The Society of Children's Book             Writers and Illustrators

California - OC/San Bernardino/Riverside/Long Beach Chapter

Francesca Rusackas - Regional Advisor zfrancesca@aol.com  

Q. L. Pearce - Assistant Regional Advisor qlpearce@earthlink.net

Priscilla Burris - National Illustrator Coordinator burrisdraw@sbcglobal.net

Mailing address for checks, critiques and contest manuscripts is:                             SCBWI - Francesca Rusackas                           4195 Chino Hills Pkwy, #381                             Chino Hills, Ca 91709

 For membership or chapter information visit: www.scbwi.org click on California O.C. 

or visit www.scbwisocal.org

When

Where

    Editors and Agents

Alexandra Penfold, Editor at Paula Wiseman Books/Simon and Schuster Alexandra Penfold is an editor with Paula Wiseman Books at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers where she works on hardcover trade picture books, middle-grade fiction, and young adult novels. She's edited award-winning books by Meghan McCarthy, Marissa Moss, Carol Lynch Williams, Tammi Sauer, Robert Burleigh, Scott Magoon, Laura Schaefer and N. H. Senzai among others. Prior to becoming an editor Alexandra was a children's book publicist. She worked on media campaigns that appeared in USA Today, Newsweek, US News and World Report, and NPR's All Things Considered, among other national and local media outlets.

Yolanda LeRoy Scott, Editorial Director at Charlesbridge Yolanda Scott is the editorial director at Charlesbridge. She has edited over 125 titles and has worked with authors such as Eve Bunting, Kathryn Lasky, David McPhail, Linda Sue Park, and Jane Yolen. She is a former executive board member of the Foundation for Children's Books and the founder of Pubs in Pubs, a networking organization for children's publishing professionals. She is a frequent speaker at writer's conferences, has been a children's literature speaker and mentor at Boston College and Simmons College, and has been a judge for Boston Public Library Children's Writer-in-Residence Program for the past several years. When Yolanda isn't editing, she performs as a singer and actress in the Boston area.

Frances Gilbert, Editorial Director of Doubleday Children's Books, a division of Random House  Frances’ specialties include children's book editing, particularly picture books; list building and management; leading a creative team; and building great relationships with reps and booksellers. When not drinking tea and watching kitten videos, she acquires and edit children's books, which -- wonderfully enough -- often involves drinking tea and watching kitten videos. Frances notes, “I've been working in children's books pretty much since I stopped being an actual child. I worked in the children's department of my town library as a student, then after college started my career off at Scholastic Canada, which eventually led me to Sterling in New York, where I set up their children's program 12 years ago. I've recently moved to Random House, as editorial director of Doubleday Children's Books. Being a children's book editor has allowed me to keep my inner 8-year-old very close. It's nice to have a grown-up job where you don't have to grow up entirely.”

Kira Lynn, Editor and Publisher at Kane/Miller Book Publishers Kane/Miller specializes in award-winning children's books from around the world. They publish picture books and short fiction with the aim of bringing the children of the world closer to each other through sharing stories and ideas, while exploring cultural differences and similarities. The majority of the company's titles are fiction, geared mostly towards four to eight year-olds, although the company has also published some books for readers in the baby-prekindergarten and nine to twelve age ranges. The publisher's greatest commercial success was Everyone Poops, followed by Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Australian author Mem Fox which began its publishing run in 1985, and as of 2005 was nearing one million copies sold.

Jeffrey Salane, Senior Editor at Cartwheel Books and Scholastic Press  Jeffrey, a Senior Editor at Cartwheel Books and Scholastic Press, received his B.A. from UMass Amherst and his M.F.A. from the New School, with a concentration in poetry. After spending several years playing in bands and co-editing the on-line literary journal La Petite Zine, Jeffrey joined Cartwheel Books in 2005 where he has focused on novelty books and picture books for the past seven years.  Some of his projects include the bestselling You Are My Sunshine illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church, Rock & Roll: Colors by Salina Yoon, the How Do Dinosaurs Novelty Series by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague, and Silly Doggy, a pet-perfect picture book by Adam Stower.

Sara Sciuto, Literary Agent from Full Circle Literary Sara Sciuto is a new member of Full Circle Literary. A recent graduate of the University of California, San Diego, Sara also completed literature coursework at NYU. Before joining Full Circle, she gained valuable experience working on film and foreign rights with the Taryn Fagerness Agency. Sara is actively building her list with a focus on middle grade and young adult, in particular, dystopian, science fiction, fantasy, gothic/thriller/horror, historical, and unique paranormal. She also enjoys contemporary stories with a strong, authentic voice (but no chick-lit, please). Sara is also looking for standout picture books, especially those with a quirky or humorous narrative. She’s also considering select nonfiction in the areas of craft, design, how-to, lifestyle, and pop culture. 

Taylor Martindale, Literary Agent from Full Circle Literary  Taylor Martindale is an agent with Full Circle Literary, actively acquiring young adult and middle grade projects. She began agenting with the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, and prior to that, was the submissions coordinator at Bliss Literary Agency. She is a graduate of The College of William and Mary. Taylor is interested in finding unique and unforgettable voices and characters that stay with you long after a story has finished. For contemporary projects, she would like to find both the uplifting/romantic and the gritty stories. She loves working with multicultural projects that teach teens about other people’s lives – both at home and abroad. In stories with fantasy or magical elements, she is looking for new and intriguing concepts with characters who make their worlds alive and engaging. When reviewing non-fiction projects, Taylor uses much the same approach, and hopes to find authors with fresh ideas and perspectives, with writing that is accessible, entertaining, and compelling. She is looking for teen non-fiction, memoir, and how-to projects. When not working, Taylor can be found traveling, cooking, spending time with loved ones, or (surprise!) lost in a good book.

                Author Bios

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro – Horror Author and Living Legend – International Horror Guild (2006) Chelsea is the first woman to be named a Living Legend by the International Horror Guild (2006). She was honored in 2009 as a Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement recipient by the Horror Writers association. (The third woman, after Joyce Carol Oates and Anne Rice, to be so honored.) Yarbro is also one of only two women ever to be named as Grand Master of the World Horror Convention (2003). She was awarded the Knightly Order of the Brasov Citadel by the Transylvanian Society of Dracula in 1997. In 1995 Yarbro was the only novelist guest of the Romanian government for the First World Dracula Congress, sponsored by the Transylvanian Society of Dracula, the Romanian Bureau of Tourism and the Romanian Ministry of Culture. She has been nominated for the Edgar, World Fantasy, and Bram Stoker Awards and was the first female president of the Horror Writers Association. Her manuscripts are being archived at Bowling Green University. Yarbro is one of the first women to have made a successful and long career writing modern supernatural fiction. She is best known as the creator of the heroic vampire, the Count Saint-Germain.

 Marilyn Cram-Donahue – Middle Grade AuthorMarilyn Cram-Donahue has published 30 books and over 500 articles and short stories for children and adults. She conducts a monthly SCBWI schmooze in the Inland Empire as well as a regular critique group of SCBWI members.Marilyn teaches classes in memoir writing and CAHSEE-Prep at the San Bernardino Adult School and Conversational English at Cal State San Bernardino. She serves as a career advisor for Pomona College and as a consultant to the national Writing Project at UC Riverside. 

Candace Ryan – Picture Book Author Candace Ryan lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son. She’s a stay-at-home Mom/picture book author, but in a former life, she taught secondary Special Education for 9 years. Candace has a B.A. in Anthropology and an M.A.T. in Teaching from Occidental College. Her debut picture book, Animal House, is illustrated by Nathan Hale and was released by Walker Books for Young Readers in 2010. Candace is represented by Kelly Sonnack at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.

Dr. Mike Mahin – Picture Book Author/Professor and Pitch Guru Michael Mahin, Ph.D., is a professor of American Literature, a screenwriter, producer, and a picture book author.