SCBWI summer conference

Days of learning, hanging out, talking, speaking. Old friends and new. This year SCBWI had a nonfiction strand, and I was on a panel with Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Tanya Lee Stone and Deborah Heiligman, chaired by Ken Wright from Writer's House. I also did two sessions: Writing Biographies, and Photo Research. I loved doing these two sessions! People came loaded with really good, specific questions, and wanted lots of practical advice. For more about the conference, check out the SCBWI blog that they kept running during the conference. Amazing.

As always, people are my favorite part. Here's a few photos. Dinner with M. T. Anderson one night. There must be some connection here to Feed....

The amazing and wonderful Linda Sue Park. If I ever write a novel half as beautiful as what she does, I will die happy.

Loren Long (left side) was one of the incredible speakers at the conference. At a Writer's House party Sunday night, David Shannon popped up out of nowhere, like an oversized elf with his mischievous grin. I didn't get my camera going till the grin was temporarily gone, and then a security guy swooped in and told me to stop taking photos.


And here is where we had the party, right across the street from the hotel. In fact, I took this photo right out my window the next morning. I think this building is so totally, utterly L. A. Inside were massive amounts of marble and floor to ceiling windows.



Been trying to get a good shot of Nikki Grimes and her beautiful jewelry. Aced it. Thanks, Nikki for a perfect moment!


And even in the middle of all the fun, an agent's work must go on. Ken Wright, checking in. I missed getting a shot of his quintessential L. A. moment: working by the pool, he emailed me news of a new contract. Then he fell asleep in the sun while I danced in my room.