Welcome to SCBWI Washington!

If you're into writing or illustrating children's books, take a look at what the Western Washington Region of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators has for you!

21st Annual Writing & Illustrating for Children Conference

Registration for this popular event opens Tuesday January 17 at noon. See the Conference Page for more details and to register.

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2011-2012 PSM Passport

GET YOUR SCBWI WWA PROFESSIONAL SERIES MEETING PASSPORT

SCBWI Western Washington’s Professional Series Meetings run from September to May of each year, which means now's the time to purchase your passport to all of the 2011-2012 season's meetings. Available to SCBWI International members and non-members alike, these Professional Series Meetings typically feature two professional presentations, with a brief business meeting between. The cost for each individual Professional Series Meeting is only $8 (for members of SCBWI International) or $10 (for non-members) per meeting.

You can save time and money by purchasing a passport to all of the 2011-2012 season meetings at just $35 (for SCBWI International members) or $40 (for non-members)—an incredible bargain! Attending even a handful of the eight meetings we’re holding this year makes up for the price of the passport. Plus, only passport holders will have priority registration for January’s unique and popular meeting, "The Great Critique," and submit their art for our February portfolio tune-up.

We're sure you'll want the passport when you see this season's lineup. Speakers include Victoria Rock, founding children’s publisher and editor-at-large at Chronicle Books; Stephen Barr, literary agent at Writers House; and local talents Kimberly Baker, Lois Brandt, Mike Cressy, Heather Davis, Liz Gallagher, Denise Jaden, Kathleen Kemly, and many more. We’ll also have a screening of the documentary LIBRARY OF THE EARLY MIND with commentary and live Q & A from the director.

Please click this link for more details and to purchase your Professional Series Meeting passport.

Professional Series Meetings

Our Professional Series Meetings take place at Seattle Pacific University - Demaray Hall, Room 150. Registration at 6:45 p.m., program at 7:00 p.m. Get Map and Directions here. Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month. To see the complete meeting line-up, please visit our Monthly Meetings page.

February 7, 2012

(NOTE: This meeting is the first Tuesday of the month to avoid conflicting with Valentine’s Day! There may even be door prizes and discount codes for those in attendance!)

Mini-Session: SCRIVENER TIPS AND TRICKS PANEL moderated by YA author Jolie Stekly. Perhaps you’ve heard of the writing program Scrivener (currently available for Macs and with a beta for PC) and wonder what all the fuss is about. Or, maybe you're already using it, but wonder if you're really taking advantage of all that it has to offer. As defined by Literature Latte, the creator, "Scrivener is a powerful content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward first draft." In this session, Jolie and several other local writers will introduce you to this powerful writing tool and share some of the ways it helps them manage their writing projects. Whether you're new to Scrivener or a power user, a novelist or a research buff, these experts' tips and tricks might offer just the thing you need to pull it all together. Note: If you wish, you may read more about Scrivener here and/or preview their video tutorials here before the session.

Main Program: PORTFOLIO TUNE-UP with Margaret Chodos-Irvine. In preparation for the upcoming SCBWI WWA conference or that submission you've been preparing for an art director, editor or agent, Margaret will view and critique selected portfolios from our Professional Series Meeting Passport holders, offering commentary and recommendations about the selected images to help illustrators put together their best body of work. Even if your portfolio isn't selected for critique, Margaret will demonstrate how any illustrator can improve any portfolio piece, and how illustrators can self-critique their portfolios to make them the most memorable and cohesive children's book illustration portfolios in town. Margaret Chodos-Irvine worked for many years as a commercial illustrator before embarking on a career in children’s books. Her first author/illustrator project, ELLA SARAH GETS DRESSED, won a Caldecott Honor award, and her second, BEST BEST FRIENDS, was an ALA notable book. Her latest project was illustrating Marion Dane Bauer’s DINOSAUR THUNDER, due out in 2012 with Scholastic Publishing.

Questions?

Contact scbwiwa@scbwi-washington.org