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Friday May 16: Intensive for Writers and Illustrators

This pre-conference intensive consists of four sessions for writers and illustrators. While writers take part in our 3rd annual WOW THEM WITH WORDS! with editors Harold Underdown and Wendy McClure, illustrators will be in a two-hour workshop with illustrators David Hohn and Lee White. Then the illustrators will take part in WOW THEM WITH PICTURES! with the editors while the writers will be in their own two-hour workshop with editor/author Lisa Graff. Cost will include morning coffee/tea and a mid-day snack, and registration for Saturday’s conference is not required. This will be a juried and limited enrollment event.

Saturday May 17: All-day Conference

 Saturday features a full day of workshops, presentations, portfolio and manuscript/portfolio critiques (over 75 spots available), networking and just hanging out with people who love to write and illustrate for children. Cost will include continental breakfast and lunch with your registration.

Agenda will be posted soon!

Our Faculty


Judith Gardiner has been an elementary (K-8) school librarian for 27 years. She has had a lifelong love affair with books and words. Judi has been very fortunate to have had several authors whom she respects and adores visit her school in the last two decades. She is on the steering committee of SCBWI-OR and loves her work with them.

Lisa Graff is an Assistant Editor at Farrar, Straus, and Giroux Books for Young Readers, as well as the author of two middle-grade novels: THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF BERNETTA WALLFLOWER and THE THING ABOUT GEORGIE (HarperCollins/Laura Geringer Books). With the help of seven other New York writers, Lisa keeps a daily blog called, "The Longstockings," about the wonderful world of children's books. (www.the longstockings.blogspot.com). For more information visit Lisa's website at www.lisagraff.com or her personal blog at www.lisagraff.blogspot.com.

Melissa Hart has written dozens of resource books for Teacher Created Resources (www.teachercreated.com), including the best-selling 101 WAYS TO LOVE A BOOK and an upcoming project-based series on Media Literacy. She is the author of a YA memoir, THE ASSAULT OF LAUGHTER (Windstorm, 2005) Melissa teaches Magazine Writing at the University of Oregon and Introduction to Memoir for UC Berkeley's online extension program. Her essays and articles have appeared in The Writer, Writer's Digest, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine, Orion, Teacher and the Chronicle of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.melissahart.com.

Joan Arlin Hibbs has been drawing and painting since she was ten years old. Her art education focused on studio art, which included a wide variety of mediums, styles, and fine art techniques. Hibbs is a retired mental health therapist-revitalizing her primary career in the arts. Joan is a published author and illustrator and designs covers for her books. Her most recently published work is a children's chapter book, CINDERELLA'S DAUGHTER, and a book for dream analysis, DREAMER'S HANDBOOK. She is working on three adult mystery novels - two completed and one in final rewrite.

David Hohn received his degree in illustration from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Over the years his work has focused on the juvenile markets, ranging from picture books, children's theatres, video games, and apparel graphics. David teaches an illustration class at the Art Institute of Portland as well as co-teaching a children's illustration course out of his studio in the Alberta Arts district of Portland.

Christina Katz has published more than 200 articles in magazines, newspapers, and online publications and is the author of Writer Mama, How To Raise a Writing Career Alongside your Kids, (Writers Digest Books, 2007) The popularity of her article, "The Art of Making Time for Yourself" landed her an interview with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. She is the publisher and editors of Writers on the Rise, an online monthly e-zine. Christina lives in Wilsonville, Oregon with her husband and daughter. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and holds an MFA in Fiction from Columbia College, Chicago.

Robin Koontz has been illustrating children's books and related things for 21 years and yet, is older than Ruth Musgrave. Some of her illustrated titles include WHY A DOG? BY A. CAT, THE COMPLETE BACKYARD ACTIVITY BOOK FOR KIDS, and new for 2009, THE ADVENTURES OF FURLOCK AND MUTTSON. Robin is also the Regional Advisor and all-around grunt for the SCBWI Oregon.

Kirby Larson went from history-phobe to history fanatic thanks to a snippet of a story about her great-grandmother homesteading in eastern Montana. That bit of family lore inspired her to write HATTIE BIG SKY, a young adult historical novel, which is a 2007 Newberry Honor Award and Montana Book Award winner, as well as a Junior Library Guild selection, a Borders Original Voices title, a Barnes & Nobel Teen Discover title, a School Library Journal Best Book and a Book Links Lasting Connections, in addition to being nominated for several state reading/Children's Choice Awards. Her other titles include THE MAGIC KERCHIEF, an award-winning picture book, and several chapter books. She is recently retired from the Whidbey Writer's Workshop MFA program and is a frequent presenter at writing conferences.

Wendy McClure edits picture books and middle-grade novels at Albert Whitman & Company, including TALES OF SPRING BREAK, CALLIE CAT, ICE SKATER, and dozens of titles for THE BOXCAR CHILDREN MYSTERIES. She has been featured in the Children's Writer and Illustrator's Market and has contributed to the website, The Purple Crayon. She is also the author of the (grown up memoir) I'M NOT THE NEW ME, and knows a little bit about life on the other side of the editor's desk. She lives in Chicago.

Ruth Musgrave has been writing about animals for 22 years (yet she's only 29!). Since she entered the wacky world of freelance in 2000, her articles have been in Scientific American Explorations, Super Science (Scholastic), Click, and Ask. Her favorite recurring gig is writing for National Geographic Kids. Ruth earned two Emmy nominations earlier in her career and he SCBWI's, "Magazine Merit Honor Award for Nonfiction." Her first book, PET JOKES THAT WILL MAKE YOU HOWL (Sterling Publishing) combines her two favorite pastimes, dogs and laughing.

Rosanne Parry writes middle grade fiction and picture books in an old far house in Portland that she shares with bunnies and chickens and her husband and four kids. She has been teaching the Nuts and Bolts for the past four years at the spring conference. She also teaches writing to children of all ages through the Saturday Academy. Rosanne's first novel, HEART OF A SHEPHERD will be released in January 2009 by Random House. Her editor was a past guest at the Oregon SCBWI fall retreat.

Shannon Riggs is the author of FamilyFun magazine's website, teaches college writing, and leads the Salem SCBWI Writer's Workshop.

Lisa Schroeder , a native Oregonian, is the author of the picture book BABY CAN'T SLEEP, (Sterling, 2005) and the YA Novel, I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME (Simon Pulse, 2008).

Harold Underdown is a freelance editorial consultant. He has worked at MacMillan, Orchard, and Charlesbridge, and has experience in trade and educational publishing. He is also the author of THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO CHILDREN'S BOOK PUBLISHING and runs "The Purple Crayon", a web site with information about the business at www.underdown,org.

Lee White's career all started by chance. While he was working as a graphic designer, a client needed a rush illustration for a billboard going up along the Highway 101 in San Jose. Lee decided to tackle the job himself and found his true calling. More illustration jobs came Lee's way and he soon found himself illustrating for clients such as Apple, Hitachi and other hi-tech companies. Lee decided it was time to get some formal illustration training and enrolled at the prestigious Arts Center College of Design in Pasadena, California where he graduated with honors. Over the past seven years Lee has developed a whimsical style of his own - flying cows, mechanical gizmos and a whole cast of quirky images. Realizing his playful style is a perfect fit for children's books; Lee decided to devote his talents to telling stories through images. Lee is currently working on his 10th published children's book. Lee currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Lisa and their three crazy cats.

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