Taking a Bite of the Big Apple
February 8, 2006

I arrived in New York City on Friday, February 4, 2006 just after 1:00 p.m., after a long flight and several delays. I stayed with my friend and fellow storyteller, Laura Simms, who has a huge gorgeous loft in Manhattan nearly next to the Strand Bookstore on Broadway near Union Square. After dropping off my bags and freshening up, I headed to the Hilton New York on Avenue of the Americas for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Conference.

I arrived just in time to catch the closing session featuring a panel with Artist/Author Tomie dePaola, Artist/Author Robert Sabuda, and Art Director and Vice President of Penguin Young Readers Group, Cecilia Yung. They were very encouraging to hopeful illustrators and shared inspiring stories of success through failure. Afterwards, I was invited to drinks with Tomie dePaola and a whole gang of people including David Ezra Stein, Jessie Joshua Watson, Wendell Minor, Brian Gerrity, Jennifer Bunt, and Bob Hechtel. It was a fun time but then I had to head out for dinner with my friend, Stephanie Ruble, another illustrator.

Stephanie gathered a big group together and we took the subway to Cosi's on Union Square. I was the only soul gluttonous enough to order the s'mores! After dinner, I headed around the corner to Laura's and crashed for a few hours.

Saturday, February 5 was the official opening day of the SCBWI Conference. I cabbed it to the hotel and had a nice breakfast of bagels and mint tea. The opening keynote was David Almond, Author of Skellig, which was an ALA Notable book, translated into 27 languages and won the Printz Award. He humorously challenged writers to "Dare to be stupid" and said to "trust our imaginations and our stories." He was a delightful speaker who captivated his audience. I, of course, had to buy his book for Soleil.

The next couple of sessions were "How I Work and What I Publish," breakout sessions with editors from various publishing houses. I attended Katherine Tegen's session. She is the editorial diector of her own imprint, Katherine Tegen Books of HarperCollins Children's Books. I also attended Samantha McFerrin's session. Samantha is an editor at Harcourt Books. Both sessions were valuable in learning what editors look for in a manuscript and how each editor's taste and personality influences her choices.

Next was the luncheon. As a recipient of the Paula Danziger Amber Brown grant, I was asked to sit at a reserved table in the front. I sat next to Allie, the adorable daughter of an editor, who, of course, was also sitting at the table. Allie and I hit it off and made friends. She is an adorable 6 year old who is wise beyond her years. After the keynote with Francine Pascal, author of the incredibly successful Sweet Valley High series, the Kim Colin award was presented and Marvin Turben was awarded "SCBWI Member of the Year" award. Marvin was hilarious and a marvelous speaker. Because of the Amber Brown grant, I was going to perform at Central Park East 1 Elementary on Monday, February 6. After the awards, Lin Oliver, Executive Director of SCBWI, asked me to come up on the stage and close out the program with a tiny excerpt of my school presentation. I did a snippet of "The Little Red Hed Makes Pizza" from my "Jump, Jiggle & Jam" program. It was a hit.

Afterwards, so many people told me how much they enjoyed the presentation. I only had three minutes so I am glad I made a good impression. I skipped the 3rd editor session as I got stuck talking to people.

The afternoon panel was about "The Present and Future of Children's Publishing." The panel featured Chip Gibson, President and Publisher of Random House, Lisa Holton, President of Trade & Book Fairs at Scholastic, and Doug Whiteman, President of Penguin Books for Young Readers. Doug Whiteman said that the picture book market is downsized but sales for teen and middle grade novels have picked up. He pointed out that, in order to expand the market, publishers have to market books in non-traditional ways. Chip Gibson also expressed concern with the flatness of the market. Lisa Holton urged authors and illustrators to "protect the beauty and gift of reading." She optimistically ended saying, "The future of children's books is the children's author."

Marc Brown, author of the Arthur books, was the closing keynote. Marc said that a child once asked him, "Mr. Brown, if you're so famous, how come you're not dead?" The crowd roared with laughter. Marc's speech was incredibly inspiring for me. He is the illustrator of Wild About Books, the first book I replaced for Eliana after Hurricane Katrina. It is one of our most favorite books! Marc said, "Whenever we let a child in on something special, it can have a profound effect." Wild About Books has had that kind of effect on me. The funny thing is that I was sitting next to him during the entire publishing panel and didn't even know he was Marc Brown! I had never seen his picture before. I spoke with him afterwards and he was gracious and kind.

That evening was the New York Showcase Art Exhibition and Auction. It was a wine and hors d'oeuvres evening full of mingling and art viewing. There were some pretty spectacular pieces. I met up with Allie again and we took silly face pictures together. What a beautiful child. I love looking at the world through a child's eyes. They aren't afraid to express themselves and share themselves with the world.

After the art auction, I went to dinner with my friends,Ellen Hopkins (author of Crank) and Marci Hersel, an illustrator about to catch a big break (I feel it!). We went to this hip place on 6th and 91st called Vynl. The restaurant's theme is vinyl records. They had pop star barbie dolls showcased everywhere. The food was absolutely delicious! We scarfed down a dessert of coconut bread pudding and I was miserably full but it was worth the sacrifice... The funny thing about Vynl is that the bathrooms are the most beautiful part of the restaurant. I went to the "Cher" bathroom, which was covered with a large sparkling tile mosaic of Cher and her music played in the background. In addition, a Cher doll was showcased on the wall. After Vynl, the girls and I headed back to the hotel to chill out in the bar. When my evening ended, I went to Laura's and crashed for an hour!

On Sunday morning, I woke up early and had a lovely time visiting with Laura over a cup of hot tea. We talked for nearly two hours! She is such an incredible person who does amazing humanitarian work. Laura Simms is the heart of the story.

I skipped the morning session - a panel of literary agents discussing the market - in favor of mingling and talking to friends. I really wanted to attend Marc Brown's breakout session on picture books but instead, opted for a session on "Catching an Agent's Eye: A First Page Workshop." I learned about hooking an agent with the first page of a manuscript and how to craft a good query letter.

The closing keynote was with Nikki Giovanni, author of Rosa Parks. She was spectacular!!! She was slap-your-knee funny, moving, and inspiring, all the things that you need to be a great keynote speaker. She imparted wisdom and brought us back through history, illustrating the past with the power of her words. Nikki was so incredible and I was so captivated that I forgot to take notes! I do remember one powerful thing she said, "Thank God Rosa Parks was not a woman of her time." By the time I got to the bookstore to purchase her books, they were sold out. I wasn't surprised!

The last event was the autograph party. I said goodbye to many of my friends, who were leaving directly after the conference. The weekend was so full that it didn't feel like a day and a half of conference. I didn't want it to end.

Following the autograph party, I was invited to have drinks with Tomie dePaola and a group of people - Brian, David, Jesse, Rebecca Doughty and Eugene, the winner of the Tomie dePaola award. I went to dinner with my friend, Marci, and we walked down 5th Avenue, admiring Tiffany & Co. jewelry and touring the Trump Tower (not as impressive as I thought it would be). We ate at Joe's Shanghai and had some delectable Chinese food. I had a show the next morning and Marci and I agreed to meet on Monday for dinner and some sightseeing.

On Monday morning, I had my program at Central Park East 1. I performed my "Jump, Jiggle & Jam" show and the kids LOVED it. We had a blast together! The theater teacher was amazed that I held the fifth grader's attention for 45 minutes. Afterwards, I had a Q&A session with 4th and 5th graders on my Hurricane Katrina experience. They were so curious and full of insightful questions. It was a history/geography/vocabulary lesson for them! When I finished, they asked for autographs and since it was a small group, I obliged. Many of the students had me write in their journals.

After a brief walk in Central Park, I went back to Laura's to change into warmer clothes and drop off my microphone and props. After a meeting with Laura and her assistant to discuss some business, I ended up taking an hour power nap. Then it was off to meet Marci at the Strand Book Store. The Strand advertises "18 Miles of Books" and they aren't lying! They have four floors of books jammed and crammed into every conceiveable corner. Towering tables and overstuffed shelves contained volumes of undiscovered delight! I waited for Marci in the children's section and was overwhelmed by the selection! The Strand boasts new, used, and remaindered books for every kind of bibliophile. Marci and I had a field day in the bookstore and had to pry ourselves away so that we could eat.

Dinner brought us to Cosi's (I can't help it - I love the food there). I ordered pizza while she had the Tuscan Pesto Chicken sandwich I recommended. For dessert, I ordered the decadent S'moreos. A small grill provided flames for us to roast our marshmallows. We speared the marshmallows and roasted them, giggling like little girls at a Girl Scout camp out. It was so much fun.

After dinner, we braved the Empire State Building. Because it was a Monday and as cold as sin outside, there was no line. We zipped through and went to the 86th floor observation deck. The view of the city was breathtaking. It's hard to describe how exhilarating the experience was. Finally, we had to head inside because the windy gusts chilled us to the bone and scared us to death. Marci had portfolio drop-offs scheduled in the morning and I had a visit with my family scheduled so we parted ways.

On Tuesday, I bid Laura farewell and headed to Queens, where my Auntie Mary Ann (my mom's sister) and my cousin, Valerie, live. Valerie and her fiancee, Willie, just had a baby. Lucas is four months old and is a roly poly doll. I just love squeezing his chubby thighs. He's a happy baby, smiling and laughing all the time. It was wonderful to watch Valerie tend to her son. She has matured into such a beautiful, loving mother. We had lunch with a family friend, June and his girlfriend, Amelia. After dropping Valerie off at work, June drove me to La Guardia.

It was a hectic but incredibly productive weekend. I made some wonderful contacts and had editors approach me with their cards. I may end up with a publishing deal out of this trip. Wow! NYC was so fabulous that I am going back in July and taking Soleil with me as her 16th birthday present. It will be fun. I can't wait to take another bite of the Big Apple!

Until next time...

Warmly,
Dianne de Las Casas