John's Turn

FREE Portland Book Festival Picture Book LitCrawl events

Friday, November 8 • 6:00pm - 6:45pm 

The Telephone Game for Writers and Illustrators 

In this twist on the traditional “telephone” game, participants will alternate drawing and writing to create hilarious, meandering narratives. We bring paper and pencils, you bring yourself (and gently used or new children’s books to donate to The Children’s Book Bank). Terrible drawing and writing skills not only invited, but strongly encouraged. Get ready to laugh your butt off. Program Organizers: We are a group of local writers and illustrators of children’s books. Many of us have participated as presenters at Portland Book Festival before. Our group consists of these members: Zoey Abbott (www.zoeyabbott.com) Alison Farrell (www.drawdrawdraw.com) Kate Berube (www.kateberube.com) Deborah Hocking (www.deborahhockingillustration.com) Tracy Subisak (www.tracysubisak.com) Lisa Mundorf (www.lisamundorf.carbmonmade.com) If you are able, please bring a lightly used children’s book and we will deliver all donations to the Children’s Book Bank.

Friday, November 8 • 7:00pm - 7:45pm 

Children's Literature Craft Panel 

In their second event of the evening, a panel of children’s book illustrators and illustrator-authors talk shop about the art and craft of creating picture books: Alison Farrell, Zoey Abbott, Kate Berube, Deborah Hocking, Tracy Subisak, and Lisa Mundorf.

Mae's First Day of School news

Mae's First Day of School has been nominated for the Eloise Jarvis McGraw Award for Children's Literature, an Oregon Book Award presented by Literary Arts. Kate's debut, Hannah and Sugar, won this award in 2016. This year's winners will be announced on April 22nd. For tickets to attend the Ceremony, hosted by Cheryl Strayed, head to Brown Paper Tickets.

ELOISE JARVIS MCGRAW AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
Judges: Ashyln Anstee, Ben Clanton, Linda Marshall

Kate Berube of Portland, Mae’s First Day of School (Abrams Books)
Barbara Herkert of Newport, A Boy, a Mouse, and a Spider: The Story of E.B. White (Henry Holt and Co.)
Michelle Roehm McCann of Portland, More Girls Who Rocked the World (Aladdin/Beyond Words)
Emily Whitman of Portland,The Turning (Greenwillow Books)
Deborah Hopkinson of West Linn, Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen (Balzer & Bray)

In addition, Mae's First Day of School is now available in Japanese from Imagination +/ Press! 

Updates

Hi friends! I haven't posted in awhile - life is just so full with my little one keeping me busy. But I wanted to pop on here to let you know about a few events I have coming up.


Portland Book Festival (formly Wordstock) is this weekend - on Saturday November 10th!
I have three events during it:

9:30 a.m. at the Oregon Historical Society (Columbia Sportswear Company Stage)

Storytime: Mae’s First Day of School 

10:10 a.m. at the Crumpacker Library at the Portland Art Museum

Words and Pictures: Making Children’s Literature

Panel discussion with

with Kate Berube, Alison Farrell, LeUyen Pham, Heidi Schulz

1:15 p.m. —Pop up storytime and Q&A 

at a Portrait of My Teacher by Florine Stettheimer in the Portland Art Museum

________________________________

December events:

12/1 -Wildwood Arts Fair at Friendly House (https://www.friendlyhouseinc.org/) 

An artisan fair from 12-3pm. Local artists and authors. 

12/2 - Oregon Historical Society Holiday Cheer event,

Over 100 local authors selling books from 12-4pm.

12/15 - Drishti Yoga Studio Holiday Craft Fair

Local art and craft fair from 7-10pm

kidlit 411 post

The kind folks at kidlit411 interviewed me last week. Head over to their blog to read it:
http://www.kidlit411.com/2018/05/Kidlit411-Illustrator-Kate-Berube.html

Cover reveal! MAE'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Head to Matthew Winner's blog to see the cover of my newest book and to read a little about it:
http://www.matthewcwinner.com/single-post/MAES-FIRST-DAY-OF-SCHOOL

Studio tour video by Zoey Abbott

Check out this wonderful video my friend (and fellow children's book illustrator) Zoey Abbott made of me sharing how I make books! Thank you, Zoey!

Book event - this Saturday - June 3rd - Vancouver, WA!

This Saturday, June 3rd, at 2pm! Come out to Vintage Books - 6613 E Mill Plain Blvd., Vancouver, WA to see me and 4 other fantastic picture book authors! We'll each read a book and then there will be crafts and treats and book signing. We'll keep it short and snappy - and fun!

________________________________________
Update:

The event was lots of fun! Here's a lovely photo of us all. Many thanks to Vintage Books for having us!

Klaus Flugge Prize - HANNAH AND SUGAR shortlisted!

"Set up in honour of influential publisher Klaus Flugge of Andersen Press, the Klaus Flugge Prize is awarded to the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s picture book illustration."

The shortlist was announced last week and I'm incredibly honored that Hannah and Sugar is on it alongside four other gorgeous looking picture books. The excellent thing about this list is that all five of us illustrators chosen are women (I've noticed it's very rare for a prize list for illustration to be even half women) and also all the books are self-authored.

You can read a very interesting short interview, with each of us answering the same questions about our work, on Zoe Toft's blog: Playing By the Book

And see some images from each book at: The Guardian

Book giveaway!

My newest book is out in the world and the author, Douglas Todd Jennerich and I thought we would celebrate by giving some copies away! I hope you'll take a trip over to Goodreads and enter to win!

 
 

    Goodreads Book Giveaway
 

   

       
   

   

     

          My Little Half-Moon
     
     

          by Doug Jennerich
     

     

         
            Giveaway ends June 23, 2017.
         
         
            See the giveaway details
            at Goodreads.
         
     
   
   

    Enter Giveaway

Oregon Book Award for Children's Literature

I'm SO pleased to have won the Literary Arts, Eloise Jarvis McGraw Award for Children's Literature, an Oregon Book Award

 - for my book Hannah and Sugar. What an honor! Thank you Literary Arts!

Head here to see a list of all the winners: https://literary-arts.org/what-we-do/oba-home/

It was such a fun night:

Accepting the award and speaking in front of more people than I ever have before.

Mac Barnett was the judge for my category! 

 With my husband and biggest supporter, Mark.

 With my writing group, Susan Boase and Abigail Marble.

 With my mother in law and mother. ♥!

Learn how I illustrate a book - this SATURDAY at 2pm!

TOPIC: Illustrating a picture book 

"Curious about what to expect when you land your first picture book contract?! Kate Berube and Deborah Hocking will share the process of illustrating a book from the first email of an editor expressing interest to the very last step of approving color proofs. Most publishing houses follow the same general conventions around how a picture book is produced. They will share those basic steps. 

Although the basic steps are the same, every publishing house, editor and artist will have slightly different systems for doing things. So, Kate and Debbie will also each share their own unique methods and experiences. They will describe how they: decide whether to agree to the job, develop characters, determine page breakdown, create sketches, handle editing and art direction, create final art samples, survive the long hours of painting final art, conceive of the book cover design, and deliver art. Kate will also share a bit about how the things differ when one is both the author and the illustrator."

My friend Debbie and I will be sharing the steps it takes to illustrate a picture book this
Saturday, March 18th
at 2pm 
at the Tabor Space 
on 5441 SE Belmont in Portland, OR. 

The talk is open to anyone. It costs between $8-12 depending on if you're a member of SCBWI and if you pre-register. Head here for more info and to pre-register: https://oregon.scbwi.org/events/marc-2017-the-next-level/

Resist!

I'm so proud to have a piece in this unique publication. There are a TON of fantastic artists represented - lots of kidlit friends! I hope you'll be able to get your hands on a copy.

They're being handed out on January 21st at the Women's March and will be available in comic and book stores in many cities. Head to http://www.resistsubmission.com/support.html to find where you can get one near you.

We must RESIST the stripping of our rights, freedoms, and healthcare access and the destruction of our planet!


(My piece is on the bottom lefthand side)

I want to give deepest thanks to Françoise Mouly, Nadja Spiegelman, Gabe Fowler and all the nameless volunteers who gave their time and energy to put this together and gave all the artists involved the gift of a place to have a voice. THANK YOU!

Oregon Book Awards!

I'm over the moon today about the announcement that Hannah and Sugar is a finalist for the Eloise Jarvis Macgraw Award for Children's Literature, a Literary Arts Oregon Book Award. This is such an honor! There's something really special about being recognized in this state I have chosen to make my home. I love Oregon and am proud to be called an Oregon author. I put a lot of work over many, many years into making this book and it's a sweet feeling to know my story connected to people. It's nice to have a little outside reassurance that those insistent and insecure voices in my head were wrong all those years - thank goodness I didn't listen to them!

I hope you'll take the time to go to the Literary Arts website to view all the categories and the beautiful books nominated - including my good friend Martha Grover's book The End of My Career. Congratulations, Martha!!! This is so well deserved!


The other finalists for the Children's Literature Award are:
Cathy Camper for Lowriders to the Center of the Earth


Deborah Hopkinson for Steamboat School


Kathleen Lane for The Best Worst Thing


Cynthia Rylant for The Otter


What fantastic books! I'll be heading the the library soon so I can read them all. (Personally I think we each should win an award since all of the books fall into different categories. Hannah and Sugar, of course, is a picture book and then we have a graphic novel, a historical fiction picture book, a middle reader and a chapter book.)

Many thanks to Literary Arts for this recognition. I am very grateful!

Oregon Reads Aloud - benefit story collection for SMART

Oregon Reads Aloud is a collection of 25 stories written and illustrated by Oregon authors and illustrators to celebrate 25 years of the SMART organization's work. SMART pairs volunteers with children in need of reading support and books to take home and keep. SMART volunteers read one-on-one with students weekly during the school year, modeling a love of reading and building children’s reading skills and self-confidence in a positive, child-driven environment.

I was so fortunate to illustrate a story for it written by Eric A. Kimmel (the award winning author of Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins and loads more excellent books.) Oregon Reads Aloud also includes work by many of my wonderful author and illustrator friends.

Contributors are:
Dale Basye, Estela Bernal, Carmen Bernier-Grand, Kate Berube, Susan Blackaby, Susan Boase, Addie Boswell, Cathy Camper, Curtis Chen, Nancy Coffelt, Carolyn Conahan, Judy Cox, Mark Fearing, Carolyn Garcia, Elizabeth Goss, Kim Griswell, Barbara Herkert, Robin Herrera, Debbie Hocking, David Hohn, Barb Kerley, Robin Kerr, Amber Keyser, Eric Kimmel, Bart King, Jane Kirkpatrick, Gesine Kratzner, Mike Lawrence, Trudy Ludwig, DamienMacalino, Helena Macalino, Abigail Marble, Natalie Metzger, Lisa Mundorff, Wendy Myers, Gina Ochsner, Brian Parker, Valarie Pearce, Dawn Prochovnic, Doug Roy, Elizabeth Rusch, Linda Dalal Sawaya, Heidi Schulz, Stephanie Shaw, Cathy Stever, Sonja Thomas, Katy Towell, Zoey Abbot Wagner, and Johanna Wright.

It's a fantastic collection!

Purchase it in Portland at Powell's Books, Annie Bloom's Books, Broadway Books, and some Fred Meyers. A portion of the proceeds goes back support to SMART!

Purchase it online at any of these places:
IndieBound
Powell's Books
Amazon
Barnes and Noble