Austin SCBWI‘s Destination Publication: An Awesome Austin Conference for Writers and Illustrators took place last weekend. Keynote speakers were Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson and two-time Caldecott Honor [author-] illustrator Marla Frazee.
The faculty also included: editor Cheryl Klein of Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic; author-editor Lisa Graff, formerly of FSG; agent Andrea Cascardi of Transatlantic Literary; agent Mark McVeigh of The McVeigh Agency; editor Stacy Cantor of Walker (Bloomsbury); and agent Nathan Bransford of Curtis Brown, Ltd.
In addition, Cheryl and Sara Lewis Holmes spoke together on the editor-author relationship, Marla and Liz Garton Scanlon spoke together on the illustrator-author relationship, and illustrator Patrice Barton offered portfolio reviews.
The local speaker-critique faculty included: Jessica Lee Anderson; Sibert Honor Author Chris Barton; Shana Burg; P.J. Hoover; Newbery Honor Author Jacqueline Kelly; Philip Yates, and Jennifer Ziegler.
The festivities began with a reception at my house.
The menu featured:
Texas Gulf shrimp;
an assortment of goat cheese and wild mushroom, chicken, and shrimp quesadillas made with assorted cheeses on homemade tortillas;
asparagus, snow peas, mushrooms, carrots and other garden vegetables;
a chef’s selection of cheese wedges such as Spanish sheep’s milk, English blue, triple-crème Brie, Italian Provolone and fresh goat cheese garnished with seasonal berries and grapes;
and delicious dessert bars such as: Butterscotch Brownies, Chocolate Brownies, Toffee Brownies, Lemon Bars and Seven-Layer Bars.
Catering by Central Market. In addition, Carmen Oliver provided a gorgeous mixed fruit bowl.
We had about 65 guests, ten fewer than RSVP’d. Folks traveling from Arkansas and Oklahoma were foiled by the weather.
It was chilly! There were coats, coats! in my house. Possibly the most coats ever!
Marla Frazee and Kirby Larson.
Erin Edwards and Brian Anderson.
Mark McVeigh (gray jacket) and Cheryl Klein (purple blouse).
Cheryl again.
Nathan Bransford (blue sweater) and Stacy Cantor (yellow).
Frances Hill Yanksy and former Austin SCBWI RA Julie Lake.
New SCBWI RA Debbie Gonzales, Brian Yansky, and Varsha Bajaj.
Texas Sweethearts Jo Whittemore, P.J. Hoover, and Jessica Lee Anderson.
Erik Kuntz, Mark McVeigh, Don Tate, Christy Stallop, and Gene Brenek.
Stacy Cantor, Erin Edwards, and Carmen Oliver, who was named the 2010 Austin SCBWI Meredith Davis Volunteer of the Year.
A peek inside the conference. (Most of my photos inside the room turned out too dark, so I’ll leave these images to other conference bloggers).
Outside in the hall, Bethany Hegedus and Jennifer Ziegler.
Carmen again, at the post-conference barbecue at Meredith Davis’s house.
Marla Frazee, Liz Garton Scanlon, and Chris Barton.
Huge thanks to Tim Crow, his committee, the speakers, and everyone who participated!
See reports (many with photos) from Shelli Cornelison, Don Tate, Chris Barton, the Texas Sweethearts, P.J. Hoover, Kirby Larson, Carmen Oliver, Vonna Carter, Samantha Clark, Mark McVeigh, Greg Leitich Smith, Sara Lewis Holmes (part two), E. “Emily” Kristin Anderson, and Austin SCBWI. Note: more posts are going live by the minute, and I’m sure I’ve missed who-knows-how many. But a lot of folks are making an effort to link, so these wrap-ups should lead you to others.
See also Thoughts on Conferences, also by P.J. Hoover. Peek: “I joined Austin SCBWI and signed up for the conference which was only a few weeks later. I didn’t know a soul. I knew almost nothing about the publishing business. All I had was a completed manuscript and a new-found love of writing kids’ books.”