(Green Center , Colorado School of Mines)
8:00 – 8:30 Pre-Conference Session: Publishing 101 Lite – Denise Vega
How do I get started in children's publishing? What's the "slush pile"? What's the difference between a chapter book and a book with chapters? Join RMC-SCBWI Co-RA and author Denise Vega in a short informational tour. She'll cover some of the terminology of the industry, the types and levels of children's books, submission etiquette and the process of submitting, manuscript formatting, and anything else she can squeeze into 30 minutes! Come with questions and an empty hand for handouts. Recommended for those new to children's publishing but all are welcome.
9:00 – 10:00 Keynote Presentation: Welcome Home, Pilgrim – Kathleen Duey
Writing and illustrating for children and teens is an inward journey, a return to the sights, sounds, smells and emotions of childhood--and it's a journey into the heart of what it means to be human. Brace yourself, Storyteller, and enjoy the ride home.
10:15 – 11:15 (Choose One)
Editor's Corner - Editor Jennifer Wingertzahn and Associate Editor Susan Burke
Editors will briefly describe their house and their acquisitions process before answering moderator questions. Questions will then be opened up to the audience.
Author's Professional Roundtable: What Worked (and Didn't Work) for Me: Children's Writers on Children's Publishing
Come share your writing experiences with each other, and bring questions and concerns about your own career. We will share our triumphs, false starts, and mistakes in a way that helps us learn from each other. To prepare for the roundtable, please think about personal experiences you'd like to share with the group on what has worked (or hasn't worked) to forward your career as a children's writer. A moderator will also be asking questions to facilitate more discussion. Recommended for published authors but all are welcome .
How To Get Your Illustrations Published In Today's Juvenile Market: Creativity Versus Business Reality – Barbara Ciletti and Cathy Morrison
Understand how publishers work, what they look for and how you can effectively create a package to get the attention of editors. Publisher Barbara Ciletti, owner of Odyssey Books in Longmont and illustrator Cathy Morrison will discuss the features, pitfalls and benefits of approaching large and small publishers.
11:30 – 12:30 (Choose One)
It Had To Be You: What Makes Me Fall For a Picture Book Manuscript – Jennifer Wingertzahn
Learn why some picture books are still getting published in a tough market. Join Editor Jennifer Wingertzahn as she walks through the picture book acquisition process. She will discuss some recent picture book acquisitions, how they happened and how she found them.
Anatomy of an Acquired Novel – Susan Burke
Learn why some novels are accepted and others aren't. Associate Editor Susan Burke will take participants through the process of publishing a novel, from acquisition to publication and beyond.
Live and Learn: Targeting the Educational Market for Your New and Published Material – Phyllis Perry
Educational materials can be creative, challenging, and exciting, combining aspects of fiction and nonfiction.This session includes tips on finding markets for your work, "fitting in," writing and carrying out research, making revisions, and learning about and meeting national standards in content fields such as language arts, social studies, science, and math so that your writing finds its way into the hands of students and educators. This session will also address how authors with published books can extend the reach of those books by connecting them to the curriculum.
The Point of the Compass – Cheryl Phelps
You and your archive of great ideas, writing and illustrations are the
center point of your creative compass. Do you value your own art history? Do you establish all the terms of how you will do business or do "they?" In this hour we will chat about your role as the Art Licensor and Illustrator and how to stay in the center of your own biz when you make deals around your work.
12:30 – 1:45 - Lunch (see menu at bottom of page)
2:00 – 3:00 (Choose One)
Plain Talk about Agents – Erin Murphy
So, you know what an agent is, but how do you figure out if you want one? How do you get one? What can you truly expect an agent to do for you? Join Erin Murphy for forthright insight into how the industry works.
Save Yourself Five Years: Do It Like You Mean It – Kathleen Duey
Writers will learn how to manage their time and energy, streamline the sales process (kind of, anyway), choose a career path, and juggle (ideas and roles, not balls).
Illustrator Portfolio Roundup
One or both editors will give a brief talk on what they look for in illustration submissions and how the process works. The remaining time will be used for illustrators to network and share advice on preparing a successful portfolio. Please bring your portfolio to share with others as well as for the public viewing at 3:00 pm .
3:00 – 3:30 Bookapalooza
Take a break, buy a book, have some refreshments, and enjoy the fabulous art by illustrators in a public portfolio viewing. Also, authors and illustrators will be available to autograph books purchased at the book table.
3:30 – 4:30 (Choose One)
Developing Characters in Context – Erin Murphy
How can you keep the characters real throughout your novel? Discover how character arcs reveal a story's truth, how plot and character intertwine, and how well-developed secondary characters can impact both protagonist and plot.
Beyond the Brilliant Idea: Writing, Revising (and Finishing!) Your Picture Book – Linda Ashman
You've got a great idea for a picture book, maybe even a rough draft, but the manuscript isn't quite ready for submission. Or maybe you've actually submitted a story, and are contemplating the editorial suggestions you received in response. Using examples from her own work, Linda Ashman will talk about the messy art of revising, responding to editorial comments, and some strategies for getting "unstuck," so you can get that brilliant idea closer to publication.
Yikes! I Have To Market Myself? – Roberta Collier-Morales
How can we create great presentations to show off the best of our talents, no matter who we're approaching? What are art directors looking for and how do you contact them? How do we make sure our names are out there and how do we promote ourselves in competitive ways? This session will be part lecture/information/ideas and part discussion, including "branding yourself", professional organizations, industry newsletters, ways to present your work, and specialized markets within publishing. Please bring examples of your promo sheets, tear sheets and ideas to discuss and show our group. Attendees may be asked to complete a questionnaire in advance of the sessions to help make the session the best it can be.
6:00 – 7:00 pm Optional Buffet Dinner at the Golden Hotel. See menu at bottom of page.
7:00 pm Saturday After-Banquet Talk
Try, Try Again - Phyllis Perry
Some writers have "instant success." Others don't. Phyllis Perry will provide a humorous look at the importance of the role of "stick-to-it-tive-ness" in the lives of authors who write for young people. She will share how an idea that simply sprang from a word-a-day calendar on April 8, 1988, led to a successful book--in September of 2003. With 58 published books behind her, Phyllis happily continues day after day to try, try again.
Lunch and Dinner Menus:
Saturday lunch will be a plated, sit-down lunch, with your choice of one of the following:
Southwestern Chicken topped w/ roasted pepper sauce, with mixed greens, buttered new potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower with herbed butter, rolls, chocolate layer cake
or
Eggplant Parmesan (breaded eggplant topped w/ marinara sauce & cheese) with mixed greens, buttered new potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower with herbed butter, rolls, chocolate layer cake
Saturday buffet banquet dinner at the Golden Hotel, additional $28. The buffet will be the Italiano Buffet of penne pasta with marinara sauce & pesto cream sauce, meatballs, sausage, Caesar salad, anti-pasto platter, Italian breadsticks, and Tiramisu for dessert. Open to a limited number of registered participants on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please note that schedule details are subject to change