Libby Hathorn Master Class followed by Networking, SCBWI Updates and Q&A

SCWBI Event Monday March 17, 2014
An evening with brilliant poet and author, Libby Hathorn

LOCATION:        Hughenden Hotel, 14 Queen Street Woollahra
TIME & DATE:    6-8pm Monday March 17 
COST:                $25 SCBWI members coffee/tea and light refreshments

Libby Hathorn in Ubud with Nick Cave!

Libby Hathorn is an award-winning poet and author of more than 50 books for children and young people, as well as books for adults. Translated into several languages and adapted for the stage and screen, her work has won honours in Australia, the US, Great Britain and Holland.

Libby loves poetry. Reading it, being inspired by it, reciting it, teaching it, writing it and dreaming about it. Many of her novels and picture books are inspired by poetry entirely. She is currently working on a World War 1 novel entitledEventual Poppy Day (Harper Collins 2015) and her latest picture books are A Baby for Loving and Outside! (Hardie Grant Egmont/Little Hare 2014)

LIBBY’S TALK: FIND YOUR INNER POET

Come spend some time with poetry devotee Libby and scribe some lines for entertainment or reflection, for bragging or for just plain satisfaction. Libby will take you through her foolproof steps to successful poetry writing.

WARNING! Not just poetry will come out of this workshop- there may well be a novel or short story lurking, just waiting to be released by poetry power.  

PAYMENT: Call the Hughenden Hotel on (02) 9363 4863 or email reservations@thehughenden.com.au to pay by Visa or Mastercard, or by direct deposit to the SCBWI acc BSB: 082 187 Acc No: 79540 2096

For those who can’t be there, we’ll put a full report on the SCWBI website and Facebook page. Susanne Gervay, RA and Deborah Abela, ARA

Get Inside Literary Agents' Panel

The Flordia Conference is one worth visiting with opportunities to hear US publishers and agents and also critique and pitch. Keep it book marked if you plan to holiday in the USA and combine it with a SCBWI Conference!

2014 SCBWI FL Regional Conference in Miami

The Agent Panel with Jen Rofé of Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Deborah Warren of East*West Literary Agency and Ammi-Joan Paquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency,

Jen Rofé

• When sending a query, make it clear you're personalizing it to that agent.
• When asked how many editors she sends a manuscript to at a time and when she considers giving up, she said she won't stop until she's exhausted every opportunity.
• The fastest she sold a manuscript—three hours! The longest it took was four years.
• Wish list: commercial character-based picture books. A country song book for YA. Books based on childhood, like a girl who is getting into stuff she isn't supposed to do, but nobody would expect that.
• If you write picture books, she would want at least four she could try to sell right away.
• Write the thing that scares you. It usually comes from some raw, painful place and that's where the good stuff comes out.
• So many people say that it only takes one yes. But it’s not just one yes—you typically need lots of yeses, including the editor, publisher, marketing, etc.
• Don't EVER write to the market!
• A personal note from an agent is a good sign! They don't have time to send that to everyone. It might be the project/first page/query letter that isn't quite right at the moment.

Deborah Warren 

• Specializes in picture books. She’s known for building brands and loves finding new talent!
• She loves working with author/illustrators—it's her sweet spot. She’s having trouble with chapter books (they're usually franchises). Realistic fiction is really coming back and she's excited about that.
• The client/agent relationship is like a marriage. She’ll never give up on a client—once you're on the team, you're there!
• Wish list: Author/illustrators, multicultural, books based on childhood, a book about singing, or kids overcoming their obstacles.

Ammi-Joan Paquette

• She looks for a strong opening in the sample pages and is especially drawn to precise pitches in a query that are snappy and compelling.
• She usually takes three to four weeks to respond to queries. For longer requested manuscripts it was two months, but she’s backlogged right now.
• When working on promotion, authenticity and what feels natural to you is important. An awkward presence is actually worse than no presence. In the pre-published stage, the focus should be on craft.
• Wish list: books that do something really different, a different narrative structure, different POV. She loves unusual projects, books based on childhood—travel, unusual vacations, anything to do with food or baking or French food.

I'll be updating reports on SCBWI Conferences agents, publishers for our SCBWI members.

Thankyou Flordia for this information on US literary agents

Susanne Gervay

Wowing them in Schools – ASA Course

Date and Time: Saturday March 1st, 10am – 4pm
Venue: ASA Offices, Suite C1.06 22-36 Mountains Street Ultimo, Sydney, NSW

School visits can be an exciting way to meet your readers, promote your work and earn income, but they need to be stimulating and rewarding for students and staff, leaving them with insights and inspiration for books, reading and writing. 

In this workshop, you'll be given practical ideas for presenting talks and writing workshops from Deborah Abela, a trained teacher and author who has visited hundreds of schools. Deb will deal with many aspects involved in a school visit, from pitching yourself so you stand out, workshop activities and classroom management techniques to make sure your visit is informative, interactive and fun. 

For more info go to https://asauthors.org/event/11626/wowing-them-in-schools