For a lot of parents, teachers, and and anyone else that devotes a lot of time to kids, this week is for catching up on what might have slipped past us as we soaked up the last hazy days of summer vacation. Here are a few bits and bobs for what’s been happening and what’s on the way for our community.
Good News!
The Washington State Book Awards finalists were announced, and you probably recognize lots of names. Congratulations to all! 13 Books for Youth honored in Washington State Book Awards, sponsored by the Washington Center for the Book! (Awards are for books published in 2016.) :
Picture Books:
- “Thunder Boy Jr.” written by Sherman Alexie and illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Little, Brown Books for Children)
- “A Ticket to the Pennant: A Tale of Baseball in Seattle” written by Mark Holtzen and illustrated by John Skewes (Little Bigfoot, an imprint of Sasquatch Books)
- “Are You an Echo? The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko” written by David Jacobson, with translation by Sally Ito and Michiko Tsuboi, and illustrated by Toshikado Hajiri (Chin Music Press)
- “Journey: Based on the True Story of OR7, the Most Famous Wolf in the West” illustrated by Robin James and written by Emma Bland Smith (Little Bigfoot, an imprint of Sasquatch Books)
Books for Early Readers (ages 6 to 8)
- “Narwhal Unicorn of the Sea” by Ben Clanton (Tundra Books)
- “Zach and Lucy and the Museum of Natural Wonders” written by the Pifferson Sisters (Jennifer Bradbury and Stephanie Guerra (Simon Spotlight, an imprint of Simon & Schuster)
- “Quackers” by Liz Wong (Alfred A. Knopf)
Books for Middle Grade Readers (ages 8 to 12)
- “Cleo Edison Oliver: Playground Millionaire” by Sundee T. Frazier (Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic)
- “Some Kind of Courage” by Dan Gemeinhart (Scholastic Press)
- “Audacity Jones to the Rescue” by Kirby Larson (Scholastic Press)
Books for Young Adult Readers (ages 13 and up)
- “Useless Bay” by M.J. Beaufrand (Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams)
- “Essential Maps for the Lost” by Deb Caletti (Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster)
- “Up to This Pointe” by Jennifer Longo (Random House)
Congratulations to all! Winners will be announced at the Washington State Book Awards ceremony and reception on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Seattle Public Library’s Central Library in downtown Seattle. The celebration is free and open to all. The reception includes light appetizers, a no-host beer/wine/beverage bar, book sales by Third Place Books, and booksignings by these fabulous authors! Come cheer them on and celebrate the great talent in Washington’s kid lit community!!!
More information here.
New deals!
Stephanie Campisi‘s picture book Luis and Tabitha, about an alley cat who goes to extraordinary lengths to win over the owner of the indoor cat he loves, will be published by Familius in 2018. Hollie Mengert will be illustrating. Congratulations to you both!
Nancy Siscoe at Knopf has acquired Sauerkraut by Kelly Jones, a middle grade comedy about a boy haunted by the ghost of his great-great grandmother and an old family recipe. Publication is planned for fall 2019; Mandy Hubbard at Emerald City negotiated the two-book deal for world English rights.
Classes and meetings
Suzanne Selfors will be teaching a class through BARN on Bainbridge. WRITING THE MIDDLE GRADE NOVEL is a four session class, held on Tuesdays, Oct 17 – Nov 07 from 6:45 – 9pm. It’s open to writers of all levels, and will be half lecture and half workshop. If you have a work-in-progress or simply need encouragement to begin your middle grade story, please join us! Classes will be at Writers’ Room, BARN, 8890 Three Tree Lane, BI, WA 98110, and you can find registration information here.
Children’s Book Insider is offering a free online workshop on Tuesday, September 19th at 5 PM PST, called Why You Should Be Writing for the Middle Grade / YA Market ….and How to Succeed At It! The workshop will feature award-winning author Alice Kuipers ( Life on the Refrigerator Door, The Death of Us) and Children’s Book Insider Publisher Laura Backes (SCBWI member/multi-time speaker). It’s absolutely free and nothing will be sold, open to all writers, and registration is first come, first served. Register here if interested.
For our northern members, the next Northern Network meeting will be Wednesday, September 13th at Barnes & Noble in Bellingham at 7:00 PM. Come prepared with a list of topics you’d like to discuss in our 2017-2018 meetings!
There’s still time to register for the free information meeting on UW’s Certificate in Writing program with Jolie Stekly.
SCBWI WWA meeting recap
Missed our presentation with Rosemary Wells? She drew a standing-room only crowd on Wednesday night at SPU. She shared wisdom gained over a 40+ year career in children’s books, including when to trash your draft and start over. She also surprised us with special guest Anna Johnson, a long-time sales rep for Candlewick Press, who answered questions about the business side of the industry and how social media and technology have changed publishing over the years.
Joni Sensel and Beth Bacon were also on hand to talk more about next month’s Weekend On the Water retreat. There are still a few spots available–register today!
Other Rosemary quotes:
“I have very limited talent, but I apply it faithfully. I work very hard.”
“Revision is inevitable, like death and taxes.”
“It’s a serious thing to publish a book.”
Don’t miss our next meeting on October 11th with Simon & Schuster editor, Liz Kossnar! More details coming soon.
