Conference Wrap-up, a.k.a. Does anyone out there have a picture of me with Arthur A. Levine?

Last weekend I helped out at the Austin SCBWI Books, Boots, and Buckskin Conference at St. Edwards University.

 

As is typical of all things Austin SCBWI, it was a great time.  I met many wonderful people. I learned about writing and publishing and marketing strategies.  I nibbled quesadillas and ate cookies.  I even made someone cry – in a good way.

 

I always enjoy giving manuscript critiques at these conferences.  There are so many talented writers out there, and everyone – even established, published authors – can benefit from someone else’s viewpoint.  I was truly impressed by all the samples given to me.  One writer teared up after my critique.  At first I feared I’d been too harsh.  Then she shot her fist in the air and exclaimed, “Yes!  You got it!  You get what I’m trying to do!”

 

I know firsthand the struggle to have your vision understood and appreciated.  It’s especially difficult during the early phases of your draft.  Hearing that I’d done that for someone … Well, it made me a little teary-eyed, too.

 

Other conference highlights included…

 

-- Meeting Gregory Pincus and hearing him talk about using social media and the internet as self-promotion tools.

 

-- Listening to the incomparable Elizabeth “Lawsy” Law discuss a hypothetical brilliant-but-socially-inept author who lives in a closet and is covered with oozing sores (to make a point that marketing skills are a plus, but it’s the quality of the writing that truly counts with publishers).   “In fact, I think I dated that guy,” she added later.  Lawsy also theorized that mollusks would be the next big thing in children’s literature.

 

-- Talking with Julian Hector, a huge up-and-coming talent.  Julian illustrated Arthur A. Levine’s book Monday Is One Day, due out in a few weeks.  Julian is from the Austin area and said he was moving back.  Now that he has officially announced this to Austin SCBWIers, he has to follow through.  Or else.

 

-- Meeting illustrator David Diaz and watching him create a gorgeous “book illustration” on a door in a matter of minutes.

 

-- Getting to know Michelle Poploff – editor at Delacorte Press.  Michelle edits fellow Delacorte Dames Shana Burg and Bethany Hegedus.  She is also the editor of Clare Vanderpool’s Moon Over Manifest, winner this year’s Newbery Award Medal.  Below is a photo of Michelle with all the Delacorte Dames at the conference.  As you can see, she fit right in:

-- Talking with screenwriter Alvaro Rodriguez (Machete), who was leading a screenwriting workshop in the same hotel where we held our after-party.  Al is a great guy and had terrific advice for a certain YA author who might or might not want to write a screenplay.  Ahem.

 

-- Reuniting with writer friends that I don’t get to see as much as I’d like, and making new ones.  In fact, I spoke with several people who told me that it was their very first conference.  I admire them so much.  When I was starting out, I didn’t know about SCBWI.  I could have really benefited from such meetings – not just to learn about craft and the industry, but also to bond with others who have similar goals and struggle with similar problems.  Kudos to all of you who took deep breaths and jumped in.  You are my heroes.

 

I wasn’t the only one having a fantastic time.  Judging by the big smiles and chatter, the conference was a tremendous success.  Gigantic kudos goes to Debbie Gonzales, our regional advisor.  Many of you know her from her Simple Saturday blog.  Well, she sure made this Saturday (and Friday) seem deceptively simple -- and it was all due to her vision and hard work.  Other shout-outs go to Carmen Oliver, Donna Bratton, Mark Mitchell, the staff of St. Edwards, and the many friendly volunteers.

 

There was only one thing I would change about the conference if I had to do it all over again (and oh, how I’d love to do it all over again!):  I would have taken more pictures.  That is to say, I would have taken at least some pictures.  Because I didn’t take any.  I remembered to bring my camera, but basically I just took it for a ride. Because I’m forgetful, in-the-moment, talk-too-much girl.

 

I especially wish I had a shot or two from Friday evening.  That was when I had the honor of introducing superstar editor, champion of young readers, and all-around great guy Arthur A. Levine.  I chatted with him before his reading and was struck by how warm, genuine, and upbeat he is.  He seems to truly enjoy his job, too.  It was sweet to see how excited he got during Carolyn Coman’s reading of The Memory Bank, a book he edited.  Arthur was sitting beside me and I could hear him laughing and quoting along.  Afterward, he treated us all to a reading of Monday Is One Day – a beautiful book with a simple, sweet, and important topic.

 

And my introduction?  It went very well – in unexpected ways.  We had some technical considerations to address regarding the use of a projector.  So while I gave the intro, Deb Gonzales was going to test the equipment. 

 

I opened with a joke which received a respectable amount of laughter.  Seconds later, there was a huge guffaw.  For a second I thought, “Wow, I’m really nailing this!”  It then occurred to me that I wasn’t at a funny part in my speech.  That’s when I realized that sweet Deb must be doing some slapstick behind me.  I found out later she’d tested the projector with some shadow play – including a bird (not to be confused with giving “the” bird).

 

So if you would like an amateur comedy duo to loosen up an audience before your next presentation, keep me and Deb in mind.  We’re the Groucho/Chico of kid-lit conferences.

 

[And if anyone out there has a photo of me with Arthur (anything will do!  Even if all you see is my hand or the tip of my nose!) please send it my way.]

 

So here’s to Austin, SCBWI, and the power of the written word.  The conference is over.  Now the real work begins.