THE POWER OF A GOOD WRITING CONFERENCE, by Hilda Eunice Burgos

On Saturday, April 8, I caught a 7:19 am train from Philadelphia to New York City to attend the annual The Color of Children’s Literature conference hosted by Kweli Journal.  According to Kweli’s website, the all-day conference promised to be “an excellent opportunity for writers and illustrators of color to learn, get inspired, and network with others in the industry.”  Kweli delivered on this promise.

The first person I met when I arrived was the publisher of Tu Books (the imprint of Lee & Low Books that is publishing my first middle grade novel).  I learned from her that my publication date has been moved up, so that was exciting news.  We later had lunch together, where she introduced me to a number of writers and editors, including my editor.  So, networking with others in the industry: check.

Three authors and one author-illustrator started off the day by speaking on a panel entitled “Why We Create Now.”  While their experiences were varied — for example, Karuna Riazi shared that she has encountered Islamophobia her whole life and wants her books to help those who are discriminated against feel welcome; Traci Sorell explained that there are many different Native American tribes with different cultures and beliefs, and she hopes her books show that Native Americans should not be put in a box — they were also universal.  Every community has families, and everyone is ashamed of something.  The speakers (in addition to Riazi and Sorell, the panel included Cozbi Cabrera and Zoraida Cordova) encouraged us to tap into those universal themes when we write our specific stories.  Later in the day, keynote speaker Cynthia Leitich Smith spoke about the need for “authentic diversity” in children’s books, the fact that “silence speaks” when certain communities are underrepresented in literature and in history books, and how any kid can be a hero everyone cheers.  Inspiration: check.

The conference also included many simultaneous workshops on craft and marketing.  They covered topics on: writing picture books, plotting, developing multidimensional characters, writing process and revision, submissions and queries, worldbuilding and structure, nonfiction, and many others.  Learning: check.

I have a full time job that has nothing to do with writing children’s books, and sometimes I slip away from my writing and get consumed in the other parts of my life and work.  Attending a good writing conference every now and then can be the spark I need to get me to start a new writing project or to delve into revisions of an existing one.  The Kweli conference was just what I needed, and I look forward to attending again next year.

What about you?  Is there something that helps you get back on track when you’ve gotten sluggish in your writing routine?

SCBWINY16 Top 10 List by Jim Hill

I had the good fortune to attend the SCBWI Conference in New York City last month. This list is a quickie, shorthand review of my favorite moments.

1. Gary Schmidt's Keynote – He speaks like he writes. Heartfelt, honest, and spare with emotional truths that strike like a punch in the gut. I wish you could've heard it too. It was kind of life-changing. For the next best thing, check out his appearance on the Yarn podcast.

2. Connecting In Person – Conferences are where the internet comes alive. All of those little avatars you chat with on Facebook and Twitter have actual human beings behind them. It's true! And you can meet them in real life! Amazing.

With @StrictlyHeather @heyjimhill @HUnderdown @MoveBooks pic.twitter.com/WKwA4Q5toD

— Debbie Ohi (@debbieohi) February 13, 2016

3. Cheryl Klein's Revision Session – If you've read Second Sight or listen to the Narrative Breakdown podcast, you know of Cheryl's insightfulness. This workshop was exactly what I needed as I was in the middle of revisions on my novel (and maybe, just maybe stumbling through said revisions like a bear drunk on fermented berries). She offered a concrete approach toward revision that I will carry with me forever. Her new book, The Magic Words comes out in September. Read it and become a better writer.

4. Funky Downtown Dining – The food was cheap and delicious. And then there was this.

NYC dinner companion.

A video posted by @heyjimhill on Mar 15, 2016 at 4:45am PDT

5. DIY Writing Intensive – Friday was the intensive day at the conference, and there were many outstanding workshops to be had. Was I registered for any of them? No. Instead, I met classmate Bonnie Pipkin at Grounded for a self-made writing intensive (1.3K words, thank you very much) followed by drinks at the White Horse Tavern to soak up the literary mojo. And book deal celebration. Hers, not mine.

Not the Whitehorse Tavern, but this a better photo than the one I took of my meal there. 

6. VCFA Reunions – Vermont College of Fine Arts has a vibrant community of writers *cough* cult-like *cough* who love to get together at conferences, book launches, and the occasional bar fight (just kidding, Tom Greene). Ann Cardinal, Chief Herder of Cats, knows how to bring us together for casual chat, industry talk, and craft discussions. She's basically a floating cocktail party wearing an "Ask Me About VCFA" pin. Even when there aren't any cocktails to be had.

7. Double Rainbow – Not one, but two interview sessions with Rainbow Rowell! You guys, at one point I was close enough that I could have touched her hair! (To be clear, I didn't because that would be creepy and wrong.) These were both excellent Q&A sessions. Rainbow comes across like you think she would if you've read her books: intelligent, funny, charming, and slyly subversive. If you haven't read her work, do yourself a favor and rectify that mistake. Read her for the dialogue, the graceful character descriptions, and read her for the stories themselves. Not quite like being there in person, but this interview on the aforementioned Narrative Breakdown is worth a listen.

8. Mentoring/Being Mentored – Conferences give you ample opportunities for one of my core beliefs: wherever you are in your publishing journey, you can help someone else with theirs. There will always be someone ahead of you (however you define that), and there will always be people working through things you have experienced. Reach out. Lift up. Repeat.

My thanks to Carrie Firestone for doing her part to lift me up. We share an agent, and Carrie took me under her wing to talk through some of the expectations invloved with the whirlwind-publishing-machine. Her book, The Loose Ends List, drops on June 7th. Look for it; it sounds great.

9. The Publisher's Panel – We often hear that houses have a voice, and this panel did a nice job of embodying that idea. It was fascinating to listen to the publishers talk about the strengths and motivations of their lists. There were two takeaways of note for me. One, the children's arms of the large publishing houses are now given a lot more respect as the financial models point to stability within our market. That opens a lot of opportunities, and clears some of the clouds away from the doom-and-gloom prognostications we hear so often.

The second, a point made by moderator Ruben Pfeffer was a huge relief to my anxious artist brain. He assured us that if a manuscript makes it to an acquisition meeting but gets turned down, it's not because the writing was flawed, it's because the business case for that particular book couldn't be made at the time.

Why is this relief? Well, I can't control business decisions, but I can control the quality of my writing, so this lets me off the hook as an artist. Right? Now, I'm far from an acquisition meeting, but I have my hopes, and I know from my colleagues experiences that not every book gets picked up even when it makes it that far. I'm sure if/when that day comes it will hurt like hell, but at least now I know it won't be because I'm a bad writer. I'm just bad business!

10. Autographs – Maybe I'm a fanboy at heart, but I love the autograph sessions. Sure, the lines are long, but the conversations in those lines can be fun. And you get to have your favorite authors sign books to YOU. Or someone you love. Or maybe a frenemy. You do you. All I know is that I am super excited to have autograph copies of The Game of Love and Death, Last Stop on Market Place, and Whatever-Book-I-Bought-So-William-Joyce-Could-Sign-It-Alas-I-Had-To-Leave-But-Linda-Camacho-Is-Holding-It-For-Me-Right-Linda?

Less Than Three Conference, by Matthew MacNish

I spent the weekend in Saint Louis, at the Less Than Three conference. It was the best conference/convention I have ever attended. It was small, intimate, heavy, and powerful, but it was also wonderfully inspiring.

The theme was bullying, and how we can all work to prevent it, and the panels and the authors presenting on them were simply amazing. There is a full list of the authors who attended, here, but since this is a Middle Grade blog, I thought I would focus on those who write it.

Dale E. Basye is the author of Heck, Where the Bad Kids Go.

From Goodreads:

When Milton and Marlo Fauster die in a marshmallow bear explosion, they get sent straight to Heck, an otherworldly reform school. Milton can understand why his kleptomaniac sister is here, but Milton is—or was—a model citizen. Has a mistake been made? Not according to Bea “Elsa” Bubb, the Principal of Darkness. She doesn’t make mistakes. She personally sees to it that Heck—whether it be home-ec class with Lizzie Borden, ethics with Richard Nixon, or gym with Blackbeard the Pirate—is especially, well, heckish for the Fausters. Will Milton and Marlo find a way to escape? Or are they stuck here for all eternity, or until they turn 18, whichever comes first?

Lisa McMann is the author of The Unwanteds series.

From Goodreads:

Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths.

Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination where he expected to be eliminated, however, Alex discovers a stunning secret— behind the mirage of the "death farm" there is instead a place called Artime.

In Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and musical instruments. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it's a wondrous transformation.

But it's a rare, unique occurrence for twins to be separated between Wanted and Unwanted, and as Alex and Aaron's bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artime that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate, magical battle.

Shannon Messenger is the author of Keeper of the Lost Cities.

From Goodreads:

Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster has a secret. She’s a Telepath—someone who hears the thoughts of everyone around her. It’s a talent she’s never known how to explain.

Everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She discovers there’s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave behind everything and start a new life in a place that is vastly different from anything she has ever known.

Sophie has new rules to learn and new skills to master, and not everyone is thrilled that she has come “home.”
There are secrets buried deep in Sophie’s memory—secrets about who she really is and why she was hidden among humans—that other people desperately want. Would even kill for.

In this page-turning debut, Shannon Messenger creates a riveting story where one girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.

There may have been more than these three authors who write Middle Grade, but it was mainly a Young Adult focused Conference, and these three were the only ones I know for sure write Middle Grade.

I met all of them, and even shared dinner with these three and several others in the hotel after the Con. It was the most wonderful time. Talking to authors, who are the greatest people in the world, about bullying, and about kids, and about love, acceptance, and compassion makes for the most amazing conversations.

All that said, I would be completely remiss if I didn't mention Heather Brewer, also known as Auntie Heather, who is the organizer of the event, and was the keynote speaker. Heather is an incredible, beautiful, inspiring human being. In the keynote address, she shared her own experiences with bullying, and the suffering she endured as a child, and it was so moving, there was not a single dry eye in the room. She also brought to the stage a young woman who had been bullied, and I got the distinct impression that when this girl reached out to her favorite author, the correspondence and friendship that followed saved her life.

Anyway, I could go on and on about this conference, and how amazing it was, but I think I've said enough. I highly recommend you all attend it next year, so that you will understand that sheer joy that I experienced.

Questions? Fire away in the comments!

DragonCon (and Conferences in General)

This is not a costume I actually witnessed, but when I saw it I decided it was too adorable not to use. I take it she's some kind of Fairy Godmother Darth Vader.

Anyway, I took my kids to DragonCon in downtown Atlanta this weekend. With single day passes costing $50, and bringing 3 kids, we couldn't actually afford to get in to the conference. We still had a lot of fun just wandering around Peachtree Center and the hotel lobbies, though.

I met up with my friend and soon to be published author, Cole Gibsen, and her husband. Cole's debut YA novel, Katana, will be out in March 2012, from Flux. You can read more about Cole on her website. We've been friends for a little over a year, and have a lot of the same interests, and it was really fun to meet her, but it was a lot less glamorous than one might expect. The hectic rush of costumed geeks and freaks passing haphazardly around us was entertaining, but it wasn't exactly conducive to conversation. I also had my two daughters and one of their friends with me, so Cole and I didn't get to talk a lot of shop.

I'm bringing all this up, not to complain, but to pose a question to all you other writers out there: How often do you go to conferences, what kind of conferences do you go to, and how do you justify the cost?

I'm going to the World Fantasy Convention 2011 in San Diego next month, and I'll be going alone (as in without my family) so I'm hoping to get more networking done, but my understanding is that this kind of convention is more of a party than an industry business meet-up. Perhaps I'm going to the wrong conferences?

I don't know, I'm mostly joking, but I can't help but think that in this day and age, with the level of communication we have on the internet, paying for passes, hotels, meals, and plane tickets seems to make attending a bit prohibitive. Sure, if you're published you can write all your expenses off, but that doesn't make it free.

What do you guys think? Do you go to conferences? Which ones? How often? Am I just to poor to have a dream of becoming a published author?