The Golden Kite Luncheon & Awards Presentation...

The conference Golden Kite Luncheon took place on Sunday (I'm posting out of order a bit--I used various notebooks that ended up in various places when I packed), during which lots of awards are given out (and I always cry).

After the food (the vegetarian dish was delish) we were entertained a capella by conference-goer Tyler McGroom, who participated in a contest involving singing during last year's event (for which I, as his table mate, got free SCBWI merch from the bookstore) and volunteered to croon once again.

Next SCBWI Illustrator Coordinator Priscilla Burris announced the winners of the portfolio showcase (which, as usual, she did a bang-up job of coordinating). Here they are:

• Best in show: Patricia Cantor (she wins a trip to New York to meet with art directors and you'll see her illustration on the cover of an upcoming SCBWI Bulletin.
• 2nd place: Ken Min
• 3rd place: Hyewon Yum
• Picturebook page winner: Stephanie Roth Sisson

The judges for the event:Left to right: Abigail Simoun, editor with Tricycle Press; Laurent Linn, art director at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; my favorite agent, Steven Malk of Writers House; Frieda Gates, coordinator of the annual NY Children's Illustrators Conference; and illustrator Joe Cepeda.

Next Erzsi Deak was named SCBWI member of the year--because she's awesome.

Then there was the crying...

First SCBWI showed a video tribute to the late Sue Alexander who passed away suddenly last month. Sue was a driving force behind SCBWI from the organization's inception, and the first official member. The touching words from Lin Oliver combined with a James Taylor song...tears.

And Here are the Golden Kite Winners:

• Picture Book Illustration: Yuyi Morales for Little Night (made me cry)
• Picture Book Text: Sara Pennypacker for Pierre in Love (made me cry)
• Nonfiction: Ann Bausum for Muckrackers
• Fiction: Katherine Applegate for Home of the Brave

SCBWI Success Stories...

Conference sessions for the day ended with a panel of authors and illustrators who found success through SCBWI, whether through grants, portfolio showcases, or simply through learning from conference sessions. The panel featured authors Jay Asher, Paula Yoo and Lisa Yee and illustrators John Rocco and Yuji Morales.

Here's a little something from each of them on getting started:

Lisa Yee said her biggest obstacle was "stupidity." Finally attending a conference got her to a place where writing stopped being a hobby and became a mission.

John Rocco said wins at the NYC conference portfolio showcase in 2004 and 2007 really helped him gain exposure for his work. Then he did a lot of research, cut down his day job, and illustrated his first picture book.

Jay Asher said there was a moment he realized that his dream of being an author was something he wanted to go after, but after years of rejections (although good ones) he thought he'd never figure out what all those editors in New York wanted. So he took his wife out to dinner and told her he was going to quite writing--and she stared to cry. So he didn't.

Yuyi Morales said that once she decided to go for it, she had nothing to lose, nothing to go back to. She just had her husband, her son, and the public library. And she studied picture books, finally winning an SCBWI grant, and her first assignment after an LA portfolio showcase.

Paula Yoo said, "I know this is cheesy, but it's about what you want to say in your heart." She said don't worry about getting published--her novel worked when she mined her memories and stared writing the truth in her fiction.