KidLitArtists Round-Up: News, Tips and Resources - by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

It's been nearly nine years since I was chosen for the SCBWI Illustration Mentorship Program and I've so enjoyed watching other Mentees' careers blossom as well. Here's a list of our books that have come out or are coming out in 2019 (thanks to Jessica Lanan for compiling this list).

I feel so lucky to be part of this amazing community of children's book illustrators/writers. Our KidlitArtists blog and social media is not officially part of the SCBWI but is run by volunteers, and I wanted to give kudos to those who are currently helping behind-the-scenes.

Thanks to Jen Betton, who organizes our blog posting schedule.

Thanks to Meridth McKean Gimbel, Ana Aranda, Susan Ghahremani, Alexandra Thompson, Gail Buschman, Christina Forshay for all their help with our social media. You can find their posts via @KidLitartists on Twitter and Instagram.

EXCITING MEMBER NEWS:

Mega-congrats to Juana Martinez-Neal on her Caldecott Honor for ALMA AND HOW SHE GOT HER NAME (her author-illustrator debut)!!!!

RECENT POSTS:

How Note-Taking Helps Me As A Creative - by Maple Lam. Maple gives us a sneak peek into how her note-taking obsession inspires stories and art (and sometimes results in publisher interest!).

Self-Sabotage: Recognizing The Voice And Getting Back On Track - by Jeslyn Kate. Tips on how to recognize when your inner voice is trying to sabotage your creativity and how to get back on track.

Traveling Art Suitcase - by Dorothia Rohner. Dorothia shares photos of her amazing traveling art suitcase and what she carries in it.

Artist In The Archives: How (and Why) You Should Be Learning With University Children's Literature Research Collections - by K-Fai Steele. K-Fai spent three weeks at the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota and shares what she learned, encourages others to apply for the Ezra Jack Keats/Kerlan Memorial Fellowship. Lots of photos!

A Short Guide To Book Launch Parties - by Liz Wong. Liz offers great tips on the whens, wheres and hows of scheduling your book launch, describes what happens at a book launch, offers suggestions on swag and extra activities.

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Debbie Ridpath Ohi is an author/illustrator from the 2010 Class of SCBWI Mentees. Upcoming book: I'M WORRIED, a new picture book written by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by Debbie, launches from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers June 4, 2019.

You can find Debbie on her kidlit blog, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.