Our very first Grand Prize W.I.N.NER, Jay Asher, is having a really, really good year. His 13 Reasons Why, which was chosen as the YA pick by Chris Crutcher, and then by Kelly Milner Halls and myself as the Grand Prize W.I.N.NER in our first Write It Now! Competition in 2004, has sold over 100,000 copies and was on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Way to go, Jay!
2005 W.I.N. Shorts W.I.N.NER David Macinnis Gill expanded his winning YA short story into a novel called Soul Enchilada and sold it to Virginia Duncan at HarperCollins/Greenwillow! Woohooo! Rosemary Stimola made a two-book, six-figure deal on that one, too. For those of you keeping track, that's our SECOND six-figure W.I.N.NER! Yeah, baby! Scooch over, Jay Asher, and make room for David.
And the W.I.N.NERS just keep on winning! Nina Nelson, whose Bringing the Boy Homeplaced third in the 2004 W.I.N. Competition and went on to win the Ursula Nordstrom contest, is being published this year by HarperCollins. Nina and other writers whose first books are coming out in 2008 have shared the new Class of 2K8 blog with me: http://classof2k8.com
2004 W.I.N.NER Tami Sauer's latest success comes as the January 2008 covergirl for Edmond Outlook , a regional magazine covering Edmond, Oklahoma. The cover features art from her W.I.N.NING entry, Cowboy Camp! Yeehaw!
The Highlights Foundation is accepting registrations for their 24th Annual Writers Workshop,Chautauqua, NY, July 12-19, 2008. For more information, please call (570) 253-1192 or e-mail
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Or visit www.HighlightsFoundation.org
June 9th - 14th, 2008 - This is one of the best values in children's writing conferences I've seen. A week-long retreat/workshop for only $600, including room and meals! My buddy Alexandria LaFaye sends me this notice of an upcoming workshop, Moebius: A Workshop on Children's Writing for Teachers and Aspiring Authors at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansa. In this week long workshop on the beautiful campus of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, participants will be studying poetry, picture books,non-fiction, and fiction for middle grade and young adult readers. Working with seasoned authors like Patricia Hermes, Phyllis Root, Coretta Scott King Award Winner Nikki Grimes, Newbery Honor Winner Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Orbis Pictus Honor Winner Carla McCafferty, and Scott O'Dell Award Winner A. LaFaye, attendees will learn how to craft their own writing and model great writing for their students. Open to beginning writers, teachers interested in expanding their writing curriculum, and anyone eager to learn more about the world of writing for children. Each day, we'll have talks on craft, writing exercises, dramatic readings, Q &A with the authors and evening writing workshops. On Saturday, we'll be hosting a panel with Marcia Wernick from the Sheldon Fogelman Literary Agency and the following editors, Eleni Beja (Scholastic), Jeannette Larsen (Harcourt), and Ben Barnhart (Milkweed), who will talk about the publishing side of children's books. Housing will be ensuite dorms with double occupancy bedrooms and the tuition will include meals. The fee for this wonderful conference is only $600.00 Graduate Credit also available. For those of you traveling to Arkanas can fly into the Little Rock Airport and we’ll arrange transportation to the University. This is bound to be a fantastic conference. Come join us in Searcy for a week of writing. Space is limited, so sign up early by e-mailing Sandy at
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Click here for more information.
Quotes to share:
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
- George Orwell
"Real Writers get rejected." - Terry Miller Shannon
"You have to want it more than sleep." - Marlene Perez, on writing for kids and pushing through a big, big writing year (her new agent sold four books in a month!)
"If I do not quit, I cannot fail." - I'm not sure who originally said this, but I read it on a weight loss board for NBC's The Biggest Loser, and it applies to children's writing, too, so I'm sharing it here.
"When the government fears the people, you have liberty. When the people fear the government, you have tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson
TEACHER'S
PETS: Reader Tested Book Reviews from educator and children's
author Donna O'Donnell Figurski and her KIDDLE CRITers critique
group. **NEW REVIEW** Seeing Red: The Planet Mars
Written by Nancy Loewen, Illustrated by Jeff Yesh, Publisher: Picture Window Books
Logo created by Sheryl Lloyd
Planning a writing conference? Roxyanne Young can come speak to your group! She offers presentations on Web site design and online PR just for writers. Everything you need to know to launch your professional Web site with style, including the secrets to getting ranked higher in search engines, how to create the most effective Web graphics, how to design your site to keep visitors coming back, and much, much more. Please visit www.RoxyanneYoung.com for more information.
Need a Freelance Editor to look over your work before you submit to publishers? Please check out the Smart Writers Marketplace for a list of other talented, dedicated, and affordable freelance editors.
From my friend, April Halprin Wayland, author of Girl Coming in for a Landing and co-founder of Authors and Illustrators for Children with Bruce Balan...
Authors and
Illustrators for Children (AIC) is more than pleased—ecstatic would be a better
word (in a jumping up and down, waving our arms, dancing a little jig, and
shouting “yahoo” sort of way)—to announce THIS I
DREAM.
Stop reading right now and
click here— www.aiforc.org —to see just
how wonderful it is. Then come back and finish reading this email. We'll
wait.
Welcome back. We
hope you are as excited with THIS I DREAM and the new AIC site as we are. Each
month we'll roll out a new DREAM by noted authors and illustrators. They've
shared their dreams and poured their souls onto the page for us. Now we need to
share those dreams with the world.
In the 2004
presidential election, AIC supported John Kerry by placing a stunning ad
incorporating author and illustrator member names in national publications
targeted at teachers, as well as in newspapers and periodicals in swing
states.
This year's election
will clearly be a turning point for our nation. Again, AIC will play a role.
With the new website and our THIS I DREAM campaign, we hope to build AIC name
recognition among teachers, librarians, bookstore owners, and anyone else likely
to recognize and esteem authors and illustrators, so that AIC's 2008 endorsement
of a candidate will be even more
significant.
We need your energy
to make this happen. Here's what you can do:
SHARE: Print out the
THIS I DREAM essays (a new one every month!) and give them
to:
a. Teachers, principals, and
librarians
b. Bookstore owners and their
employees
c.
Students
d. Your political
representatives
e. Anyone else you can think
of
Let these people
know that this isn't just another essay – it's the dream of a noted author and
it expresses a future that we can make real.
GET THE WORD
OUT:
TO EDUCATORS: Send an email to all educators
you know and let them know about THIS I DREAM. Don't forget to include a link to
the site. A sample email which you can personalize can be found at
www.aiforc.org/EducatorEmail.html
TO THE MEDIA: Let your local media
(newspaper, radio, television, bloggers) know about THIS I DREAM. A sample email
which you can personalize can be found at www.aiforc.org/MediaEmail.html
TO PUBLISHING PROFESSIONALS: Tell writers,
illustrators, editors, publishers, book store owners, and literary bloggers
about AIC. A sample email can be found at www.aiforc.org/PublishingEmail.html
BUY: Visit the AIC
store and purchase posters, shirts, mugs, and other stuff to proudly wear and
use. All proceeds ($1-2 per item) support AIC’s efforts. (Neither Bruce nor
April receives any compensation from AIC; except that it makes them feel
good.)
VOLUNTEER: Help AIC
spread our DREAMS!
http://www.aiforc.org/donate.html#Volunteer
We need:
a. Media contact
persons
b. People with web
skills
c. People with audio and/or video recording
skills.
DONATE: We REALLY need
your support! www.aiforc.org/donate.html
This is only the
beginning. Authors and illustrators of children's books have much to say. We
influence the minds that shape tomorrow. We can't let our nation forget about
the next generation.
Thank you for your
past support and trust in AIC. We are incredibly honored by it. Let's rise
again, using our collective energy to create a future where children can read
all of our books in health, happiness, safety and
peace.
Bruce
& April
Bruce BalanApril Halprin
Wayland
~ jumping up and down, waving our arms, dancing a little jig and
shouting “yahoo”
Authors and
Illustrators for Children
www.aiforc.org
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THIS I DREAM:
Most authors and illustrators are driven by the deep
desire to communicate. We believe that speaking the truth can make the world a
better place for one child. We fervently hope it will make a difference in the
lives of millions.
But what does "a better place" mean? THIS I DREAM is
a series of essays and art by notable authors and illustrators. They will share
with us, in their own words and pictures, what they wish for. What world they
would have our children inherit. What secret dream supports their desks and
easels.
And our hope is that, speaking these dreams, the
world will listen.
Reading is Fundamental Seeks
Help
From Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO, of Reading Is Fundamental
(RIF):
"President Bush’s proposed budget calling for the elimination
of Reading Is Fundamental’s (RIF) Inexpensive Book Distribution program would be
devastating to the 4.6 million children and their families who receive free
books and reading encouragement from RIF programs at nearly 20,000 locations
throughout the U.S."
“Unless Congress reinstates $26 million in funding for this
program, RIF will not be able to distribute 16 million books annually to the
nation’s youngest and most at-risk children. RIF programs in schools, childcare
centers, migrant programs, military bases, and other locations serve children
from low-income families, children with disabilities, foster and homeless
children, and children without access to libraries."
Emailing your Congressional Representative takes about five minutes. Please do this today, and share this message with your writing groups, PTA, and anyone else interested in children's literacy. Thank you! - Roxyanne Young
The National Book Award:
Congratulations to our friend, Kathleen Duey, whose novel, Skin Hunger:A Resurrection of Magic, Book One, is a National Book Award Finalist !
Skin Hunger is the first book in a trilogy, and is an extraordinary work, well worthy of the recognition. You can read an excerpt of Skin Hunger at kathleenduey.com, and send your own good wishes to Kathleen there, too.
Kathleen was the midgrade judge for our W.I.N. Competition this year, by the way, so all of you W.I.N.NERS who received personal comments from her , take that advice to heart and we may just see your name in that National Book Award list someday!
Congratulations to the Juvenile Fiction National Book Award Winner, too: cross-over adult fiction author Sherman Alexie, for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Little, Brown & Company), which is his first book for young adults; and the other finalists, M. Sindy Felin, for Touching Snow (Atheneum Books for Young Readers); Brian Selznick, for The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic Press); and Sara Zarr, for Story of a Girl (Little, Brown & Company).
Call for Submissions: Imagination-Cafe.com
Edtior Rosanne Tolin shares this: Imagination-Café is a fun, safe, edutainment destination for kids ages 7-12. The site features stories on subjects from school to sports, and also a Career-O-Rama department devoted to that question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Interactive content includes quizzes, games, message boards, and writing contests.
"I have a very public email address and my inbox is hammered with over 1,300 emails per day. I used to spend hours just deleting spam mails. Not any more. This is the best $35 I spend all year!" - Roxyanne Young
Please welcome our new sponsor by taking a tour of ExpectantSee (tm). Thank you!
New Sponsor!expectantSee(TM)
If you're expecting, or know someone who is, you've got to see this screensaver from expectantSee(TM) that allows you to follow the progress of that little life growing inside with daily progress reports on its development, and moving pictures that offer a little window on the miracle happening inside you. There's a free Flash tour that's really worth seeing.
So many children's writers are mothers, I thought this would be a great addition to our sponsors list. I hope you agree. Enjoy the view!
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SMART WRITERS JOURNAL.Send an email to
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with "subscribe" in the body of the email, nothing in the subject line.
Click the book cover to order via PayPal NOW!
GRANTS FOR THE SERIOUS WRITER
3RD EDITION
by C. Hope Clark, Editor of FundsforWriters.com
380+ grants aimed at writers. Attend conferences, gain project funds, or just earn money to write. All 50 states arts councils represented plus many more opportunities for grant seekers. Our most popular ebook in its 3rd Edition.
Grants for the Serious Writer: 3rd Edition is a must primer for writers who dabble in the grant world. This is not a nonprofit grant book. This book's message is directed at the individual writer seeking funds to meet a writing goal. This book caters to you.
Originally under 200 grants in its first edition, Grants for the Serious Writer: 3rd Edition features almost double the opportunities of its parent version. As we discover new chances for you, we add them to the list. And the old is weeded out. Annually updated, this book is an excellent reference guide for your library.
$8.95 - ebook in PDF format (138 pages)
Click the cover to buy the book!
The United Nations is celebrating the International Decade for Literacy, 2003 - 2012! Read more: United Nations Chronicle.
Want your book reviewed on SmartWriters.com?
AUTHORS, PUBLISHERS: to have your books considered for review on SmartWriters.com and in our monthly Smart Writers Journal, please send review copies to:
Roxyanne Young, Editorial Director
SmartWriters.com
10823 Worthing Avenue
San Diego, CA 92126
Please note that we do not promise a review of your book.
A note to self-publishers, especially those who use vanity presses like Lulu, Author House, and the others: I have no problem with self-publishing. I do have a problem with an author settling for shoddy production quality and expecting me to give them a positive review anyway. Before you send out that review copy, check to make sure your book is really ready. Following is a partial list of characteristics that will knock your book right out of consideration for a review:
Fuzzy, grainy, or pixelated graphics
If the art is not rendered well, I won't recommend the book for children
Poorly rendered interior design
I've had more than one book come to me still double-spaced, as if the press simply took the manuscript and printed it as-is, rather than formatting it as a final run book
One or two can be overlooked; three or more in the first few pages is just careless
Art that has nothing to do with your story
If your story is about a twelve-year-old who discovers a love for long distance running, don't let your cover art be an adult male running around a high school track, no matter how good the photo is
Weak writing
As with expecting high-quality artwork, I will only recommend extremely well-written books for young readers - they are the most important audience in the world, after all
No ISBN; book unavailable through major online booksellers (Amazon.com, BN.com, Powells.com)
In short, if you're going to self-publish, please give your work the very best chance you can and hire a professional editor and book designer to help you with polishing and perfecting your work, and use a high-quality, reputable press that knows how to reproduce artwork and that will not print their own logo all over your work.
All books sent for review are donated to public schools around the United States.
