SCBWI Spring Spirit Conference

What a great day! I volunteered at the Spring Spirit Conference--a sold out event--and it proved it to be another great success for SCBWI. The keynote speaker was Lin Oliver, co-founder of SCBWI, and a true joy to listen to and talk with. Her animated, light-hearted nature was delightful. Also on board were Andrea Tompa, Editor at Candlewick Press; Kendra Marcus & Minju Chang, Literary Agents at Bookstop Literary; Bret Duquette, Editor at Serling Children's Books; Ellice Lee, Art Director at Random House; the YA Muses; and a few of our regional published authors.

One grand highlight for me was getting picked for the "Writer's Best in Show" by Minju Chang, based on the pages I submitted from my newest YA Fantasy WIP. I got a face-to-face critique from Ms. Chang and was thrilled to hear that she wanted to see the ms once it's finished. Gotta love that validation!!

The volunteer dinner afterwards was also nicely done, thanks to Patricia Newman, Co-Regional Advisor, who offered up her lovely home to us. The whole event left me inspired with lots of helpful advice, new writer friends to correspond with, and a couple of books I'm excited to read (my volunteer duties included helping with the bookstore, Treasure Time, where I purchased author-autographed treasures Ivy's Everafter by my volunteer buddy, Dawn Lairamore, and a pre-ordered copy of Gilt (due out May 15th) by YA Muse Katherine Longshore).

Thank you to all those who made this event happen. Now, back to the grindstone on my WIP!