SCBWI Forum at the Tamar Writers Festival 18 March 2016

As part of the Tamar Valley Writers Festival, SCBWI will be holding a special session filled with information, news and fascinating talks. Organised by Anne Morgan, the session will be chaired by ARA, Deborah Abela and will feature a host of sparkling SCBWI speakers including Jacquie Harvey, Belinda Murrell, Christina Booth, Sally Odgers and lots more. We will discuss ways SCBWI can help you, what to expect at the national conference in Sydney this September, how to deliver that perfect pitch and survive as an author/illustrator. It will be fun, informative and followed by a chance to catch up with local SCBWI folk. Please find below a working draft of the program. There may be some small changes before the day.

SCBWI Forum at the Tamar Writers Festival 18 March 2016

Beaconsfield Senior Citizens Function Room

Entry by donation

2:45    A VERY SPECIAL SCBWI LAUNCH

            You are invited to join Christina Booth who will launch, The Moonlight Bird and the Grolken, a new picture book by Anne Morgan and Lois Bury.

SCBWI TASSIE MINI_CONFERENCE 3-5:30pm

3.00    WELCOME

            Assistant Regional Advisor and kids’ author, Deborah Abela, will MC this SCBWI event and offer a brief overview of the afternoon.

3.05   SO, YOU WANT TO WRITE KIDS’ BOOKS? SCBWI IS HERE TO HELP

 Chair: Deb Abela

 Panellists: Christina Booth and Lois Bury.

            Deb, Christina and Lois will take us through the benefits of SCWBI and the many ways it can help you connect with other book industry professionals and help you achieve publication. They will also talk about the Biennial SCBWI Sydney conference from September 4-7.

3.20    PITCH PERFECT: PITCHING your book – how, where and why?

Chair: Deb Abela

Panellists: Belinda Murrell, Carol-Ann Martin, Nicole Gill

            Join Belinda, Carol-Ann and Nicole as they share their secrets to a successful book pitch. They’ll talk about their experiences and what they think makes a great pitch. 

3:45    Afternoon tea and a few birthday celebrations

4.00   How do authors and illustrators survive?

Chair: Deb Abela

Panellists: Christina Booth and Sally Odgers

            You’ve had your first contract, or even your tenth but how do you earn enough to keep writing and illustrating? And are ebooks an option?

4.20    Perils, Pitfalls and Pleasures of Publishing. WHAT I’VE LEARNED SO FAR. 

Chair: Deb Abela

Panellists: Belinda Murrell and Jacquie Harvey

            Join these successful and popular authors as they tell us about their publishing stories: how they started, the highs, the lows and the moments they’ll never forget. They’ll look back to where they started and share some tips, hints and advice of what they’ve learned so far.

4:45    Help! I’ve been asked to do a school visit…what do I do now?

Speaker: Deborah Abela   

            One way authors and illustrators earn an income and meet their audience, is by speaking in schools. It can be fun and rewarding, but how do you prepare, what can you expect and how do you negotiate fair payment?

5.00   Illustrators at work

Participating Chair: Christina Booth

Panellists: Lois Bury and Rosemary Mastnak

            Illustrators talk about their creative process, how they create those clever and memorable pics and protocols for working with publishers and authors.

5:15   THREE CHEERS! Tasmanian success STORIES

Chair: Anne Morgan

            We invite Tassie authors and illustrators to share their latest books and publishing success stories. They’ll tell us what they did and how they did it.

5.30   THANK YOU AND Close

For catering purposes, please RSVP to Anne Morgan: amorgan@netspace.net.au

Hope to see you there!

SCBWI Victoria March Gathering

We have three fabulous speakers to kick off our first Victorian SCBWI gathering of the year on 5 March. Our guest speaker will be Lisa Berryman Children's and YA publisher at Harper Collins Publishers.
 
Our two member speakers, author Hazel Edwards and author/illustrator Adam Wallace, will also inform and inspire as they talk about life as an author in Australia. See below for more information on the speakers and their talks.

Please note the change of venue and timing for our first meeting:
Where: Il Gambero,166 Lygon Street (upstairs function room) just 3½ blocks from Central Station with free street parking on adjacent streets on Saturday afternoons. It is directly opposite the park in Argyle Square, near the corner of Pelham Street.
When: 1.30pm – 4.30pm. for the first meeting only. (All other meetings will be from 2pm—5pm.)

New booking system:
We are introducing a new booking and payment system. Most of you will probably have used TryBooking in the past. It is quick, efficient, streamlined and will enable you to print off your own ticket and receipt to our events. We have tested the system, but please let me know if you have any problems.
 
SCBWI Gathering 5 March 2016
 
Workshop with Lisa Berryman: 'It's all about Brand'.
But what does that really mean? 

Lisa Berryman has been the children’s publisher at Harper Collins Publishers Australia for sixteen years and is responsible for publishing a wide range of titles from picture books to young adult titles. Lisa has also worked in children’s television at the Australian Children’s Television Foundation and taught Editing and Publishing at RMIT in Melbourne.
 
Her authors include award-winning author Jackie French, who with illustrator Bruce Whatley has created many internationally renowned, best-selling picture books including Diary of a Wombat, Josephine Wants to Dance and Pete the Sheep. Jackie French has also published many fiction and non-fiction titles, including Hitler’s Daughter that has been adapted for stage by MonkeyBaa Theatre.

Other Australian authors and illustrators include Alexandra Adornetto, Jesse Blackadder, Rod Clement, Tara Eglington, Sue deGennaro, Susanne Gervay, Alison Goodman, Tiffiny Hall, Rosanne Hawke, Kate Knapp, Rebecca Lim, PJ Tierney, James Moloney, Pamela Rushby, Jen Storer, Mitch Vane and Gabrielle Tozer. International authors include Julie Berry, Alexandra Bracken, Claudia Gray, Stephanie Oakes, Nicholas Gannon and John Green.
 
Lisa is interested in all genres. Her authors, illustrators and list reflects the breadth of her taste. Bring paper and pencil for Lisa's interactive workshop on what creating a brand means for you.

Hazel Edwards: Not Just a Piece of Cake — Being an Author

Hazel Edwards writes quirky, thought-provoking fiction and fact for adults and children. She is best known for ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake’ series (now translated into Chinese) and other media. Hazel runs book-linked workshops on ‘Authorpreneurship’ and ‘Writing a Non Boring Family History’. A director of ASA, (Aust Society of Authors) and a National Reading Ambassador, in 2013 Hazel was awarded an OAM for Literature.

Visit her at www.hazeledwards.com

Adam Wallace: Lie No. 1 — You can't make a living as a children's author in Australia

Adam Wallace has around 30 books published, his most recent being Blunderingly Brilliant, The Vanilla Slice Kid and Rhymes with Cartooning. Adam's books have been traditionally published, partnership published, self-published, and published via his grandmother's typewriter.

SHOW AND TELL 

As usual, we will have a brief Show and Tell segment, so if you have a recent publication to show us or news of a recent success to share (such as an award or grant) we’d love to hear from you.

MEETING DETAILS

Please note change of venue and earlier start time

Date: Saturday 5 March 2016
Place: Il Gambero Restaurant (upstairs function room), 166 Lygon St, Carlton
Time: 1.30–4.30pm (all are welcome to stay on afterwards to chat and socialise over a drink or coffe downstairs)
Cost: $25 members, $30 non-members (includes afternoon tea).

PAYMENT DETAILS

Payment: Click here to make your booking via Trybooking.com.

Please don't hesitate to contact Caz if you experience any issues with this new system or you are unable to make payments using this method: Carolyn_Goodwin@bigpond.com

SCBWI VICTORIA COMMITTEE MEMBERS
 
Caz Goodwin: Assistant Regional Adviser, Victoria
Chris Bell: Assistant Coordinatorand CBCA Liaison
Serena Geddes: Illustrator Coordinator
Betty Sargeant: Technology and Social Media Coordinator
Jo Burnell: Membership Coordinator

GATHERINGS FOR 2016

5 March

18 June

20 August   

12 November

We look forward to seeing you all there.

The Countdown is on - Sydney Conference 2016

‘If it’s not on my calendar, it simply won’t get done!’ I enjoy a love hate relationship with all my calendars (yes I have more than one). I love the sense of control carefully recorded events, chores, and deadlines give me as I observe them securely enclosed in their little individual squares. There’s no room for sloppy what ifs in a well-planned month of mine.

On the other hand, I hate being bound by duty and dates and would love to cast wide the shackles of time constraints in preference for a life less restricted and wildly unscheduled. However, for most of us, our first world existence doesn’t leave much room for such a devil-may-care approach and when there is only 32 weeks left until one of the next big things on the writing calendar, you're going to want to whip out your diary and clear some space for it.

Yes, it’s on again, the SCBWI Sydney Conference! These are the dates, Sunday 4 - Monday 5th September (NOTE: CHANGE OF DATES!!) and this is the low down…well I’ll have more low down for you soon for you see, I have the dubious honour of being this year’s official SCBWI Conference Blogger, (that's me in the blue blouse looking bonkers below).

Along with a trusty team of intra-national Roving Reporters, all the behind the scenes scoops, the tantalising anticipation and the bits that you’ve never really thought about before will be delivered to you, right here! Amongst some of the highlights, we'll be looking at lead up events like Writers in the Park, what's on offer for delegates and just who and what is behind the ticking heart of such an involved conference - namely the volunteers who help put together The Illustrator Showcase, portfolio pitches, book launches and more.

If you are a past conference delegate thinking of coming again, welcome back! We can’t wait to see you. If the 2016 Conference is your first, hold onto your pencils, you’re in for an unbelievably stimulating time.

Here are a couple of reminders of just how stimulated we were in 2014.

The 2014 Roving Reporter Team lead by Sheryl Gwyther

The 2014 Conference Delegates

Keep your eyes peeled for future updates and program highlights on the SCBWI blog site If there is something you’d like this reporter to feature about the Conference, don’t forget to leave a comment or two! We’d love to hear from you because it’s your conference!

Until I leap into the next calendar square, Rove ya later!

Dimity