The Weekly 411 (10/25/19)

© Nat Iwata

Oct. 25, 2019 vol. 42

The Weekly 411 gathers all the links added to Kidlit411 each week. To receive this post by email, sign up for our email updates. Are you on Facebook? Join our Kidlit411 group for conversations & camaraderie. This week's illustration is by Nat Iwata.

KIDLIT NEWS

Current Trends in Traditional Book Publishing: Fiction, Nonfiction, and YA

Bibles- But Not Children's Books - Escape Trump's Tariffs

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR SPOTLIGHTS

Today we are pleased to feature YA author Kelly Coon and her debut novel, GRAVEMAIDENS (Delacorte Press, Oct. 29, 2019). Enter to win a copy!

cover design © Sammy Yuen

We are also excited to feature illustrator Nat Iwata, and his recent picture book, SUMO JOE, by Mia Wenjen (Lee & Low Books, June 2019). Be sure to enter to win a copy!

GRAPHIC NOVEL GIVEAWAY

To celebrate reaching 9,000 members in our Facebook group, we are giving away three graphic novels (2 ARCs/1 book) by DC Comics. 

• WONDER WOMAN: LIGHTBRINGER, Leigh Bardugo's novel adapted by Louise Simonson, illustrated by Kit Seaton (ARC, 1/7/20)
• BLACK CANARY IGNITE, by Meg Cabot, illustrated by Cara McGee (ARC, 10/29/19)
  THE SECRET SPIRAL OF SWAMP KID, by Kirk Scroggs (Oct 1, 2019)

Enter to win all three!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PICTURE BOOK TRAILER REVEAL

We have a super fun Chicken Carpool Karaoke trailer reveal for CHICKEN BREAK: A COUNTING BOOK, by Cate Berry, illustrated by Charlotte Adler (Feiwel & Friends, Oct. 29, 2019). Check out this Ocean's 11-style barnyard counting book in rhyme! Ten chickens plot to break out into the WILD then break back into the coop. 

For Writers

7 Simple Trustworthy Tricks for Keeping Your Draft Moving Smoothly

This is How to Transform Info Dumps into Exciting Plot Reveals

Story Structure: The 5 Key Turning Points of All Stories

Inciting Incident int he Context of the Story Arc

Contests & Awards

Mar. 1-30 Don Freeman Work-In-Progress Award

• What: apply for one of two $1000 grants for a work in progress
• Who: illustrators (one published, one un-published) & SCBWI members
• Prize: $1,000 grant to help complete your project

Feb. 1- April 30 Ann Whitford Paul - Writer's Digest Manuscript Award

• What: apply for a $1,000 grant to develop a picture book manuscript
• Who: any SCBWI member who are not under contract or who have not sold a picture book in 3 years
• Prize: $1,000 grant

Submissions: Agents & Editors

Dec. 4, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Central Querying and Pitching Publishing Professionals with Agent Rachel Orr (Prospect Agency) Rachel Orr will cover query letters for all types of children’s book submissions, including picture books, novels, non-fiction and illustrations. She’ll show examples of query letters from her current clients—pointing out what caught her eye—and talk about what kind of information to avoid in query letters as well. She’ll also talk about the difference between queries and pitches, and discuss the best time in your career to start the querying process. Attendees may also submit to Rachel Orr after the webinar and will be given a code. ($10 for SCBWI members, $25 for non-members)

Writing Challenges

Feb. 1-28  Nonfiction Fest

What: A month of inspiration, blog posts, writing prompts, and community for writers of nonfiction. Join the Facebook group NF Fest or subscribe to the website for updates.

Poetry & Rhyme

The Two Pieces of Advice that made Writing a Verse Novel Seem Possible

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