What super power would you like to have?

Time travel or flying.

19. Your motto?

“Bored is Good” and “Find joy in simple things” (like a good coffee:)

20. Your social media?

My newfound love is Instagram. We’ll have to see if the relationship lasts.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/basyacohen/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/basyacohenart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WBouguereau

ABC (Authors, Books, and Children) Program: A Heartfelt Thank You by Jodi McKay

March Reading Month is just about over and WHOA were we busy! We have had book deals and book birthdays, we’ve added authors to our PAL list, we visited schools near and far, and the PALs came together in an incredible way to give our books and time to Carsten’s Academy of Aquatic Science, a K-8 school in Detroit as part of our ABC (Authors, Books, and Children) Program. I’d like to speak a bit about this program, if you don’t mind, as it is something that I think highlights how amazing our SCBWI-MI PALs are.

The ABC Program was created to provide children in underfunded and under-resourced schools the opportunity to read a wide variety of books and to have the ability to connect with books and authors in a way that may not have been available to them otherwise. We accomplished this by donating almost 90 books from PALs all over Michigan, by donating free 20 min. Skype visits with the 1st-4th grade classes, and by holding a reading contest that resulted in three readers winning a Skype session with Lori Taylor who sketched them and will be including their likenesses as characters in her next book, HOLLY WILD: MOTOR CITY MAYHEM (out this May!). The winners of the contest will also receive fossils from Sleeping Bear Dunes, sketch-and-color books, and copies of book 5 of Holly Wild when it comes out. This was our first year with the ABC Program and it was an incredible experience!

As the PAL coordinator it is my job to find ways for authors to market and sell their books, so I can’t tell you how moved I was with the response to the ABC program. Don’t get me wrong, I know how generous our authors are so I wasn’t surprised that many jumped on board, but when my inbox flooded with “count me in’s” and the books started piling up in my office, I have to say that my heart felt full and my eyes may have watered a few times.

I really can’t thank you enough and I know the school feels the same way:
“Carstens' students really enjoyed the Skype interviews with the authors. The authors' love for writing was contagious and has the students excited about reading and writing books of their own. I’d like to thank you for reaching out to our school with this opportunity.” –Katie Burton (Carsten’s school counselor)

Your generosity it appreciated more than you know. I am so proud to be part of our community. SCBWI-MI rocks!

Jodi McKay lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan with her husband, son, and a couple of furry friends. She discovered that she loved to write when she was 8 years old, but decided to finish school before pursuing it full time. Now she is an active member of the incredible kid lit community and is proud to be represented by Linda Epstein at Emerald City Literary Agency. Jodi is the author of the picture book, WHERE ARE THE WORDS? published by Albert Whitman & Co. Learn more at her website (look for the teacher's guide!), and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.








Coming up on the Mitten blog: A new Featured Illustrator and another round of Hugs and Hurrahs! Nina Goebel is working with our surprise illustrator to unveil our new spring blog banner, and Patti Richards is collecting your writing/illustrating/publishing news. Please email your good news to Patti by April 9th to be included. Don't be shy, we're inspired by your success!

Are you registered for the SCBWI-MI Spring Conference? Don't delay!

https://michigan.scbwi.org/2018/02/11/unearth-your-funny-bone-getting-serious-about-writing-humor/

It's almost time to apply for the first of SCBWI-MI's two 2018 novel mentorship programs. The submission window for the PAL mentorship with Leslie Connor opens April 2nd-23rd. Read our interview with mentor Leslie Connor here.







Calling all illustrators! Are you signed up for the 4 Out the Door postcard challenge? Learn more here.

The 2018 SCBWI Winter Conference in New York - Takeaways From First-Time Attendees

In early February, a small group of SCBWI-MI members traveled to New York for the SCBWI Annual Winter Conference. Attending this large, two-day conference is a special opportunity, and we asked a few of our members to share their experience with us. Read on for brief takeaways from Meline Scheidel, Emily Vander Ark, and Heather Shumaker - all first-time NY conference attendees.

Meline Scheidel:
The Golden Kite Awards
I dressed in a flashy gold sequined sweater and cherished the fact I was able to attend. The ballroom buzzed with excitement and anticipation. The ceiling glowed gold along with the celebrities and the guests of the evening. Being in the company of talented award winners, along with hundreds of like-minded peers is the epitome of pure elation. Life doesn’t get much better for a writer.

My Three Master Class Experiences
1. Showmanship for Introverts

• Present with confidence
• Hold attention of your audience
• Creative ideas - props, skits, and advertising

2. How Voice Makes the Character

• Book examples of powerful voice
• Why soft voice works too
• Interactive prompts

3. All You Need to Know about a Picture Book 

• When an award winning author of over 350 books, talks – we listened and took notes.
• When the presenter’s successful daughter spoke about how to fix a manuscript that isn’t working – writers listened and took notes.

I recognized the winning of the Shutta Crum scholarship, along with SCBWI-MI’s generosity, to be a personal sign. I was meant to be in NY for a reason. There were more signs. The caterpillar and butterfly mosaics in the subway brought an immediate thought. That’s a perfect icon for the SCBWI. A reminder of how far we’ve all come and that there is magnificence about to emerge in our future. The dragonfly mural touched my soul. The manuscript I brought in hopes of some attention is about a dragonfly nymph - metamorphosis.

I’m forever grateful for this inspiring incredible experience. I will one day pay it forward.

Meline Scheidel is from the Metro Detroit area, holds three diplomas from the Institute of Children’s Literature and is an active member of SCBWI attending conferences annually. She is the Vice President of the Shiawassee Area Writers group and is the author of two blogs. She writes for a variety of magazines and has one book published, THIS SIGN WAS MINE, a YA/Adult novel under the pen name of Patti Rae Fletcher. Follow her blog at https://writingnaturally.wordpress.com/.






Emily Vander Ark:
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into SCBWI’s annual winter conference in New York. Would it feel like a close-knit community full of camaraderie, like the Michigan conference I attended last fall? Would it be craft focused and inspiring like my MFA program’s low-residency weeks? Or would it be something new entirely? I looked forward to a closer look at the publishing side of the industry.

When my flight from Chicago was canceled just a few hours before takeoff, my weekend of travel woes had just begun. But every person I interacted with at the conference was friendly and engaging, making the adventure more than worth it. While there were craft-focused sessions due to a new format for the conference (I was so excited to attend a session led by Gail Carson Levine!), there was also a sense of writing as the business that it is. Agent and editor panels were full of helpful information and submission tips, but the highlight for me was a 5-page group critique with Arthur A. Levine! Feedback from that level, even on just 5 pages, proved insightful and illuminating.  I’m quite pleased that I took the opportunity to attend, and looking forward to how I might make use of new tools and ideas in future writing endeavors.

Emily Vander Ark lives in Southwest Michigan where she teaches writing at a community college. She is seeking representation for a middle-grade novel, and this was her first trip to SCBWI New York. 
















Heather Shumaker:
Being at a big conference like NY is like being in a huge roomful of kindred spirits. Everyone’s friendly. Besides the regular sessions, which included some on-fire, outstanding ones, there’s the moments you don’t expect. These unexpected moments are what attending a conference is all about. There’s an energy in the air that makes good things happen. For me, that was meeting a new critique partner who I can tell is going to be a new writing friend for life. And hearing Jane Yolen speak and inspire. Getting insights from panels of agents and editors. And smiling in surprise when a fellow author offered to blurb my next book. I even learned a new way to say S-C-B-W-I. The Australians pronounce it “Swihbie” and the British members call it “Scoobie.” Now that rolls off the tongue!

Heather Shumaker, first time NY conference attendee and author of the upcoming MG book THE GRIFFINS OF CASTLE CARY (Simon & Schuster, spring 2019). Heather is also the author of three adult titles: IT'S OK NOT TO SHARE, IT'S OKAY TO GO UP THE SLIDE, and SAVING ARCADIA. Learn more at www.heathershumaker.com.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us Meline, Emily, and Heather! More NY conference fun:
This year, SCBWI-MI expanded on Shutta Crum's generosity, and two scholarship winners were selected. Congrats again to Meline Scheidel and Betsy McKee! Here they are with our Regional Advisors, Leslie Helakoski and Carrie Pearson. Photo bombing by Lisa Rose! 😜

More Michigan congrats: Jack Cheng's novel, SEE YOU IN THE COSMOS, was the 2018 Golden Kite Award winner for Middle-Grade Fiction. Jack was presented with the award at the Golden Kite Gala at the NY conference.

Cheers, Jack!

Registration is now open for our SCBWI-MI spring conference in Detroit. Many of our past conferences have sold out - don't delay! Learn more and register here.

https://michigan.scbwi.org/2018/02/11/unearth-your-funny-bone-getting-serious-about-writing-humor/