Overland Trail Middle School Commons
6201 W 133rd St
Overland Park, KS 66209
Attend The Buzz, which will include opportunity to schmooze with conference faculty, be entertained by a skit put on by our talented Advisory Committee, participate in/listen to a First pages/Synopsis critique panel of our editors and agent, plus hear Lin Oliver, author, television producer and Executive Director of SCBWI!
The Buzz: First Pages/Synopsis Critique Panel
The First Pages/Synopsis Critique Panel on Friday, September 19th will be 45 minutes long.
- Manuscripts will be read aloud
- We will cover as many as we have time
- No guarantees your manuscript will be read and critiqued
- Editors and agent will respond “off the cuff” for a minute or two each
- We’ll all get to see their honest reaction as if the manuscript came across their desk – would they read on? – observe the facts of how a manuscript is received.
How to submit
- Send a synopsis of up to 200 words, plus first page for your novel or nonfiction book (4 copies)
or
- Send a first page for a picture book or easy reader (4 copies)
- All manuscripts MUST be in standard manuscript format
- Members only may submit their manuscripts to:
The Buzz First Pages
PO Box 3987
Olathe, KS 66063-3987
- Manuscripts must be received by September 10th
- There is no separate fee for participation
September 20, 2008
KU Edwards Campus: Regents Center
Overland Park
Wish you knew more about writing or illustrating for children? Wish to meet editors and those published in the field face to face? Want to improve your writing or illustrating skills? Want to test your manuscripts? Then gather your courage, your manuscripts, paper and pen, and come bloom at a conference buzzing with opportunity! Join children’s writers and illustrators from across the area to hear keynote speakers, attend breakout sessions, participate in live critiques, check out illustrator opportunities, to network and have a great time learning the facts of the creative life.
Main Sessions:
It’s Time for “the Talk” - a Clarion Editor Gets Serious
Everyone knows that all those gorgeous books lining the shelves of your local stores and libraries didn’t just pop up in a cabbage patch overnight, and they weren’t magically delivered by the stork, either. But what does it really take to transform your great idea from a mere twinkle in your eye into a beautiful new book? Clarion editor Lynne Polvino will discuss the process of turning an idea for a book into a reality, including how to get an editor’s attention and how to successfully navigate today’s rapidly changing publishing climate.
It’s Time for “the Talk” - a Simon and Schuster Editor Gets Serious
Alexandra Penfold gets serious about the acquisitions process. What happens behind the scenes while you are waiting to hear from an editor? Learn the factors and considerations that go into the acquisitions process and how an editor works with and an author to make their manuscript shine!
Leaving the Nest - Are You Ready to Fly?
In this talk Stephen Fraser will explore where you are professionally as a writer, if you are ready to have a literary agent, how you can find a literary agent, and what you can expect a literary agent to do for you in your goal to become a published writer.
Breakout Sessions
Birds Gotta Fly - Point of View
Why can't we authors leap from brain to brain as we tell our stories? How do we decide who our viewpoint character should be for picture book or novel? What are the more subtle points an author needs to consider when making decisions about point-of-view? Jane Kurtz will draw examples from her own experiences, both successful and failed, to show how a working writer thinks about point of view.
Birds Gotta Sing - Writing Effective Dialogue
Lin Oliver will share a specific guide to what to do and what NOT to do when writing dialogue.
Call of the Wild
“I was a shy kid. I knew I was shy, and I was completely comfortable with it. At my High School, all freshmen were required to take a public speaking class. I remember grumbling that for me, Speech Class was a waste of time. I was going to be an artist, after all. I would never stand before an audience and talk!... A few months after my first book was published, a librarian called to ask if I did School Visits. School Visits are now an integral and rewarding part of my picture book illustrating career. I am grateful for the opportunity to stand before a group of kiddos and share my enthusiasm for telling a story with pictures.” - Brad
Brad Sneed will talk about the ins and outs of School Visits from the illustrator’s perspective.
“I think of myself as the other half of that wonderful English teacher who’s trying to get these kids to feel the power of the written word. I’m never afraid to be goody, to let them know how wild I am about language and stories. I’m dying for them to learn how it feels to write from the heart, from memory and experience, from their own individuality. I’ll do anything, say anything to get that across. I know good writing can connect a young person to herself by answering questions she has about her self and her world. I’m passionate on this subject, and everything I say to kids comes back to it. Write from yourself, your memories and observations, your journaling. Live the writing life just as you live a sports life a video game life.” – Vicki
Vicki Grove will be showing some of the stuff she takes to schools, her little bag of tricks to get across the fun of the thing.
Getting the Picture - the Fine Art of Illustrating a Picture Book
Brad Sneed will focus on the process of illustrating a picture book. Every step will be examined: evaluating the manuscript, pacing and layout, doodles to dummy book, research and photographic reference, working with the art director and editor, and creating the final artwork.
Fledglings
Susan Clymer will present a specific, hands-on approach that will help writers add voice, inside body reactions, suspense, Show Don’t Tell, and improved word choice to a story. Setting up a writing atmosphere that honors the inner self and encourages excellence will be discussed, as well as how to get oneself started in the writing world. Participants will be brainstorming, acting, laughing and writing.
Hatching the Egg - the Fifteen Most Important Things I’ve Learned from Listening
After running the SCBWI LA conferences for 35 years, Lin Oliver has heard the greatest of the greats speak about their creative process. In this talk, she culls the fifteen most important tips they have given on how to launch and sustain a career in children’s books.
Nesting
After 10 years of hard work and rejection letters...some blissfully encouraging...Jane Kurtz broke in with New York publishers, her heart goal. Once her first book came out, she published 1-2 books/year, each one a triumph over adversity. She will talk about not only what keeps her going, but how we sustain ourselves in this agonizing and enthralling writing life.
Pollination & Making Honey
“Novels begin with something the writer is dying to learn more about and are a journey of discovery through the stratified layers of the heart. Every novel takes research; perhaps historical novels take the most. Each needs organization at the start and certain tracking systems as the thing progresses. The bugbear (a word I used yesterday in the Medieval historical I’m writing) is revision. There’s probably a lot more of it involved than any non-writer could ever imagine. Paper, paper everywhere—journals, outlines, prewriting to eek out detail, research files, note cards, and those tons of pages that hit the recycling tub.” - Vicki
This session by Vicki Grove will be show-and-tell (with lots of paper!) about the three kinds of novels, she’s written: realistic contemporary, historical and choose-your-own-adventure.
