Mark your calendars for April 14 -15 and contact Rich Kaplan at rich@blakesnyder.com to reserve your spot today.

The workshop is being held at the Wyndham Garden Hotel: http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/AUSWC/mapanddirections/main.wnt

Hello,
I am writing on behalf of the Exhibition Committee and Board of Governors of the Art Center of Corpus Christi with hope that we can join forces to present an exhibit of Children’s Book Illustrations May 4-29, 2012.We have envisioned a month filled with related programming and a Children’s Book Festival on May 12.

Open call for entry for “The Art of Children’s Books Illustrations” Submission Guidelines:
1) Artists residing in the Southern half of Texas
2) Illustrations published in print in the last 5 years
3) Submission via email, a maximum of 3 illustrations per artist (jpg images no larger than 5mb ea.)
4) Entry fee: $15 flat fee
5) Juror: Dr. Barbara Immroth (tentative)
6) Delivery and pick of artwork and/or any shipping cost is responsibility of artist
7) Cash awards

Timeline:
Submission deadline: March 3
Notification: March 22
Art Delivery: by May 1st
Installation: May 2-4
Artwalk: May 4
Award Ceremony & Artist Reception: May 10
Children’s Book Festival: May 12
Last full day of exhibit May 29
Pick up art: May 29-June 2

I hope you are interested! Please feel free to call me to discuss anytime (361) 884-6406.

Dianna Bluntzer
Exhibitions & Administration

The Art Center of Corpus Christi
100 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Corpus Christi, TX 78401
(361) 884-6406
dianna@artcentercc.org

The City of Austin requests qualifications from professional visual artists who live and work in the state of Texas. One artist/artist team and one alternate will be recommended for the project, which may involve interviewing finalists. The selected artist or artist team will be awarded a design and commission contract after approval by City Council.

The budget for design, fabrication and installation of the artwork is $166,000.
Submission deadline is 5 PM, Monday, February 13, 2012.

Carl Harvey, 2011-2012 AASL president, has initiated a White House petition on school libraries, which specifically petitions the Obama administration to “ensure that every child in America has access to an effective school library program.” 25,000 signatures are required in order for this petition to be viewed by White House staff, no later than February 4, 2012. Please take a few seconds to sign this petition, spread the word to your member groups, ask your colleagues and library supporters in your circles to sign on, and spread the word via Facebook, Twitter and other channels! The url is: http://wh.gov/Wgd .

A few things of note: 

* We’ve heard that the petition software is temperamental. If you cannot sign in on your  first attempt, please log out and log back in. Or, try a different web browser, or as a last resort, try a different computer.                                                                       

 * This petition should not be confused with a petition begun in 2011. * White House petitions must be authored by individuals, not any association. Therefore, Carl has introduced this petition as an individual, not as a representative of AASL or ALA.

• Learn from your peers in over 200 discussion groups led by your colleagues on a variety of hot topics;
• See the latest from over 350 exhibitors introducing new products, titles, services and technologies.
• Attend Pre-Midwinter institutes offered by ALA divisions and offices;
• Fill your toolbox with tools for advocacy in workshops, and presentations on Washington issues;
• Advance (or change) your career by utilizing the ALA JobLIST Placement Center, helping connect job seekers and employers and offering free career counseling;
• Visit the Networking Uncommons the perfect venue for impromptu sessions, demonstrations, and conversations;
• Hear from new and favorite authors and illustrators in a wide range of memorable events. ERT/Booklist Author Forum, ALA President’s Program, ALA Youth Media Awards, RUSA Book and Media Awards, Auditorium Speaker Series, ALTAFF Gala Author Tea and Spotlight on Adult Literature, Arthur Curley Memorial Lecture, and more
• Join an immediate online community to enrich your networking and learning (tag: #alamw12) at Midwinter;
• Did we mention the exhibit hall? In addition to the post office, internet room, restaurants and lounges, the exhibit hall is home to two fantastic stages to see hot mystery and romance authors, poets, storytellers and chefs on the new What’s Cooking @ ALA stage;
• Fun social events such as the Facebook meetup, tweetup, and more.

So pack up the car and head north, if even for just a day! You’re sure to have a grand time for no more than a $25.00 Exhibit Hall entry fee!

A message from Liz Garton Scanlon, best-selling author:

There are 2 or 3 spots left in my spring course at ACC — Advanced Writing for Children. We cover everything from picture books to YA. It’s held on Thursday nights from 6:15-9:45 at the Rio Grande campus for 12 weeks starting February 16. Students do not need to be regular ACC students.

Hope to see some SCBWI members there!

A note from Brandee Davis, publisher:

I am the publisher of the non profit local magazine School Choice where we strive to keep our readers informed on the education issues that impact our community. This February we will be hosting our first annual Preschool Preview: An Early Childhood Education Fair. We are looking for children’s authors and/or illustrators to be a part of our event. It is a two day event that will be held from 10 am to 2 pm, on Saturday February 28, 2012 at Lakeline Mall and Saturday, March 3, 2012 at Barton Creek Mall.

If interested contact Brandee at 512.576.2500 or via email at BDavis@SchoolChoiceMag.com.

The RA’s, ARA’s, and our Critique Group Coordinator, Shelli Cornelison, are currently discussing details via email. One of the topics being discussed is genre categories to be served. At the moment picture books, middle grade, YA, and graphic novels are being considered. No plans are set in stone, yet. More information will be made available as soon as possible.

In the meantime? Get to work!

Many times when a manuscript is rejected, it isn’t because the writing is weak. It’s because the manuscript isn’t ready. We all want to push our work to the next phase, but sometimes we submit work to agents or publishers before it’s ready. Maybe we’ve shown the manuscript to our writing group. Maybe we’ve revised a few times. Maybe we think we’ve done all we can do. But what we really need is a writing coach, a revision plan, and a clear strategy to make the best book we can. In today’s demanding world of publishing, you get only one chance grab the attention of an agent or editor, so make that chance count. Make sure you are ready.

The Highlights Foundation’s Whole Novel Workshop has been helping writers polish their manuscripts since 2006. Participants receive a reading of and editorial response to their complete manuscript prior to a week dedicated to revision and readying your manuscript for submission. We offer an award-winning faculty of writers, editors, and agents to help make your book the best it can be. Through one-on-one critiques and small-group discussions, we focus on revision plans, query letters, and pitch strategies to get you ready to submit. We also nourish your creativity with a private cabin in which to think and write, farm-style meals, and an environment that will refresh your publishing dreams.

Whole Novel Workshops offer targeted programs for nonfiction narrative (in May), fiction for middle-school readers (in July), and young-adult readers (in October). Our first whole novel workshop in 2012 takes place March 11-17. Submission deadline is December 21. The faculty includes award-winning authors and talented teachers Kathi Appelt, Alan Gratz, and Jeannette Ingold, as well smart and sassy editor Martha Mahalick from Greenwillow Books. Authors Janet Fox and Karen Henley round out the support team as teaching assistants. Come spend a week in the woods and finally get your manuscript ready for publication.

To secure your spot, or for more information, contact Jo Lloyd at 570-253-1192, e-mail jo.lloyd@highlightsfoundation.org, or request an application online.
To find out more and to apply to the Whole Novel Workshop, visit www.highlightsfoundation.org.

Badgerdog Literary Publishing, an Austin-based organization that brings writers into schools and community centers to provide creative writing programming for youth and seniors, has teamed up with WriteByNight, a writing center and writers’ service dedicated to helping writers of all experience levels to achieve their creative potential and literary goals, to present 2nd Saturday Writing Sessions. All sessions meet at WriteByNight, 1305 E. 6th Street, Suite 4.

On December 10 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. we’re presenting From Text to Image: Graphic Stories, a workshop created for 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade writers. In this month’s 2^nd Saturday workshop, we’ll explore the dynamic duo of text and image through the art of graphic storytelling.  Badgerdog Teaching Artist Jeffrey Pethybridge will lead a two-hour workshop for middle-school writers introducing techniques used by graphic artists as they mingle image and language. Participating writers will leave the workshop with a new, original story told through art and text. We still have spots available.

 All of our Saturday writers are invited to submit their work for publication in our online journal, Unbound (www.badgerdog.org/Unbound).  

You can checkout more information on our website: http://badgerdog.org/youthprograms/saturday-workshops