It was somewhere in the middle of 2006, that I first met with Corinne King (Fenton) to talk about Vic SCBWI. We were taking over the Vic reins from Jen McVeity. We tossed around ideas about how and what and why and where. Corinne was to be the ARA, I was to be backroom support.
We wanted to talk books. We wanted to talk writing and illustrating. We wanted to talk about publishing and contracts and marketing and … well you get the picture. Our plan was to have each Sat afternoon session be divided into three sections. The first was to provide the opportunity for members to present, a way of getting some practice in in preparation for public speaking in schools, libraries and festivals. The second was to invite an industry professional to talk about some aspect of our industry. The third was to encourage people to mingle - learn from and share knowledge with others doing the same thing. We convened one meeting each year in a regional community, in areas where rural members had easier access. We learned to approach publishers and other industry professionals. Somehow it was much easier to ask them to present at our meetings than it was to ask the same people to look at our work! We learned the importance of the after-meeting drinks.
As SCBWI expanded in Australia, the first national conferences were convened. They were different to the CBCA conferences which were often pitched more for teachers and librarians than for creators (though they were still fabulous). SCBWI conferences (held then at the Hughenden in Sydney) were intimate events of creators and industry professionals. The programs were great, but the social gatherings were wonderful. There was sharing, singing, dancing, singing and dancing. It was an opportunity to mix with people doing the same thing, to talk shop. The value of the conferences wasn’t so much about the pitching opportunities for me, although if asked, or if I booked, I did that too. I discovered that, for me, the best conferences were those I went to with no expectations. At all. And somehow being having no expectations, wonderful things always happened (even contracts!) The programs were always interesting, a mix of new information, new ways to work and refining of existing knowledge. I loved the chance to get to know people, to spend time with them. It was like the walls came down between the ‘us’ and ‘them’ (insert whichever ‘us’ and ‘them’ that seemed currently relevant) and we were all on the same page (see what I did there?) sharing meals, sharing story. We were all just people doing work we love. It was also a chance to hone my craft, learn things I didn’t realise I needed to know, soak up knowledge. One afternoon tea, I swapped my name badge with that of an editor and immediately she started trying to intensely ‘pitch’ a story to me. It was hilarious, but also a very instructive moment, a reminder that behind that desk, that email, sits a person doing their best in a really busy job. Each conference, each meeting buoyed and supported me and gave me the courage to keep going when it seemed impossible to do so. The US SCBWI site offered publishing guides, a magazine and online resources. The local sites kept me up to date with who was doing what and what else might be fun to explore (courses, events, resources). ‘There Was an Old Sailor’ won the first ever Crystal Kite Award – although Glenda Millard won the first peer-voted Australian SCBWI Award.
Cork Writing Workshop
I think I’ve missed only one SCBWI conference since the first I’ve attended. I’ve made lifelong friends, improved my craft (ongoing), survived disappointments, learned so much. I think what I love most is the feeling of belonging. I’ve joined interstate gatherings, travelled to Ireland and met with SCBWI Ireland members, attended workshops in Bologna. Every SCBWI chapter welcomed me, no secret handshake required. SCBWI has been part of everything I’ve done.
Dublin SCBWI coffee
This year has been a year like no other, for many reasons. We visited our son who is working in London. I did a school visit to a tiny school in remote Cornwall. My first novel, ‘Haywire’ was published (six years in the making). ‘Kookaburra’ is out (four years) and ‘Aussie Stem Stars: Georgia Ward-Fear’ is only seconds away from joining them.
