OLIVER PHOMMAVANH... our Conference official Tweeter guy

Welcoming today's guest blogger, author Oliver Phommavanh.

I've been writing for five years now, two of those years were as an unpublished writer. They say that it's not what you know, it's who you know. Well, at SCBWI you get both.

Not only is the conference a priceless opportunity to network and meet new people from around Australia and beyond, you also learn a lot as well.

I went to my first conference in 2010, just after my first book, Thai-riffic! came out and enjoyed a weekend with peers and like-minded people, passionate about writing. It was a chance for me to talk about my upcoming books, learn about the latest trends and news from publishers and agents, and have some fun.

I know friends who got deals and made progress with their works, so it obviously boosts your chance of success. I also enjoyed the cosy atmosphere. Whether you're just beginning or an established writer, you can get a lot out of the conference, it's tailor made for writers and illustrators.

This year's no different. I can't wait for this year's conference, the line up looks promising and has some new ideas up its sleeve, like the Illustrator's Showcase. Now I have two new books to chat about, Con-nerd and Punchlines! And I have plenty more to come.

SCBWI has a reputation for having great conferences from around the world, this one is going to be just as cool.

If you're coming along, be prepared to be filmed and tweeted about, hehe, I'm the camera person and twitter guy for the conference!

"Spending time with the tribe" ... Meg McKinlay, guest blogger

Meg McKinlay.. This will be my first SCBWI conference and no one is more surprised than me that I’m actually going. 

It’s not the distance or the expense, though those are certainly factors when you live, as they say, off the earth in Perth.

Meg McKinlay, children's author and poet

It’s just that I’m not really a joiner. I’m not really into groups and gatherings. I’m much happier getting all hermitty in my little study with only books and silence and the occasional grevillea-visiting honey-eater for company.

When I joined SCBWI, it wasn’t for networking or support or anything remotely groupish or social. It was because I had been trying and failing to crack that elusive first publication here in Australia, and was considering submitting directly to the US. Lacking any contacts or information on the market there, I saw SCBWI as a resource, something I might join for a year, strip-mine for information, and then be on my way.

Six years later, I find myself the newly minted ARA for SCBWI West, heading off to the National Conference. I’m still not entirely sure how this happened, but I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I’ve found SCBWI to be such an incredibly welcoming organisation, supportive of gregarious networkers and solitary hermits alike, and also professionally useful in so many ways that go beyond the simple gleaning of facts and contact details. The wealth of knowledge among members, so generously shared, is one of SCBWI’s real strengths, and something I know will be a feature of what is shaping up to be an amazing conference.

I’m something of a paradoxical hermit in that, given the right circumstances, I love to talk. I love to debate, argue, and discuss. And I hope to do a lot of that over the course of the weekend. I’ll be participating in a panel on “Realistic Fiction”, and chairing another on “Industry News” with delegates from the ASA, CAL, and the NSW Writers Centre. And I’m looking forward to sinking my teeth into those discussions. Mostly, though, I’ll be sitting back, listening to others, learning, mingling, enjoying being in the company of likeminded people.

I can’t say that I have any tangible goals for the conference other than Spend time with my tribe and Think about stuff. But I’m a fan of woolly goals, and suspect that will be more than enough to send me away satisfied.

Congratulations to Meg on her appointment as Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI West (Ed. :)

Sign up for the 2012 SCBWI Australia/NZ International conference to hone your craft, showcase your work, and meet industry professionals.

Click here for link to Press Release Look what's on for illustrators at the Australia New Zealand SCBWI Conference 2012! Friday 29th June - Monday 2nd of July Get in quickly to book yourself one of the limited places available. Why should you be excited about this conference? Because as well as the fantastic panel discussions and keynote speakers, there are some fabulous opportunities to promote your work to publishers, learn new skills, and socialise ... A chance to get your work seen by leading publishers and agents SCBWI Australia is thrilled to be able to offer illustrator members the opportunity to showcase their work to leading publishing professionals. A private portfolio viewing will be held on Friday the 29th of June at 4.30pm for publishers, editor art directors, designers and agents. Following the private viewing, the exhibition is open to all conference attendees to join in and enjoy the artwork. Full instructions on how to submit your portfolio Important dates: 1st June: email photo, bio and one image of your work to organisers for inclusion in the online catalogue (see below for instructions) 15th June: Final date for submission of portfolios by mail (for SCBWI members not attending the conference.) A chance to get constructive feedback on your work from an experienced industry professional When you sign up for the conference, book yourself in for a one-on-one 20 minute critique of your portfolio with Jill Corcoran from the New York Herman Agency or a major commissioning Australian publisher A chance to learn from established illustrators Take an intensive, three hour masterclass with professional illustrators THE ART OF CREATING CHARACTER - with Nina Rycroft THE ART OF DIPLOMACY - how illustrators act as mediators and translators to get words and pictures talking to each other  - with Sarah Davis. More details here A chance to doodle,sketch and socialise with your fellow illustrators - have fun and let your hair down! Join us for the Illustrator Earlybird Breakfast Social 8.30am Sunday 1st July Don't delay - Book today. Click here to visit the conference website For further details contact Frané Lessac (frane@franelessac.com) or Sarah Davis (studio@sarahdavisillustration.com), SCBWI Illustrator Coordinators Lesley Vamos, Serena Geddes, and Andrea Edmonds, illustrator Committee Illustration and logo design by Lesley Vamos.

Copyright © 2012 SCBWI illustrator Coordinator, Australia and NZ, All rights reserved.

Guest blogger... Deborah Abela

Popular author and children's writers advocate, Deborah Abela is our guest blogger today. Check out why she loves getting together with other book creators. 

I love any excuse to get together with other kids' book creators, mostly, for a bit of fun and secondly, it’s a great way to glean information about what is going on beyond my hermetically sealed writing room.

I was very, very lucky recently to share a room, three-little-bears style in Bologna with wonderful illustrators and fabulous girls, Lesley Vamos and Serena Geddes. We walked through the mild March Bologna mornings each day to the Bologna Children's Book Fair , where we were surrounded by hangars of kids' book publishers, editors, rights managers, authors and illustrators from all over the world...it was a bookish feast! 

We were also very lucky to meet other SCWBI members from all over the world, including founding member, Lin Oliver, who is a hoot.

The SCBWI conferences in Australia are a much smaller affair but no less fun. In fact, the intimacy is one of the highlights, and the conversations you have over the three days are often illuminating.

The atmosphere of sharing ideas, of swapping news, of being amongst people who know the highs and lows, is rejuvenating. I'm looking forward to listening, laughing, sharing and clinking glasses over this wonderful thing we do.

From Deborah Abela

Author of Max Remy Superspy series, Jasper Zammit (Soccer Legend) series, The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen, Grimsdon and her new series is GhostClub, inspired by the real life club that was formed by Charles Dickens over 150 years ago.

www.deborahabela.com

A word from Susanne Gervay, Regional Advisor - Australia and New Zealand

Susanne Gervay

Hi everyone - please look at the Conference website to hear news even if you're not coming. Everyone is part of this celebration of our community.

The Hughenden is full now and I have asked delegates to share where possible. No more room, but you can book at The Arts Hotel, Darlinghurst or The Manor, Darlinghurst.

SCBWI Illustrators who are NOT attending the Conference, you are welcome to join the Illustrator showcase - it's a $40 fee for non-conference delegates and you can book online - www.scbwiaustralia.org It's getting exciting.

If you attend or not, please be part of it - with the Conference Blog, Facebook pages and send in your comments.

From Susanne

GUEST BLOG: Maria Gill, New Zealand children's author

Let's slip across "The Ditch" to New Zealand and welcome to the conference blog, Maria Gill, prolific children's author and SCBWI member. Take it away, Maria...

 

Maria: 

I've travelled over from New Zealand three times (including 2012) for this conference.  That's how much I value it. It is a great opportunity to meet authors, illustrators and publishers across the Tasman.  I network, see if it is any different for authors in Australia and I take every opportunity to pitch my stories.

Maria Gill

This year, I was thrilled to be asked to be on the Educational Panel.  I've had 17 books published for the educational market, 10 books for the trade market, as well as numerous articles for educational journals and magazines.

I'll share my experience of making a living from educational writing, what I've learnt along the way and give tips on how other writers could find opportunities to get their writing published in this area, as well as answering questions.

Other conferences focus only on unpublished authors and that is what I love about this SCBWI conference - there's just as many published as unpublished authors/illustrators and we all get plenty from the conference. I find it beneficial hearing the process that authors have gone through to be international bestselling authors.

It is excellent there is always an American publisher or agent to give us insights into that market.  The publishers are incredibly generous with their time; telling us what they are looking for (and what they're not looking for, which is just as important), sharing books they are particularly proud to publish and giving feedback on pitch sessions.  It is DEFINITELY worthwhile paying for a pitch session, just for the personal feedback alone.

This year I've encouraged four (and I'm working on a couple more) to come over for the conference.  We're sharing an apartment at the Hughenden (get in quick - it is a great place to stay).

We're all planning ahead what stories we'll have ready to pitch, and as well as enjoying ourselves, we'll be making sure we get the most out of the conference. And because it is my third time, I'm really looking forward to meeting up with the friends I've made over the ditch from past SCBWI conferences. See you there!

What's happening at the SCBWI Conference?

With an excellent range of topics, this Conference session is going to be lively and informative.  
What Makes a Best Seller?
Creating a best seller in today’s competitive market ... what are the ingredients? What
makes a series succeed? What does a mass market publisher look for? What are the different
elements for success in picture books, children’s and young adult literature?

Date: Saturday June 30 Time: 3-3:45
Speakers: Katrina Germein, Meredith Costain, Chris Kunz and Deborah Abela (participating
chair). 
 

Katrina Germein is a picture book author who writes stories that delight readers of all
ages. Her first book, Big Rain Coming, is an Australian best seller and remains in print
around the world more than a decade since its release. Katrina has won Notable Book
Commendations from the Children's Book Council of Australia and in 2011 her book My Dad
Thinks He's Funny was Highly Commended in the Prime Minister's Literary Awards.
Katrina's latest story, Somebody's House, will be published by Walker Books
Australia in 2013. Aside from writing, sunshine makes Katrina happy and so does swimming in
the sea with her three children.
 

Meredith Costain is a versatile writer whose work ranges from picture books through to
'tween' fiction and narrative non‐fiction. Her books include Bed Tails, the Year
in Girl Hell series and Musical Harriet, which was adapted for television by the ABC.
Doodledum Dancing, illustrated by Pamela Allen, was an Honour Book in the CBCA awards.
Meredith lives in inner-city Melbourne with a menagerie of pets who frequently wrangle their
way into her stories. Her latest books Everything to Lose and Catch Me If I Fall are
novelisations of the ABC TV series Dance Academy.

 
Chris Kunz is an Associate Publisher of Children's and YA Books at Random House
Australia. She has created the Bindi Wildlife Adventures series and the RSPCA Animal Tales
series as well as looking after some wonderfully talented Random House authors including
Jacqueline Harvey, R.A. Spratt and Martin Chatterton. Before books took over her life, Chris
script-edited and wrote for children's television, working with the BBC, Southern Star
and Wark Clements. She has a Masters Degree in Theatre Studies.
 

Deborah Abela is short and not very brave which may go some way to explaining why she writes
books about spies, ghosts, soccer legends and children living in a flooded city battling sea
monsters and sneaker waves. She is a best selling author of the hugely popular Max Remy
series and her latest book is, Ghost Club: The New Kid, and is the first in a new series.
She is an ambassador for the National Year of Reading and the Premier's Reading
Challenge. She's won many awards for her books including the 2012 USBBY Outstanding
International Book Award, USA, shortlisted for the KOALA, YABBA, Aurealis & the Speech
Pathology awards, but mostly she hopes to be as brave as the characters inside her books.