News: Member News

Awards/Contests

Congratulations to the MNSCBWI Poetry Contest winners! They, and their winning poems are:

“His Father Overseas” by Ruth Berman, Minneapolis
“once” by Kadattir (Krisanne A. Dattir), St. Paul
“Princesses” by Jeanie Watson, Minneapolis
“Two-Wheeler” by Jane Thomas Noland, Wayzata
“My Back Yard” by Bill Herring, Minnetonka

Jennifer Nicole Emery was awarded a Letter of Merit for the SCBWI 2007 Magazine Merit Awards for Illustration.

Sandra McLeod Humphrey, Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Put-Downs, received a 2008 Mom's Choice Gold Award, Juvenile Level, Ages 9–12

Jennifer Jesseph is the Grand Prize Winner of the Children's Anthology Writing Contest, co-sponsored by Elva Resa Publishing and MilitaryFamilyBooks.com, with her submission "Holding Mom's Kite." Jesseph's winning entry will be published in a collection of stories and poems for children about military life.

David LaRochelle won a 2007 Golden Kite Honor Book for his Picture Book Text for The End, a backwards fairy tale.

Tracy Nelson Maurer and Christina Rodriguez received the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award's (NEMBA) Honorable Mention in Children's Literature for their book, Storm Codes.

Adele Porter's book, Wild About Minnesota Birds, was awarded the 2007 MIPA Midwest Book Award for Children/Young Adult Non-fiction at the 18th Annual MIPA Midwest Book Awards ceremony held at the Minnesota Humanities Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on May 14th, 2008.

Natalie Rosinsky and Laura Purdie Salas, Write Your Own series (from Compass Point Books) won in its category for the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) for a 2008 Distinguished Achievement Award (Reading and Language Instruction category, grades 6–8) in its Nonfiction competition. The Distinguished Achievement Awards "recognize the best educational materials — such as books, periodicals, educational toys, and software — within subject categories and by audience."

Joyce Sidman: The Children's Book Committee of the Bank Street College of Education chose Joyce Sidman to be one of two winners of the Claudia Lewis Poetry Award for: "This Is Just To Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness."

Joan Marie Verba, Countdown to Action (FTL Publications), is an Award-Winning Finalist in the Young Adult Fiction category of the National Best Books 2008 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News.

Books

Julie Bowe, My New Best Friend (Harcourt, August 2008)

John Coy, Box Out (Scholastic, June 2008)

Terri DeGazelle
• Illness (Heinemann Library – Real Deal Series)
• Moving (Heinemann Library – Real Deal Series)

Stephen Gammell, illustrator for: I Know An Old Teacher, by Anne Bowen (Carolrhoda Books, Summer 2008)

Laura Goering, Whistling Wings (picture book, Sylvan Dell, June 2008)

Pamela Hall, six books on grammar and punctuation for children through ABDO Press, due out in January 2009.

Sandra McLeod Humphrey, Me, Myself, and I: Youth Meditations for Grades Five through Eight (CSS Publishing, August 2008)

Chris Larsen, Ghosts of Southeastern Minnesota (Schiffer Publishing, September 2008)

Chris Lincoln, Billy Bones: Tales from the Secrets Closet (Little Brown & Company, August 2008)

Margi Preus, The Peace Bell (Henry Holt, Christy Ottaviano's imprint, September 2008)

Christina Rodriguez, Illustrator, The Wishing Tree by Mary Redman (Elva Resa Publishing, October 2008)

Laura Purdie Salas
Amazing Science Series (Picture Window Books, 2009):

• From Mealworm to Beetle: Following the Life Cycle
• From Seed to Daisy: Following the Life Cycle
• From Seed to Maple Tree: Following the Life Cycle

A+ Books Poetry Series (Capstone Press, 2009):

• Always Got My Feet: Poems about Transportation
• Chatter, Sing, Roar, Buzz: Poems about the Rain Forest
• A Fuzzy-Fast Blur: Poems about Pets
• Lettuce Introduce You: Poems about Food

Self-Published Books

Joan Marie Verba, Countdown to Action! (FTL Publications, June 2008)

Judith Schuster, No Place to Call Home: Book Two of the Eddie Brewster Adventures (Publish America, 2008)

Magazines

Yvonne Cecchini, "A Veggie By Any Other Name Please!" (poem, Once Upon A Time Magazine, Fall 2008)

Jessica Freeburg, "Fall Cannonball" (poem, Children's Playmate, November/December 2008)

Max Haynes, illustration (page 23, Once Upon A Time Magazine, Fall 2008)

Claudette Hegel
• "Retelling Old Tales" (article, Once Upon A Time Magazine, Fall 2008)
• "More Than Books and Magazines" (article, Once Upon A Time Magazine, Fall 2008)
• "Claudette: On Caldecotts and Newberys" (column, Once Upon A Time Magazine, Fall 2008)

Christine Henderson, "The Opening Act" (short story, The Young Rider, July/August 2008)

Gayle Jacobson-Huset

• "Editor Speaks" (column, Stories for Children Magazine, September 2008)
• "Featured Guest: Ambassador Asher Naim" (interview/article, Stories for Children Magazine, September 2008)
• "Don't Break Your Mother's Back" (short story, Stories for Children Magazine, October 2008)
• "Little Sure Shot: America's First Female Sports Superstar!" (article, Stories for Children Magazine, November 2008)
• "Cold Fight" (poem, Stories for Children Magazine, December 2008)

• "What Is an Idiom?" (article/activity, Stories for Children Magazine, February 2009)

Jennifer Jesseph, two poems (My Light Magazine, August 2008 debut issue and December 2008 issue)

C. S. Larsen
• "Worthy of the Muse" (article, Once Upon A Time Magazine, Fall 2008)

• Beacons of Tomorrow Anthology (sci-fi spec short story, Tyrannosaurus Press, 2008)

Sara Matson, "Setting Goals for Success" (article, Once Upon A Time Magazine, Fall 2008)

Susie Yakowicz
• "Ancient Fruit" (article, Stories for Children Magazine, September 2008)
• "How to Eat a Pomegranate" (article, Stories for Children Magazine, September 2008)

Noteworthy News

MnNSCBWI 2008-09 Mentorship Program
Author Mentor, Guy Stewart, winner: Bill Talty
Illustrator Mentor, Shawn Mccann, winner: Betsy Laplatte

SCBWI Board Member Sue Alexander passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at her home in California July 2008. She was the first member of SCBWI and was instrumental in helping it get started. Her generosity to others was well known. This award in her name was established by her to honor the best promising manuscript to be critiqued at the LA Summer Conference. Sue touched many lives and will be greatly missed by all that were lucky enough to know her.

Member Sharon St. Germain passed away on June 22, 2008. She joined SCBWI in 1990. Her memorial service was on Friday, June 27.

Minnesota SCBWI held a summer workshop on Saturday, August 9, 2008 at Brookdale Library to brush up on query and cover letters.

Laura Purdie Salas has started a blog called "Bubble Stampede" where she and author Fiona Bayrock invite other authors to come and chat about ways to promote your first trade book.

Book Reviews of Members' Books:

• Anne Bowen, illustrated by Stephen Gammell, I Know An Old Teacher (Stories for Children Magazine)

• Laura Goering, Whistling Wings (Stories for Children Magazine)