Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Out and About: The 12th Annual SCBWI New York Winter Conference

Don't forget! You can still enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of Cynthia Leitich Smith’s latest young adult novel, Blessed, a companion to her bestsellers Eternal and Tantalize.

Out and About

Lucky me!
For the 12th year in a row, I attended SCBWI’s Annual Winter New York Conference in New York City.

The hotel and its location struck me as metaphorically perfect.
The Grand Hyatt, with its easy access to the attached Grand Central Station, once again served as an Important Stop for children’s book creators journeying forward.

The bounty of mentors, allies, friends and teachers, the thoughtful programming and Good Ol’ Serendipity turned any and all “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can’s” into “Of course, I can’s!” and “Ready! All Aboard!”
Little Engines That Could may have pulled into the station Friday but Refueled Super Liners pulled out on Sunday.

There were tears (courtesy of Lois Lowry, Sara Zarr and Linda Sue Park) as well as laughter (thanks to Leonard Marcus’s "Writing Funny" Panel and R.L. Stine’s Saturday Luncheon Keynote.)
In between, editors, agents, art directors and publishers offered bon mots and insights.
The Picture Book panel featuring Jane Yolen, Mark Teague and Patti Lee Gauch had me furiously taking notes, even though I’ve taught Picture Book Workshops since 1997.

The Good News: you can cry, laugh and learn too. Attend the conference vicariously by clicking on the SCBWI Conference Blog. SCBWI’s Team Blog did an outstanding job capturing each presentation's essence, spirit and truths.

Enjoy! Enjoy!
And, remember: SCBWI celebrates its 40th Anniversary August 5 - 8 at the SCBWI Annual Summer Conference in Los Angeles.

Esther Hershenhorn

5 comments:

The Pen and Ink Blogspot said...

40th Anniversary? I'd forgotten that. I'd better go this year. Sounds like a wonderful conference in NY. I want to do that one sometimes too.

Faith E. Hough said...

I really wish I'd been able to make it to the NYC conference. I'm going to hear all about it from my critique partner this weekend, and I can't wait! (And the blog is great; thanks for the link!)

Esther Hershenhorn said...

The SCBWI Team Bloggers worked furiously throughout the conference to bring the experience to non-attendees!
They did such a swell job.
The 40th LA Conference is already being planned.
SAve the dates: August 5-8.

BJ Schneider said...

Thanks so much for writing about the conference and providing the links! great reading. I still wonder why they hold it in NYC in Feb., especially with this year's and last year's weather.

Angela said...

Esther,
Oh, I'm sure it was great. I have to catch up on my blog reading.
So, I'll see you in LA for the big birthday bash? I hope so!!