#LA18SCBWI

Greetings!

I arrived home yesterday from the 2018 SCBWI LA International Conference. I was exhausted. My daughter, a 16-year old psychologist educated by Google and YouTube, says it is because I am an introvert. She says that the effort to meet and interact with so many people completely drained my energy. And I believe her. Right now, I need a month at a deserted island with infrastructure, so I can rest and work.

Nonetheless, the conference was very instructive and productive. I reviewed manuscripts, wrote a new one, learned about new imprints, met a few editors, and had wonderful conversations with my agent. I am actually considering going to the New York one, but I might spend a few extra days, so I can recuperate.

Check out some pictures...

Ana

Top row, from left to right: Linda Joy Singleton and me, my agent Deborah Warren during the agency's soirée, and me and my roommate Leah Henderson.

Bottom row, from left to right: Heidi Kim and Dow Phumiruk dressed up for the Saturday Gala, me, Rondi Frieder, Denise Schurr and Dow Phumiruk at the Saturday Gala, and the amazing Lois Lowry during a very interesting chat with Lin Oliver (not pictured) on Sunday.

#GoodNews

I'm happy to report that I'm a faculty member at our local SCBWI chapter annual conference. The 2018 SCBWI Rocky Mountain Chapter Letters & Lines will take place in Golden, CO, on September 22 and 23. I'll be talking about diversity in the Latino and Hispanic communities and about keeping illustrations in mind when writing picture books. Click here for a full conference schedule. See you there!

#CallForSubmissions

If you missed it, check out Charlesbridge's call for submissions. They are looking for realistic, contemporary, math-related picture book manuscripts by diverse authors, featuring diverse characters. They are not looking for shapes and counting books. Submissions are due by September 1st. Hurry up!

#Summer2018

The results of the 2018 Fifa World Cup stained my summer a little bit, but we still had lots of fun. As it has been tradition for eight years now, we went on a road trip. It took us 27 days to drive over 5,700 miles, through 23 states. We visited 8 colleges, one National Park, a great big ocean, 21 breweries, and many wonderful friends. We revisited some favorite places, like the Delaware Seashore State Park, Mystic, CT, and Stowe, VT, and found some new favorites, like Block Island, in RI. I miss it already. Find some pictures below... And have an amazing August!

Top row: Great Smoky Mountains National Park  |  2nd row: Delaware Seashore State Park

3rd and 4th rows: New Shoreham, Block Island, RI  |  Bottom row: Stowe, VT