KEEP US IN THE LOOP
Have some news to share?
In the Loop, the newsletter column where we list bookstore events,
conferences, etc. happening around our region. If you have some information
to contribute, please send it to Christina
Lewis, In the Loop Editor.
Literary Calendar
Are you looking for Kansas City area poetry readings, author visits,
or writing workshops? Be sure to check out the Kansas City Area
Literary Events Web site, sponsored by New Letters, the international
magazine of writing and art based here in Kansas City.
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EVENTS
Do you reside in Missouri or Iowa or Nebraska, but are closer to the
Kansas region's events than your own region's? Have you wondered
whether you have to join Kansas SCBWI or whether you're welcome at Kansas
events or in Kansas critique groups?
Wonder no longer. As an SCBWI member, no matter where you live,
you are welcome at any region's events. There is nothing
else to join. Just pay the member event fees, if any. If
one of our critique groups is convenient for you, check it out. You
can even volunteer to help with events in our region.
If you are not a member of SCBWI, you may attend Kansas events at an
additional cost. We recommend you do join the Society as there
is a lot of value you'll receive as well as lower event fees.
One last thing to note, however, if you want to be guaranteed to get
information on Kansas events, sign up for the Sunflower
Scoop. It's free to SCBWI members and only $5 per year for nonmembers. What a deal!
Months with conferences are marked with an asterisk (*).
2009
JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEPT | OCT | NOV |
DEC
2008
JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEPT | OCT | NOV |
DEC
2007
JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY |
JUN | JUL | AUG | SEPT | OCT | NOV |
DEC
2006
JAN | FEB | MAR | APR* | MAY |
JUN | JUL | AUG | SEPT* | OCT | NOV | DEC
2005
JAN | FEB | MAR | APR* | MAY | JUN |
JUL | AUG | SEPT | OCT | NOV |
DEC
2009
SEPTEMBER 2009
SCBWI Conference! Did you miss the great one of 2008? We are currently planning for September 2009.
MAY 2009
Saturday, May 2nd
9:30 a.m. - 11: 45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: TBD
Stay in the Phone Booth with the Gorilla
MARCH 2009
Saturday, March 21st
9:30 a.m. - 11: 45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: TBD
Strong Words
- Sensory Solutions (w/o clichés) – Sharelle Byars Moranville’s exercise plus? – 1 hour
- Zeroing in on Description – what Sheila learned in her Iowa class – 1 hour
- Tight, tighter, tightest – cutting unnecessary words, removing weasel words, etc.
- Pooling what we’ve learned
- Roundtable Critique – bring a 1 sentence description of your story (max 25 words) and 2 pages of your manuscript (what you consider best or a favorite scene)
JANUARY 2009
Saturday, January 24th
9:30 a.m. - 11: 45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Mardel book store, 119th and Blue Valley Parkway
New Year, New Tactics
- The Scenario - intro to PB, MG, YA, ss – Audience awareness – same scenario, different genres – 1 hour
- Show Me! - showing versus telling – 1 hour
- Eavesdrop – dialogue assignment, write down exactly what you overhear – 5 minutes
- Report In – participants share what they observed and wrote down - can we tell who was talking by the dialogue – what dialogue was clearest, etc. – rewriting an overheard scene – 1 hour 15 minutes
- Marketing 101 – ms format, query letters, synopsis, etc. – 1 hour
2008
SEPT 2008
Kansas SCBWI Conference
The Birds and the Bees: Facts of the Creative Life
Register by August 1st to save $15!
Buy conference T-shirts, tote bag, or journal: http://www.cafepress.com/ksscbwi
New date: September 20, 2008, KU Edwards Campus, 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.
Friday evening, September 19, 2008, Location to be announced
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
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Main Sessions:
- It’s Time for the “Talk”: a Clarion editor gets serious
- It’s Time for the “Talk”: a Simon and Schuster editor gets serious
- Hatching the Egg
- Leaving the Nest.
Breakouts:
- Pollination & Making Honey
- Birds Gotta Sing
- Nesting
- Don’t Get Stung
- Fledglings
- Getting the Picture
- Birds Gotta Fly
- Call of the Wild.
Faculty: Lynne Polvino, Clarion, Alexandra Penfold, Simon & Schuster, Stephen Fraser, agent, Brad Sneed, author/illustrator, Lin Oliver, author, television producer & SCBWI Executive Director, Vicki Grove, author, Jane Kurtz, author, Susan Clymer, author, Suzanne Cruise, Art Agent.
Location: University of Kansas, Edwards Campus, Overland Park, Kansas
MARCH 2008
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS:
MARKETING AND PROMOTION
Saturday, March 15, 2008
9:30 am – 11:45 pm & 1:00 – 3:15 pm
Interested in writing books for the beginning reader? Go to the morning “Easy Readers 101” session and learn more about this genre.
Not sure what to do when your book comes out? Then the morning session “Promotion 101” is for you.
Like sticking to the facts? Attend the afternoon “Nonfiction for Fun and Profit” session and learn how the truth sells.
Or have you been wondering why writers and illustrators have websites and blogs? Then you’ll want the afternoon companion sessions of “Website 101” and “Blog 101.”
- LOCATION -
Univ. of Kansas, Edwards Campus
12600 Quivira Rd, Overland Park
025 Regents Center
- COST for all day-
$35.00 SCBWI members
$45.00 nonmembers
Please pre-register by March 12th
Flyer (MS Word) | Flyer (PDF)
Registration (MS Word) | Regstration (PDF)
JANUARY 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
No Pain, No Gain: Getting the Best from Critiques
Please pre-register ASAP: Limited opportunity!
Not sure if a critique group is for you?
Attend this event where you’ll get to see a skit of a critique group in action, then be
prepared to read your manuscript* to a small group. Not only will you get comments on your piece from a published author, you’ll learn from the work of others. This is also a great time to get better acquainted with other Kansas SCBWI
members.
*Each participant may bring up to 5 pages (no more than 1000 words in standard manuscript format!) for critique. Please bring six copies. One for you to read aloud, and one for the published author and the four other participants in your group.
$10.00 SCBWI members
$20.00 nonmembers
Please pre-register ASAP:
Limited opportunity!
Event flyer: PDF and MS Word
Registration form: PDF and MS Word
Location:
Univ. of Kansas, Edwards Campus
12600 Quivira Rd, Overland Park
Room 025 in the Regents Center
Map to Campus
Building 2 on this campus map
Critiquers will include the following published authors: Daniel Schwabauer (mg novels, plays), Elizabeth Bunce (YA novels), Susan Uhlig (picture books, short stories and articles) and Randi Hacker (YA novels).
Come 5-10 minutes early to check-in. The workshop starts promptly at 9:30 am with a few
announcements, and some “get acquainted” minutes, including an ice breaker and time to
tell others your good news. Then it’ll be skit time followed by critique time!
2007
NOVEMBER 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
9:30 – 11:45 am & 1 – 3 pm
Story Shape-Up: A Novel-Writer's Workout
Speaker: Jane Kurtz
Carlsen Center, Room 124
Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas
$25.00 SCBWI members
$30.00 nonmembers
Please pre-register by November 7th
Print registration form (PDF) and mail to Kansas SCBWI, PO Box 3987, Olathe, KS 66063-3987. This is a limited opportunity. The first 35 paid registrations received will be accepted. Registrations received after that will be put on a waiting list. No refunds after November 7th.
SEPTEMBER 2007
September 15 , 2007
LA Confidential: Come to hear what our "reporters" learned at the
SCBWI conference in Los Angeles. Get the skinny on editors, the dirt
on agents, and the ins-and-outs of the business.
NEW LOCATION
Mardel Christian & Educational Supply
7102 W 119th St
Overland Park, KS
Cost
$5.00 SCBWI members
$7.00 nonmembers
Please pay at the door.
Flyer (PDF)
FEBRUARY 2007
February 6, 2007
Quarterly Meeting
Catch Their Attention!
"Mini-Pitch" in cover letter/query with your first page
Feb. Flyer (PDF)
MAY 2007
Tuesday, May 8, 2007, at 7:00 PM.
Authentic Details. "The devil is in the details," they say, but for an author, details breathe life into a narrative. Whether writing historical fiction or far-out fantasy, those anchor-points of fact lend confidence and authority to a story. Besides, nothing in our imagination can match the quirkiness and fascination of the real world! But how do you track them down, how much do you include, and how do you weave in those details without sounding like a tour guide? Also, when is it okay to fudge? J. B. Cheaney shares some of her experiences in research, including the serendipitous finds and the embarrassing slip-ups.
J. B. (Janie) Cheaney is the author of four novels for middle-grade readers and young adults, most of them historical: The Playmaker (2000), The True Prince (2002), My Friend the Enemy (2005), and The Middle of Somewhere (2007), all published by Knopf. She is currently working on a novel about the silent film industry in early Hollywood.
Irene B. French Community Center
5701 Kessler Ln
Merriam, KS 66203
Please pay at the door.
$5.00 SCBWI members
$7.00 nonmembers
Come 10-15 minutes early to sign-in, get refreshments,
and to network with other children’s book creators. Meeting
starts promptly at 7 pm with a few announcements, some “get
acquainted” minutes, including time to tell others your good
news. Then our speaker will get us started learning how to
detail a story worth reading.
Flyer (MS Word).
JUNE 2007
Saturday, June 23rd, 2007
Optional session: Friday evening, June 22nd
CONFERENCE: GET YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW
Carlsen Center
Johnson County Community College
12345 College Blvd.
Overland Park, KS
--- 2006
FEBRUARY 2006
Wednesday, Feb 15, 7:00 p.m.
Cheryl Harness
Hillcrest Covenant Church, Room 204
8801 Nall, Prairie Village, KS 66207
Map
$3.00 SCBWI members
$5.00 nonmembers
Flyer (MS Word)
APRIL 2006
Retreat - Write Your Heart Out
Friday and Saturday, April 7 and 8
4 pm Friday - 8 pm Saturday
Kansas SCBWI Retreat
LLC Lodge at Tall Oaks Conference Center, Linwood,
Kansas
MAY 2006
Wednesday, May 17, 7:00 p.m.
Barri L. Bumgarner
Hillcrest Covenant Church, Room 204
8801 Nall, Prairie Village, KS 66207
$3.00 SCBWI members
$5.00 nonmembers
Flyer (MS Word)
SEPTEMBER 2006
September 5, 7:00 p.m.
Quarterly Meeting
"Writing a Fresh Story in a Fresh Voice"
Sharelle
Byars Moranville says:
Editors receive an overwhelming
number of manuscripts, many of them from very talented writers.
I slushed through 103 rejections before I sold my first book to an
editor at Henry Holt. A couple of years later, when I felt secure
enough, I asked my editor why she picked my manuscript out of the
slush pile. Her answer was basically that it felt "fresh." I'm
delighted to share what I think constitutes "freshness" and
to lead a write-and-share session that will demonstrate the principles
of fresh writing.
Irene B. French Community Center
5701 Kessler Ln Merriam,
KS 66203
From I-35, take Johnson Drive west. Cross the
railroad tracks and turn right on to Kessler. Go .2 of a mile
and the center is on the left. Go inside and up the stairs
or elevator.
$5.00 SCBWI members
$7.00 nonmembers
September 30, 2006
On the Yellow Brick
Road to Publishing:
Brains,
Heart and Courage Needed
McCoy Meetin’ House
Park University
Parkville, MO
NOVEMBER 2006
November 14
Don’t Give Up – Rewrite!
Speaker: Roderick Townley
2005 - Archived
APRIL 2005
April 23
Conference
Dream Big--Creating Books for Children
Faculty
Editors: Mark McVeigh (Dutton
Children’s Books) and
Adam Oldaker (Cricket Magazine Group)
Authors: Lisa Hardraker, JB Cheaney, Sue
Ford, Amy
Viets, Frances Lucas and Author/Illustrator: Christine
Schneider
JUNE 2005
June 15
Quarterly Meeting
“What Children Read”
Terri Clark, Branch Librarian, Mid-Continent Public
Library, Susan Wray, Head of Central Youth Services,
Kansas City Public Library, shared their thoughts on
what makes a children’s book great, trends they see
right now in what books children are reading, favorite
titles they’d like to see children discover, and more.
AUGUST 2005
August 16
Quarterly Meeting
"Beyond Fangs & Feathers"
Cynthia
Leitich Smith discussed
conveying cultural context in stories, be they multicultural or magical
realism. We write what we know, what we can find out, and what we can
imagine. But where to begin, what to consider, how to research, and
how to weave with words while staying out of the way of the story?
Cynthia answered these questions in this program, concluding with a
time of Q&A.
NOVEMBER 2005
Tuesday, Nov 15, 7:00 p.m.
Larry & Suella Walsh
"Pieces of Plot"
Join professional writers,
Lawrence and Suella Walsh, and learn the seven elements necessary to
develop a complete plot. This program will illustrate the plot skeleton
upon which 80% of fictional stories are built. The Walshes will also
discuss how to weave the main plot with subplots. (A handout will be
their current article in Writers’ Journal on how to accomplish
this.)
If time permits, they will discuss the
elements of the scene and how to use this important tool as a building
block to move the plot forward. (A handout will be their article on
the scene, which was published in Mystery Forum
Magazine.)
Come 10-15 minutes before 7 to sign-in, get some refreshments, and
to network with other children’s book creators. Meeting
starts promptly at 7 pm with a few “get acquainted” minutes,
including time to tell others your good news. Then our special
speaker(s) will share their expertise in an hour long program. A
short business meeting will follow.
Hillcrest Covenant Church, Room 204
8801 Nall,
Prairie Village, KS 66207
Map
$3.00 SCBWI members
$5.00 nonmembers
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