Don't Miss the Boat!

In less time than you can holler, hoist the main sail, bookings for the SCBWI Sydney 2016 Conference will open. Yes, jump on board and secure your tickets NOW!

The Sydney 2016 Conference is shaping up to be a premier event packed with incentives, workshops, awards, and opportunities to fulfill all of your illustrating and writing aspirations. The Conference Program is now set with some sensational sessions and master-classes lined up, all guaranteed to strengthen your insight into the world of creating children’s books.

Along with a dazzling array of industry professionals from Australia and the US ready to 'gently comment' on your work, this promises to be an exceptional literary conference and networking experience, not to be missed. Spaces are limited so it’s a case of first in best dressed.

Best to get a wriggle on. You don’t want to miss your boat and be stuck waiting on the dock.

Browse the links below for detailed information, date deadlines, rates and how to book.

• Conference Program
• Conference Bookings
• Accommodation at The Menzies Hotel. Make sure you use the designated SCBWI Accommodation Code to secure your discounted accommodation.
• Conference Awards – Illustrator Showcase Awards for illustrators and The Andrea Pinkney Scholastic USA Writer Award for writers. These are free but you must be attending the Conference to enter.
• Manuscript & Portfolio Critiques
• The Pitch to Publishers

Now that you are ready to set sail, sit back and stay tuned. In the coming months, you’ll get to know some of the faces behind the scenes, meet our Roving Reporter Team and much more.

Rove ya’ later!   Dimity

Faber Writing Academy 1 day YA course

Faber Writing Academy is offering SCBWI members a 10% discount on their Young Adult Fiction writing course with the award-winning Jaclyn Moriarty.

In this one-day course, we will ask what makes a book a YA book, and what makes a YA book shine. We'll discuss techniques for drawing on your own young adult self, at the same time as writing fiction that is fresh and immediate for contemporary readers. We'll workshop ideas for planning, plotting and polishing, and consider tips on publishing.

In YA, voice and character are pivotal; this course will suggests methods for writing teen protagonists who fly off the page and, if you are lucky, write your novel for you.

For more details, please check here: http://faberwritingacademy.com.au/writng-young-adult-fiction.html#.VwdmsXAy7V1

Meredith Costain's new picture book

Congrats to Meredith Costain on the international publication of

Mummies are Lovely

Illustrated by Polona Lovsin

Published by Koala Books/Scholastic, in hardback

For ages 2+

Mummies are magic
they kiss away troubles,
find gold in the sunlight
and rainbows in bubbles

A rhyming picture book about the special bond between mothers and their children.

To be published in the US and Canada by Henry Holt (Macmillan US) under the title Mommies are Amazing.
Sounds as though it's going to be a huge hit - great stuff Meredith!