Congrats to Georgina Ballantine on winning the prestigious
for her fantasy novel for ages 14+
Fire was judged to be the Winner of the Aspiring Young Adult category by Lisa Berryman of Harper Collins.
Wow - what a thrilling achievement Georgina! Watch this space!
As with any SCBWI event, the 2017 SCBWI Conference in LA was a coming together of a wonderful community of children’s book creators. Over 1,000 delegates from over twelve countries joined for the three-day conference which was made up of renowned keynote speakers, panel discussions, craft sessions and workshops.
Over half the delegates were unpublished (or pre-published) and there were options for new, emerging and experienced writers and a dedicated stream for illustrators. Manuscript critiques were available for writers and the portfolio showcase provided illustrators with the opportunity to put their work in front of editors, agents and publishers.
The sheer numbers of people involved in the conference meant that the social events could be daunting, but everyone involved was welcoming, friendly and incredibly helpful.
As a SCBWI ARA and volunteer, I facilitated a two of the breakout sessions, which were led by a respected editor, agent, author or illustrator. All the sessions, including the keynotes, were entertaining, informative and professionally delivered.
The conference provided a wonderful opportunity to connect with others who share a love of children’s books, and I have found people in the industry, wherever they are from, to be approachable and generous.
SCBWI conferences take place all over the world and details can be found on the SCBWI website. So why not consider signing up for a SCBWI conference? It will be an investment in your creative career.
Caz Goodwin
ARA, Australia East and New Zealand
I met Sarah Foster from Walker Books at the SCBWI conference in 2012 when we were on a panel together discussing realistic fiction. Afterwards got talking about flying, as I'm a private pilot and Sarah had taken lessons and we discussed a book on flight. I sent her an idea that involved lots of words but essentially was about the history of flight told from the eyes of the pilots (men and women) who risked their lives to prove to the world that flying was the new way to travel.
With Kerry, my husband, a professional pilot and co-author I got a May Gibbs fellowship in 2013 to develop the idea. Then with major changes at Walker Books I thought the book would fall through the cracks. It was only thanks to Sue Whiting who believed in the idea that it didn't end up flying back to me and ending in my bottom drawer.
However, she didn't want the 25,000 word book I was writing. She wanted a 5,000 word picture book. Hmm. Not my field of expertise but it was a challenge especially as I was writing a novel about Syria at the same time (Zafir Through My Eyes - Allen and Unwin) and going though the process of selling and moving house.
Sue was...well amazing to work with and now finally the Amazing Australians in their Flying Machines released in April this year.
Big thanks to SCBWI, May Gibbs Trust and Sue.
