Where in the world is TOUCHING THE SURFACE? Well, let me tell you…

Here are some of the upcoming events, where you can get signed copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE and hang out with me and talk about writing, agents, publishing and books. You know I ALWAYS love to talk about books.

Fasten your seatbelt…here we go!

Right around the corner (THIS SATURDAY) is the 2016 Millbrook Literary Festival.

Saturday, May 21, 2016
10:00AM – 5:00PM

I’ll be hanging out all day, chatting with readers and signing books. And if you have the time, don’t miss this fabulous panel…

You’ve Written a Novel For Teens: Now What?– 4:00 – 5:00pm

YAModerator: Jake Wizner with panelists Gail Carson Levine, Jennifer Castle, Barbara Dee, and Kimberly Sabatini.

Join young adult author Jake Wizner (Spanking Shakespeare) as he talks to Newbery medal honoree Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted), and award-winning authors Jennifer Castle (The Beginning of After), Barbara Dee (The (Almost) Perfect Guide to Imperfect Boys), and Kimberly Sabatini (Touching the Surface) about the paths that they took to get their work published. How did they decide which age group to write for? Find out what it takes to succeed in the world of young adult and middle grade literature.

There is so much to do in quaint Millbrook–visit the shops, grab some fabulous food and make a day of it! You can find the full list of authors and panels HERE.

*   *   *

And where in the world is TOUCHING THE SURFACE next?

 I’ll be DOUBLE TROUBLE at B-FEST, the TEEN BOOK FESTIVAL at Barnes & Noble!!!!

What is B-Fest???

B-Fest is the place for teens to:
•Be in the Know and participate in fun, interactive trivia and games based on popular teen series and books
•Be First to receive exclusive content like chapter samplers and advance reading copies of upcoming teen book releases
•Be Part of the Story and participate in writing workshops, meet authors and illustrators and express their fandom through cosplay and photo ops with popular character standees
•Be Rewarded with prizes, giveaways and enter-to-win items
•Be Heard and Influential by giving Barnes & Noble and publishers feedback through social media campaigns and vehicles for their feedback in stores during the weekend

And what will I be doing at B-FEST???

Do you have a reader at home, who loves to write and might like to be an author someday? Bring them to see me at B-FEST. I’ll be sharing my insights on writing, agents and publishing. I can answer your questions about how to get started or where to go next on your current project. I’ll also be signing copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE while I’m there. And of course, I love talking about anything involving YA Books–so stop by and we’ll hang out!

I’ll be at the Barnes & Noble (Poughkeepsie, NY) on:

Saturday, June 11 at 1 PM
2518 South Road
Poughkeepsie, New York 12601

Sign up on FB for event updates.

And I’ll be at the Barnes & Noble (Mohegan Lake, NY) on:

Sunday, June 12 — TBD
3089 E Main St
Mohegan Lake, NY

More info to come on B-FEST as the events get closer. Hope to see you there!

Tags: B-FEST, Barnes & Noble, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Millbrook Literary Festival, Teen readers, Touching the Surface, YA Author, YA Books, YA Novel

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The 2016 New York SCBWI Winter Conference Part 2

I’m back…and I realized that in Tuesday’s SCBWI Conference Recap post, I forgot to tell you how cold it was outside when we woke up. Inside too, for that matter.

Why I may have blocked it from my memory…

This was the inside of my window on the 29th floor.

But it did look rather pretty once the sun came out.

But I should probably stop giving you the cold shoulder and start filling you in on the rest of the SCBWI conference. When I left you on Tuesday…

…a large crowd of Kid Lit SCBWI writers and illustrators were eating picnic style on the floor of the hotel lobby and Debbie Ohi couldn’t give away a piece of her black and white cookie. Yes, we are a strange group–just go with it.

After lunch I had my second Break-out/Workshop session of the day with Elizabeth Bicknell, EVP, Executive Editorial Directo & Associate Publisher Candlewick Press–WRITING PICTURE BOOK TEXT.

Elizabeth Bicknell

Some of the books she used to illustrate fabulous and successful picture books.

Good things to know…

*Candlewick only does children’s books.

*Don’t make your story about too many things.

*No Flashbacks.

*PB’s are like a little play.

Topics in PB’s shift over time but here are currently popular story lines.

Up next was a Fireside Chat between Lin Oliver and Rainbow Rowell…

Lin and Rainbow are way too adorable together!

Here are my favorite take-aways…

*When you’re writing 1st person, you’re writing monologues.

*Good novelists have good memories.

*The best comedy comes at the moment of pathos. (The intersection of funny and sad)

*Like a dog returning to his own vomit–it’s a long and very funny story!

*Rainbow’s outlines are emails to her agent.

*Her plots are derived from characters. Using characters to fulfill a plot is very different than characters creating the plot.

*The shared texts we have now are pop culture–it’s no longer scripture etc…

*People find the references that are there for them.

*If I’d written girls when I was younger, I think I would have accepted more of what the world told me to.

*On writing in an Omaha Starbucks–Hey! Writing in a NYC Starbucks is a very different thing. They are like public restrooms that serve coffee! ROTFL!

*Not in the past, and maybe not in the future, but right now I am privileged to write full time.

*Publishing is a game of speculation. Everyone is guessing even though everything seems set in stone.

The next Keynote required no guessing at all to know it would be good. I’ve heard the fantabulous Kate Messner on numerous occasions and I’ve also heard nothing but wonderful things about Linda Urban and they were going to be talking about MUSIC, MOUNTAINS AND MOCHA LATTES: SUSTAINING A CREATIVE LIFE.

Kate spoke first and talked about her own journey to reconnect with a manuscript by climbing mountains.

*Sometimes we need one small thing to keep going.

*If climbing one mountain was good for my writing, climbing 40+ would be amazing.

*Put your butt in your chair, but when you’re stuck, get up.

Then Linda Urban talked about how she’d rather have her finger nails pulled out than climb mountains, but how she found the same creative inspiration in a little red ukulele.

*Playing the ukulele causes a rush I wasn’t getting while I was stuck in my MS.

*The dopamine it provided and a long trail of small musical success restored my creative confidence.

*The negative voice in my head got bored while I was playing.

And then the lovely Linda sang for us <3

And as you might imagine, these two inspirational and creative authors were each other’s biggest fans. So, please remember, if you can’t find a creative outlet that will lead you back to your writing–find a friend to have a Mocha Latte–it will work every  time.

After all this inspiration there was a book signing with Rainbow Rowell, the Art Browse and the Gala dinner followed by multiple socials and of course my group of lobby rats hanging out in the lobby–sort of. Remember how cold it was? Well, that lobby was a wee bit drafty, so for the first time ever, the rats took to the underbelly of the hotel (like all good rats do) and moved out of the cold.

But as always–we stayed up talking way to long. Always one of my favorite parts of the SCBWI conference.

With not enough sleep under our belts, it was time for coffee, bagels and Day Three of the SCBWI conference. Once again our uber fantastic illustrators blew me out of the water with their gorgeous art and Jane Yolen got me all choked up giving out her SCBWI Mid-List Author Grants.

And it’s always our pleasure to thank the staff of the SCBWI for all they do to bring us together for these amazing conferences and to let them know how much we appreciate all they accomplish behind the scenes throughout the year.

Our first Keynote for Sunday was Rita Williams-Garcia and she talked about DO’S AND DON’TS IN CHILDREN’S PUBLISHING FROM A DEFINITE DON’T.

Here are some of my favorites from Rita–she was both moving and funny as she spoke.

*I loved telling stories–or as my mother called it–lying.

*Live in The Plan: I took every step possible in be coming what I envisioned. (She wrote 500 words every night as a child and rented out her sister’s typewriter to do it.)

*Don’t pick your major based on the hot guy with the afro–he doesn’t have any hair now!

Rita on really being faced with the prospect of editing a manuscript for the first time.

*Don’t stay with an uncontracted project too long.

*Don’t isolate yourself–TRIBE!

*Don’t block out criticism.

*Don’t be a know it all.

*Don’t stop writing–live in The Plan.

*Live with gratitude–do what you’re doing–you’re here!

Next up was Jacquelyn Mitchard–SAY GOODBYE TO ALL OF THAT: THE QUEST FOR THE PERFECT ENDING.

Jacquelyn was literary, funny, thoughtful and informative–so much good stuff to digest.

*People love the 19th Century greats because the ending is so clear.

*The last sentence of a books, for some writers, is the first sentence they know about.

*Most books really don’t echo the promises made in the first pages.

*The reader doesn’t want it to end, so how do you make it okay for the reader? It should do more than tie up loose ends–your job is to lead the reader back into the real world.

*Leave room for interpretation.

*Say what you’re going to do, do it, then get the hell out.

Since I don’t have a picture of the next panel, you should look at this one instead. This is what my hilarious friend, Scott Hammon, looks like after a Rocky-esque run up to the podium. He’s been waiting FIVE YEARS to win the SCBWI Conference joke contest!!! Watch out Jay Asher…Scott is very, very slowly creeping up after you. *grin*

Now back to the panel…

Moderator: RF-Ruben Pfeffer

AB: Alessandra Balzer—Vice President and Co-Publisher, Balzer + Bray and imprint at HarperCollins

EB: Elizabeth Bicknell–EVP, Executive Editorial Director & Associate Publisher Candlewick Press

GC: Ginger Clark—Agent, Curtis Brown, LTD

SD: Sarah Davies—Agent, Greenhouse Literary

AL: Alvina Ling—VP and Editor-in-Chief, Little Brown Books for Young Readers

The last panel discussion of the SCBWI conference was ACQUISITIONS TODAY: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES. This was a crazy interesting panel because it mixed editors AND agents and the quips and candor flying back and forth was both informative and entertaining. Once again I’ll be honest and say I spent more time listening to the fast flying information than taking notes. There was lots of information on preempts, auctions, bidding, multiple submissions and of course, everyone’s option on the lot. Check the #NY16SCBWI thread and TEAM BLOG for more detailed information on the panel.

And I won’t lie. This finally Keynote is the one I waited the whole conference for. I cannot even begin to explain how much of a fan I am of Gary Schmidt. I had the opportunity to hear him speak at an LA SCBWI Conference and he blew me away. I’ve also had the chance to read his books with my boys. We very recently finished reading his newest novel, ORBITING JUPITER together. It is now my favorite Schmidt novel, which is saying something. And to more completely put this book in perspective, my 15, 12 and 10-year-olds asked that we put The 5th Wave on hold so we could read ORBITING JUPITER faster. I love my kids. <3

The final Keynote was entitled THE BOMBERS OF THE BOSTON MARATHON, AND THE PLANES OF 9/11 AND HOW ANTHONY WISHED THEY WOULD.

It would be madness for me to try and do anything other than write down what inspired and moved me as Gary spoke.

*Why is it that when a group of Kid Lit writers gets together, we get along? This doesn’t happen with adult writer, poets. It’s because we have the same mission–we do it for kids.

*”Nobody came because nobody ever does.” –Jude the Obscure   We are here to address this. We need to be the writers that show up.

*When an adult speaks to a child with honesty, they know that someone is telling them the truth and that despite the brokenness of the world–it is still worth living.

*We need to write for the kid sitting on the log who is waiting for someone to show up, because no one ever does.

          -Like Anthony during 9/11. He went outside to see if a plane was going to hit his building and when it didn’t, he was disappointed because it would have saved a lot of trouble. Is it any wonder that he’s serving a life sentence?

          -Like Jake, one year into his sentence. He loves the planets, especially Jupiter. When Gary sent him a book and a poster on the planets it was taken away. Once again, no one showed up.

          -Like Marlene, a high school student actively engaged in a writing activity with Gary. When two teen boys walk in (who don’t do anything wrong or intimidating) this girl shuts down completely. When they leave she reengages. What happened in her life, in this school that shuts her down like that?

*The deep heartfelt question that we must ask as authors is…what ails you? It is a question of human empathy.

*Story and art can reveal human empathy.

*Story insists on human complexity and multidimensionality.

*Watch what happens if you take the stance in life that EVERYTHING MATTERS.

*If you want to be a writer, you have to LOVE the world.

*The writer believes with her whole heart that we give the world more to be human with. There is a reason ISIS destroys art.

*We write to serve. We don’t tell the kids how to act, we sit down beside them on the log and we say the truth.

And that is why I love Gary Schmidt…

And that is why I rushed to his book signing table and proceeded to get all choked up as I tried to explain my heart, head and soul to a man who I’m pretty sure already knows it. Remember…he loves the world.

Then there was the pleasure of meeting the newly minted Newbery Award Winner, Matt de la Pena. He’s the first Latino author to win the Newbery Medal for outstanding contribution to children’s literature with his picture book, LAST STOP ON MARKET PLACE. Matt is a fabulous SCBWI success story and we are all so proud of him and his accomplishments.

I also had the pleasure of getting my books signed by Oscar winner William Joyce!

And then I got to hang out and chat some more with Oprah Book Club author (DEEP END OF THE OCEAN) and editor-in-chief of Merit Press,  Jacquelyn Mitchard.

Yes, the talent and advice this year were incredible.

And I can’t wait to read MELT by SCBWI Spark Award winner Selene Castrovilla. We were able to hang out at the Gala and she is all kinds of fabulous and everyone is raving about this novel!

And then it’s over–or is it?

Not for me, because it was Valentines Day and my hubby met me in NYC and we got to see…

The Broadway hit, CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT.

I was blown away. No seriously, it was incredible. I hope you all get the chance to see it–it’s a beautiful and timely book that is brought to life right in front of your eyes. It’s one of those plays that will change how you see the world and the people in it.

Once again, Kid Lit shows up and I’m so proud.

But even after dinner and a show…you’ll find your way home. Back to your family. Back to your writing. And back to your cat who really, really missed you.

Oh, wait–it was the dog who really, really missed you and the cat who hates it when you leave. And then you wake up in the morning and she’s sitting on top of you (really close) so you can completely understand what you’ve put her through. LOL!

I hope, whether you made the SCBWI conference or just read about it, that you’re all inspired and ready to show up for your writing life. I know I am. And now that these blogs are done, I’m ready to move forward on my WIP.

Did anything in the conference or the recap really connect with you? How is it effecting what you are working on? Have you wanted to write, but haven’t been sure how to start? The answer IS to show up. You must start some time. Why not begin today. The SCBWI will teach you everything you need to know. And I’d be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Have a great weekend and see you next week.

Tags: #NY16SCBWI, Alessandra Balzer, Alvina Ling, Broadway, Candlewick Press, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, Debbie Ohi, Deep End of the Ocean, Elizabeth Bicknell, Gary Schmidt, Ginger Clark, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Jane Yolen, Jay Asher, Kate Messner, Kid Lit, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Last Stop On Market Place, Lin Oliver, Linda Urban, Matt de la Pena, Melt, Merit Press, NYC, Orbiting Jupiter, Rainbow Rowell, Rita williams-Garcia, Ruben Pfeffer, Sarah Davies, SCBWI, Selene Castrovilla, Spark Award, William Joyce

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It’s here, it’s here–it’s finally HERE! The #NY16SCBWI Winter Conference. And while we froze our writer and illustrator parts off this year–you know we still had a blast. Right along with the arctic blast. Here’s the highlights of the weekend…

I was thrilled to be able to head down bright and early–very, very early…

…for The Professional Author’s Forum Intensive. For all you PAL members of the SCBWI, this was such a lovely addition to the weekend. You should absolutely look for more of these PAL events in the future.

We started off the day with the fabulous and hysterical Lin Oliver and the chance to introduce ourselves and state our questions and goals. It immediately cemented us into a workshop style, intimate group instead of an audience in a lecture.

Lin Oliver, SCBWI Executive Director

Half the room of the PAL Intensives

After the intros, we got down to business with the very informative Agent, Ruben Pfeffer talking about PUBLISHING WITH MULTIPLE HOUSES (INCLUDING WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR EDITOR LEAVES)

This was a very informative session, focusing on the reasons to publish or not publish with multiple houses. He hit upon the strategic, contractual, our preferences, economic need and circumstantial factors.

Agent, Ruben Pfeffer (Ruben Pfeffer Content, LLC)

Next up was the I always get nervous around him even though he gives me no reason to, but come on he was the editor for the Harry Potter books, Arthur Levine chatting with Lin Oliver about LONGEVITY; HOW TO SUSTAIN YOUR CAREER.

Arthur Levine, Publisher, Arthur A. Levine Books and Lin Oliver

Here are some of my favorite bits from the conversation…

*What is essential about people doesn’t change despite our fears about publishing.

*Produce a BODY OF WORK–stop flogging just one thing.

*Find contemporary analogies to your book AFTER you’ve written it.

*When we get sucked into our anxieties, we lose track of what stories we can write and who wants to read them.

The next fabulous collaborator for the Intensive was Martha Brockenbrough, author and SCBWI TEAM BLOG talking about DEVELOPING A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM THAT’S APPROPRIATE FOR YOU.

I’m not kidding–I’d love to see Martha do a detailed, whole day intensive just on this topic alone. She is a wealth of information and there were more questions than time to hear all her answers.

Martha started off by reminding us of our tendency to believe that when it comes to social media–If we build it they will come…

That would be a NOPE.

But don’t worry, she gave everyone a wealth of advice on building relationships, finding your audience and focusing on platform, being positive, looking long term and being authentic. She was also able to compare and contrast FB, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter and Goodreads. And this was followed by tips on how to keep it all manageable. If you ever get a chance to take a workshop with Martha, I highly recommend you take advantage of it.

After a quick and yummy lunch break, we were back in the saddle again hit the iconic kid lit author, Jane Yolen–ISSUES IN BEING A MID-LIST WRITER.

Among a plethora of informative and inspirational information, Jane reminded us that as Mid-list authors, we could be writing three kinds of books…

1. A Head Book-The book you’ve been thinking about because research or experience had made you curious.
2. A Heart Book-You don’t know why you have to write it, but you just do. It’s about you, but it’s also about the kids too.
3. A Pocketbook Book-You know you can sell it $

She also reminded us to write the best book you can and don’t forget to nudge yourself in the path of luck.

Next up, was BRANDING YOURSELF: CHALLENGES IN WRITING MULTIPLE GENRES AND CATEGORIES with Linda Pratt Agent, Wernick and Pratt Literary and Jacquelyn Mitchard Author and Editor-in-Chief of Merit Press.

Linda Pratt

Jacquelyn Mitchard (Deep End of the Ocean–Oprah’s Book Club)

Here are some of the highlights…

*YA is not a genre, it’s a category.

*Being Branded means that you’ve gotten to the point where readers will buy your book in any category or genre because it is recognizably YOU!

*There’s nothing you want more than to be a habit.

*If you wanted to be careful, you should have been a dental hygienist ROTFL!

Bonnie Bader was up next and I forgot to take her picture! What? But you don’t need to see her to benefit from her talk on SUPPLEMENTING YOUR INCOME. Bonnie gave us valuable information on Packaging, Work for Hire, License work and Ghost Writing. But you can see Bonnie sitting next to Arthur Levine during our Summary, Conclusion and Questions time. And of course they had to kick us out after 5pm because there was so much to discuss with the faculty of the day. It was an amazing group.

And I’ll leave Friday behind with this great reminder from Arthur Levine…

“Our job is not to start trends, it’s to write books.”

After lots of meet up hugs with friends, a large group of us heading for dinner at Grand Central’s Oyster Bar (picture to come when Zainab figures out how to send it LOL!) the typical behavior of Lobby Rats hanging out in the lobby and not enough sleep (I can’t help but talk to my roomie Jodi Moore for half the night) it’s time to OFFICIALLY kick off the conference.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2016

This group is more than ready…

For Lin Oliver’s conference stats:

*1,151 Attendees

*337 Published authors and 815 pre-pubbed

*48 states were represented. Considering the weather in NY we excused Hawaii for ditching us. But we also decided that maybe the reason North Dakota was ditching us was that no one lived there. :o)

*19 Countries in attendance including the USA

*Our ranks included a micro biologist, coffee roaster, oil trader, ventriloquist and a psychic!

The first Keynote of the day was William Joyce–BOOKS ARE LIKE THE ICE CREAM SANDWICH: HOW NEW TECHNOLOGY DOESN’T CHANGE MUCH OF ANYTHING BUT IT’S KIND OF COOL

William immediately had us cracking up, telling the story of how he forgot why he’s picked that topic when he first agreed to be a conference speaker LOL! But he quickly found the original thread and sewed it all up for us.

*Books=Ice Cream Sandwiches–hard stuff on the outside and good stuff in the middle.

*When people put a book on an app or e-device they claim they are doing it because they want the story to be “interactive.” What the heck do these people think happens when you read a book? You interact with it *head thunk*–to call something interactive it has to be more than just reading it on a screen vs between a cover.

*On starting his own Multimedia company: “Don’t make anything crummy.”

*Strong and better realities of a start up: Having to tell new, young employees they had to pay taxes. LOL!

*I highly recommend winning an Oscar–it’s the most fun I’ve ever had in my clothes.

Oscar Win – Moonbot Studios from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

*Doing THAT (see above video) with all those young kids–amazing!

And if you want to see something fantastic…check out the app IMAG-N-O-TRON:The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

But be sure to come back to this blog and keep reading because I’ve got a Panel Discussion up next. THE BIG PICTURE: CHILDREN’S PUBLISHING: NOW AND IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

MOD: Lin Oliver

MT: Megan Tingly–Executive Vice-President and Publisher, Little Brown Books for Young Readers

AP: Andrea Pappenheimer–Senior Vice-President, Director of Sales/Associate Publisher HarperCollins Publishers

ML: Mallory Loehr—Vice-President, Publishing Director, Random House/Golden/Doubleday Books for Young Readers

JF: Jean Feiwel—Senior Vice-President and Director, Feiwel and Friends/Macmillian Children’s Publishing Group

JA: Jon Anderson—President and Publisher, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

I hate to tell you this–but this was such a good session that I listened without taking as many notes as I should have. I apologize but I’m pretty sure Team Blog will have some excellent tweets and recaps for you.

Then it was time for the day’s first break-out session or workshop. There were so many great sessions to choose from, but I picked CREATING TEEN CHARACTERS with Martha Brockenbrough and Rainbow Rowell.

For this session I pulled up some rug in order to stretch my legs. Here were some of my favorite take-aways…

*Art inspires art

*I didn’t experience the events that happened in my books, but music got me to those places.

*It’s fiction, you get to make it up. (Oh, wait–Dragons ARE fake!)

In order to balance out my recap posts, I’m going to save the rest of the conference for your Thursday reading pleasure. While you wait, you can get a good laugh at all of us eating picnic style in the lobby.

And remember–if you’re there at next year’s conference–Debbi Ohi will share her cookie with you. She couldn’t get anyone to split it with her!!! If she’d only showed up BEFORE I ate all that chocolate. *sigh*

See you on Thursday with the #NY16SCBWI Conference Recap Part 2! While your waiting, tell me what session was your favorite if you were there. Or which one you would have loved to attend.

Tags: #NY16SCBWI, Andrea Pappenheimer, Arthur Levine, Bonnie Bader, Debbie Ohi, IMAG-N-O-TRON, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Jane Yolen, Jean Feiwel, Jodi Moore, Jon Anderson, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Lin Oliver, Linda Pratt, Mallory Loehr, Martha Brockenbrough, Megan Tingly, Merit Press, Mid-List Authors, Moonbot Studios, NYC, Oyster Bar, PAL Event, Rainbow Rowell, Ruben Pfeffer, SCBWI, social media, Wernick and Pratt Literary, William Joyce

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It’s almost time for the very first Hudson Valley Winter Book Fair!!!

When?–Saturday December 12th 2015

11am to 5pm

Where?–First Presbyterian Church of Beacon

50 Liberty Street–Beacon, NY

What’s Going On?–Holiday Shopping, Author Signings and Readings, Meet the Authors, Used Books, Bake Sale, Gift Wrapping

How To Find Out More?—Follow the Hudson Valley Winter Book Fair on FB! 

Sponsored by—Binnacle Books of Beacon

If you’re from out of town and want to discover more about Beacon, NY–Check out the shopping, activities, hiking and historical sites in the area and make a day of it.

Of course, I’ll be there supporting Beacon and signing books.

Kimberly Sabatini is a former Special Education Teacher who is now a stay-at-home mom. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and three boys. Kimberly writes Young Adult fiction and is represented by Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency. TOUCHING THE SURFACE is her debut novel. (Simon Pulse – Simon & Schuster)

Experience the afterlife in this lyrical, paranormal debut novel that will send your heart soaring.When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.
Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.
As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.

“Sabatini creates an exquisitely tangible alternate reality, ordering the cosmos with impressive authorial derring-do, crafting answers to ontological questions with grace, disarming simplicity, and nary a trace of dogma. All while believable teens–teen souls, that is–tangle with affection, selfishness, and doubt. Thought-provoking and romantic, Touching the Surface takes risks with narrative and form, and succeeds on multiple levels.” –RBW (Chronogram)

“Soulful and inventive. A thoroughly original vision for what happens next.” –Daisy Whitney, author of The Mockingbirds

“This gorgeous, lyrical read will sweep you away.” –Jessica Verday, bestselling author of The Hollow trilogy

Can’t make the Hudson Valley Winter Book Fair and would like to give a signed copy of TOUCHING THE SURFACE for the holidays?

Please contact me HERE and I’ll make sure you get what you’re looking for.

If you’re local, I’d appreciate you posting, reposting and sharing about the Book Fair to help make it a success. Hope to see you there!

Tags: Beacon, Beacon New York, Binnacle Books, Chronogram, Daisy Whitney, Holiday Shopping, Hudson Valley Winter Book Fair, Jessica Verday, kidlit, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse, Touching the Surface, YA Author, YA Books

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In case you’re wondering, by Day 3 of #LA15SCBWI I’m a little tired. But I’m not alone. You should have seen what happened when we had a coffee break and there was no coffee left! Kinda funny actually–is it still called a keg stand when you’re twisted upside down to get your mouth around the dregs of a coffee urn?

Anyway–now that I’ve fried your brain, it’s time to hear the Sunday morning special. Deborah Halverson and the UP-TO-THE-MINUTE MARKET REPORT. 

I never miss this keynote–Deborah goes to great lengths to keep us up-to-date on publishing and trends. My fingers were flying as I took notes. Here’s a bit of what I captured…

*Last year’s children’s book sales were highly impacted by movies. Think The Fault in Our Stars, Insurgent etc… But even so, sales are not flat in the children’s market.

How to understand how what you’re already writing (no following trends please) fits in…

Picture Book

-short and bold

-character driven

-illustrations tell 1/2 the story. Ex-Sam and Dave Dig a Hole

-Non-fiction still of interest-particularly narrative non-fiction

-Common core related books seem to be settling down. There’s still room for growth, but not explosive growth.

-PB’s that have layers

-re-readable

-funny character driven that has series potential

-emotional depth/connection

-diversity

-authentic experiences

Chapter Books

-there is room for new series

Early MG

-Diary of a Wimpy Kid has become a very popular format

MG

-MG has perked up

-Everything goes in MG

-Slow and steady can sometimes break out as a hit. Ex–Wonder

-Editors are seeing a wide selection in their inboxes but still not enough diverse submissions.

-WANT: Books with a literary soul and commercial legs

YA

-Editors are intensely selective

-Seeing a lot of contemporary in their inboxes. People are often too quick to writ to the “middle” and hit genre expectations.

-WANT:

-beyond a black and white view of the world

-deep personal experiences

-scifi/horror

-looking to diversify their lists so it’s not all contemporary when the pendulum swings

And in the internal world of publishing…

-our past sense of unbalance is stabilizing.

-eBook subscription packages are a thing.

-Indie sales are up due to the Buy Local movement, slower eBook growth and publishers rethinking their practice.

Next up was our second morning keynote by Stephen Fraser—MIDDLE GRADE PERFECTION: WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM CLASSIC AND BEST SELLING BOOKS

Poor Stephen, he ended up in the seat next to mine at breakfast one morning and we chatted. FYI he’s a tremendously pleasant guy to talk to as you’re shoving muffins in your mouth. But as the conference went on, Jodi and I (my breakfast buddy and roomie) kept bumping into him. Our fear was that he might think we were stalking him. But really, we just kept turning up in his path like pennies. Hopefully he feels richer for having met us. LOL!

But on to the fabulous keynote…

*MG readers are some of the most loyal readers in the book world. They are strong, willing attentive readers but they are also strong critics.

If we examine the classics and best sellers, what do we learn from them?

1. Charlotte’s Web–Carefully crafted writing

2. Stone Fox–Drama

3. The Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles–Imagination

4. The Clockwork Three–Mix genres, don’t be afraid

5. Heart of a Samurai–Bring history to life

6. Holes–Use humor

7. James and the Giant Peach–Be unapologetic and have fun

8.  Junonia–Write to the emotional age of the child

9. Missing May–Place is character

10. Sarah Plain and Tall–Bring a visual quality to your work, make each word resonate

11. The Secret Garden–Let joy spill out

12. Harry Potter–Don’t worry about length

And that is your MG reading list for the fall. <3

The third keynote for the morning was Shannon Hale–Opening up the Clubhouse: Boys, Girls and Genderless

Shannon was INCREDIBLE. There has been so much on the internet lately that has made me sad and discouraged about all things boy, girl, man, woman, feminine, masculine etc… Truth be told, I found myself shutting down because the heart of most of the rhetoric was about raising people up–even if we have to do it by knocking other people down so we can get a leg up. I found it spiritually discouraging. Shannon was different. She was honest. She was thoughtful. She was hopeful. She was generous. She was above all on Team Human. Here’s some of what moved me…

*You are not NO thing. You are something–with YOUR thing. (On writing in your own voice and style.)

*Shakespeare wasn’t afraid of writing interesting women. I don’t know what happened?

*Boys–why are you so afraid of Princesses???? I’m so sorry you have to live in such fear. ROTFL!

*Boys, who told you you can only do half the stuff? (On girls being told they can do or be anything.)

*It’s NOT an equal playing field for women authors or boy readers.

*Boys are taught to be ashamed if they want to read a book about a girl or a “girly book.” We have a lot of work to do.

*Quoting editor Jordan Brown when asked where the Judy Blume for boys is? “Judy Blume is the JUDY BLUME for boys!”

*It wasn’t until people read novels about people in other circumstances that they were able to empathize. Reading novels creates empathy.

*Can you dig it? I CAN DIG IT!

At this point in the conference I came up with not one conference word, but two. Here’s what came together for me as the conference was winding down…

MINE–I picked this word because one of the messages thumping me over the head over the weekend was that it will be my unique voice, heart and soul that will sell my books. Chasing trends and the success of others will only leave me in the shadow of others. I don’t want to be standing beneath or behind anyone else. I intend to shine my own light.

TOGETHER–This made me laugh because my words are so oppositional, but while my writing is mine and mine alone–publishing is so much harder to navigate if you are alone. My tribe is instrumental in me reaching to be a better writer. They help me keep my inner compass pointed in the right/write direction. They inspire me and remind me that this isn’t easy for anyone. They mean the world to me.

My first Workshop of the day was with Allyn Johnston and Mem Fox–LET’S TALK PICTURE BOOKS…Q&A AND SOME READ ALOUD FUN

Let’s just start off by saying I could listen to Mem read picture books for days. That voice! But in addition to captivating the audience with her fabulous PB’s. Here is what Allyn and Mem had to share…

*I’m inspired by emotional experiences.

*I don’t want 5 of your 20 manuscripts–I want the one you care about–the one that’s going to change the emotional temperament of the reader.

*You should have only enough words that you’re ready to turn the page when the child is done reading the pictures.

*Adults are so much more inept at reading and understanding the illustrations than children.

*Worry more about the soul of the story than the word count. <3

*Beautiful language doesn’t undercut illustration.

*Illustrator notes are outrageous.

And it’s time for the Golden Kite Luncheon & Awards presentation with a keynote by Dan Yaccarino

SCBWI Member of the Year–Lee Wind!!!!!

“My tribe–my family.”

For Picture Book Illustration–Melissa Sweet and THE RIGHT WORD

“I hope we all find the right word whenever we need it.”

For Picture Book Text–Kristy Dempsey and A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT: ONE BALLERINA’S DREAM

“By writers and illustrators, I mean friends and fellow dreamers.”

“Deep joy is only found in fulfilling our purpose.”

“I write to discover my own empathy–or to be honest–to work towards it.”

Kristy has been someone I’ve followed and admired on social media since I first started my journey as an author–it was amazing to see someone who has inspired me–have an impact on more of her peers. Her speech was incredible. <3

For Non-fiction–Candace Fleming for THE FAMILY ROMANOV

When the universe kept raising the question…who is interested in that?

“You are.” <3

For fiction–Deborah Wiles for REVOLUTION

“I am a product of my professional organizations. SCBWI.”

“Giving my heart away has been the secret to finding it.”

And the Sid Fleishman Award was given his son Paul Fleishman to…

Michelle Knudsen for EVIL LIBRARIAN

And from Dan Yaccarino‘s Keynote…

*Good work is never perfect.

*Don’t forget the power of visualization. Take time to picture your dreams happening every day.

*Get addicted to the divine spark of inspiration–try to bring the divinity of that spirit into your stories.

My afternoon Workshop was with Jordan Brown–FIVE PRINCIPLES OF REVISION

Just and FYI I will go to hear Jordan Brown talk about anything publishing related and quite a few things outside that topic too. He’s fabulous. I was taking notes like a boss because he had at least 45 principles I needed to remember. Here’s some of his best and most useful bits…

*Revision is hands down the most important part of the writing process.

*Your book should be about the most important story of your main character’s life.

*It’s hard to get perspective on your own work.

*You shouldn’t think of revision as an extension of the first draft.

*Revision is the opposite of drafting.

          -DRAFTING is peeling back layers.

          -REVISION is putting back layers that are more refined.

When revising…

           -Nothing is sacred.

           -Character drives plot.

           -Revision more often than not starts with cutting.

           -Surprise yourself–if it feels familiar to you, it’s probably familiar to the reader too.

           -Don’t be afraid to smart small–revision can be overwhelming.

*There are always things that are clearly important at the end of a book that weren’t at the beginning–go back and plant clues.

*READ, READ, READ!!!!!

The final keynote of the conference was by Kwame Alexander: #BasketballRules Kwame’s NEW #LA15SCBWI Keynote (Because Varian Johnson stole his other one Hahahaha!)

Rule #1–It might look like a long shot but you’ll miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

Rule #2–Put in the work.

Rule #3–There’s no single formula for success, but you have to have a game plan.

Rule #4–A loss is inevitable.

Rule #5–When the game is on the line, don’t be afraid, grab the ball and take it to the hoop.

Rule #6–You’ve got to have teammates. It’s important to surround yourself with people who believe in you. Look around…we are going to do great things.

And while that ends the formal part of the conference, you know I was in line half the afternoon to get my books signed and talk to all of these amazing authors and illustrators.

Candace Fleming–yup–we both joined the SCBWI when we were 12 LOL!

I loved talking about writing with Anna Shinoda and Debra Wiles also, but we chatted so long I got hustled on my way and never got a picture with her LOL!

Meg Wolitzer!!!!!

I was so stoked to finally get this book in my hands and to see Martha Brockenbrough have such an amazing moment. She has been a friend and an inspiration for such a long time. I consider myself so lucky to have her in my life.

And I finally met my online buddy, Varian Johnson.

Yup, I may have cried a little with Shannon Hale, but you can’t blame me–she moved me to tears. <3

I’ve been getting books signed by Dan Santat for years. It put a smile on my face to see all his hard work come to his greatest success to date. I KNOW there will be so much more in store for him.

And then before I knew it, it was Monday and I was on my way to the airport, full of ideas, inspiration and determination…and too many books in my suitcase.

I had to pull out 13lbs of Baby Dragons and Beekles out of my suitcase to avoid a $50 luggage charge. But that’s okay–I always feel better when my signed treasures are close at hand.

If you missed the first two installments for the #LA15SCBWI Conference Recap, you can find them here…

LA SCBWI 2015 Part 1

LA SCBWI 2015 Part 2

I would love to see you there next year and if you have any questions about the conference, I’d be happy to answer them for you. It’s really a fabulous event, worth planning for if you’re able.

Tags: #LA15SCBWI, A Dance Like Starlight, Allyn Johnston, Anna Shinoda, Beekle, Candace Fleming, Dan Santat, Dan Yaccarino, Deborah Halverson, Deborah Wiles, Evil Librarian, Golden Kite Award, Jordan Brown, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Kristy Dempsey, Kwame Alexander, Martha Brockenbrough, Meg Wolitzer, Melissa Sweet, Mem Fox, Michelle Knudsen, Paul Fleishman, revision, Revolution, SCBWI, Shannon Hale, Sid Fleishman Award, Stephen Fraser, The Family Romanov, The Right Word, Varian Johnson, When A Dragon Moves In Again

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I had the perfect flight lined up for #LA15SCBWI. (The 44th Annual SCBWI Summer Conference) I was leaving NY at 1pm which gave me enough time to get the dog and the boys where they needed to be and plenty of time to get settled in LA before the conference kicked off on Friday morning. That was the plan, anyway. After getting through security I realized I had an hour delay on my Virgin America flight, so I grabbed a sit down lunch. Then that one hour delay turned into a two hour delay.

So I read my magazines–standing up so I’d be ready for that 5+ hour flight.

And I also checked on the puppy. Riley is the 10 month old GSD in the middle. I am the spy LOL!

And of course I checked the #LA15SCBWI twitter feed, where I discovered that @alioop7 (Sky Pony Editor Alison Weiss) was on the same flight. Let’s just say we bonded by the time we arrived in LA–MUCH later than we’d planned. After the 2 hour mechanical delay, this is how it went down…

Everyone is loaded, but it’s starting to drizzle.

Hmmm doesn’t look like we’re getting off the runway. A big storm is rolling in.

The airport closes completely and we are stuck on the runway for over 3 hours. But…is that a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel? Yeah–not so much. It’s back to the gate to fuel up and hear more potential bad news. Now I’ve got my fingers crossed we get off the ground some time tonight. And I’m grateful that I didn’t have my kids stuck on the plane for five hours prior to the five hour flight. All those kiddos were fabulous BTW! And eventually, as the sun was setting, we were finally heading out.

We arrived at the hotel at 11:37pm which was 2:37am EST. *yawn*

I’d like to tell you I went right to bed, but I was in a room with my favorite writing roommate–Jodi Moore and her baby dragon!!!!

I think we both fell asleep mid-sentence. Basically nothing unusual.

After coffee and breakfast and more coffee, the first order of business was finding my RA the fabulous Nancy Castaldo.

I was proud to be her one and only Eastern Upstate NY attendee. We need to at least quadruple that number next year–start your conference fund NOW!

And then we are in conference mode. Poor Lin Oliver, she was suffering with a horrible tooth ache, but you’d never know it. Such a trooper!

Every year the faculty lines up to introduce themselves and they are each responsible for shouting out one word that is representative of them at the LA conference. Here were some of my favorite words…

community

backbone

intentionality

perspective

preparation (the H is silent)

juggle

codpiece

AND

YES!

anticip…

flip flops

curiouser

These words and my experiences over the conference always help me to come up with my own word or words as a takeaway. So watch for that in my last recap post.

And you can’t forget Lin’s Conference Stats. No Conference is complete without them…

*1173 Attendees

*437 Published

*736 Pre-published

*19 Countries in attendance

*48 States

          -This year we were missing West Virginia and New Hampshire.

There were also 225 different occupations listed on applications…

*pediatrician

*car pool coordinator

*choreographer

*VP of transformation

*event planner

*trucker

*opera singer

*bonsai artist

*incentives manager for Victoria’s Secret

and my personal favorite…

*International small arms dealer–mostly doll arms LOL! 

You’ve got to love us wacky children’s writers.

The first Keynote of the conference was with the legendary Mem Fox: INSIDE THE WRITER’S HEAD–THE WRITERLY THOUGHTS THAT LEAD TO SUCCESS. 

If her rich voice and hilarious expressions weren’t enough, Mem also shared tons of wonderful and inspirational information with us. Here were my favorite bits of advice and encouragement…

*Adults love soggy sentimentality that makes kids want to throw up.

*Timeless books arise from genuine events that touch the author, not necessarily sadness.

*When writing picture books she keeps four children in mind…

          -One on her lap

          -One on the couch

          -One in bed

          -And the rest in the classroom.

*Mem WANTS to write books that kids don’t completely understand. She’s not here to keep kids trapped in familiar language.

*I can kindle a love of language or I can kill it.

*Rhythm is in the marrow of your bones if you’re a picture book writer. Often books are written as if word choice doesn’t matter–rhythm matters.

*Without the right words, the death of a book is imminent, which gives new meaning to the end.

Next up was the Editor’s Panel.

AW—Alison Weiss (Sky Pony Press)

SS—Sara Sargent (HarperCollins)

RM—Rotem Moscovich (Disney-Hyperion)

AJ—Allyn Johnston (Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster)

JSG—Julie Strauss-Gabel (Dutton/Penguin-Random House)

JB—Jordan Brown (Balzer+Bray/Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins)

Moderator: WL—Wendy Loggia (Delacort/Penguin Random House)

I’ve heard MANY editor panels over my years of attending conferences, this one was very, very good. Lots of laughs, information, support and tough love. Here are the highlights…

WL–Dream Submissions?

SS–Fantasy–think escapism, swoony, transportive.

RM–Send me your awesome things.

AJ–Fresh take on universal themes. I want goosebumps. I want to read it again. Lots of room for illustrations.

JB–Character. We are doing our best work when we are expanding the reader’s capacity for empathy.

AW–Something that shakes up my own perspective.

JSG–Sense of humor.

Other bits of wisdom I jotted down…

JSG–I admire risk–even if it falls apart. I’m willing to work with that. It speaks to ambition.

JB–On the flip side, envy can be a powerful and useful emotion.

Time for our first Workshop of the conference. SMALL PRESSES: THOUGH THEY BE SMALL THEY BE FIERCE with Alison Weiss (Sky Pony Press), Rana DiOrio (Little Pickle Press) and Emma Dryden.

This was awesome new information for me. I haven’t had a ton of small press exposure. Here are some of the things I learned…

*Small presses are very collaborative and involved with their authors.

*Accessibility–you know who is touching your book.

*Small presses think outside the box with how they market.

*They are often very involved with unique collaborations that are very helpful for their books.

LUNCH TIME!!!!!!!

And now that I’m full, it’s back to work LOL!

Time for Meg Wolitzer and SWITCHING HATS: WRITING FOR ADULTS AND YOUNG ADULTS

And here is some of her random awesome…

*The hilarious writers say they get their ideas from Cleveland.

*A novel is a sort of concentrated version of who a person is. A bullion cube of sensibility.

*We want novels to feel like an approximation of life.

*If you know what preoccupies you, then you know what to write. Write what obsesses you.

*Self censorship is to be avoided–write as if everyone you know is dead.

*Write the book that reflects who you are when no one else is looking.

*The world will whittle your daughter down, but a mother never should.

Next up was Adam Rex–HOW I MAKE PICTURE BOOKS

LOVE THIS…There should be picture books for every age. It’s not a form that people should grow out of.

Next was another workshop with Wendy Loggia–FINDING YOUR YA VOICE

*I think it’s possible to hone a voice that’s authentic to you and captures your reader.

*Voice is the first thing I look for and it’s non-negotiable.

*I know I’m reading something good when I’m swept away and not thinking about the author.

Oh boy–sorry to interrupt this workshop with a critique. This was my first LA crit–I was looking for a little guidance on an unusual project I’ve been messing around with. Just so you know, Bonnie Bader was super awesome and helped me so much.

***NOW BACK TO WENDY***

*Establishing multiple voices is HARD!

*What sets Delacorte apart? We do our own editing.

The last Panel of the day was the SUCCESS STORY PANEL: TIPS ON HOW TO REALIZE YOUR DREAM

This was a GREAT panel!!!!

MB—Martha Brockenbrough

MC—Mike Curato

SL—Stacey Lee

LN—Lori Nichols

AS—Anna Shinoda

Moderator LW—Lee Wind

Across the board, every single person on this panel was persistent, putting in years of effort and hard work to cross into success. My biggest take away was there are no short cuts. Here are some of their best bits of advice…

SL–On attending an SCBWI conference…I felt as if I owed it to my story to go.

MB–Family comes first, but you shouldn’t be making sandwiches when you can be making stories.

MB–There is always a moving target in publishing–what satisfies us are the meaningful relationships.

MB–Resistance makes you stronger.

LW–The pressure is making us diamonds! #sparkleandshine

MC–It should ultimately be a joyful process.

MB–Just finish the draft–it’s got to be finished.

After a full day of conference fun, there was the PAL bookstore where I adopted a whole bunch of baby dragons!!!

And–because I love you–I bought an extra signed copy of WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN AGAIN by Jodi Moore for a special giveaway.

Coming… September 1, 2015 from Flashlight Press

A dragon friend understands the ups and downs of becoming a big brother

Preparations are in full swing to welcome a new family member in this sequel to the award-winning When a Dragon Moves In. A young boy has become a big brother and he and his beloved dragon dedicate themselves to entertaining the little baby. But when the drooling, crying baby somehow charms the dragon and his attention, the boy decides he’s had enough of this baby business. Adult readers will see the dragon as the boy’s alter ego—eager to cuddle with the new baby before the boy himself feels quite ready, then as a conduit to the boy’s acceptance of the baby, and finally as kindred spirit with whom the boy can commiserate. Younger readers will love the boy’s wonderful, though perhaps invisible, dragon friend who helps him be a good big brother.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please spread the word about the contest if–I’d love to see this dragon find a wonderful new home. And watch for the rest of my conference recap blogs coming next week. 

Tags: #LA15SCBWI, Adam Rex, Alison Weiss, Allyn Johnston, Anna Shinoda, Balzer + Bray, Beach Lane Books, conference, Delacort, Disney-Hyperion, Dutton, Emma Dryden, Flashlight Press, Harper Collins, Jodi Moore, Jordan Brown, Julie Strauss-Gabel, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Lee Wind, Lin Oliver, Little Pickle PRess, Lori Nichols, Martha Brockenbrough, Meg Wolitzer, Mem Fox, Mike Curato, Nancy Castaldo, Penguin Random House, Rana DiOrio, Rotem Moscovich, Sara Sargent, SCBWI, Simon & Schuster, Sky Pony, Stacey Lee, Virgin America, Walden Pond Press, Wendy Loggia, When A Dragon Moves In Again

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It’s Conference Recap time!!!! And yes, if you’re paying attention–this post was supposed to be up this morning. But I flew in last night and had as much fun reconnecting with my family as I did when I was reconnecting with my tribe. So now it was time for them to get my attention. I’m also not super timely with today’s post because I was so tired it felt as if I no longer had bones. It’s hard to type without bones. It’s much better to sit on the couch and become one with the cushions. And lastly I’m pokey because laundry doesn’t do itself *sigh* and neither do the dishes and all those other chores. Completely bummed that there wasn’t a shift in the domestic universe while I was gone. But I’m on it now, so here we go.

Jodi, Robin, Kim and Caroline

Thursday night, before the official 2014 LA SCBWI 43rd Annual Summer Conference kick off, is time for meeting up with old friends and giving first time hugs to friends you know incredibly well online, but have never laid eyes on before. Such a treat to make those connections. Such an easy way to really kick your jet lag into high gear LOL!

OMG!!!!! Even though I was THAT tired and didn’t have to be up until about 7–I WAS UP AT 5:30 AM!!!!!!!! JET LAG!!!! But that’s okay–it’s early in the conference. It won’t happen again. It never happened to me before in LA. IT WON”T HAPPEN AGAIN. And I’m so pumped to get started and there’s coffee–lots of coffee!!!!  I am the master of my destiny. And I have my “jet lag” T-shirt on. LOL!

So I’m ready and I know I’m going to be wide awake for Lin Oliver‘s State of the SCBWI Conference Statistics.

This year…

*1,235 attendees

*19 Countries + the USA

*We had four missing states this year and when Lin chastised South Dakota for never coming–BUSTED! One of them had tricked us and snuck in. YAY!!!! South Dakota in the house!!!!!! But not Arkansas, Montana and Mississippi. Boo. Get on that people.

*Half the room was published authors or as Lin said–630 authors understood that publishing is not the end game–there is so much more to learn on this journey <3

We also took a moment to remember the amazing Walter Dean Myers and sniffle because our beloved Tomie DePaola wasn’t going to make the conference or his birthday bash gala due to illness. 🙁 But the good news was that he was going to be ok. (More on Tomie in future recaps)

And then we’re off with…

*slurps more coffee*

Meg Rosoff‘s Keynote: WARNING: PETER RABBIT MAY BE HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH

As you know, my recap posts can’t possibly capture the complete amazingness of the conference and it’s speakers–and it shouldn’t–I’m trying to tempt you into coming next year and hanging out with me. But even if I could get it all down in it’s full bloggy splendor, it’s a no-no to post too much conference material that doesn’t belong to me. Completely understandable. But, get your pens out, because I am gong to give you some of my favorite bits of wisdom and inspiration, starting with Meg…

*Reading books gives you imagination and the ability to tell a story and those skills will make everyone better at everything–except Accountants and Politicians–it will put them in jail LOL!

*The most difficult problems in the universe are solved in the telling of stories.

*Adults have already formed their opinions about sexuality. Kids are discovering through books and tolerance is growing.

*Treasure your faults–they are an important kind of truth.

*Writing is bloody difficult.

*Imagination can be very dangerous–it can change the world and that’s why we write.

Next up is the Editor’s Panel: 3+3 THREE THINGS YOUR BOOK SHOULD INCLUDE AND THREE THINGS IT SHOULDN’T

AB-Alessandra Balzer (Balzer + Bray–Harper Collin’s Children)

MLD-Mary Lee Donovan (Candlewick)

AJ-Allyn Johnston (Beach Lane Books–Simon & Schuster)

WL-Wendy Loggia (Delacort press/Random House Children’s Books)

LM-Lucia Monfried (Dial Books for Young Readers)

DS-Dinah Stevenson (Clarion Books-Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

JSG- Julie Strauss-Gabel (Dutton Children’s Books–Penguin Young Readers)

Moderator: LO-Lin Oliver

LO–What is the most important thing you look for?

AB-VOICE

MLD-VOICE. You bring it automatically but you have to write it authentically.

AJ-SURPRISE I want the unexpected. Goosebumps. Spend less time working on your cover letter and more time worrying about your MS.

WL-VOICE You can’t hone your voice–it’s who you are. It’s immediate.

LM-ORIGINALITY It’s rare, but it’s what all editors look for.

DS-A BEGINNING an invitation that contains the seeds of the end.

JSG-A GOOD FIT sometimes a manuscript can be good, but there is a better home for it.

 LO-So, how do we find that perfect fit?

JSG-You can’t get it anywhere if you write to the general masses. It’s okay to be unique and different–you only need one. 

MLD-Research–take the time to find the connection.

LO-(answering part of her own question LOL!) The SCBWI has a web resource document called EDITED BY.

***Everyone chiming in–NO MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS WITHIN THE SAME PUBLISHING HOUSE***

LO-Going to the dark side…what do you not want to see???

JSG-BORING–my best asset is a short attention span.

DS-Don’t want to see 100,000 words.

LM-Show instead of tell.

WL-Absent page numbers. I WANT PAGE NUMBERS ON YOUR MS!

AJ-Don’t be weird. Like sending your submission in a plastic green fish. *shudders*

MLD-The urge to teach/preach

AB-Too much packed into the beginning to get the editor’s attention. It can have the reverse effect.

LO-How do you know if you’re boring???? We all think we’re pretty great, right??? LOL!

Some additional bits of advice…

AJ–Write something with snappy humor.

WL-Show thoughtfulness behind your choices.

AJ-Confidence! Then I can relax and enjoy the story because I know I’m in good hands.

LM-Write your heart–ignore trends.

JSG-Word of mouth is what makes a book a success.

AB-Hook–it has to meet different people at different levels.

AJ-The final page turn can make or break picture book.

DS-Craft has a lot to do with making choices–we don’t always need to know the color of the dog’s collar.

JSG-Sub Plots: sometimes people throw them in to give their book additional engines to make it to the end. If you take the sub plot out, will the story still stand?

AB-Don’t put the cart before the horse. Work on the first steps. Establish relationships.

LM-There is no speeding up becoming a good writer. The better books are the ones that get published.

JSG-Once you are out of the gate–you can’t get back in. Be ready for it.

Next up was my first Workshop of the conference. Laura Rennert (Andrea Brown Literary Agency) THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF A SUCCESSFUL CAREER: FIRST BOOKS THROUGH IMPORTANT MILESTONES

Laura walked us through a case study of the fabulous Maggie Stiefvater and how they built her career together. Here are a couple powerful bits to share…

*The more distinct and individual the brand, the more powerful it is.

*Think about what is powerful and organic to you, but that can break out in a very full category of your peers.

*Growth is from book to book to book.

And Yum! It’s LUNCH TIME!!!!

Look how quick that was. Now it’s time to go back after being in guacamole heaven. I seriously adore the green stuff and could eat it every day. And since I have a feeling that Skippy Jon Jones would love guacamole– it was obviously the perfect meal to eat before listening to a Keynote by Judy Schachner: THINKING IN PICTURES–MY STORYTELLING PROCESS

Judy’s fabulous and funny presentation was very visual–but come on–she’s an artist and illustrator. It’s supposed to be. But that makes it a bit hard to share some of her amazing information. But I think I’m going to have fun just giving you some of the bullets in my notes (completely out of context) and see how it works for you. *giggle*

Here we go…

*Creative procrastination.

*I worship at the alter of prairie dogs.

*Diagnosed ADHD by a boy at a school visit.

*Loves dead mice and collects hairballs.

*29ft Viking ship!

*Be a collector.

*Run for your lives–she’s got the rabies!!!!

Now, wasn’t that fun. Feel free to tell me what you think Judy was referring to in the comments :o)

Up next was another Keynote. This time with Stephen Chbosky (author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower) HOW TO WRITE YOUR TIMELESS CLASSIC (OR DIE TRYING)

I’m an über fan girl of Stephen and his book so these bits of wisdom are real gifts…

*The next person to write a classic could be in this room. 

BAM! He’s not even a sentence or two in and he has me. Because I believe that. I believe that not only can that be me–but that if I work hard enough–it will be me. And I like people who remind me that the smartest thing you can do is shoot for the stars and then figure out a way to get there.

*If you write–you are a writer. Take control of your own destiny.

*Find an idea. Share your ideas with the people you trust and see which one everyone gravitates towards. That’s the one. And it’s usually the one you think is too weird or too hard to make happen. 

*You are going to find that one beautiful book you are destined to write.

*The best writers know exactly who they are and what they are doing.

And then my favorite takeaway…

*Books change lives–save lives. That’s why we are here. We want to change the world. It only takes one.

And maybe I was so blown away by talking to Stephen while he signed my book that I forgot to get a picture WITH him. But sometimes you don’t need that to remember the moment…

I was already hard at work on the plane ride home. Thank you Stephen Chbosky for being made of awesome. I’ll keep my promise <3

*sigh* Workshop #2 Wasn’t quite a good fit for me. I came in a little late because I was Face Timing with my kids (3 hour time difference) and then the topic wasn’t exactly what I thought it was going to be. So not a lot of notes for you so we’ll move along.

Next up was the Diversity Panel #weneeddiversebooks

Here is who was on it…

AD-Adriana Dominguez

SF-Sharon Flake

LG-Lamar Giles

MM-Meg Medina

LSP-Linda Sue Park

Moderator SMW-Suzanne Morgan Williams

And here were some of the best takeaways

SMW-Why do kids need diverse books–especially if you did “okay” without them?

MM-When kids don’t have access to examples of themselves in books, it’ affects them. They become embarrassed by who they are.

-All of our journeys are universal, but we have to share our own stories.

LG-Positive imagery for everyone.

LSP-For young readers connections can happen at a really deep level.

SMW-Who writes diverse books?

LSP-Anyone can and should be able to write any one and any thing. But not everyone can do it well. If you do it, you need a passionate personal stake in what you’re writing or you may make things worse. Research can go a long way, but it has to be intensive and extensive. Immersion. At heart–writing multiculturally when this doesn’t happen is a lack of respect.

LG-It comes down to why you are doing it. People will call you with a passion if you mess up–even if your motives are honest.

SF-There are lots of submissions out there, but most of them reduce cultural diversity down to food, clothing and stereotypes. They lack depth.

LSP-Perpetuating stereo types are like ear worms that stick and that is a mistake. It makes people feel disrespected and does the opposite of what it’s supposed to do–enforcing negative energy.

And then it was time for my very first PAL Book Sale & Wine and Cheese Party!!!! I got to sell TOUCHING THE SURFACE to my tribe members while eating cheese. Do you know how much I love cheese? And talking books with friends? Good times were had by all. <3 What an awesome Day 1

Now it’s time for the cliff hanger…

*Did Kim have jet lag again tomorrow?

*Was there enough coffee in the world to make it through day two after such a jam-packed, awesome day one?

*Did anyone figure out what Miss Judy Schachner was talking about? *grin*

If you want to know these and other questions, leave a comment and be sure to stop back over on Thursday for my PART 2 of the LA SCBWI Conference Recap!!!!

Tags: #LA14SCBWI, Agents, conference, diversity, Editors, Judy Schachner, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Laura Rennert, Lin Oliver, Meg Rosoff, SCBWI, Stephen Chbosky, Touching the Surface, Walter Dean Myers

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Yay! It’s almost here. Saturday is the Millbrook Literary Festival. Here’s a little bit about what will be going on right off their website…

Set your calendars: the 6th annual Millbrook Literary Festival will be held on June 21, 2014.

This year’s festival will present over 70 timely, thought-provoking, and thoroughly entertaining authors and illustrators to participate in panel discussions, readings, and signings throughout the day at the Millbrook Free Library on Franklin Street. The schedule of events and lineup of authors can be found at the links to the left.

People can start the day early at the Farmer’s Market beginning at 9:00 until 1:00. Lunchtime can be enjoyed at one of Millbrook’s many eateries for a deli sandwich, slice of pizza, French cuisine, classic American fare, or other culinary delight. Before leaving the festival, visitors are encouraged to shop in Millbrook’s eclectic stores where treasures abound.

Across the globe, literary festivals have been gaining popularity, increasing literacy, and celebrating books. There are more than 150 festivals in the United Kingdom supporting tourism and literacy while presenting people with direct access to writers, illustrators, editors, and publishers. Here in the United States, literary festivals are growing in numbers annually, and historic Millbrook joins the global and national movements with enthusiasm to make books and reading an important part of our lives.

Want to know who’s going to be there giving presentations and signing books? Click HERE to get the full list of authors and the schedule. Hope I get to see you there. <3

What’s the best literary festival you’ve had the pleasure of attending?

Tags: Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Merritt Bookstore, Millbrook Literary Festival, Touching the Surface

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I had an amazing time at the Hudson Children’s Book Festival this weekend!!!

What an amazing group of book loving people. Let me share some of them with you…

Setting up–the calm before the book storm. <3

It’s me!!!!

Signing TOUCHING THE SURFACE for some very special fans.

Tiffany Schmidt and her amazing books were a teen magnet all day long.

K.M. Walton and Jennifer Castle hanging out with one of the many fabulous volunteers.

Jodi Moore and Dragon giving a tutorial on how to make your very own puppet.

I had the pleasure of sitting next to the extremely talented Hudson Talbott.

And my fellow Apocalypsie –Tiffany Schmidt

Made a brand new friend, Bruce Hopkins. Feels like I’ve known him for years.

Jodi Moore, Dragon and I got to have an early celebration with SCBWI Crystal Kite winner Kit Grindstaff. Congratulations on her win for her debut novel THE FLAME IN THE MIST.

SQUEE!!!!! MY CRITIQUE GROUP GOT TO HANG OUT WITH THE INDOMITABLE ELLEN HOPKINS ALL DAY LONG!!!! (ALL CAPS INTENTIONAL) And don’t forget  the bonus SQUEE!!!! Megan, Jodi and I got to hang out all weekend together. We hadn’t seen each other in A YEAR!!! Seeing them was the BEST! <3

It was an amazing day. The book lovers in Hudson already feel like family.

I hope I get a chance to see them a lot more often. And I can’t thank them enough for hosting this wonderful event and having me be a part of it.

Tags: Apocalypsies, Bruce Hopkins, Ellen Hopkins, Hudson Children's Book Festival, Hudson Talbott, Jennifer Castle, Jodi Moore, K.M. Walton, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Kit Grindstaff, Megan Gilpin, Tiffany Schmidt, Touching the Surface

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Woo hoo!!! I am so excited to be a part of the 6th Annual Hudson Children’s Book Festival!!!!

I’ll be there with my sharpies signing copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE!!!

But it’s not just me!

There is an epic ton of amazing kid lit folks on the scene. For the full Author/Illustrator list click HERE.

But I have to SQUEE!

Some of my best writer buds and fan yourself fan-girl worthy authors are going to be there…

So, come out and visit all of us!!!! We can’t wait to hang out with you <3

Tags: Book Signing, Books, Ellen Hopkins, HCBF, Hudson Children's Book Festival, Jane Yolen, Jennifer Castle, Jennifer Hubbard, Jodi Moore, K.M. Walton, kidlit, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Kit Grindstaff, Michelle Zink, Tiffany Schmidt, Touching the Surface

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