Debbie Ridpath Ohi's Blog, page 98

Comic: The Book Title

This comic was inspired by a post by the anonymous Intern years ago, before she came out as her true self: Hilary T. Smith, author of the upcoming WILD AWAKE (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins). See my recent interview with Hilary. Thanks to Hilary for permission to re-post the comic.

Comic: Bookworm Kid

Comic: Creative Procrastination

Comic use policy.

Comic: Coffee Stain Breakup

No illustrator track at Niagara Writer Retreat/Conference this year

A while back, I mentioned that I was going to be on the faculty at the  Niagara Retreat and Conference this coming May. Not enough illustrators signed up to warrant keeping the Illustrator track, so the conference has decided to drop that part of the programming. 

For those who signed up for my one-on-one Platform Critiques, I'll still be honouring those via Skype chat.

Disappointed that I won't be attending this year, but I still heartily recommend this event for anyone interested in writing for young people. Check out the all-star faculty:

Susan Rich: Editor-at-Large for Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Susan Hawk: The Bent Agency

Sara Zarr, YA author (From Debbie: I'm still hoping to get my Sara Zarr books autographed someday!)

Ellen Hopkins, YA author

Kimberley Griffiths-Little, MG and YA author

Lorin Oberweger, freelance editor

Roman White, director & author

Laura Biagi, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency Inc.

 

More info about the conference and how to register at their website:

http://niagararetreatandconference.com

The Niagara Writer/Illustrator Retreat & Conference Facebook Page

Looking forward to reading these Sara Zarr books

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I've been wanting to read Sara Zarr's books ever since hearing her speak at the SCBWI Winter Conference in 2011. I was blown away and inspired by her closing keynote (you can read about it on the SCBWI Conference blog). I generally have way too many books on my "really want to read someday" list, however, and it was only recently that I bought Sara's first book, STORY OF A GIRL.

I'm only halfway through the book but love the writing so much that I had to buy two more of Sara's books: How To Save A Life and Once Was Lost. Looking forward to reading both.

I tend to get most of my MG and YA novels in ebook form because that's how I do most of my reading these days, but I bought these in print because I'm hoping to get them autographed someday. :-)

 

fAiRy gOdSiStErS iNk 6th Annual SCBWI Summer Conference Scholarship - Deadline: April 15th

[Note from Debbie: The fAiRy gOdSiStErS are right -- this conference can definitely be a career-changer. It was for me. Lee Wardlaw (bottom left in the photo) was the one who first told me about the SCBWI, and I'll always be grateful. Lee was also my very first writing mentor, and introduced me to her agent...Ginger is now my agent as well. :-) THANK YOU, LEE!!]

::::: fAiRy gOdSiStErS iNk :::::

has announced their 6th annual SCBWI Summer Conference Scholarship!

wHo can apply: YOU with your shiny SCBWI membership (Make haste to www.scbwi.org to join/renew if needed)

wHaT: $1,000.00 toward conference tuition, manuscript or portfolio critique, and a bit of mad money during your LA stay.

wHeN: Conference runs from August 2 -5, 2013

wHeRe: The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles CA

wHy: We are five very fortunate authors for children and young adults who have been generously mentored, guided and supported by a host of talented individuals. We can't think of a better way to thank them than by easing the way for others. The National Conference is a game-changer.

hOw: To enter, write at least one but no more than three haiku telling us why we should pick you for this year's conference. (A haiku is a three-line poem, featuring a total of 17 syllables: 5 in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 again in the third.) Have some fun with this!

Email your entry to fairygodsistersink@gmail.com by April 15th. Winners will be announced on May 1st. Questions, just ask! Our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/fairygodsistersink

Please feel free to share this info with your SCBWI buddies everywhere.

Best of luck to you all!

Mary Hershey, Lee Wardlaw, Val Hobbs, Thalia Chaltas, Robin LaFevers

Writers, illustrators and Twitter's Vine app

Evolution of an I'M BORED illustration in 6 sec video. vine.co/v/bp7AQAg3pwd

— Debbie Ridpath Ohi (@inkyelbows) March 17, 2013

(To stop the video above from repeating, just click on the image)

I recently downloaded the Vine app on my iPhone after hearing a lot of buzz about it. Vine is an app by Twitter that enables users to easily create short video (max 6 seconds) that they can share on social media like Twitter and Facebook. It's sort of a cross between YouTube and Twitter, and has a clever interface that's easy to use.

Videos will automatically start playing when you start browsing Vine, but you can pause any video by just tapping on it. Videos are on repeat play -- this may sound odd and possibly annoying, but once you start using Vine you realize it's for the user convenience. Since the videos are max 6 seconds long, chances are good that you'll want to view a video at least twice. Recording a video is also super-easy -- you just tap and hold the screen to record.

Some are experimenting with stop-motion animation. Labor-intensive, sure, but it's only for max 6 seconds. Knowing that, even I will probably give it a shot in the future. :-)

I've noticed a number of children's book publishers, authors and illustrators join Vine since it launched, though most have either not posted any videos yet or have only posted one or two test vids. It's not yet clear whether Vine is going to take off. The interface needs some work (there is currently no way to share someone else's video directly from the app) but I'm sure updates are coming.

It seems like the kind of app that could be a hit with younger readers, once a few more features are added, which is one of the reasons I'm checking it out.

The other reason: it's fun. :-) One of my favorite follows is Jed Whedon, who is the brother of producer/director/writer Joss Whedon, who has been posting mini-movies, musical clips and other interesting Vine experiments.

If you do join Vine, feel free to follow me at "Debbie Ohi."

I'll be posting a follow-up later this year to let you all know if I'm sticking with Vine and why (or why not).

It's official: Just received contracts for RUBY ROSE books!

 Last year, I mentioned that I was going to be illustrating two picture books by Rob Sanders for HarperCollins.

Then Rob and I found out that his editor, Maria Modugno, was leaving HarperCollins to join Random House. Since I still hadn't received the contracts, I didn't know what would happen. Would the new editor prefer a different illustrator?

Margaret Anastas was named the new editor and happily, she still wanted me as the illustrator for Rob's books. Yay! The fully executed/signed contracts arrived this week:

The first book is called RUBY ROSE ON HER TOES, and is a fun story about a little girl who loves to dance. You can read more about Rob's story on his website. I was delighted when HarperCollins sent me the mss -- those familiar with my Daily Doodles already know how much I love to draw dancing children, adults and creatures.

Margaret invited me to come visit HarperCollins earlier this year, and I enjoyed meeting her and Jeanne Hogle. Here are some photos:

Margaret Anastas & Jeanne Hogle

Visiting HarperCollins (NYC) for the first time

Thanks to Jeanne Hogle for taking the photo above

They haven't named an art director for the project yet. Final art for the first RUBY ROSE book is due October 2014. Before then, I'll be finishing the illustrations for NAKED! (picture book by Michael Ian Black, published by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers in Summer 2014) and as well as a yet-untitled picture book that I'm writing AND illustrating (Simon & Schuster BFYR, Spring 2015).

Thanks so much to my agent at Curtis Brown, Ginger Knowlton, for all her help in getting our side of the contracts organized.

And I'm so looking forward to working on RUBY ROSE!

Jimmy Fallon, Twitter and book recommendations (and some Twitter tips for authors and publishers)

 Earlier this week, late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon posted the following on Twitter:

A few minutes later:

Note the smart use of a hashtag, enabling others to browse book suggestions as well. Then he posted his updated list:

I love this. :-D And I've added a few books to my wish list as a result.

Then Michael Ian Black (author of I'M BORED, the picture book I illustrated last year for Simon & Schuster BFYR) and some of his Twitter followers suggested to Jimmy that he should buy Michael's book, YOU'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT. If I had been online at that point, I would have been tweeting as well -- I *love* that book.

Anyway, it worked:

Jimmy Fallon may not be the first talk show host you think of when looking for book recommendations, but the exchange above -and especially the books he ended up choosing- made me more curious about the books that he's written himself (including a picture book!) as well as admire his Twitter savvy, including:

-- He knows how to engage his audience.

-- He used a unique hashtag to make it easier for his followers to see the rest of the conversation.

-- He uses images in his tweets to add visual interest and variety.

Even if you're not a famous talk show host, there's a lot that publishers and authors can learn from the exchange above. For more tips on using Twitter, see my Writer's Guide To Twitter.