SCBWI Conference 2018 Travelling through time
If somebody invites you to travel through time, would you accept?
I answered yes, and so I got to the SCBWI (Society of children book writers and illustrators) conference, a congress that happens every November in Winchester.
Winchester is a small village full of mysteries, houses made of Stone, magic grees and shops with secrets. As soon as I told a bit about me to my host in the B&B (Airbnb), she lent me a book about the ghosts in Winchester. I couldn’t imagine a better way to start.
The first activity of the conference was to cross through a door that would take us and the characters of our stories to… where? Each of us had to get free ride to our imagination. Then, we visited Stone buildings, parks, rivers, the local market and even a house where a vampire family lives. I am sorry, they can’t be seen in the picture, but they were nice, I tell you.
Then, we got our sleeves up to work in groups to improve our manuscripts in a critic session. And last, but not least, we had dinner together.
During the next two days, we attended keynotes, talks, masterclasses and workshops. All the speakers were terrific: Catherine Johnson, Benji Davies, Nick Tucker, Christopher Edge and many others. We learnt about the secrets of historical novels, books where characters travel through time, award-winning illustrations, how to write and finish a great novel, use of typography, dummy books, new author’s resources and a lot more.
Moreover, I had the chance to talk to different literary agents and one editor about my manuscripts. I can’t tell much more about this. This is a long-term process, so hopefully, in a near future, I can share the happy news.
But one of the shiniest moments of the Congress was on Saturday night when we travelled in time and became the characters of different children and young adults books.
This year I dress as Emma or Olivia, depending on whether you refer to the book or the film. Tim Burton decided to change the characters in the film Mrs Peregrine house for peculiar children. If you haven’t read it or watch it, read it first as the book is, as often is, much better.
We celebrated the books that were launched during the year and ate an amazing cake with the new books made of sugar.
This year, I got a prize as a final runner in the contest to choose the illustration of the Conference. I am happy and proud that my design was chosen. Yes, I can tell you the secret for this success: the design includes both words magic and dragon. With them, it could not fail!
SCBWI Conferencia 2018
SCBWI Conferencia 2018
SCBWI Conferencia 2018
They were very intense days, we had a lot of fun and learnt a lot. On Sunday evening we had no option but to come back to November 2018 and say goodbye until next time.