SCBWI Reception Rocks Edinburgh International Book Festival!

@edbookfest

This week it's HUGE Congratulations to..... 
SCBWI British Isles! 
Specifically to Natascha and South East Scotland, in the shape of Sheila Averbuch and Louise Kelly, for engineering a great big Sparkly SCBWI arrival at Edinburgh International Book Festival. Sheila has written a spectacular report, here it is....



Who attends the Edinburgh International Book Festival, come August time? Only everybody! That’s why we were triple-thrilled this year to host a SCBWI reception that gave rise to a lively industry discussion, involving a knowledgeable audience of seasoned literary professionals from around the UK.

 Jonathan Meres of The World of Norm
Photograph courtesy Candy Gourlay

Janey Louise Jones of the PRINCESS POPPY series, Jonathan Meres of WORLD OF NORM fame, Keith Gray of OSTRICH BOYS, Moira Young of BLOOD RED ROAD… all were guests at a glittering SCBWI British Isles reception hosted by the Southeast Scotland network on the evening of 13th August. The aim was to have a relaxed industry question-and-answer, "Festivals Uncovered," helping writers and illustrators understand what's expected of them when they're tipped to speak at a festival like Edinburgh, at a library or a school.

Janey Louise Jones of the PRINCESS POPPY series

Photograph courtesy Candy Gourlay

We were joined by a fantastic panel that included author Nicola Morgan (TEENAGE GUIDE TO STRESS), agents Lindsey Fraser and Lucy Jukes (Lucy also co-coordinates the Picture Hooks mentoring scheme for picture book illustrators in Scotland), Falkirk Librarian Yvonne Manning, Sales and Marketing Manager of Floris Books Chani McBain, and the Children & Education Program Director at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Janet Smyth.

Children & Education Program Director at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Janet Smyth Photograph courtesy Candy Gourlay 

In addition to the panel, we reached a great selection of librarians, booksellers and other industry guests who were invited to participate, thanks to Janet's assistance and the wonderful Scottish literary contacts of Louise Kelly and Nicola Morgan. The venue was the stylish multi-hexagon Party Pavilion inside Charlotte Square, made even more beautiful by the travelling SCBWI Illustrators Showcase, a curated annual exhibition of member images. And of course the whole event was made possible through the kind sponsorship of SCBWI British Isles and support of our Regional Advisor (Chair) Natascha Biebow, who is a passionate advocate of professional development events like these, which are dedicated to supporting published authors and illustrators in furthering their careers. Questions, answers and yurts.

L to R: Lucy Juckes of Jenny Brown Associates and Picture Hooks,

Lindsey Fraser of Fraser Ross Associates

Chani McBain of Floris Books

Photograph courtesy Candy Gourlay

Following a wine reception we kicked off the Q&A with questions for the panel about how the role of festivals has changed over the years, as well as how authors and illustrators can attend the events they want to without spreading themselves too thinly.

L to R: Susan Bain, Christina Banach and Maureen Lynas
Photograph courtesy Candy Gourlay

There was a real feeling of focus and intense interest in the topic among the audience, which included SCBWI authors Candy Gourlay (SHINE - shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2014), Christina Banach (debuting this year with MINTY) and Maureen and Katherine Lynas (CUPCAKE CATASTROPHE! ). We were also delighted to welcome Frané Lessac, Regional Advisor for SCBWI Australia West, an experienced illustrator who teams up with her husband Mark Greenwood on a number of collaborations.

And did someone say YURT? The evening finished off with a number of us decamping to the hallowed ground of the EIBF yurt, where the conversation about all things literary carried on 'til late in the glow of the wood-burning stove.

SCBWI reception highlights

For you SCBWI members who didn't get a chance to come to Edinburgh, more school-visit events are planned in London, York and at our annual conference in Winchester  later this year, but here's a selection of what you missed in Edinburgh:

Published authors need to protect their writing time.Beware the exhausting schedule that can spread you thin and make your creative time disappear. Be clear with your agent about what kind of events you'd like to do and how many, and they will help remind you to make time for writing.

If you're doing author/illustrator events, the standard rate is £150. Many schools and libraries know the rate, and if they don't, let them know and don't feel guilty about it. This prompted a robust discussion about fees. Many people feel willing and keen to do free events for the experience, and to spread the love of literature among kids, but Nicola Morgan advised you make it clear you're doing it free/cheap because you’re new to this and are looking for feedback. I guess the lesson is if you're doing it free or cheap, be very clear about your reasons why, rather than having "free" as the default because you feel you can't ask the standard rate. Candy, for example, has done free events in the run-up to a bookstore-based book launch to help ensure attendance (several people mentioned that bookstore events can often be badly attended); that strategy worked well, helping numbers for the bookstore event and leading to a number of paid school visits. (Bookstore events, incidentally, are unpaid and typically part of a promotional tour at launch).

More thoughts from Nicola on events, including why charging a real rate should be your default mode, is here in her excellent blog post: Getting and giving great author events.

Have a pitch ready if someone asks, "Do you do events?" Put your events info on your website, and make sure you're listed everywhere you should be (including in the SCBWI Speakers Bureau; the Scottish Book Trust  also lists authors).
Don't hesitate to say how long your events last. Janet Smyth mentioned that 30 min. to 45 min. is plenty for very young kids.

It's not only "big names" that get invited to festivals. For example EIBF in particular feels it has a role to promote new writers, including our Southeast Scotland member Emily Dodd, who's speaking at this year's EIBF following publication of her picture book with Floris, CAN'T DANCE CAMERON.
It's okay to approach festival organisers and librarians and let them know what you do; we were all stunned to hear that festival organisers who approach publishers seeking a specific writer don't always get them! The hard truth is that not all speaking invitations that go via the publisher are passed on to the writer, so make sure you clearly communicate your availability and preferences for events.

Panicked about the idea of doing a school or festival event? Ask your peers! The SCBWI community was terribly helpful to me when I did the mother of all school visits earlier this year, and many authors and illustrators will agree to allow you to tag along to see how they do events.

Make connections with storytellers where possible and take them along advised Janey Louise Jones, author and storyteller Janis Mackay (2014 winner of the Scottish Book Trust’s Children’s Book Award for THE ACCIDENTAL TIME TRAVELLER) and Chani McBain. See how they present stories, helping you to become more comfortable with the "performance" aspect of an event.

(Seated) Carnegie and Greenaway judge Joy Court, who's also behind
the free-to-attend Literally Coventry book festival, relates her Terry Pratchett anecdote
Photograph courtesy Candy Gourlay

Carnegie and Greenaway judge Joy Court, who's also behind the free-to-attend Literally Coventry book festival, related a fabulous anecdote about KM Peyton. Peyton willingly admits that in the days when authors were offered nothing more than a geranium as payment for an event, she would go along and "give them a geranium's worth." But one day, giving an event alongside a dynamic and fabulously entertaining young writer, Peyton realised how thrilling events can be – that young man was Terry Pratchett.

(Ed: BIG Note here)

'Live literature is where it’s at.'

As Janet Smyth noted, even with the distractions offered by so many other media and online, live literary events – like live music – are enjoying a resurgence. People long to connect in a face-to-face way with the artists who are the source of so much inspiration. You, authors and illustrators, are that source of inspiration – so embrace the chance to get out there!

A big team of people came together to make the SCBWI reception at Edinburgh International Book Festival so successful. Louise Kelly and I, who coordinate the Southeast Scotland network of SCBWI BI, would like to thank our RA Natascha for her support, Vento Ludens for donating display boards, and all the SCBWI members who gave their time to help bring the gorgeous SCBWI illustrators showcase to Edinburgh, especially Jeanne Dron, Sarah Broadley, Stephanie McGregor, Candy Gourlay, Anne-Marie Perks and Bridget Strevens-Marzo.

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L to R: Sheila and Louise

Sheila Averbuch is the co-coordinator of SCBWI British Isles Southeast Scotland network and is currently mudwrestling a draft of a reality-slip story for 9 to 11s, set in Massachusetts. She blogs at www.spacekidsbooks.com.

Network News: Winchester Writers’ Festival

We're lucky in the South to be so handy for the increasingly popular Winchester Writers’ Festival, now in its 34th year.

Charlotte Comley went along and collected some great festival tips. Can't wait until June next year to try these out? Our own SCBWI Conference, also at Winchester University, is in November. Over to Charlotte...


The Winchester Writers’ Festival consists of three days of inspiration, networking and learning for new and emerging writers working in all genres and for all audiences.
Delegates can choose from a wide range of day-long workshops and short talks.
Each year the Winchester Writers’ Festival offers around 800 individual one--to-one appointments for delegates wanting to speak to literary agents, commissioning editors and award-winning authors.
Last year unpublished writer Jenny McLachlan met literary agent Julia Churchill at the Festival.
This year Jenny McLachlan returned to launch her first YA novel, Flirty Dancing, published by Bloomsbury. This year too, the festival announced the inaugural Festival Scholarship Scheme, with 10 free places for writers aged 18-25.

It's fun, supportive, challenging and intense!
So how do you make the most of your visit?

1. Come with an open mind, ready to learn
2. Prepare for your one-to-ones to get the most out of each meeting
3. Bring a notebook for jotting down all those new ideas and vital contacts!

Ben Illis

Ben Illis is the founder of The BIA, a specialist literary agency representing writers of Children’s, Young Adult and potential crossover fiction. Before becoming an agent, Ben was an editor, a writer, a photographer, a bookseller, a publisher and even an actor. Ben has been around.

Ben’s top tips:

1. If you do get an offer from an agent, take a breath despite the excitement and ask yourself ‘could I work with this person?’ It is important to have an agent you like and TRUST.
2. If you do get an offer from a publisher and you don’t yet have an agent, let any who are still considering know, as it may speed up their decision-making. If all else fails, make sure you get someone to check the paperwork you are signing and don’t be afraid to question anything that looks fishy (never part with the copyright, for example, a publisher should license your work, not buy it outright). A good resource to consult for further advice is the Society of Authors. 
3. One of the most important qualities in any writer is PATIENCE. It takes TIME: Time to write the book. Time to let it macerate in a drawer ahead of starting on draft 2 or 3 or 17. Time to secure an agent. Time to get the edit just right ahead of submitting. Time to get feedback – good or bad – from editors. Time to get through acquisitions. It’s a long, long process. Writers need to be able to manage their nail-biting and nerves. My advice: once your WIP is in the machine, find a new project (and if writing for kids, make it different, but aimed at the same target age group) to crack on with while the wheels of publishing turn at their own, maddeningly slow, pace.

Sallyanne Sweeney grew up in Dublin and studied English at Trinity College before completing an MPhil in American Literature at Queens' College, Cambridge. After graduating she joined Watson, Little Ltd, becoming a Literary Agent in 2008 and a Director of the company in 2011. She joined Mulcahy Associates in August 2013 and is building her list of fiction and non-fiction authors for children and adults, as well as a small number of picture book illustrators.

Sallyanne’s top tips:

1. Go to your one-to-ones with the aim of finding out all you can to improve your work. If the agent or editor likes it, then that’s a bonus – but shouldn’t be your sole aim of the meeting. Agents rarely sign people up on the spot as they usually will want to read the complete manuscript first. If they ask you to send that, you're on the right track – though do read over it before sending, and incorporate edits discussed at your meeting.
2. It can be useful to come to your one-to-one appointment with a question prepared. Is there something about your work that’s been troubling you, or do you have general questions about the publishing/submitting process? Make the most of your time!
3. If you meet an agent in the toilet or at the bar, don’t go straight for the pitch (or slip your manuscript underneath the toilet door, as apparently happened to one agent…). This can be off-putting in an agent’s limited downtime – better to be friendly and personable and follow up with a query after the festival.

Bethany Neal

Bethany Neal has just finished a BA in Creative Writing at Winchester University. She attended the festival as a student volunteer and was proud to help the delegates. She is looking forward to writing something that is not an assignment over the summer, probably something in the form of a script.


Bethany’s top tips:

1. The world is better with a smile. The site can be disorientating with weird room numbering, but there are lots of helpers in yellow tee shirts happy to show you around.
2. Carry water, and keep hydrated during the day.
3.  It can be a very busy day, dashing from one appointment to another. But try to be relaxed, and zen like about it. Don’t forget that you have come here to enjoy yourself.

Christopher Joyce, John T O’Halloran, Helen Christmas and Jeremy Kerr from the CHINDI group.

CHINDI is a network of independent authors living in and around Chichester in W. Sussex. We share ideas, expertise and contacts to reach as many readers as possible in a cost effective manner.

CHINDI organises events to promote our books and encourage more independent authors to follow their dreams and get writing.

CHINDI’s top tips:

1. Winchester Writers’ Festival is a great place for independent authors to network and get great ideas.
2. Don’t come with the expectation to be selling loads of your book.
3. Lunch isn’t included for the people on the exhibition stands, but you can pay extra in advance. Lunch is an excellent opportunity to mingle with others.

Kay Blank and Sophie Ward have been regular volunteers at the Writers’ Festival.

Kay has been coming to the Conference now Festival for 7 years, at first as a delegate and the last 4 years as a helper. She's volunteers on the one to ones desk..

Kay’s top tips:

1. Be prepared. Know what it is you want from your 15 minutes. Keep on topic and don't waste your minutes.
2. Try and leave your emotions at the door and get your business head on. That way you can be more detached from your work and see it more as a business proposal.
3. This my third but No 1 tip. It is just someone's opinion. That's all. That one person is not the whole literary world. Focus on the good they said. Look at the bad too as it can be very valuable but then move on.

Thank you Charlotte for gathering these very useful tips for any writing conference. 
#scbwicon bookings will be opening soon!

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Charlotte Comley creative writing group organiser and now self employed writer of educational resources. Her fiction has been published by Ether Books, Darwin Evolutions, Flash Flood, Chuffed Books, and 1000 words. Non fiction work has appeared in magazines such as The Green Parent, Take a Break, Woman's Weekly, The Motion Online and Grow It. Charlotte Comley was one of the writers and script editors of Express FM Conway Street, a radio soap airing three times a week for eighteen months. She came highly commended at The Winchester's Writing Conference competition for children's fiction.  In 2012 she read at The Umbrella Festival at The Groundlings Theatre, came third place at Alton's Book Festival The Pint Pot of Fire, at Wordsouth Havant and of course in the Portsmouth Book Fest 20 x 12. She was short listed for the You, Me and Everyone project in Portsmouth and has won various poetry prizes at poetry Cafes.

The Picture Book Retreat

In July, SCBWI British Isles held its first Picture Book Retreat. It was an amazing weekend for the writers and illustrators who came along to Holland House in Worcester.

The Retreat’s organisers, Bridget Strevens-Marzo and Anne-Marie Perks had set one main criterion – a place to encourage creative exploration in the inspiring company of other writers and illustrators. Other criteria were a beautiful venue with plenty of space and great food. Holland House fulfilled them all.

Helen Stephens and Gerry Turley inspired with their stories, and by talking through the work process. They emphasised drawing from life and the need to nurture your creativity. Sarah Frost, commissioning editor from Hodder books, and Alice Bartosinski, commissioning editor from Egmont, shared not only their understanding of our industry but helpful insights into it.

As pictures say so much more than words, we’ve included a selection here.

It all started here, at Holland House in Worcestershire. 

When illustrating a Michael Murpurgo book, Jo-Jo and the Melon Donkey, Helen had to go to Florence!

An example of the beautiful sketches done while there.

Helen Stephens, author illustrator, talking about drawing from life and how it inspires stories.

These are sketches of the dog that inspired, Fleabag.

Storyboard from Helen’s book, Fleabag.

All of us in the lovely conference room at Holland House.

Large windows opened up to a large sloping lawn and flower borders.

Gerry Turley shared his large sketchbooks on a book he is working on, about a bear for Schwartz and Wade publishers. He also shared his prints and sketchbook on his first book, Woooo, with David Fickling.

Alice Bartosinski had us make a list from the picture books she set out as to which ones we thought sold the best. Here we are happily doing our best to figure that out. The results were very interesting! 

We filled every room available at Holland House and had a great time, learning, sharing and supporting each other in the craft we all love. The most frequent comments were 'Thank you!' and 'When are we doing this again!'

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Since a child, Anne-Marie has loved to draw, paint and ‘make stuff’. She now works as an illustrator, artist, animator and designer. She is a very active member of the SCBWI family. You can also find her on the Words & Pictures team page.

Festival: An Approach to Writing

K. M. Lockwood (Philippa Francis)

You perch a red felt topper on your head. You assault your tongue with raging chillies; remind your nose about the earthiness of patchouli, let your ears be beguiled by a hurdy-gurdy and the squelch of juicy mud. It’s festival time.



You go large on everything. It’s your turn to belt out sea-shanties in the bay, put the world to rights until the dawn interrupts, take in other ways of being.

Let your imagination walk on stilts and juggle with flaming poi. 

Here’s glamour in every sense of the word. A cross between the raggle-taggle-gypsies-oh and the thrill of the circus. Yes, you’re allowed to stop up, eat too many messy vegan tacos with your fingers and get very, very drunk. Engage deeply with others you may never see again. Weep and dance and lie down like a child when you’re knackered. No wonder there’s a festival called Latitude.

 Let’s get the ostrich feathers, the glossy satin and the bogs in.

What if that spirit infused your writing? If on the inside you were the purple velvet gown-wearing witch or steampunk samurai prince you always wanted to be? Go on – get some out-there material into your story. Push every sense. Stuff the stinks and the scents in there. Diesel and musk roses. Let’s get the ostrich feathers, the glossy satin and the bogs in. Lemonade and miso soup can go in the mix too.

If you can blend Balkan beats with Bluegrass musically, you can mash-up Star Trek and Chaucer.

And what about genres? If you can blend Balkan beats with Bluegrass musically, you can mash-up Star Trek and Chaucer. Let your imagination walk on stilts and juggle with flaming poi. Try something new: make a foray into hardboiled crime, high fantasy or teen romance. Be warned: it might just refresh you – or it might lead you in a whole new direction.

Look! They are rolling up the painted yurts. Will you follow them?

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K. M. Lockwood is a writing name of Philippa R. Francis. As well as being a regular contributor, Philippa (@lockwoodwriter) also tweets as @Words8Pictures helping to maintain our 'Industry news' feed.

Team Cooper's Agent Retreat - Part Two

by Gemma Cooper from the Bent Agency, Team Cooper and Benjamin Scott

 

One of the many cakes!

Following on from Part One of Team Cooper's Agent Retreat, this week members of Team Cooper - Robin Stevens and Mike Revell, and honorary member - Benjamin Scott, talk about their experiences of the retreat.

@redbreastedbird

Robin Stevens 

Gemma’s client retreat was my first, and I couldn’t have wished for a better introduction to the concept. It was two days of great workshops, great conversation and great food, and I came away from it with a lot more confidence in myself as a children’s writer. 

The workshops were extremely helpful. Mo O’Hara’s, on visiting schools, showed me how to promote myself and my books in a way that’ll be fun for me as well as my audience; Gemma’s on picture books and non-fiction gave me belief in my ability to write in genres and for audiences that I’d never considered before; and Annalie from Walker’s Books’ talk on the publishing process gave me incredibly valuable insight into what editors are looking for in their submissions (and I’m saying that as a budding editor myself). 

Mo's Workshop

For me, though, the most positive part of the weekend was unstructured. I found just being around a group of authors with similar interests, and at a similar stage in their careers, incredibly exciting. Talking to the other members of Team Cooper sparked so many ideas in my head and made me feel part of something really wonderful. I’m prouder than I’ve ever been to be a children’s writer, and at the end of the weekend I came away feeling that I have the skills and the support I need for the next part of my writing career. 


Robin is the author of Murder Most Unladylike: A Wells and Wong Mystery, to be published by Random House Children’s in March 2014. Click here for more about the book and here for Robin’s blog.

@RevellWriting

Mike Revell 

I learnt so much from the retreat - from what makes a great picture book to how many hearts an octopus has (3 - take that, Doctor) to what happens when a publisher takes on your book and finally to how much a hairless cat costs! (Gemma – follow us on twitter for more on the hairless cat discussions!) 

I’ve never been on a writing retreat before, but I know people who have, and I always saw the pictures and read the reports with a twinge of jealousy. But I don’t think I will anymore, because there’s no way their retreats can match my one. I walked into a roomful of people who I’d never seen before in my life, but within seconds I felt like I’d always known them. It was a perfect mix of writers at different stages of the same journey, and so inspiring. 

Writing was a breeze at Gemma’s retreat. No one had to wait for inspiration to strike. It was everywhere. It was in the house and the workshops and the people and the books. By the time one of the writing periods arrived, my mind felt so abuzz with ideas that I couldn’t wait to get them down on paper. But it wasn’t about the writing. Not really. It was about the people. And probably the most inspiring thing of all was just meeting them and talking to them and listening to them.   

The things I took away from the experience were: 

• The dream is so close, and I can achieve it. 

• The importance of pace, good dialogue and BIG ideas. 

• How to put on the perfect performance on school visits. 

• That Team Cooper is incredible, and that it really is a team! 

  

@Benjamin_Scott

Benjamin Scott

I was thrilled when Gemma invited me on the retreat. Although I’m not one of Gemma’s clients, we’re good friends and she thought I’d not only enjoy the retreat but provide some valuable insight from my roles in SCBWI, teaching and visiting schools as an author. I don’t really need an excuse to hang out with fellow writers to be honest. I learnt masses from Mo O’Hara to help me give my school visits plan a boost, including the best times to approach schools, and had some ideas sparked off from Gemma’s workshops on tackling high concept titles and creating picture books. I even managed to get some writing done before the lure of chatting to other writers got the better of me. 

Katy and Robin celebrating!

Gemma - So the retreat was filled with interesting information, lots of cake and celebrations about the announcements of Katy and Robin’s recent book deals! 

And what did I take from the weekend? Well, some fantastic ideas came out of the brainstorming over tea/wine and I’m so excited for the manuscripts that are being written as we speak. I’m also confident that my clients will be incredible at school visits having listened to the master that is Mo O’Hara. 

My clients are all quite similar – funny, intelligent, talented people who are also really good at making cakes and really competitive at quizzes. The weekend left me exhausted, but with a big smile on my face because most of all, it reminded me how lucky I am to get to work with these people every day and call it my job! 

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@gemma_cooper

If you want to become a member of Team Cooper and be at next year’s retreat, submit your cover letter and paste your first ten pages to cooperqueries@thebentagency.com – I represent all ages of children’s and YA. For more info about Gemma and the Bent Agency, click here

Team Cooper's Agent Retreat - Part One

by Gemma Cooper from the Bent Agency and Team Cooper

The night the retreat idea was born

I have SCBWI totally to blame for my client retreat! Discussions started after the mass book launch party at last November’s annual conference. I was surrounded by my clients all drinking late into the night, and someone (I have no idea who) said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if we could all get together for a whole weekend?’ ‘What, like a retreat?’ said someone else (rumoured to be me). And this started the wheels in motion...


Fast-forward to January, and I had looked at publishing dates, literary festivals, school holidays and emailed everyone a suggested weekend. I didn’t really have a schedule in mind at this point, having never been to a writing retreat myself, but I threw myself into planning. I sweet-talked one of my favourite editors into coming, asked members of the group to share knowledge, badgered another awesome editor for literary questions for the quiz and thought about what workshops I could run. In the space of a few weeks, I had a schedule!

Saturday

10am – Workshop – Gemma – Engaging writing, self-editing and high-concept ideas
12pm – Lunch
1pm – Annalie Grainger (Fiction Editor/Walker Books) – Demystifying the publishing process and a Q+A
3pm – Yoga/stress meditation class – Caroline Glason
4.30pm – Tea and cakes
5pm – 7.30pm – Free writing time or 1-2-1s with Gemma (half-hour slots to be allocated to those who want them)
7.30pm – Pizza, chips and dips and literary-themed quiz

Sunday

10am – Workshop – Gemma – Picture books and non-fiction
12pm – Lunch – BBQ
1pm – Workshop – Mo O’Hara – Making the jump from writer to performer (tips for school visits)   
3pm - Free writing time (or 1-2-1s with Gemma)
5pm – HOME TIME

(Schedule does not accurately show just how much cake was eaten or tea and wine was drunk.)

Team Cooper and Friends

Luckily, I have the best of all best friends, Emma, who agreed to come and cook and basically look after us all for the whole weekend so I could focus my energies on my clients. Asking her this favour was the best decision I ever made! Sadly, we could only have my UK clients attend, but the lovely Benjamin Scott (friend and honorary member of Team Cooper) videoed some of the workshops and we are sharing them with my US clients and some whom I’ve signed since the retreat.

I have asked the SCBWI members of Team Cooper to talk about what they took from the retreat. Some of them joined SCBWI after chatting to the more well-known members at the retreat, so they may be new names to you seasoned members. Look out for them at events and to say hi. I’ll start by handing you over to the oldies!

@Mo_OHara

Mo O’Hara 

People go on Writer’s Retreats for lots of reasons. I go to get away and immerse myself in my writing, to meet and hang out with other writers and to learn something new. I’ve attended the SCBWI Writer’s Retreat many times (4 years I think) and have always had a really great experience. So as an avid ‘Retreater’ I was very excited when Gemma hatched her plans to have an Agent Writer’s Retreat this year.

The Team Cooper Retreat did not disappoint.  We had a great weekend of writing, hanging out and learning (with lots of laughs and cake thrown in too.) I suppose the most useful way to look at the experience is to compare it to the SCBWI retreats that  I’ve been on before.  Because although they were the same in name they were both very different, yet both really positive experiences. 

1. Immersion in my Writing:

If I’m honest this is the one aspect of the weekend that I would have liked more of. One of the reasons I go on retreats is that my own life has lots of things competing for my writing time and the retreat is one way of carving out that time just for my writing. On the SCBWI retreat, I definitely got more writing done, but in the Team Cooper retreat I discussed my writing much more. This happened both in the one-on-one sessions with Gemma and in small group impromptu discussions with the other writers. I had so many ideas sparked off during those discussions but I could have done with a few extra hours in the day to get them down on paper. It was so good to be on the retreat though with my agent right there. Gemma and I could bounce around ideas freely and everyone’s imput was so valuable. Maybe I just needed to pry myself away from the cake table (and oh yes, there was one) to run away and write in my room

2. Hanging out and talking with other writers:

This is one aspect of the SCBWI retreats that I always look forward to. They are like writers reunions almost. Time to reconnect with people you only see once or twice a year sometimes. The Team Cooper retreat was the source of so many fantastic conversations and so many new friendships. It was ‘Team Building’ in a good way. Not in a corporate ‘let’s all do a pointless exercise and pretend to build a bridge’ kind of way, but in a ‘let’s discover and get to know an amazing group of people who’ve all been snatched up by the same agent because they are all amazing’ kind of way! I really felt privileged to be part of this team.  Everyone had such different experiences and styles but we all had such a great time. The atmosphere was relaxed and the quiz on the Saturday night was the ultimate ice breaker.

Quiz time!

  
3. Learning new things:

Again, in the SCBWI retreat I tend to come away inspired by the  couple of really good workshops over the few days we were there and eager to put what I’ve learned into practice.  On this retreat, we had so many really incredible sessions.  My favourite were probably the session on Picture Books and Non- Fiction Writing that Gemma did and the session with Annalie from Walker Books. Both really filled me with a push to get on with writing some picture books and sparked some great ideas too. And as terrified as I was to lead a session on school visits it was really good for me to do. It was a supportive atmosphere and a relaxed way to share experiences with the other writers. I even learned lots in the session that I was leading, and I know that might sound strange, but that’s a really good thing. 

I want to say thanks to Gemma  for hosting us all and programming and leading such an amazing retreat and to her friend Emma who made us such lovely food. As we all know writers run on their stomachs so it was very much appreciated (as was the aforementioned cake, cookies, pies, flapjacks etc. that individuals baked). Roll on Team Cooper Retreat 2014!!!

Mo is the author of the My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish series. For more info on her books click here

@JulienneD

Julienne Durber 

I’ve always favoured the SCBWI Conference in November rather that its Summer retreat, so this was my first time retreating and I found it fabulous and so different from the ‘schoolroom’ feel of the Conference. This was much more like a secret camp - our own little world of writers sharing experiences. Sympathy for shared defeats and heartfelt congratulations for successes. It really did allow me to ‘retreat’.

On the practical side, Gemma’s talk about picture books and especially non-fiction titles showed a whole new area that I hadn’t thought about exploring. And Annalie’s willingness to answer all of our questions about the mysteries of the ‘behind closed doors’ side of the publishing industry was really interesting. Even Mo’s school presentation talk, which I’d seen before, took on a more intimate feel - friends sharing advice. But I have to say that the revelation of the weekend was the mid afternoon yoga session. A great way to de-stress and clear the mind before more story swapping (and a challenge not to giggle at inappropriate moments.)  I don’t think a mass Tai Chi session in the Stripe car park at the November Conference would work, but the thought made me smile. (Gemma – I think the conference organisers should get on this. Jo, are you listening? I’d pay to watch!)

And out of all of the positives, the most valuable thing was to spend time with like-minded people all on various stages of their careers, and know that we’re all in it together.

Julienne blogs here 

@KatyJoCannon

Katy Cannon 

The Team Cooper Retreat was my first time at a writing retreat, so I don’t know if they always involve quite so much cake, but I can certainly recommend that they should.

Getting to hang out with the rest of the team – with other writers, who are willing to have bizarre and detailed discussions about imaginary things – was a great experience. And the opportunity to learn from them, as well as the visiting speakers and Gemma, was incredibly valuable.

For me, the most useful session was Mo O’Hara’s workshop on arranging, planning and giving school, bookshop and library visits. This is something I’ve never done before but, with the publication of Pooch Palace, my series for 6-8 year olds, next year, I suspect I’ll soon be thrown in the deep end! Listening to Mo and learning from her has given me a lot confidence in my ability to put together a decent show.

I also got an awful lot out of the sessions on picture books and non-fiction for kids. So much, in fact, that I picked up an extra project to work on with my husband… watch this space! I do want to say an enormous thank you to Gemma, and her friend Emma, for organizing such a fantastic weekend. It was incredibly useful – and so much fun!

 

Katy is the author of the Pooch Palace series, the first two books be published by Stripes in March 2014. Go here for more info about her books

  

In the second part of Team Cooper's Agent Retreat, on Wednesday, 24th July, Mike Revell and Robin Stevens talk about their retreat experiences, as well as SCBWI BI's very own Benjamin Scott who also attended the retreat.

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@Gemma_Cooper

Gemma Cooper represents authors of books for children and young adults. For more information about Gemma, see The Bent Agency website and blog. 

Workshops: so what makes them work?

By Celia J Anderson

I love the whole idea of a workshop. The name conjures up an intensive but fun session with like-minded writers who hopefully don’t take themselves too seriously. It’s also an ideal opportunity to break out your notebook collection to impress people. But what’s the secret of a successful workshop? And why take part at all?


Over the years, I’ve explored a wide variety of workshops with varying results. Sometimes they’re disguised as festivals with guest speakers who not only are excitingly famous but when you get in there, you find to your delight that they’re quite prepared to share the tricks of their trade. And they are willing to let you have a go at the writing process and hold your hand while you do it. There might even be biscuits. And wine later. These ones are excellent.

One of the first of this type of event that I made myself attend as a terrified aspiring writer was one of the well-organised Writers’ Workshop Festivals in York, back in 2010. Harry Bingham and Kate Nash were largely responsible for the organisation there, and I threw myself into the whole thing with gusto, coming away with a few good contacts, several new friends and having been part of the Authonomy event. This involved sending a couple of chapters in beforehand, which, if selected, you were expected to read aloud to a huge room of very well-oiled people who were full of dinner and wine. This was scary but at the end, Kate Fforde, romantic novelist extrordinaire and all round good egg, came up to me and said ‘I know you didn’t win but I just wanted to tell you that my table liked your story the best.’ She may have been going round to everyone saying that for all I know, but I almost wept. It made the whole weekend worthwhile and stopped me being quite so in awe of the already successful delegates.

Heartened by this experience, I signed up for the Festival of Romance 2011 in Watford (now in Bedford: another of Kate Nash’s creations) and met a wonderful group of people. Nine of us later formed ourselves into The Romaniacs, an online writing group, I hope these ladies will always be my writing support network, drinking buddies and fabulous friends. 

A network SCBWI event followed in Birmingham, when we workshopped chapters of our children’s novels, critiqued each others’ work and received excellent (tactful but honest) feedback.

In between times, I run my own workshops for children, using dressing up clothes and various other props to stimulate lively imaginations and to generate great writing. At the moment, I am running one to write the Year Six play at the school where I teach. Spending a whole day focused on nothing but writing and what leads up to it, with lots of fun activities included and plenty of breaks for a bit of gentle exercise, seems to work well whatever your age group may be.

Which one will you try first?

• There are lots of places that you can go to experience the workshop buzz. You don’t even need to leave the comfort of your sofa – the recent bulletin from SCBWI detailed several online discussions on Twitter that would work in almost the same way, one every Wednesday evening at #yalitchat and one on Tuesday evenings at #kidlitchat. Moderators pose topics and agents/editors visit to chat too. Why not start your own online Twitter workshop session? You even get to choose the nibbles.

• In the same bulletin, author Kim Tomsic from the other side of the pond describes her ‘schmoozes’ which are informal local get-togethers where workshop type subjects are generated and planed together. Another good one to experiment with nearer home, maybe?

• If you’re feeling brave and want to venture out into the real world and meet...you know...actual people, you could visit the Festival of Romance festivalofromance.co.uk (for those of us who moonlight in the adult world) or The Writers’ Workshop events – there are a great many interesting workshops within the September festival; www.writersworkshop.co.uk

• SCBWI have some fantastic regional events for those of us who don’t get to the big city very often. My nearest group, based in Birmingham, has some great activities with Clare Bell sharing her expertise in a variety of ways, including the wonderfully named Critique-nique. Try browsing in the ‘What’s on’ section of the SCBWI site – you’ll be spoilt for choice. The Picture Book Retreat in July (5th-8th) also sounds like one to look out for.

• Guardian Masterclasses are often run on workshop lines too, with some charismatic leaders, covering subjects such as ‘How to complete a first draft’ for absolute beginners but also offering a range of others for the ones of you who have less basic concerns. So, in a nutshell, the choice is yours – stay at home networking workshops and local do-it-yourself groups right through to the whole-weekend-hangover-included-free variety.

Can you add to this list with your own workshop experiences? 
Perhaps you went to The WInchester Writers' Conference or SCBWI British Isles' Conference also in WInchester, in November?

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@CeliaAnderson1

When she’s not marking children’s work, or writing stories involving pants, Celia spends far too much time on Facebook (Celia Joy Anderson) and does a lot of walking to counteract the cooking, eating and drinking which form another of her hobbies. She blogs as part of the Romaniacs online writers’ group . You can also find her over at her own website. Celia’s first novel, Sweet Proposal, a contemporary romance involving chocolate, a jacuzzi and a bespoke bookshop, will be published by Piatkus Entice on August 1st. Her ultimate dream is to have her children’s books published too. Usually sea-starved in the depths of the Midlands, she can often be found wandering happily around Brighton visiting her two daughters pretending to collect ideas for her next book.

Festivals – a writer’s view

Filipino Fiesta

Alex English talks to Candy Gourlay and Teri Terry about the perks and pitfalls of appearing at festivals.

  

What’s your favourite festival?

It would be impolitic to name a favourite festival because they are all different! But I have to say in terms of impressing my 14 year old daughter, the Hay Festival was a highlight, with a green room filled with famous people, lots of free food, drink and cake, and rock star treatment. But that's my 14 year old daughter.

I've appeared at two: Edinburgh last year, and Hay last weekend. I'll be at Edinburgh again this year. I don't think I can choose between them: they were both great experiences. The schools programme at Edinburgh is great as the audience is school groups, so in my case, packed with teenagers. The evening event there was more adults than teens, but there were teachers and librarians there so that is obviously brilliant also. Hay was more young people than adults. From a financial point of view - Edinburgh pays authors to appear, and Hay gives authors a very heavy box of wine (tricky on the train). They are both brilliantly organised and look after authors extremely well.

For me the most emotional festival had to be the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival when I was on a panel with the two other shortlisted authors for the Blue Peter My Favourite Story Award. It was held in Christ Church Hall - the setting of Hogwarts Dining Hall. We walked in and it was packed with hundreds of small children (who obviously had all come to see Blue Peter presenter Barney Harwood, but still). My whole family attended because it was my birthday that day, and I got to have lunch with one of my favourite authors, Philip Reeve!

Blue Peter Award Panel

In a different kind of festival, I was one of eight authors and illustrators that the Pop Up Festival asked to curate a pavilion at Central St martin's last year. I decided to hold a Filipino Fiesta - with a tiny budget, I cajoled my SCBWI author friends into joining, promising them fame with no fortune but most of all fun. I think we had fun. It was a proud moment when Filipino dancers performed before the open mouthed festival audience.

Most recently, I was involved in the Shoreditch Town Hall Festival which combined visiting schools with workshops over a festival weekend. What was great about it was that the children of the schools I visited actually read my books and because we met on more than one occasion, the children were very comfortable with me and really enjoyed my workshop.

How do writers get involved?

For some festivals, the publicity departments of various publishers put forward their authors of the moment. But I think reputation is key - authors and illustrators need to project a strong and engaging persona on their websites. And if you are a good performer the news gets round very quickly (if you are a bad performer unfortunately the news gets round very quickly as well).

Look for opportunities to raise your profile with gatekeeper groups involved in literacy and hone your presentation at school visits. Any public performance is a mini audition. Many festivals like the Shoreditch festival and the Schools Reading Festival at Southwark are tied with booksellers, so a good relationship with a bookseller can lead to festival gigs.

Look for opportunities to raise your profile with gatekeeper groups involved in literacy and hone your presentation at school visits.

I was invited to appear at both festivals I have been to. My understanding of how it works is this: publishers pitch authors to the major festivals, festivals decide who they want, and then send out invitations through the publishers.

Also take note that the gigs usually come with a new book. If you haven't got a new book, you are less likely to be invited.

What are the benefits of appearing at a festival?

It is obviously great exposure to appear at major festivals. Also it is a brilliant opportunity to interact with your target audience, both with questions at events and at the book signings after. But they are also just good fun: at Edinburgh I was there longer, so went to a bunch of other events. It's also lovely meeting other authors.

It is obviously great exposure to appear at major festivals.

I have to say, unless you've written a blockbuster, festival appearances are not a guarantee of massive book sales. But if you choose your festival wisely, it's a great way of raising your profile and building an audience. Festivals usually expect to pay tiny honoraria or nothing at all, so you have to balance your need to raise your profile with your need to make a living. Sometimes the benefit comes from having said you were there. Blogging about the festivals you've been involved in often results in invitations to appear at other festivals.

Shoreditch Town Hall Festival

What advice would you give to authors about to appear in their first festival?

It's not as scary as you think. Panel events, especially, can be good fun. Because they are chaired, you don't have to prepare a long talk - it is more about discussion and answering questions, both from the chair and the audience.

It's not as scary as you think. Panel events, especially, can be good fun.

When you’re deciding to appear at a festival, ask yourself three questions:

• Does the festival put me in contact with teachers, booksellers, and librarians? 
• Will it help me build a relationship with a community? 
• How much 'echo' will there be after my appearance (eg. will people blog about it? Will there be a film? Will there be coverage?)

Thank you to Candy and Teri. What’s your favourite festival? Any tips for festival virgins? Please tell us in the comment section below.

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@alexthepink

Alex English is a freelance journalist and copywriter from London. By day she writes for national papers, magazines and commercial clients, mostly on food. By night she wrestles with kids' fiction. Her first picture book, THE YAK THAT SAID YUK, will be published by Maverick in 2014.