Awards and New Mentees!

First we want to say a big CONGRATULATIONS to our very own Andy Musser, who won this year's portfolio showcase at the SCBWI Los Angeles conference! His portfolio is gorgeous and you should take a peek at his website: www.andymusser.com/

The Honor awards went to Anna Daviscourt and Tenaya Lena, who also won one of this year's mentorship awards!

We also want to welcome all of the new Illustration Mentorship Award winners: the Kidlit Artists group is made up of illustrators who have won this award, and this year we welcome six new members:

MARCELO VERDAD 

NEENA PHAN 

ROB SAYEGH JR 

VIVIEN WU 

TENAYA LENA 

EDDIE EDWARDS 

Congratulations everyone!

News!! SCBWI Portfolio Awards!!

This weekend was the 26th annual SCBWI Conference in Los Angeles!! It is always an amazing and exhausting time, filled with inspiring speeches, interesting workshops, and spending time with new and old friends. It's also when the bi-annual portfolio awards are given, and this year all THREE honor awards went to KidLitArtists!!!

HONOR AWARDS:

Andy Musser!!!

© Andy Musser

And brand new mentees Shannon McNeill

© Shannon McNeill

And Irena Freitas!!

You'll be hearing more from Shannon and Irena, along with the other new mentees Heidi Woodward Sheffield, Alexandra Thompson, Diandra Mae, and Amber Alvarez in interviews later this year.

Woohoo KidLitArtists!!! Other mentees have won portfolio awards in the past, too (the judging is completely separate from the mentorship program, just so you know!), and you can see some of the winning portfolios here:

Eliza Wheeler - Grand Prize SCBWI LA 2011
Juana Martinez-Neal - Grand Prize SCBWI LA 2012
Andrea Offermann - Grand Prize SCBWI NY 2013

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Jen Betton wrote and illustrated HEDGEHOG NEEDS A HUG (Penguin-Putnam) coming in summer 2018, and illustrated TWILIGHT CHANT by Holly Thompson (Clarion-HMH) coming spring 2018.
You can find her here:
www.jenbetton.com
www.facebook.com/jenbettonillustration
@jenbetton