2019 Sydney Conference - How it All Adds Up - Fun Facts

The SCBWI banners might be re-furled and the band packed away but one thing remains: the verve of another successful gathering of local and international professionals in an enthusiastic exchange of knowledge, art and creative joie de vire; like the scent of summer blooms lingering on a balmy summer’s night.

Spread over three days of book launches, conference sessions and master classes, this year’s Australian NZ Conference drew attention from around the world with keynote speakers from the US, international critique sessions, and featured a spectacular Illustrators Showcase not to mention, the non-stop networking!

Ably organised and run by SCBWI RA, Susanne Gervay and her committee of never-say-never volunteers, the conference went off without a hitch. If you want to relive every glorious moment and sift through the sessions again or couldn’t make it this time around and are curious to see what all the fuss was about, visit our Conference Blog, compiled by yours truly and made possible by the tireless efforts of our SCBWI Roving Reporters team.

Meantime here’s how it all added up:

• 120 packed into The Children’s Bookshop at Beecroft to see 9 authors launch their latest and greatest works

• 260 delegates converged in the Novotel Central for the One Day Conference

• 60 publishers, agents, editors, art directors, designers visited the Illustrators Showcase

• 50 + portfolios were featured in the Showcase

• 135 delegates feasted together at the Dinner Dance - a few less actually danced the Nutbush

• 6 members of The Beatnickers Band played until just before midnight, which was just as well

• 13 Roving Reporters snapped, interviewed, scribbled and recorded every detail of the event

• 22 + posts have been generated for the Conference Blog

• 180 attended 6 Master Classes

• 100 + teachers, librarians, TLS and educators attended the Creating Creative Writers PD Day

• 6 committee members survived to see another conference

• 3 Showcase illustrators were awarded prizes from Penguin Random House and HarperCollins

• countless numbers of volunteers jumped in to help, distribute, guide, time check, moderator and cheer

• more than two glasses of wine were consumed (by this Reporter alone) to celebrate

Here’s the result of feeding hundreds of hungering creatives information for three days and some very tasty salmon! Entertainment a la SCBWI Band, The Beatnickers.

Now you see me…watch the video below for a round up of our colourful creatives attending the conference. Apologies if your face did not quite make it on the video. We could still feel your vibe in the room!

Thank you to all who came, conquered, presented, reported, shared, cried, laughed and danced. It’s been a conference rich in colour and creativity.

Stick around for some speed interviews and insights from our delegates and presenters, coming soon. Till then,

Rove ya later,

Dimity (aka Head Gardener)

www.dimitypowell.com

#SCBWISyd

with thanks to Liz Anelli for supplying the illustrated images

Behind the Scenes: Meet the Faculty Margaret Roc

When it comes to landscaping with success, a team of energetic, enthusiastic but unsupervised gardeners is likely to result in some questionable companion planting and mismatched colour schemes. So who coordinators this vi de spiritu? Why the remarkable, Margaret Roc of course.

Margaret is an author, co-author and editor of over 50 books for children and teachers including fiction, non-fiction and picture books. She was born in Scotland and lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband, John. She is a mother of two and has worked as a teacher, special needs teacher and teacher-librarian.

So raise your iced-teas to Margaret and get to know this quiet achiever better...

Welcome, Margaret!

Briefly state your conference role and conference responsibilities

Coordinating all the face to face and International critiques.

Coordinating volunteers.

Describe your most notable achievement or proudest moment in Kids’ Lit to date

Apart from my books, I am pleased and proud to have been instrumental, under Susanne’s vision and encouragement, in establishing the SCBWI Online Critique groups.

There are now 24 Online Critique groups with about 120 participants. Many members with wonderful success stories have acknowledged the important contribution their critique group has been to their publishing deals.

What is the most memorable (SCBWI) Conference experience you’ve had to date, or hope to have?

I get the thrill each conference when I hear that some of our members have received contracts through their Critique submissions. I feel somehow that in a teeny weeny way I have helped in their success and that gives me a great deal of pleasure.

Name one thing you can’t live without

So difficult to answer - there are so many things I couldn’t live without: my family, friends, yoga, books and perhaps coffee and ….. chocolate!!!!!!

Provide at least one Fun Fact from a SCBWI Conference you’ve attended or organised

After all the amazing input from speakers, master classes, critiques and pitches it is fun to watch the illustrators duel and then relax, eating, chatting and dancing the night away at the Dinner Dance Party.

Discover all of Margaret’s beautiful work at www.margaretroc.com

The fun is only just starting so strap on your gardening aprons or best dress and visit again before the 2019 Sydney SCBWI Conference shoots into life. Till then,

Rove ya’ later!

Dimity (Head Gardener)

www.dimitypowell.com

#SCBWISyd

Why SCBWI loves Librarians!

SCWBI Thanks Public & Teacher Librarians!

The L Factor

Librarians are the lynchpin between authors, books, ideas and enabling youth to become skilled and compassionate.

They are crucial to choose and introduce the content of a range of books at significant times for an individual child reader or non-readers.

And they need to be accessible which means, in every school and library.

As an author, I salute librarians.

— Hazel Edwards OAM Author

A librarian I admire is Ozge Alkan, formerly of Ilim College, where I met her and now working in the Public Library system in Victoria. Librarian Ozge Alkan and author Hazel Edwards with Ann James between of Books Illustrated. Symbolising the way we all help each other.

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Sophie Mason, Ursula Dubosarky and David Allan with the lovely Karen Johnson who is Children's Librarian at both Leichhardt and Balmain Librariesthe at the launch of the Christmas Press title, Two Tales of Twins from Ancient Greece and Rome, by Ursula Dubosarky and David Allan.

As a child from a non-English-speaking family, I was introduced to the wonderful world of English-language literature by librarians who were guided me as I navigated my way through the shelves of the local library. Without librarians, I'd not have journeyed into Narnia or met Mr Percival in Storm Boy or found out what It was in Five Children and It. Or it would have taken me a lot longer! Later, in high school, the library was my favourite place and not just because it was a place filled with wonderful stories, but because of the atmosphere of excitement and discovery encouraged by the librarians. Today, as a writer creating stories of my own to sit proudly on the shelves of public and school libraries, I am constantly awed and cheered by the passion today's librarians still have for encouraging new generations of kids to make  exciting, fun and life-changing literary discoveries just as their precursors did for me!

— Sophie Masson

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Just as the kitchen is the heart of the home, the library is the heart of a school. A trained teacher librarian has the time and the knowledge necessary to nourish the souls, hearts, imaginations and intellects of children by introducing them to the wonderful world of books. Through books, children can explore and learn from the past, make the most of the present, and imagine and start building for the best possible future. Please don't tamper with the beating heart of our schools! 

— Dr Stephanie Owen-Reeder

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Corinne Fenton with Michelle Nye, Librarian of Hillcrest Christian College, Victoria, taken last year at St. Elizabeth's Parish School in Dandenong North. Michelle accompanied Corinne in her role as CBC support person.

Without a library and a librarian to steer the ship, schools will suffer as will the educational, social and historical future of our children. Without books and those who champion them, the world would be a much poorer place.

We must support and protect our librarians in whatever way we can.

— Corinne Fenton

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Annual reunion of Children’s Librarians of Parramatta City Library held last October at Pinerolo. Max was also on the staff - the only male!

Librarians, whether in schools or public libraries, are vital to the development of our literary heritage, to maintaining literacy levels in young people and to promoting and supporting Australia's internationally renowned authors and Illustrators.

— Margaret Hamilton AM
Former Children's Librarian (ALAA),
Former publisher,
Deputy National Chair, Children's Book Council of Australia.
Pinerolo, The Children's Book Cottage, Blackheath 

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Librarians build bridges.

— Marjorie Crosby-Fairall

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Libraries are the heartbeat of communities and especially the heartbeat of schools. My own time as a school librarian was one of the richest experiences of my life - the joy and the singular importance  of bringing children and books together. Nothing has changed - librarians are simply indispensable. To me libraries are places of refuge and delight in just browsing and learning, experiencing the world in all its tumult and wonder in a safe environment with skilled librarians to aid and abet. We should cherish such places and such people.

— Libby Hathorn

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Susanne Gervay and Deborah Abela in Gilgandra for the GREAT Festival...Gilgandra REaDs Everywhere Around Town. 

One of my loveliest memories of school, is my librarian sitting cross legged on a raised island as we sat in a carpeted well beneath. She read books aloud and knew just when to leave the story to have us begging for more. Librarians change lives. By inviting kids into other worlds and other shoes, they foster empathy, curiosity and an emotional intelligence that is crucial to the development of young minds.  

— Deborah Abela

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As the child of refugees, who spoke English as a second language, the library was integral to our lives. Even though my parents worked two jobs, Saturday was the day the mobile library came and my mother made time for me to borrow four books. The librarian knew I loved the biographies of the great musicians. She always kept them for me. It was a safe haven in an emotional childhood. Thankyou to our librarians.

— Susanne Gervay

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Aleesah Darlison Dimity Powell and Jenny Stubbs

Librarians support literacy, learning and childhood development in so many ways. They help authors share their stories and connect us with young readers to enrich lives.

A truly great teacher-librarian in Queensland is Jenny Stubbs who volunteers so much of her time coordinating events like the Readers Cup and Ipswich StoryArts Festivals on top of her normal librarian duties.

— Aleesah Darlison

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A library without a librarian is like a chest without a key. A librarian offers access boundless treasures.

— Claire Saxby

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This is the Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge closing ceremony at the National Library of Australia, November 2016. I’m sitting front row far right, white skirt, with my fellow ambassadors, as we celebrate a year of reading. The audience is a beautiful bevy of teacher/librarians from all over the Canberra Region. Tens of thousands of children took part in CMRC in 2016, and the initiative continues to grow.

Teacher librarians are the cornerstone of literacy in schools. Their passion for books, storytelling and reading lights a fire in children, encouraging them to pick up a book, open its cover and dive into new worlds. TLs understand how vital it is to harness a love of story in the very young, and how this early encouragement extends into a lifetime of reading enjoyment, not to mention the comprehension, understanding, confidence and opportunity that comes with full literacy. As books and story define what it is to be human, TLs hand kids the ultimate gift. Enormous respect and gratitude.

— Tania McCartney

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The library is the heart of every school and librarians keep pumping out the love of books and reading to everyone. If it wasn't for my librarian, I wouldn't have been a reader or writer, they are essential!

— Oliver Phommavanh

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Katrina Germein and Tracy Glover from the City of Holdfast Bay

Take a trip. Stop and breathe. You’re in the library now; it’s a place of comfort. Libraries hold secrets and answers. They challenge and soothe. In a library, we can wonder. In a library, we can know. Expert librarians are there to guide us. Where would you like to go? Action or romance? Science or history? Take some of both. Escape. A library has everything.

— Katrina Germein

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Julie Swaine and Liz Anelli.

It is impossible to NOT mention Julie Swaine - Children's Librarian at Newcastle Region Library - She supports authors and illustrators in the region by engaging them in Schools Workshops, she knows every children's book that has been published and she tirelessly acts them out for families in her legendary public events. She is my ‘go-to’ person when I want advice about how a book is going because she knows exactly what appeals to kids and why. What would we do without our librarians? Thankyou

— Liz Anelli

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Belinda Murrell with librarian Michael Fraser at Bookfeast

As a child I was a frequent visitor to both my school library and our local council library, borrowing piles of books every few days. The librarians at both were kind friends, guiding my reading, introducing me to new authors and genres and encouraging my love of books. We all know that a love of reading is the fundamental foundation of education and learning. Research has shown that children who read regularly for enjoyment, develop into better students across the whole range of subjects, with greater empathy, creativity and understanding of our world. Librarians are absolutely crucial to the education of our children, by nurturing and guiding their love of reading. So I’d like to say a huge thank you to all librarians, everywhere. You change kids’ lives!

— Belinda Murrell

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Libraries are absolutely crucial for children, offering a safe space to retreat to and read to their heart's content. Librarians can help find the right book at the right time, opening up children's minds and imaginations and helping them understand their world. Our world would be a far poorer place without them.

— Dr Kate Forsyth

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Some of my wonderful teacher librarians colleagues from Broken Bay Diocese. (L to R) Michelle Thomson, Jo Neilson, Maryann Jackson, Judy Weinand (retired), Margaret Roc (retired), Sandra Todd and Louise Murphy

Librarians are the crucial link between children and books and the technologies of the future. They encourage the joy of listening to stories and reading for pleasure. They promote excitement, wonder and discovery through literature and non-fiction books. 

An endangered species? Please, no! 

Let’s celebrate librarians.

— Margaret Roc

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When I was growing up in Queensland’s far north, my family couldn’t afford to buy books, only borrow. When I was 7, a librarian in the Innisfail Town Library handed me a book. ‘I reckon you’re just about the right age for this one,’ she said.

Two hours later, I still sat on the steps of the town library, reading. A cranky policeman recognised me (it was a small town).‘Your parents are worried; they thought you were lost.’

I was lost! Lost, deep in the woods of Narnia and the adventures of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. That was the day I truly began my adventures into reading. Thank you to that nameless librarian! 

This is the true value of librarians and libraries … to pass on the right book for the right child at the right time. School libraries, in particular, are critical in developing children’s literacy and reading for enjoyment and life; and perhaps one day, to write more adventures to fill a child’s imagination. And the spiral goes on.

— Sheryl Gwyther

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