* Airport Holiday Inn* 6111 Fleur Drive * Des Moines, IA 50211 * A-Z FEATURED SPEAKERS: KATHRYN FINNEY October 7-8-9, 2016 Author-Illustrator and Creative Director Live Happy Magazine CHRISTA HESCHKE Literary Agent at McIntosh and Otis Literary Agency JIM HOOVER Associate Art Director, Viking Children's Books, Penguin Random House KARL JONES Highlights Include: Incredible Speakers Friday Work Sessions Friday Night Banquet Professional Critiques and Reviews Organized Peer Reviews Author Signing/Book Sale Breakout Presentations Saturday Night Dine and Tour-at-Leisure Renovated Location All-Inclusive Member Meeting And More... Associate Editor, Grosset & Dunlap/PSS!, Penguin Young Readers Group MAUREEN KORTE Professional Storyteller and Longtime Educator PAT McCAW MFAC Candidate and Writer KATHLEEN MERZ Managing Editor at Eerdmans Books for Young Readers SHARELLE BYARS MORANVILLE Award-Winning Author and Writing Teacher Explore Your Storybook World October 7-8-9, 2016 at the Airport Holiday Inn/Des Moines, IA NOTE: This schedule is subject to change. FRIDAY 12:15 PM Registration and pick up folders. 12:45 PM Welcoming Words Connie Heckert, SCBWI-IA Regional Advisor 1:00-1:30 PM Intro Activity Eileen Boggess and Becky Janni 1:30-3:00 PM Break 3:30-5:00 PM Art Intensive: Storytelling Through Illustration Jim Hoover, Associate Art Director, Viking Children's Books This intensive covers approaching a manuscript with an illustrator’s eye. Use a story you've written yourself, are working on with a colleague (permission pending), or one that's in the public domain, such as a folk or fairy tale. Art director and illustrator, Jim Hoover, of Viking Children's Books will provide feedback via email on your sketches, several weeks in advance of the intensive, then again on your finished work, during the intensive. Directions for illustrators follow. Class size is limited to 20. DIRECTIONS: Please name your images: FirstLastName.jpg or pdf. If you can put all of your sketches in one file, that would be the best. If not, please number them using same name, but 1-3 Email jpgs, or pdf's medium res files-(less than 1 mb) to Dorothia Rohner: [email protected] by these dates. She will forward them to Jim in two batches. Bring your final work to the intensive. DUE on August 26, 2016. You’ll receive comments back before September 9, based on Jim’s schedule. 1. PICK YOUR STORY AND IDENTIFY TWO SCENES YOU'D LIKE TO ILLUSTRATE Choose two scenes from your story to illustrate as full-page spreads; something impactful and memorable: it can be dramatic and dynamic, or quiet and lovely, or wacky and funny— whatever direction suits your creative needs. Complete two spreads that will make an art director, (agent, or editor), and ultimately, the children who see your work take notice. They don't need to be consecutive spreads; just choose whichever moments from the story you think will lend themselves to the most impressive images. 2. DESIGN YOUR CHARACTERS Decide which characters from the story will appear in these two spreads, then come up with a few designs for each. Draw them from several angles, in various poses, with different expressions doing different tasks. Get to know them, live with them, invent back stories. Make them breathe. Once you've come up with solid designs for them, sketch out the two spreads. What does the background look like? What's the emotion in the scene? The composition? How will the palette ultimately affect how you present each spread, and help you get these tones, moods, and emotions across? What are characters doing, and how do they feel about it? 1:30-3:00 PM Writing Intensive Part I: Using Storytelling Techniques to Craft Narrative Nonfiction Kathleen Merz, Managing Editor, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers How do writers tell engaging stories about real life? How can they capture a person’s life story in thirty-two pages? This presentation will look at the process of applying common storytelling techniques to the process of creating narrative nonfiction. 3:00-3:30 PM Fruit and Cookies Break 3:30-5:00 PM Writing Intensive Part II: Cultivating Your Creativity Karl Jones, Associate Editor, Grosset & Dunlap To cultivate creativity as a writer, you must engage your creative practice consistently and stick to it for a significant period of time. 6:00-8:00 PM Banquet and Keynote Maureen Korte, Professional Storyteller and Educator “Our Brains on Story” SATURDAY 8:00-9:30 AM Coffee, Tea and Bagels Check out the portfolio displays and new publications of our awesome conference attendees. 8:45 AM Welcome and Announcements Connie Heckert, SCBWI-Iowa RA 9:00-9:45 AM NOTE: This schedule is subject to change. The New Grosset Karl Jones. Associate Editor, Grosset & Dunlap Known for its well-oiled licensing program and strong mass market reach, Grosset & Dunlap has recently published more original fiction and non-fiction and is gaining attention for its increasingly literary and diverse projects. Find out how Karl Jones made his mark on the imprint by developing award-winning intellectual property, acquiring Grosset’s first NY-Times bestselling middle grade book and what the new Grosset might look like. 10:00-10:45 AM “Middle Grade vs. YA: What’s the Difference” Christa Heschke, Agent, McIntosh and Otis 11-11:45 AM Illustration and Storytelling Jim Hoover, Associate Art Director, Viking Children's Books With picture books, a great text can often be augmented by art. Visual storytelling is crucial to a picture book. This session will discuss making great pictures and leaving space in your manuscripts to give illustrators the room they need to make your picture book shine. Noon-1 PM Box Lunch—Pick up your pre-ordered box lunch. Noon-5:00 Beaverdale Booksale 1-2:00 PM The Eerdmans Publishing Program Kathleen Merz, Managing Editor, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers 2:00-4:30 PM Breakouts 2:00-2:50 PM Critiques will occur during Breakout Sessions or as scheduled. By September 2, please send critiques to Connie Heckert via USPS. Directions in A-Z section. Critique time and information will be inside the registration folder. Breakout 1-A Breakout 1-B “It’s a Scary World Out There: Using Picture Books to Help Children with Anxiety A Two-Hour Writing Intensive and Fear.” Pat Chittick McCaw, M.D., MFAC Candidate and Writer “Postcards to and from the Amygdala: Stirring Feelings in our Readers” Sharelle Byars Moranville, Ph.D., Author and Writing Teacher Breakout 2-A “No Boundaries” We’ll begin the two-hour workshop by identifying our basic writing goals, ownKathryn Finney, Author-Illustrator ing our strengths and weaknesses as writers, and building individualized toolboxes where the tools fit us and our needs. Then we’re going to dream big. We’re Kathryn will share her somewhat traditional style of illustration and demonstrate how going to find ways to build stories that change our readers, move them, and make she keeps her water soluble oil illustrations loose and spontaneous. She will share her them care deeply. Cry. Laugh. Rage. Change. experience as a writer, taking real-life experience and interpreting that into the illustrated page. Participants, both writers and illustrators, are encouraged to bring a pad and pencils (any art materials your heart desires) to the demonstration to draw along or doodle and explore that great next idea! Book Sale and Author Signing Party 3:00-4:00 PM 4-5 6-9 Dinner and Capital Tour in Downtown Des Moines (See A-Z for details.) Gather at 6:00 p.m., to carpool to Spaghetti Works in the historic Court Avenue District of downtown Des Moines. The restaurant offers a distinctive setting in a converted 19th century building, that was, at one time, a hat factory. Dinner includes all you can eat pasta (gluten-free options available), your choice of sauce, bread, salad bar, and non-alcoholic drinks. A cash bar is available. After dinner, people can enjoy the vibrant nightlife. Travel back to the hotel or home at your leisure. SUNDAY 7:30-8:30 AM Sunrise Critiques—Move Your Manuscript to the Next Level! Testing the waters on a new story? Sign up at online registration, send the story in an attachment to Lisa Morlock at [email protected] by September 2. Groups will be made by genre; facilitators will come out of the group sign ups. Each participant will provide written comments and participate in verbal discussion. (If you have a dummy book, please submit the text and bring the dummy to this session.) 9-10 AM Breakfast and Keynote on Diversity “LGBT Characters in Middle Grade and Young Adult Literature” Karl Jones. Associate Editor, Grosset & Dunlap 10-11:00 AM Writing a Mystery Christa Heschke, McIntosh and Otis 11:00- Noon The Business of Blogs that Work and Why Kathleen Merz, Managing Editor, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers 12:00-1 PM Closing remarks and door prizes. 2-3 PM SCBWI-IA Planning Meeting Want a voice in the organization’s future? After we clean up from the conference, we’ll reconvene in the restaurant to discuss future plans. Network chairs and any SCBWI-Iowa members are invited. This is a great opportunity to share ideas as a group. NOTE: This schedule is subject to change. Thanks to our SCBWI-IA Volunteers! Rebecca Janni, Metro Des Moines Area ([email protected]) Need help? Contact Iowa’s REGIONAL COORDINATORS: Suzanne Krejci, Cedar Rapids Area ([email protected]) Connie Heckert, Iowa Regional Advisor ([email protected]) Debbie LaCroix, Sioux City Area ([email protected]) Lisa Morlock, Iowa Assistant Regional Advisor ([email protected]) Sarvinder Naberhaus, Ames Area ([email protected]) Dorothia Rohner, Iowa Illustrator Chair and Webmaster ([email protected]) Lisa Morlock, Newsletter Editor ([email protected]) Linda Skeers, Listserv Moderator ([email protected]) Sign up to get local updates and notifications from the NETWORK CHAIRS: Eileen Boggess, Metro Des Moines Area ([email protected]) Connie Heckert, Quad Cities Area ([email protected]) Wendy Hendrichs, Iowa City Area ([email protected]) 2016 Conference Speakers A-Z KATHRYN FINNEY is a designer and illustrator living in Des Moines, Iowa. She runs her own graphic design business and holds the position of Creative Director of Live Happy Media located in Addison, Texas. She has illustrated projects for Magination Press, Jewish Lights Publishing, Sasquatch Publishing and Cricket Magazine. Her most recent project was her picture book for Skypony Press, Little Louie, which she authored and illustrated. Kathryn loves typography and everything design. She is often asked to paint pet portraits (mostly dogs) and in addition to graphic design, she works with intellectually challenged individuals to offer them the experience of expressing themselves through art. KARL JONES is an Associate Editor, Penguin Young Readers Group (penguinrandomhouse.com). He works on a variety of licensed and original middle grade and activity books, as well as some early YA projects. He acquired and edited the JUST JAKE series from New York Times best-selling kid author, Jake Marcionette, and edits a middle grade/YA transition series by established stage and screenwriter, Justin Sayre. The first book in this series, Husky published in September 2015 and Pretty comes out in July 2017. He’s very excited about his newest acquisition with author Jason Lethcoe, for a unique middle grade science fiction series. He also develops, acquires and writes unique original activity books like Day of the Dead Activity Book and Build a Boyfriend, as well as hiring work-for-hire authors for several licensed book programs for entertainment and gaming properties including Star Trek, Powerpuff Girls, Uncle Grandpa, Regular Show and Shovel Knight. He is particularly interested in realistic middle grade and YA fiction and formatbending storytelling projects. In his free time, he enjoys comedy and storytelling events, outdoor adventures, and live music. CHRISTA HESCHKE graduated from Binghamton University with a major in English and a minor in Anthropology. She started in publishing as an intern at both Writers House and Sterling Lord Literary, where she fell in love with the agency side of publishing. Christa has been at McIntosh and Otis, Inc. in the Children's Literature Department since 2009 where she is actively acquires for all age groups in children’s. JIM HOOVER is an Associate Art Director at Viking Children’s Books in New York. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in Illustration, Jim has been in publishing for over sixteen years. He has designed and art directed well over a hundred titles including The Last Kids on Earth series, Tricky Vic, Tea Party Rules, Pretty Monsters, John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth, Stuck in the Middle, Mission Control: Marching for Freedom, Titanic Sinks! , and the children’s book adaptation of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. 2016 Conference Speakers A-Z An English literature degree and graduate coursework in storytelling and literature are foundations for MAUREEN KORTE’S professional repertoire. Travels, performances, teaching programs, memberships in professional associations and a creative writing portfolio demonstrate the expanse of her creative expertise. She has worked for seven years with children with multiple disabilities. She freelanced for local publications. She’s worked seven years as coordinator of a Cultural Arts Scholarship Program in the Johnston School District in Iowa, five and a half years as Production Manager for the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, seven and a half years as Director of Special Programs and Projects for the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Currently, she serves as Director of Educational Programs for Cultureall, an international catalog of ambassadors and artists. Maureen has also taught for Drake University and Heartland Area Education Agency 11 for over fifteen years. http://www.maureenkorte.com/ index.php PAT CHITTICK MCCAW received her Bachelor of Science degree in biology and her M.D. from the University of Iowa. She works in a family practice at Genesis Health Group of Eldridge, but her passion is in writing. She currently writes everything from Picture Books to Middle Grade to Young Adult. She plans to graduate in January from Hamline University's Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Teens Program. Her critical thesis was written because in her medical and personal world, many children with anxiety cannot get to a psychologist in a timely manner and picture books have the power to reach these children. “As writers we can craft these books to make a difference.” KATHLEEN MERZ is the Acquisitions & Managing Editor at Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. She has worked on a number of award-winning titles, including books that have won the Caldecott Honor, the Batchelder Award for translation, the Sibert Medal, and other honors. She studied English and linguistics, and especially enjoys working on translated books and nonfiction picture books. She is always looking for original picture books, narrative nonfiction, and middle grade stories—particularly books that tackle contemporary social issues and celebrate diversity or multiculturalism, and books that have well-crafted voice and strong characters. Kathleen lives in Michigan, and can also be found occasionally blogging at www.eerdlings.com. At a younger age, SHARELLE BYARS MORANVILLE studied physics and trig and advanced calculus--topics that she's used in her novels. In college, she switched to English and attended graduate school in Binghamton, New York, and Kent, Ohio. At Kent State, she met and married her husband, a lawyer pursuing a Ph.D. in English lit. After earning her doctorate, Sharelle taught college English for a few years, before working in the corporate world, Her titles for children include 27 Magic Words, The Snows, The Hop, Over the River, A Higher Geometry, and The Purple Ribbon. "As a born book lover and a Ph.D. in English lit, I was--if nothing else--well read. In fact, I’ve probably read fiction every day of my life since about age nine." 2016 Conference Details A-Z A ATTIRE Conference attire is business casual, which includes nice jeans, pants, skirts and dresses. Karl Jones (Picture Books, Chapter Books) Kathleen Merz (Picture Books, Nonfiction, Middle Grade) Sharelle Byars Moranville (Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult) Join the talented Jim Hoover for an incredible afternoon of learning and working. This intensive covers approaching a manuscript with an illustrator’s eye. Use a story you've written yourself, are working on with a colleague (permission pending), or one that's in the public domain, such as Portfolio Reviews are available with Jim Hoover. B a folk or fairy tale. Art director and illustrator, Jim BANQUET Bring portfolios to the event. Please send stories to: Hoover, of Viking Children's Books will provide feedYou may purchase extra tickets for the evening banback via email on your sketches, several weeks in Connie Heckert, SCBWI-IA RA quet. Guest tickets available when registering. advance of the intensive, then again on your finPO Box 1436 ished work during the intensive. Directions for illusBettendorf, Iowa 52722-0024 BOOK SALE and AUTHOR SIGNING trators follow. Class size is limited to 20. Each year, SCBWI-Iowa hosts a book sale Saturday DIRECTIONS: afternoon. Beaverdale Books sells books by conferPlease name your images: FirstLastName.jpg or D ence presenters and SCBWI writers. IF you’d like pdf. If you can put all of your sketches in one file, DISPLAY TABLE your book included in the sale, please complete the Published authors and all illustrators are invited to that would be the best. If not, please number them PAL form included in this packet. share their work on display tables set up during the using same name, but 1-3 Email jpgs, or pdf's medium res files-(less than 1 mb) to Dorothia conference. Space is limited. Authors may bring BREAKOUT SESSIONS their books or magazines; illustrators may bring a 14 Rohner: [email protected] by these dates. She will Choose from the incredible sessions by talented forward them to Jim in two batches. Bring your final x 17 inch portfolio. Iowa members. work to the intensive. C CRITIQUES Each conference attendee may pay an additional fee of $40 for a professional critique with an conference speaker or published SCBWI member. Critiques are first come, first serve and do fill quickly. Upon conference check-in, you will receive an information sheet on who, when and where your critique will be held. We regret that we are unable to fulfill everyone’s critique request. All work must be double-spaced, 12-point in a reader-friendly font, 1-inch margins. Must be postmarked by September 2, 2016. H HOTEL INFORMATION The conference will be held at The Airport Holiday Inn. SCBWI-Iowa has reserved a block of rooms. The cost is $94 a night plus tax (max. of 4 per room). To request one of those rooms, please call or register online. Please make your reservations early: September 15 is the cut-off for early registration pricing. Airport Holiday Inn 6111 Fleur Dr. Des Moines, IA 50321 (515) 287-2400 https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/ reservation Manuscript Critiques are available with these speakers: I Christa Heschke (Picture Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult) ILLUSTRATOR INTENSIVE DUE on August 26, 2016. You’ll receive comments back before September 9, based on Jim’s schedule. 1. PICK YOUR STORY AND IDENTIFY TWO SCENES YOU'D LIKE TO ILLUSTRATE Choose two scenes from your story to illustrate as full-page spreads; something impactful and memorable: it can be dramatic and dynamic, or quiet and lovely, or wacky and funny—whatever direction suits your creative needs. Complete two spreads that will make an art director, (agent, or editor), and ultimately, the children who see your work take notice. They don't need to be consecutive spreads; just choose whichever moments from the story you think will lend themselves to the most impressive images. 2. DESIGN YOUR CHARACTERS Decide which characters from the story will 2016 Conference Details A-Z (continued) appear in these two spreads, then come up with a few designs for each. Draw them from several angles, in various poses, with different expressions doing different tasks. Get to know them, live with them, invent back stories. Make them breathe. Once you've come up with solid designs for them, sketch out the two spreads. What does the background look like? What's the emotion in the scene? The composition? How will the palette ultimately affect how you present each spread, and help you get these tones, moods, and emotions across? What are the characters doing and how do they feel about it? L LUNCH BOX Order Saturday’s box lunch online. Choices listed when you register. P PORTFOLIO REVIEW Professional illustrators may sign up for a portfolio review for an additional fee of $40. Please bring your illustrator portfolio to the appointment. There will be an insert in your conference folder with the date, time and place. Please do not mail artwork. PAYMENT and ADDRESSES 1. Make checks payable to: SCBWI-Iowa. 2. Send all materials/checks (registrations, manuscripts, etc.) to: Connie Heckert, SCBWI-IA RA PO Box 1436 Bettendorf, Iowa 52722-0024 3. For PayPal Credit Card, call 563-359-0337 R ROOMMATE If you need a roommate, please contact Lisa Morlock at [email protected]. We’ll keep a pool of names in an effort to find everyone a buddy. S and brewing in Iowa. The Royal Mile, 210 4th Street, features British beers and an extensive Scotch list. The Stuffed Olive, 208 3rd Street, features over 100 different martinis The Copper Cup, 207 4th Street, has Moscow Mules in every flavor imaginable Gather at 6:00 p.m., to carpool to Spaghetti Works in the historic Court Avenue District of downtown Des Moines. The restaurant offers a distinctive setting in a converted 19th century building, that was, at one time, a hat factory. Dinner includes all you can eat pasta (gluten-free options available), your choice of sauce, bread, salad bar, and non-alcoholic drinks. A cash bar is available. After dinner, people can enjoy the vibrant nightlife. Travel back to the hotel or home at your leisure. Buy tickets online when registering. Guest tickets available. Highlights of Downtown Des Moines The Court Avenue District is the entertainment destination of Iowa’s capital city with an adventure to offer everyone. Dating back to 1846, the Court District is one of Des Moines’ oldest downtown neighborhoods. Pappajohn Sculpture Park, 1330 Grand Ave., features artwork by 22 of the world's most celebrated artists in 28 sculptures. Iowa State Capitol, 1007 East Grand, has a 23karat golden dome and four smaller domes. This building houses the governor's offices, legislature, and the old Supreme Court room. The East Village is Des Moines’ most vibrant and diverse district, boasting shopping, dining, and nightlife. The epicenter of the East Village is 500 East Locust. Q QUESTIONS? Contact Connie Heckert at [email protected], Lisa Nightlife Hot Spots Morlock at [email protected], or Dorothia Rohner at [email protected]. Court Avenue Brewing Company, 309 Court Avenue, celebrates the history of the building Hessen Haus, 101 4th Street, features an extensive German beer selection. Share a giant twoliter boot of tasty beer with your friends. Prost! El Bait Shop/Hi Life Lounge, 200 SW 2nd Street, focuses on American Craft Beer with more than 180 draft beers and over 75 in bottles. Featuring small craft beers from around the world and many terrific selections from Iowa breweries. Della Viti, 425 East Grand, Iowa’s first self-serve wine bars utilizing Napa Technology Wine Stations to offer a large variety of wines. Up-Down, 500 East Locust, features more than 40 arcade games from the ‘80s and ‘90s, pinball machines, three classic skee-ball alleys, Nintendo and Sega console gaming, and life-size Jenga and Connect Four. Drink menu includes an extensive craft beer selection with 20 beers on tap and even more bottles and cans, as well as ‘80s and ‘90s inspired cocktails. 2016 Conference Book Sale Request Form Author ____________________________________________ Email _____________________________________________ If you are a traditionally published author, please EMAIL a list of the information below to Connie Heckert at [email protected]. It is up to the discretion of the book seller which titles and how many copies of books will be on site the day of the Autograph Party and Book Sale. Here’s the info she’ll need. If you are a self-published author, you may bring up to 10 copies of your book to include in the book sale. Part of the sales go back to Beaverdale Books. Please email [email protected]. Title 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. ISBN Publisher Date 2016 Conference Cost Overview Members 1. Manuscript Critiques—$40 12-point traditional font; double-spaced, 1-inch margins; up to 10 pages for PBs; up to 9 Nonmembers pages + 1 page synopsis for novels. You must be registered for the conference to reBrunch and Sunday Program ceive an appointment. Please rank; we regret that we can’t always fulfill everyone’s first Members request. MUST be received (not just post-marked) by September 2. ____ Christa Heschke (Picture Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult) ____ Karl Jones (Picture Books, Chapter Books) ____ Kathleen Merz (Picture Books, Nonfiction, Middle Grade) ____Sharelle Byars Moranville (Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult) 2. Portfolio Reviews—$40 ______ Portfolio Review with Jim Hoover. Register by September 2 for a spot. Nonmembers $155 _____ $205 _____ $85 _____ $100 _____ 6. CONFERENCE PRICING: Registration Postmarked AFTER September 2. BEST VALUE! ALL THREE DAYS: All Three Days, postmarked after September 2. Members $315 _____ Nonmembers $385 _____ BY THE DAY: 3. Dinner Downtown—$15 ______ Yes, I’d like to join the group at Spaghetti Works. ______ Yes, I am willing to drive a carpool. Friday, including Writers Program and Illustrators Intensive Members $110 _____ Nonmembers $130 _____ Members $195 _____ Nonmembers $245 _____ Members $100 _____ Nonmembers $130 _____ 4. Sunrise Critique Session—included with Sunday registration; due September 2. Saturday One-Day Event ______ Yes, I’ll email a max of 10 pages and the genre to [email protected]. 5. CONFERENCE PRICING: Registration Postmarked BY September 2. BEST VALUE! ALL THREE DAYS, postmarked by September 2. Members $260 _____ Nonmembers $330 _____ BY THE DAY: Sunday Brunch and Program * Hoping for more day combinations? Pricing provided on website registration page. Friday, including Writers Program and Illustrators Intensive Members $ 90 _____ Nonmembers $110 _____ Please remember to register online. 1. Visit www.SCBWI.org and choose Iowa’s regional page. 2. Click event and find the October 2016 registration link. Saturday One-Day Event 3. To see meal options and more, please visit the registration link.
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