A Tasty SCBWI 40th Anniversary Summer Conference

The 40th Anniversary SCBWI Summer Conference just ended on Monday.  I’ve attended this exceptional conference for many years and this year’s celebration was one of the very best.  Below are some favorite quotes from this year’s speakers.

BRUCE COVILLE – Author

Everything we do moves outward and has an effect, like ripples in the pond.  We never know how what we do will affect others.  Our work has the potential to change the world in ways not known.  Go home and drop some pebbles in the pond.

LIBBA BRAY – Author

I love deadlines.  I love the whooshing sound they make as they rush by!

RICHARD PECK – Author

Unless you find yourself on a page very early in life, you will go looking for yourself in all the wrong places.

SARAH STEWART – Author

A few of her ‘rules for aspiring writers’ –

• Read the great poetry written in your native language.
• Put your ambition into writing, never into making money. 
• If there’s no quiet place where you live, find that place within you for a few minutes each day.

BEVERLY HOROWITZ – Editor

There’s always room for something new and different. 
Write the story that only you can tell.

LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON – Author

Art disturbs the Universe.  Thank the Gods.  The job of any artist is to disturb. 
Have the courage to explore the stories of your heart.