Post-Conference Thoughts From Your Regional Team

Post-Conference Thoughts From Your Regional Team

Our Carolinas 2022 Fall Conference, Swinging into Kidlit, is over, and now it’s time to jump off that swing and FLY! (Remember that sensation? Leaping off the swing, airborne for just a moment, before … (Read More)

Making Most of Your Membership by Becky Shillington, Co-Assistant Regional Advisor

Banner design by Ashley Belote

Membership in the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators offers a wide range of benefits, but many of them are often overlooked because we all lead such busy lives. So this month, we’re going … (Read More)

Super Jane’s Best HOT Tips for Advocating for Yourself by Jane Smith

As creative professionals in children’s book publishing, our happy place is no doubt in the creative work of writing and illustrating. However, we are, each and every one of us, also a business. And it can be really difficult to … (Read More)

One Story, Many Mediums: How to Take Your Characters out of the Box by Brian Anderson

Characters are the foundation of your story. You build your house on them. But what should that house look like? A picture book, a Y.A. fantasy, a graphic novel? Hard to decide, especially if you want to write a middle … (Read More)

How I Grew as an Educator, Illustrator, and Story Teller by Using Visual Techniques by Demetrios Liollio, or 柳亞澂

A BIG Adventure

Exactly ten years ago this month I began the biggest adventure of my life: moving to Taiwan, or 台灣. This small, democratic island nation consists of Han Chinese and native aboriginal people who are hard-working and compassionate. … (Read More)

Let’s Get This Pitch Party Started! by Jocelyn Rish

PitMad IWSGPit DVpit PBpitch

Did I drop some Scrabble tiles? Spill a bowl of alphabet soup? Actually, these are some of the Twitter pitch events (also known as pitch parties) that take place throughout the year.

If you’re not familiar … (Read More)

Humor in Illustration: Adding Comedy to Your Craft by Ashley Belote

When creating an illustration, my goal is to be…FUNNY! I’ve always been drawn to humorous artwork, whether it’s featured in a television cartoon, book, or comic strip. While growing up, my parents were both laughing and joking … (Read More)

Novel Gardening- Part I by K.A.K Lecky

I have a weakness for British gardening shows. It’s no secret that I’ll take Monty Don over a high-stakes drama any day. Lost in the wilderness of my current novel revisions, it occurs to me that the gardeners and I … (Read More)

Life—and Writing and Illustrating—in the Time of COVID-19: A Moment of Gratitude for Our Relative Good Fortune by Melissa Cole Essig

My son and I were walking the dog the other day when a jogger bumped into him.

I was outraged, in a way that would have been totally unreasonable a few weeks ago. What was this woman thinking? Why … (Read More)

It’s February. Time to Submit to the Art & Writing Contest

This is your opportunity to have your work seen by an art director or an editor at a major publishing house. This is our 7th Annual Art and Writing Contest. This contest is a membership benefit for those SCBWI members on the SCBWI Carolinas roster. Submissions are accepted starting Monday February 1, 2016 through Monday February 29, 2016 at scbwicarolinascontest@gmail.com Please read the contest ART or the WRITING rules carefully for complete information.
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PORTFOLIO SHOWCASE

you’re an illustrator just starting out, you need to get used to displaying your work. At the very least, putting together a portfolio for others to see is a great exercise in self-editing and refining your voice. If you’re a seasoned illustrator, this is an opportunity to define (or re-define) yourself, to demonstrate how your style is adaptable to a range of projects—or to focus on the type of work that excites you most. And, not incidentally, of course, you may just catch the eye of an art director, editor or agent—though we make no guarantees!
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It’s All About You: How to ‘Take’ a Portfolio Review

As an illustrator submitting your portfolio for review, you are not so much in the position of a proud parent—it is you, yourself, under the microscope. Your portfolio is you. It defines you. It’s a promise to whomever will listen of what you can do if given the chance. It’s your i.d. card, your resume, and your autobiography all rolled into one.
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ILLUSTRATORS: MAKE AN IMPRESSION

First Impressions is a conference session in which images from illustrators are projected onto a screen so a panel of publishing professionals can comment on them “cold,” sharing the thoughts and reactions they might have in response to an illustrator’s samples arriving unsolicited on their desks at work. It’s the illustrator’s equivalent to the First Pages event for writers.
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Illustrators! Let’s Get Intense!

One of the highlights of the conference experience is the opportunity to take advantage of one of three four-hour Intensive Workshops on Friday morning. Each workshop is an immersive experience that explores a subject in depth--and is well worth the nominal add-on fee.
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PROMO POSTCARD Opportunity for Illustrators!

ALL CAROLINAS ILLUSTRATORS (members current as of conference dates in September) are invited to submit a packet of 20 promo postcards. One card from each illustrator participating will be added to a gift packet for each member of the visiting conference faculty.
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