Lisa and I at SCBWI-Los Angeles, August 2006 Photo taken by Author Sonya Sones Brad, Candie & Lisa at the Autograph Signing Party! Caldecott Award Winning Artist David Diaz--and ME!

August 2006

SCBWI Los Angeles!

Hello everyone!

After a whirlwind trip to Atlanta for the Romance Writers of America (RWA) national conference at the end of July, I rushed home, did 27 loads of laundry, repacked and flew out to Los Angeles for the SCBWI national conference. This was my fourth year to go, and this year, I was fortunate enough to be asked to sit on the faculty and do critiques as well.

Including faculty, regional advisors and staff, there were close to 1000 people at the conference. Keynote speakers included Jane Yolen, Mo Willems, Jacqueline Woodson, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Nina Laden, Beverly Horowitz, Jodi Reamer, Caroline B. Cooney, Nancy Siscoe, Mark McVeigh and Edward Necarsulmer, and others that sat on panels about picture books and the future of children's books. A stellar group, to be sure!

My workshop was entitled "Ten (Giant but Essential) Steps to Writing & Publishing Your First Novel," a workshop geared toward relatively newer writers or those trying to break into kid-lit. I was nervous! I had rounded up (bribed) six or seven people to come, hoping to have at least a small showing. The time of the workshop was iffy, too—after lunch and against some big wheels and THEIR workshops. I was surprised, delighted, dazed and confused to find a room with about 120 people in it, sitting, standing and on the floor, too, waiting for me. I actually backed out of the room to see if it was my room, or someone else's room! I opened with a joke, then showed my slide show called "The Harried Housewife's Guide to Writing Your Novel in Seven Free Minutes a Day." A good time was had by all, I think. Alice Pope, editor of the CWIM, blogged about the workshop (I was so honored!). You can read that at: http://cwim.blogspot.com/ under the heading: Candie Moonshower: One Hilarious Harried Housewife...

All of the workshops I attended were fabulous, but I really got a lot out of a couple in particular, including Krista Marino's "Writing for Boys: How to Interest a Tough Audience," and Caroline B. Cooney's interactive "Plotting: A Writing Workshop."

I did ten critiques this year as well, all middle grade novel partials, and I have to say that if my ten manuscripts are any indication, there is a whole lot of talent out and about, just waiting to bust a move! I was honored and happy to read such great work!

I MISSED Debby Garfinkle and Sarah Darer Littman's workshops because theirs was at the same time as mine, and while I was doing critiques, too, but I heard FABULOUS stuff about them both! As well as Lisa Yee's, too. I did crits during two different workshop times, and during two lunches, too, causing me to miss some great workshops, boo!

One of the many highlights of the Golden Kite Luncheon day for me was the speeches, especially David LaRochelle's acceptance for the Sid Fleischman Humor Award. I was tearing up! And David is a genuinely nice man, too, as I found out throughout the conference as we sat together a few times, and we chatted at Lin's Wrap Party, too!

I just KNOW I'm leaving folks out! But I don't mean to! I'm still trying to process it all.

The SCBWIdol contest was a chance to see a lot of wonderful talent out there doing school visits! This is a newly instituted part of the conference, but I think it's great! I loved the "wheel" guy, Monty Montgomery! And he won!

Because I was on the faculty, my debut novel, THE LEGEND OF ZOEY, was in the conference bookstore, and I'm happy to report—no, I'm THRILLED to report—that it sold out by Saturday night. I was part of the Autograph Party that takes place each year at the end of the conference and had the honor of signing many books that were bought, and talking to a lot of people who didn't get the book, but promised they'd be looking for it! I was so appreciative of their kindness. I had such a good time at the signing—I took pictures of everyone who came to my table!

It was awesome good fun to meet folks from my YANovelists list, the SCBWI-Midsouth list, and the CW list, as well as a lot of other people, and it is always great to hang with my longtime Los Angeles roomie—four years and counting—Lisa Albert from Wisconsin (www.lisaalbert.com), and Brad Kuhn from Orlando. I also met Emily Jiang in person—Emily is last year's Sue Alexander Award Winner! She's a sweetie pie.

As always, many members of the "Nashville Posse" (both natives and adopted members) were in Los Angeles, so it's always a fun time with the home folks, and I can't wait to see most of you again in September in Nashville!

I'm decompressing and doing yet another 27 loads of laundry, but if I think of any critical news to share, I'll write again!

XO Candie
PS: Pics are of various fun times had by all!

Click here to download the handout from my workshop "Ten (Giant but Essential) Steps to Writing and Publishing Your First Novel."  (Note: This handout is on LEGAL-sized paper, so change your paper!)

August 2005:

I attended the SCBWI National Conference in Los Angeles--my third year to go and I always learn so much! Attending the national conference, especially if you haven't been to a writing conference on the scale of this one, is worth the investment in your career as a children's writer. I think of it as an opportunity for complete immersion in the business of writing for children--something you cannot get anywhere else! 

Here are a couple of photos, taken or supplied by my Chickalicious Roomie, Lisa Rondinelli Albert! (If you'd like to visit Lisa's site, click on her name.)

It is always fun to get together with old friends and new, and this year was exciting for me because two of my online critique members attended (Roxyanne Young and Lisa Albert), and three of my Nashville BRATs made the trip to Los Angeles, too (Shirley Amitrano, Karen Carroll and Linda Ragsdale).

Several other Midsouth folks traveled to Los Angeles this year as well, including Kathryn Knight, Kristen O'Donnell Tubb, Genetta Adair, Howard Shirley, Patsi Trollinger and Mary Ann Rodman.

Our adopted Midsouth member is Brad Kuhn from Orlando!

	Kelly Milner Halls, Roxyanne Young, Candie and Verla Kay My dear friend, Roxyanne and I enjoying LA!

32^nd Annual SCBWI Conference Report

(first published in Borderlines, the newsletter for SCBWI-Midsouth)

How lucky am I? As one of the recipients of a grant awarded by the SCBWI to attend their annual conference in Los Angeles, I feel like one of the most fortunate writers in the world. This four-day conference is jam-packed with activities and opportunities to network and learn, and I, your humble correspondent, did not miss one thing! From morning until evening, there were speakers, panels, workshops and optional activities, and I was thrilled to be a part of it all.

It would be an understatement to say that the conference was fantastic, terrific and one-of-a-kind. Simply being surrounded by like-minded folks makes for a fun time, but to be in the company of about 999 other like-minded people, all pursuing their dream of writing or illustrating for children, made it an almost surreal experience. One of the best things that happened was my new friendship with fellow grant winner, Lisa Rondinelli Albert. She proved to be a lot of fun and an excellent roommate!

The conference took place at the Century Plaza Hotel & Spa, on the Avenue of the Stars and the home of the Westin "Heavenly Bed." The accommodations were excellent and the service superb. Even at West Coast prices, sharing a room at the conference is affordable and more than comfortable for two people, and I met several groups of four sharing a room, making the cost comparable to normal (translation: real world) hotels!

I can see why people think of Los Angeles as a mecca for the arts, what with all the creative types and industries that abound. And the excellent, bone-dry weather doesn't hurt either! It was interesting to leave my comfortable Southern environment and enter the land of make-believe and complete health consciousness that is California, and it made for some funny situations.

One night in the hotel lobby bar, when I ordered a Corona and a cold mug, the beautiful, fit, tanned waitress, who couldn't understand a word I uttered after "Corona," insisted I was ordering a Corona AND a cold Bud.

On the first day of workshops, I went with a new friend to the restaurant in the Spa Mystique. I ordered a lovely turkey sandwich listed on the menu. As there were no side items listed, I asked the waiter if the sandwich (which retailed for $16.00) came with chips and a pickle. He made the kind of face a cat does when it smells something unpleasant and then bolted. My lunch date, a Californian, thought I was trying to have some fun with the waiter. My sandwich arrived with a healthful side salad of spiky, painful-to-swallow greens. Not a chip in the joint. I think I lost ten pounds while in California! But seriously, the food was terrific, just like you might expect while "on the West Coast."

It was a pleasure to get reacquainted with my good buddy and all time children's writing hero, Mr. Sid Fleischman (Newbery winner for THE WHIPPING BOY, now 81 years old). He was here in Nashville for the 2002 Midsouth conference (and will be in Murfreesboro to speak sometime this fall). Another venerable name in children's writing who served on the faculty at the conference was Norton Juster, author of THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH. Mr. Juster has been a member of SCBWI for only a short time, but is enjoying speaking at conferences, according to his lovely wife.

It seemed to be a year to celebrate big names in the industry. Jean Marzollo, Dan Greenburg and Leonard Marcus were just a few of the other esteemed faculty members at the conference. Leonard Marcus gave a wonderful talk on Margaret Wise Brown, Ursula Nordstrom and Randolph Caldecott, three of the greatest members on the short list of children's book giants worth knowing. Amongst the newbies was Henry Winkler (better remembered as "The Fonz"). Mr. Winkler is now the co-author (along with Ms. Lin Oliver, executive director of SCBWI) of the HANK ZIPZER series about a boy with learning challenges, inspired by his own experiences. His talk, "If You Will It, It Is Not a Dream," was both inspirational AND funny.

On a personal note, I slept only about four to five hours per night, partied in Beverly Hills, met several luminaries, and ate a variety of healthful and expensive California meals. One of the highlights of my weekend was doing a stand-up bit in one of Dan Greenburg's workshops. Mr. Greenburg is the author of THE ZACH FILES, a huge early reader series, and he gave a great workshop entitled "Never Let Them Think YOU Think You're Funny." According to Roxyanne Young, a friend of mine and faculty at the conference (and faculty at our own recent Midsouth conference), who was taking pictures, my shtick made Dan Greenburg belly laugh, and I got a huge round of applause by the 100+ people in the workshop. When I told my husband about that, he was so jealous, as stand-up comedy is like a dream for him!

Perhaps the most exciting thing for me is that my critiquer, author Mary Wade, nominated my middle grade novel manuscript, THE LEGEND OF ZOEY, for the Sue Alexander Award. According to the SCBWI web site, at www.scbwi.com, "The Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award is given annually at the SCBWI Annual Conference in Los Angeles to the manuscript submitted for individual critique that is deemed most promising for publication." This award is open to anyone attending the conference that submits a manuscript for individual critique. What an unexpected honor for me! I'm thrilled to have been nominated and hope that my manuscript will represent our Midsouth region well when Ms. Alexander reads it. I encourage anyone who plans to attend the national conference in the future to submit a manuscript for critique. You never know what might happen.

In a later issue of BORDERLINES, I plan to provide highlights of the workshops I attended, and an overview of how a conference such as this one works. Stay tuned!

August 5-8, 2005

I attended this year's 34th Annual SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles, rooming with Lisa Albert, and, at times, LOL, with Linda Ragsdale and Roxyanne Young! A good time was had by all! My middle grade manuscript, Kit B. Parker Makes Her Debut, was critiqued by Krista Marino. I was honored that Krista liked it enough to nominate it for the Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award! ZOEY was nominated and won in 2003. KIT did NOT win, but I've been honored to become friends with Emily Jiang, whose manuscript did win the 2005 Sue! Congratulations, Emily!