Announcements

Just a couple of things I wanted to mention about the SCBWI meeting in New York City last weekend (other than the freezing weather...).

First, I was pleasantly surprised by the upbeat mood of most of the editors I heard there. Yes, the industry (like all things) is suffering in this economic climate, but good books are still being bought and published. Children's books, in particular, have a solid niche. So keep writing, and please keep buying - there are lots of great books out there (as you can see from the interviews below).

The second thing is that SCBWI has just begun production of a series of videos with masters in the field of children's books. The first two feature Richard Peck (On Writing the Novel) and Tomie dePaola (on Creating the Picture Book). My experience with this type of video is that it can be extremely useful. I'll be viewing them soon myself. I do know that both men are brilliant and entertaining, and true masters of the craft.

For more information on these videos and on SCBWI, visit

www.scbwi.org

Look for more upcoming interviews here with debut authors, too!