Congrats to Robin Rosenthal and Juana Martinez-Neal! Plus SCBWI-NYC photos and some Mentee news

Just came back from the SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC. What a wonderful event! Thanks to the faculty and volunteers behind-the-scenes for all their hard work.

I was especially excited to see Robin Rosenthal (from the 2014 SCBWI-LA Mentee group) win the top prize in this year's SCBWI Winter Portfolio Showcase. CONGRATS, ROBIN!

From Robin:

"I am thrilled and honored to win this award. This is my ninth New York conference, and I am so thankful for the advice and feedback I've received along the way from my peers and from established illustrators, art directors, editors, and agents in the scbwi community. I've gotten some tough critiques at times, but it was often those critiques that propelled me furthest in my work."

Speaking of awards, CONGRATS to Juana Martinez-Neal (Mentee Class of 2011), who just won The Pura Belpré Award for Illustrators for LA PRINCESA AND THE PEA! Congrats to Juana and the other 2018 ALA Youth Media Award Winners.

Wonderful to see some of my Mentee friends in NYC. Like Jessica Lanan (Mentee Class of 2011) and Lisa Anchin (Mentee Class of 2012) at the Golden Kite Awards:

Jessica's first solo picture book, The Fisherman and the Whale, is coming out in spring 2019 from Simon & Schuster! See her blog post for more news.

And see this recent KidLitArtists post for an overview of our upcoming 2018 children's books! Meanwhile, a few more Mentee pics from the conference....

Here's Diandra Mae (Mentee Class of 2017) helping out at Registration:

Heidi Sheffield (Mentee Class of 2017) during the Portfolio Showcase and Illustrators' Social:

Great to catch up with Suzanne Kaufman (Mentee Class of 2014). Her upcoming book project, 100 BUGS! (written by Kate Narita, illustrated by Suzanne) comes out from Farrar, Straus and Giroux in June.

I had to miss the last day of the conference, but for a good reason. I had been invited to help celebrate Judy Blume's 80th birthday at Symphony Place that day! See this article (with photos) in Publishers Weekly last week.

Just before I went back to Toronto on the Monday, I ran into another Mentee, yay! You can find out more about Meridth McKean Gimbel (Mentee class of 2015) and her wonderful work at MeridthMcKeanGimbel.com:

If you missed the conference, you can browse other photos and some great takeaways at the SCBWI Conference Blog.

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Debbie Ridpath Ohi wrote and illustrated WHERE ARE MY BOOKS? and SAM & EVA (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers).  Her illustrations also appear in books by Michael Ian Black, Judy Blume, Lauren McLaughlin and Rob Sanders. Her next book: I'M SAD, written by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by Debbie, comes out from Simon & Schuster in June 2017. She blogs about reading, writing and illustrating books for young people at Inkygirl.com. Twitter: @inkyelbows.

Interview with Diandra Mae, 2017 SCBWI LA Mentorship Award winner

This interview series introduces the talented recipients of the SCBWI Mentorship Award at the 2017 Summer Conference. Please welcome Diandra Mae to the KidLitArtists Blog! 

About Diandra Mae:

Diandra Mae has a love of stories as big as the Lone Star State. Thanks to a steady diet of  comics and cartoons while growing up, her work is full of emotion and humor. She is currently exploring what it means to be a storyteller through a variety of media. Diandra lives in Houston, Texas with her family.

Did the feedback you received during the mentorship critiques either change or confirm the direction of your illustration?

The feedback confirmed that a new path I had just started on with my work was the correct one. I had several brand new pieces (black and white work) in my portfolio that were held up with delight over and over again. I remember thinking, "I had so much fun making those. I need to make sure I keep having fun going forward."

What kind of projects are you working on now?

I have these two characters that I couldn't figure out what to do with. I recently realized that's because their story is wordless. Nothing like a challenge, right? I'll be dummying up their story this month.  Once I see that through I'm going to explore the story possibilities for a group of young characters. I'm really looking forward to that. 

Beyond that, I'm taking a creativity workshop online and I'm really enjoying the exploration of media and techniques without worrying about the final outcome. Process can be its own reward.

Is there any type of illustration (or other work) that you’re hoping for in the near future?

I feel like the more I create, the more I want to try! I currently have sitting on my drawing table, outlines or sketches for a) a board book, b) a webcomic, c) a picture book, d) early reader/early chapter book. And that's not to say I wouldn't mind illustrating a middle grade book. I would! I love it all!

Is there one really helpful piece of advice that you’ve gotten since pursuing illustration?  Any one piece of bad advice?

The advice that really resonated with me was, "Why are you the one to tell this story? What makes you stand out from all the rest?" It's made me dig deep and figure out the kind of illustrator I want to be, and the kinds of stories I want to tell. It's turned my work in a completely new direction.  

Bad advice: In a portfolio critique, I was told several things that went completely against the grain of who I was as a creator, and what was presented in my portfolio. That was one of those times where I considered what was said for about a minute before I realized that they didn't get me, and that was okay. Even bad advice can help you stay on your path.

What was one of your favorite quotes or lessons from the SCBWI Summer Conference? 

I got so much out of the Illustrator Intensive. I enjoyed the exercises and there were so many fantastic points made that entire day. However, I think overall the lessons shared by LeUyen Pham at the SCBWI Summer Conference were some of the most concrete take-aways I've received in years. She is an amazing presenter/teacher. The message I got from her (and the one that thrilled my gardener's heart) was, "GROW."

What were some of your favorite books when you were a kid?

When I was little, the details and world building in both Mercer Meyer's Monster books as well as Richard Scarry's Best Ever books completely fascinated me. I cut my teeth on the "I can Read" collection published by Harper Collins. (Hi, eighties kid!) I would spend my allowance on the Uncle Scrooge comics you could buy at the grocery store. When I was older the humor of Sideways Stories From Wayside School completely sucked me in and I read my copy to tatters. The mysteries of Bunnicula helped build my love of the mysterious and weird, as did Roald Dahl's James & The Giant Peach and The Witches.

Thanks, Diandra! Welcome to KidLitArtists!

Find more about Diandra on her website diandramae.com, or on Instagram and Twitter.