SCBWI

Society of
Children's Book Writers
and Illustrators

Michigan

Michigan

  • The SCBWI-MI Equity & Inclusion Team is highlighting literacy efforts that support Michigan readers. This year’s initiative is Books With Barbers, a program that provides books for young patrons of barber shops in Detroit. The initiative was discovered by SCBWI-MI's Debbie Gonzales who met Michigan literacy experts and coordinators of the Books With Barbers program, Ashelin Currie and Jerry Jones at a Michigan Reading Association meeting and we are so happy that she connected us! The Books With Barbers mission is to use the popular community hub to distribute books featuring characters of color that reflect the readers’ experiences, culture and community.  Let’s help readers enjoy a great book along with a new haircut. You can support this book drive by selecting a book from the Book Wish List and sending it to Books For Barbers from November 15 – December 15. Below is the information for the Books With Barbers donation process: To purchase a book to be donated to Books With Barbers (BWB), please follow these instructions: 1) Visit the Source Booksellers website at  www.sourcebooksellersonline.com and select the book from the Children's Book section 2) On the checkout page, find the Comments Section and write  BOOKS WITH BARBERS. 3) Make your payment. 4) Your purchase will be sent to the BWB Coordinator. (If the book is not listed, or if you have challenges making the purchase, simply call the bookstore at (313) 832-1155 and your order will be taken over the phone.) If you would like to purchase a book from Amazon or from another bookstore, please have the book sent directly to the BWB Coordinator: Ms. Jerry Jones 1 Lafayette Plaisance Street Apt. 1811 Detroit, Michigan 48207   Find out how you can join the SCBWI-MI Equity & Inclusion Committee!
  • The mentor for picture book illustration is Dow Phumiruk The mentor for middle grade/young adult illustration is Brittany (Bea) Jackson.   Winners receive a year-long mentorship with Dow or Bea. The mentorship includes six exchanges of art and critiques.   Meet Picture Book Mentor: Dow Phumiruk Dow Phumiruk is a former pediatrician who has found her passion in creating children's books.  She is currently a co-Regional Advisor for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of SCBWI. She has written and/or illustrated several books. Clients include HarperCollins, Henry Holt/Macmillan, Hachette Book Group, Abrams, Viking, Sleeping Bear Press, and Zonderkidz. She lives in Colorado with her husband of almost three decades, three artistic daughters, and a handful of small pets. She is the recipient of numerous awards including Winner, SCBWI Inaugural Narrative Art Award, 2017, Winner, SCBWI Postcard Contest 2016, 1st place RMC SCBWI calendar image contest 2015, and Winner, SCBWI Emerging Voices Award 2013 for Mela in the Jungle (published as Mela and the Elephant)   Check the Mitten Blog for an interview with Dow on April 30, 2021.   Meet MG/YA Mentor: Brittany (Bea) Jackson. Brittany Jackson loves telling stories through her art, from dynamic and diverse character design, to delightfully fun and energetic children’s book illustrations. She attended the College for Creative Studies and is the Grand Prize Winner of the L. Ron Hubbard’s Illustrator of the Future Award of 2007. She has illustrated several books including the New York Times best seller, Parker Looks Up, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children’s. In addition to her work as a children’s book illustrator, character and concept artist, Brittany’s work has been featured on the covers of books, comics, and in various magazines and articles.   Check the Mitten Blog for an interview with Bea on May 7, 2021.   The submission window for both mentorships opens on May 17, 2021 at 8:00 am EDT. The submission window closes on June 7, 2021at 8:00 pm EDT or when we receive 30 applications – whichever comes first. Note: applicants will have until midnight on June 7, 2021 to submit a pdf their artwork to Ann Finkelstein.   Cost is $20, nonrefundable, payable by credit or debit card. All registered applicants receive constructive comments from the judges.   The competition is open to all SCBWI members who live in Michigan for at least part of the year. Previous winners of SCBWI-MI illustration mentorships may not apply.   The winners will be announced in midsummer 2021.   A link to the registration platform will be provided here during the submission window. Download Submission Instruction for Picture Book Mentorship.   Download submission Instructions for YA-MG illustrator mentorship.   Read more about the SCBWI-MI mentorship and its past winners and mentors.   For questions, contact Ann Finkelstein, SCBWI-MI mentorship coordinator. annf1234 [at] gmail [dot] com.
  • SCBWI stands firmly against bias, oppression, or unfair treatment of people based on their identity elements. As we feel the pain of what is happening today in America and in the treatment of our Black citizens, we renew our commitment to equity, inclusion, and equal justice for all. To read more about our stand, here is our position statement on equity and inclusion: At SCBWI, we recognize that publicly committing to equity and inclusion is crucial to our membership and the readers we serve. Words, stories, and images are powerful: They define who we are for ourselves and for others. Historically, content creation that reaches a wide audience of children and teens has been intertwined with a legacy of privilege, oppression, bias, and racism. We acknowledge that, as part of the children’s publishing industry, we share in that legacy.   We accept the challenge and responsibility of becoming agents of change by affirming the need for increased representation in every facet of the children’s and YA book industry, including but not limited to race/ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship, and religion. To fulfill our mission of supporting the creation and availability of quality books for every young reader in all regions of the world, we commit to championing equity and inclusion throughout our organization by striving to:   –identify and dismantle inequities within our policies and practices –expand inclusivity in our leadership, membership, and volunteer corps –increase the social consciousness of our members through substantive learning opportunities –continually examine and renew that commitment in our events, programming, online initiatives, publications, awards and grants, community outreach, and education efforts   As creators of books for children and teens, we have both a unique responsibility and a powerful opportunity to help young people create an equitable, inclusive world. We look forward to listening, learning, and leading.
  •     THE E & I TEAM CREATES COMMUNITY Welcome to SCBWI- Michigan Equity and Inclusion webpage! We commit to our role in meeting the needs of members through service and opportunities. The E & I Team is energized to create a stronger SCBWI-MI community that includes, engages, and embraces disparate voices. So glad you’re here!             MISSION We welcome and celebrate writers, illustrators, and translators who represent a broad spectrum of backgrounds and who seek to create quality literature for young people that reflect the lives of all children.   PURPOSE We understand the power of children seeing themselves represented in books. Such equitable reading experiences lead to empathy, understanding, and respect. We must implement initiatives that will address issues of inclusivity, accessibility, and belonging for our children's literature community that will, in turn, help us write books for all children. As Lin Oliver has stated,
  • Do you have indie questions? Depending on the indie path that you are considering, you may contact one of the three advisors below that best fits your direction. Indie publishing would include hybrid publishing (combines aspects of traditional and self-publishing), vanity publishing (publishers do it all for a price), self-publishing (the author does it all), and digital. All of these various publishing methods would fall under the indie umbrella. In an effort to provide the most current and accurate information for our members we have three indie advisors: Melissa Bailey - Picture Book, David Stricklen - Middle Grade, and Melanie Hooyenga - Young Adult. You should also consider their particular path to publishing. Who may best answer your individual questions?   Meet the SCBWI-MI INDIE ADVISORS     David Stricklen – SCBWI-MI Indie Coordinator & Middle Grade Author In a former life, David was an airport police chief with 30 years experience in law enforcement. After retiring, David went all in on his creative side. He has written a series of three sought-after MG fantasy adventure books: Beneath and Beyond, Through the Eyes of the Beast and The Heart of the Swarm. His new release is a contemporary MG fiction entitled Ripley Robinson and the Worm Charmer, which is reviewer recommended by KIRKUS Review and featured in their monthly magazine. His books and school visits are filled with magic and creativity. David’s reverse perspective painting was a Grand Rapids ArtPrize (largest attended art competition in the world) 3D 2018 popular vote finalist and a post prize Colors of Community 3D & 2D popular vote first place (ArtPrize category). David is on the Michigan Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI-MI) leadership team and is also the Michigan SCBWI indie coordinator, Grand Rapids Shop Talk coordinator and the overall Michigan Shop Talk Administrator.     Melanie Hooyenga – Young Adult Author  Multi-award winning young adult author Melanie Hooyenga writes books about strong girls who learn to navigate life despite its challenges. She first started writing as a teenager and finds she still relates best to that age group. Her award-winning YA sports romance series, the Rules Series, is about girls from Colorado falling in love and learning to stand up on their own. Her YA time travel trilogy, The Flicker Effect, is about a teen who uses sunlight to travel back to yesterday. The first book, FLICKER, won first place for Middle Grade/Young Adult in the Writer’s Digest 2015 Self-Published eBook awards, and the Rules Series has won ten awards, including Finalist for MG/YA in the BookLife Prize. When not at her day job as Communications Director at a local nonprofit, you can find her wrangling her Miniature Schnauzer Owen and playing every sport imaginable with her husband Jeremy.     Melissa Bailey – Picture Book Author/Illustrator Hi! I’m Melissa, but feel free to call me Mo. I’ve been a member of SCBWI since 2013 and have been illustrating children’s books since 2009, including 2 award-winners and a feature in Kirkus Review’s 2019 Fall Preview. In 2018, I reached my goal of becoming an author-illustrator with Pug Is Happy (published by a pygmy indie publisher) and have co-authored and illustrated the upcoming picture book Imara’s Tiara (fall 2020). With the help of SCBWI, research, experiences clients have generously shared with me, and my own insatiable curiosity, I’ve worked hard to learn all I can about the ins and outs of the children’s book publishing industry (both traditional and indie) and try my best to keep current with ever-evolving trends and changes. I’m here to help make your publishing journey less confusing and more successful.   Access More Information about the SCBWI-Trailblazers HERE!
  •   Plans are underway for the Spring Conference, 2021! Mark your calendars for April 23 to 25, 2021. The conference will be held virtually (and it's going to ROCK!).   Much, much, much more fantastic information to follow. [caption id=
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  • Click here to browse our members' beautiful new releases.  Click here to register for the Happy Book Birthday Program 
  • Remember how nerve-wracking Show & Tell days were in school? Kind of how we can feel when it comes to social media these days. We want to step up and out there, but where and about what? Your SCBWI-Michigan wants to help by hosting a Show & Tell Day for you on the first day of every month! We are inviting each and every one of you to join in the conversation. Show us what you're up to. It could be your latest book cover, illustration, what you're writing - or Tell us what you want to write, draw, or about your giveaway, building a platform, or online promotion. Even feel free to reach out expressing what the hardest part of the biz is for you,  or where you would like some input from your colleagues. It doesn't matter whether you have several books published or have finally managed to sit down and write. You can share a pic of your office chair! Show & Tell and get involved as you begin to boost your biz with SCBWI-MI! Use our social media channels to Show & Tell. Twitter: @SCBWIMichigan Facebook: SCBWI-Michigan https://www.facebook.com/ScbwiMi/ Instagram general: https://www.instagram.com/scbwi_michigan/ Instagram illustrators: https://www.instagram.com/scbwimichiganillustrators/  For more information, contact our social media guru Karen Bell-Brege at karen [at] teambcreative [dot] com. Let's see what you've got, SCBWI Michigan!
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The strength of SCBWI lies in its individual members. Whether you are a creator, publisher, reviewer, librarian, bookseller, educator, or simply someone with a love of literature and a desire to see the best in the hands of children, we invite you to get to know us better. SCBWI-Michigan is

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