Tag Archives: SCBWI

Ellen Hopkins (SCBWI Kite Tales Interview Edition)

Posted on April 25, 2025 by PB Rippey

If, like me, you’re a member of SCBWI you’ve probably already read this interview with Ellen Hopkins. If you’re not a member of SCBWI but are a writer or reader or have a book on your shelf or under your … Continue reading →

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Welsh Cakes (Delectables Edition)

Posted on September 30, 2024 by PB Rippey

Placing in the SCBWI Sue Alexander Grant Competition tossed me into a novel-revising fever since my last post, interrupted by actual fever/flu and the teen getting fever/flu during the same week the husband got Covid and was quarantined in our … Continue reading →

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3rd Place Honor

Posted on August 16, 2024 by PB Rippey

My middle grade novel TROUBLE BENEATH THE WAVES placed 3rd in this year’s SCBWI Sue Alexander Grant competition. Woo hoo! Per SCBWI’s Kite Tales: “A beachside setting and strong voice help set Trouble Beneath the Waves apart. The middle-grade excerpt by PB … Continue reading →

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Follow Mary Averling

Posted on July 9, 2024 by PB Rippey

So much focus these days on first pages of mss and I maintain my opinion that it CAN take more than a first page to keep a reader reading and that there’s nothing wrong with that, however, the first page … Continue reading →

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Latest Kite Tales

Posted on January 31, 2024 by PB Rippey

Read the latest edition of Kite Tales (tri-region SCBWI blog) and the interview with April Halprin Wayland via Paige Vinten Taylor. Valuable (IMO) advice/insights packed into one interview–excellent. Yours in keeping creative minds humming, PB

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SCBWI Retreat (San Simeon Edition)

Posted on January 20, 2024 by PB Rippey

I’ve been successful in tearing my eyes away from the ocean in order to revise my new novel, the same I’m taking to the Big Sur Children’s Writing Workshops and that placed (tooting my horn again) in the SCBWI Sue … Continue reading →

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MONSTER PLACES 4TH

Posted on August 2, 2023 by PB Rippey

I went from stepping away (previous post) to receiving 4th place in this year’s SCBWI Sue Alexander Grant competition for my MG novel THE MONSTER AT ELIZABETH LAKE. I am beyond thrilled. Nothing like good news to keep my butt … Continue reading →

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SCBWI-LA and CenCal Writers Day ’22

Posted on October 20, 2022 by PB Rippey

So happy to finally attend in person again. Looking forward to seeing one of my favorite kidlit authors, librarian and conference host, Sally Rogan. Full day of mass-info-absorption in an inspiring environment. See you there. #WritersDay2022

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NANOWRIWAYMO WHAMO

Posted on October 8, 2021 by PB Rippey

The current issue of SCBWI Insight has an article with NanoWriMo tips. Succinct, logical tips for writing 1,667 words a day. And while I probably won’t follow all tips, I have been nudged (shoved?) by said article to participate this … Continue reading →

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O Revision!

Posted on September 9, 2021 by PB Rippey

Ever since the SCBWI Big Five-Oh summer conference, I have been the Madwoman of Revision. Lots of adhering to red ink exclamation points. Filtering critique. On not just my manuscripts, but synopses, loglines…You, too? Whenever I’m convinced my writing is … Continue reading →

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SCBWI Events

Posted on March 15, 2021 by PB Rippey

A bright light in #stayhomestaysafe is being made aware (thanks to my SCBWI regional newsletter) of SCBWI regional events around the USA. Here are a couple I’m registered for: Austin, TX Webinar: To Plot or Not? , Tuesday 3/16 with … Continue reading →

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SCBWI Winter 2021

Posted on January 12, 2021 by PB Rippey

I’m going. Are you?

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SCBWI WRITERS DAY 2020

Posted on February 4, 2020 by PB Rippey

UPDATE: EVENT CANCELED (but you probably already know this) Stay safe, self-quarantine as much as you can, take deep breaths, don’t watch too much news, CALM is a great meditation app, hydrate, catch up on reading the tower of books … Continue reading →

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O First Pages (Retreat Edition)

Posted on November 8, 2019 by PB Rippey

The last event of the SCBWI Working Writer’s retreat consisted of 3 minutes allotted to each attendee to read aloud their first page of a manuscript. Professional critique was squeezed into that 3 minutes from a panel comprised of 4 … Continue reading →

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Retreat!

Posted on September 26, 2019 by PB Rippey

Heading to the SCBWI Working Writers Retreat tomorrow. This will be my second time attending this annual event. The workshops are small and focused. I learn tons about my work (my middle grade novels) and it’s a joy to read … Continue reading →

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Festival Weekend (creativity-obsessed edition)

Posted on April 15, 2019 by PB Rippey

Saturday morning, my husband and my middle-grade son zoomed to the Los Angeles Convention Center for its uber-serving of Minefaire. Minecraft. All. Day. While up the street at USC I attended the Los Angeles Festival Of Books. Mostly I hung … Continue reading →

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THIS HAPPENED

Posted on March 23, 2018 by PB Rippey

I won runner-up (there were only two of us who won in the Middle Grade category). SCBWI-LA Writer’s Day, Skirball Cultural Center . I pitched an agent, connected with a dream agent, dashed around assisting the totally-on-it RA’s, made new … Continue reading →

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SCBWI Los Angeles Writers Day 2018

Posted on February 21, 2018 by PB Rippey

  I’m going. Are you? Gary D. Schmidt is giving the keynote. That’s right, author of one of my favorite YA books: ‘The Wednesday Wars’. You’ve probably already read it, but here’s the SCBWI GDS Interview from 2/16/18. I especially … Continue reading →

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Writer’s Retreat: What Was It Like?

Posted on September 27, 2017 by PB Rippey

SCBWI Working Writer’s Retreat, September, 2017 The “working” aspect in Working Writer’s Retreat (for me)=the retreat provided printers, so there was no excuse (for me) for not sprinting to my sparse (sweetly existential) weekend bedroom after a workshop, whipping open … Continue reading →

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SCBWI WWR 9/2017

Posted on September 13, 2017 by PB Rippey

Me–prepping for the upcoming SCBWI Working Writer’s Retreat:     Fortunately I got in, thanks to iphone alerts, Alexa/Echo alerts, the wall calendar with a particular date circled so thickly in red it could never become invisible, no matter the … Continue reading →

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SCBWI-LA Writers & Illustrators Day 2017 (Links Edition)

Posted on March 20, 2017 by PB Rippey

I was asked by SCBWI-LA to write about my experience at the recent WID. The piece is up on the Kite Tales blog. 1, 2, 3: LINK. Such a luxury for me to discard certain hats (taxi-mama, chef of sorts, … Continue reading →

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Article At ‘Through The Tollbooth’!!!

Posted on March 20, 2014 by PB Rippey

My writing mentor, Kathryn Fitzmaurice, was interviewed by Catherine Linka (I’ve heard Catherine speak at SCBWI events–she is positively famous in our SCBWI Los Angeles circles) over at Through The Tollbooth. The interview is about Kathryn’s mentoring experience–er, of me! … Continue reading →

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The Women’s National Book Association

Posted on March 1, 2014 by PB Rippey

I was made aware of the WNBA/LA thanks to my middle grade writing mentor, Kathryn Fitzmaurice (ask me if I am lucky to have her as my mentor and you will hear amplified hell yeah’s). She gave one of this … Continue reading →

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Notes From The Retreat #2: Critiques

Posted on January 26, 2014 by PB Rippey

Yes, I am going to go here. Out of the 10 copies of the first 25 pages of my novel returned to me, scribbled on by the writers in my core group at the SCBWI retreat, I kept 4. Those 4 … Continue reading →

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Notes From The Retreat #1: Books

Posted on January 22, 2014 by PB Rippey

At last weekend’s SCBWI retreat, 4 editors imparted useful information–and shared book titles they love–Picture Books (PB), Middle Grade (MG), Non-Fiction (NF) and Young Adult (Y the effing heck A). I know what the abbreviations mean. YOU know what they mean. But, … Continue reading →

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