SCBWI NYC Conference 2015

2/16/2015

SCBWI New York 2015 had over 1, 100 participants from 50 states and 16 countries. Almost 400 participants were illustrators.

This year, I had the wonderful pleasure of attending my very first Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) New York City Conference which also happened to be my first SCBWI event ever! (In Canada, we call it skib-we.) Thank you to Ishta Mercurio for recommending that this was the year to attend the conference and for convincing me that it was worth the investment. I was so very pleased and my anxieties were put to rest as I met, interacted with, and learned from my tribe-- children's book writers and illustrators from all across the globe, mostly from the United States, and largely from New York state (although all states, except 2, were represented). I learned to make a smashing website, with author Nick Confalone, which you have the pleasures of reading through now. I was inspired by top-notch speakers like authors James Dashner (The Maze Runner) and Newbery medal-winning Kwame Alexander (The Crossover). I had lunch with Stacy Whitman, founder of Tu Books, after her session. I was inspired and encouraged by an impromptu small group session with Kwame (and his later keynote talk that closed the conference) after his workshop-- work hard, be charming, keep writing, be focused, and say yes. I had learned the "say yes" part two weeks earlier.

Just a day after his Newbery win was announced and minutes after his workshop on Writing Diverse Characters and Books, Kwame spent some time listening to us upcoming authors and sharing his wisdom and experience. Note taken!

Then, I had received an e-mail that a spot opened up for the portfolio showcase and I was on the waitlist, I said "yes". (I had no recollection of placing my name on this list.) Nevertheless, I set out about making my very first portfolio. I consulted with some Canadian children's book illustrators that I knew Rebecca Bender and Sean Cassidy, met with my children's book illustration course instructor (who I had studied with two years earlier but did not finish the final projects), as well as found some very helpful websites including one by fellow Canuck, Debbie Ohi, who has a link on her website, no lie, called 'Help! I'm about to participate in my first SCBWI illustration showcase'. Exactly what I needed. These all helped me to figure out what to include and what to omit. Still, only two days before, I got very discouraged as I felt that my work was too amateur and incomplete to be part of the showcase. I was also in a lot of pain with a foot injury (tendonitis? ligament damage? stress fracture?) that mysteriously started just days earlier and was requiring some medical attention. In the end, I decided not to participate in the showcase and was going to donate my $50 (US which is $62.24 Canadian as of today) spot to any illustrator who wanted it. I phoned the SCBWI office in California which by then had already closed as they prepped for NYC. (The answering machine message was clear to say 'No changes can be made'.) But after looking through my older art pieces that I keep in a box and not wanting to waste any hard earned money (hey! being a child of blue-collared immigrants I learned a lot about that), just a few hours from my flight, I realized that I actually had done some good work over the years which I have never shared and should this 'portfolio showcase thing' a chance. My work was not exactly where the illustrators who were giving advice was but it was somewhere along that journey. My NYC-based sister agreed to buy me a portfolio. The deal was made.

I chose this piece as the first page of my portfolio because I love drawing human portraits mostly and this little girl has the most captivating eyes.

On the first night of the showcase, after the initial session, I removed my portfolio which I felt was an unworthy imposter among such amazing talent and polished, professional portfolios along with my very tall and neat stack of business cards. (The art directors didn't appear interested.) It felt like I was exposed and vulnerable. I was embarassed. On the other hand, I was so desperate for feedback. How did my work measure up? Did I need to go to illustration classes? Was it a pipe dream? What can I do to make my work better? The first person who looked at my portfolio was Alma Fullerton, the Canadian author/illustrator of Community Soup (a book that is in the classroom of a colleague at the school I teach in). "C'mon," she said and I reluctantly released it to her. I stood there, holding my breath. "This is good," she said and she gave me what I so desperately wanted to hear but simultaneously feared, feedback, suggestions, ideas... And I think that experience was an elixir of sorts because I then plunked my portfolio down on a table for an open session. I stood nearby and overheard ooohs and aaahs and compliments about my portfolio... MY portfolio. People took my cards which I needed to restock. I then took my portfolio around with me during the cocktail dinner and networking sessions and I got it... feedback! And it was good. A great beginning.

Other highlights of SCBWI NYC 2015 were numerous. Laura Vaccaro Seeger's talk which was so filled with imagination and creativity that I could have floated out of the room. Her books transported me into a space of childhood wonder and imagination and I so want to make books that do the same. I also was pleased to meet so many new 'writerly/illustrationly' friends who engage on this journey of imagination and wonder, discuss diversity in kidslit (children's literature) with others, and recognize so many Canadians that I did not expect to see... including my former graduate thesis supervisor Dr. Tara Goldstein and my kindred, fellow early childhood music educator, Theo Heras. I went home with my head full of ideas, inspiration, and fatigue... but the good kind... the satisfied kind... the so-inspired-that-I-will-get-up-at-3am-every-morning-to-write kind from a dream that is the next SCBWI conference. Looking forward to it.

Me with Dr. Tara Goldstein (my former graduate school thesis supervisor and fellow aspiring ya novelist) and Theo Heras (fellow early childhood music educator and writer) from Toronto. Such a surprise to these ladies here!