Conference Tomorrow!
Tomorrow, I’ll be at the SCBWI Florida conference here in Miami. I am giving a workshop on fairy tales, and I’m critiquing manuscripts, but I’ve gone many years when I haven’t been speaking, just to learn. I’m always amazed when writers think they know to much to learn from a conference, and I once sort of wrote off a fellow writer as a snob for saying something like that. For anyone who wants to write for children, I always recommend SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). There was not an active chapter in Florida when I started, but our RA, Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld, changed that. Since then, I’ve known many people who have gotten published as a result of attending our conference. Others have learned to be better writers, which has led to their publication.
If you want to write or illustrate for children, visit their website and join. You get a free newsletter, access to SCBWI critique groups, and discounts on conferences. Every region has a conference. You can attend your own or others. Many writers attend ours in Florida, as we have great speakers and are in Miami in January. You also meet great writer friends who will “get” you and hold your hand (literally or metaphorically), and it’s hard to put a price on that!