From Creativity to Mastery

Oct. 24 at Mills College in Oakland
Presented by San Francisco North & East Bay Region
From Creativity to Mastery
All-day conference featuring Stephen Mooser, president and co-founder of SCBWI; Abigail Samoun, editor at Tricycle Press; Kelly Sonnack, agent with Andrea Brown Literary; Teri Sloat, picture book author and illustrator; Tina Stolberg, writer and library specialist, and more speakers to be announced. To be held at the beautiful Mills College campus in the Oakland hills.
 

This year's conference will feature main sessions plus breakouts on marketing and picture book writing, all for one low price.
Speaker Bios
Mary Cummings
Mary Cummings joined Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises in fall of 2008, following many years as education director at the Loft Literary Center. Editors and writers she worked with on the McKnight and Shabo Awards in Children's Literature, and for the Loft's Festival of Children's Literature, include Christy Ottaviano, Caitlyn Dlouhy, Margery Cuyler, Lucia Monfried, John Coy, Lynne Jonell, Lauren Stringer, Marion Dane Bauer, Phyllis Root, and David LaRochelle, among others. Her clients include both novelists and picture book writers -- some with dozens of books, while others are new to publishing.
Stephen Mooser
The author of nearly sixty books for children, when Stephen Mooser began writing books for children, he did it with a bang: in the space of five years he wrote 250 books, K-4, for the SWRL Reading Program published by Ginn. He has since written a number of major reading programs for several companies including Ginn, American Book Company, and Harcourt Brace, Jovanovich. Most readers know Stephen for his trade books, which began with the publication of 101 Black Cats (Scholastic) in 1975, and continued through 1999's release, Maid Marian's Adventures in Sherwood Forest: A Girls to the Rescue Novel (Meadowbrook). He has written in every genre: picture books (The Ghost with the Halloween Hiccups), to series books (The Creepy Creature Club; It's a Weird, Weird School), to nonfiction (Lights! Camera! Scream!), to novels (Elvis Is Back and He's in the Sixth Grade). His most recent easy reader series is Goofball Malone, Ace Detective.
Kelly Sonnack
Kelly Sonnack is an agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She specializes in all areas of children's literature (picture books, middle grade, young adult, and graphic novels). Some of her clients' recent and soon to be published books include Steve Watkins' Down Sand Mountain (Candlewick), Jasmin Darznik's The Good Daughter (Grand Central), Merrily Kutner's Alphabet Magic (Roaring Brook), and Candace Ryan's Animal House (Bloomsbury).
Sarah Shumway
Sarah Shumway is Senior Editor at Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. She is most interested in contemporary, humorous young adult and middle grade fiction, and the occasional historical or inspirational fiction. She was most recently an Editor at Dutton Children's Books, where her projects included Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs, Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi, and Lester Fizz: Bubble-Gum Artist by Ruth Spiro, illustrated by Thor Wickstrom.
Abigail Samoun
Abigail Samoun Abigail Samoun has been an editor at Tricycle Press since 2000. She's edited board books, picture books, middle-grade and early young-adult novels, including the SCBWI Golden Kite winner for picture book text, George Hogglesberry: Grade School Alien,by Sarah Wilson, illustrated by Chad Cameron; the 2008 Pura Belpre Honor winner, What Can You Do With a Rebozo?, and the New York Public Library Ezra Jack Keats award-winner, Yesterday I Had the Blues. Abigail also edits the middle grade series Edgar & Ellen which has sold over a quarter of a million copies worldwide and launched a cartoon series on Nickelodeon. Visit www.wordpavillion.com 
Teri Sloat
Teri Sloat is the author of more than twenty books for children, including There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Trout! A former teacher, she lives north of San Francisco. Her two most recent books are I'm A Duck!, a rhyming picture book that she both wrote and illustrated, and the upcoming There Was an Old Man Who Painted the Sky. 
Tina Stolberg
As a library specialist with six years experience coordinating author's day visits for schools, Stolberg has seen school visits from the school's point of view. She is now presenting school visits about her most recent book. She will share her insights from both sides of the podium
Luan Strauss
Luan is the owner of Laurel Bookstore in Oakland. She is the past president of the Northern California Children's Booksellers Association.
Registration
Members Before August 15, includes lunch $89
Between August 15 and Oct. 10, $109 includes lunch
After Oct. 10, register at the door $129 does not include lunch.
Non-members Before August 15, includes lunch $109
Between August 15 and Oct. 10, $129 includes lunch
After Oct. 10, register at the door $149 does not include lunch.
 
Refunds cannot be made but if you are unable to attend the event, you may obtain a credit (less a $25 cancellation fee) for a future program by emailing Margaret Speaker Yuan at

books4women(at)yahoo.com (replace (at) with the @ symbol 

No credits after October 10, 2009. The program is subject to change without notice. Click below to register and sign up for a manuscript critique. You must be registered to receive a manuscript critique.
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