Registration for “Creating Sparks: Kindle the Fire of Imagination” is now open!

We are happy to announce that registration for our 2-day regional conference on July 14 & 15, 2012 is now up and running.  Go to our regional website  for complete details and to register online.  You may also print  2012JulyRegistrationForm if you prefer to register by mail.

In the meantime, let me introduce our speakers, beginning with our award-winning keynote authors:

RICHARD PECK’S latest title, Secrets at Sea, was a New York Times Notable Book for 2011. It is his forty-first book in forty-one years since his first YA novel, Don’t Look And It Won’t Hurt, later filmed as Gas Food Lodging.  His book A Long Way From Chicago won the 1999 Newbery silver medal, and the sequel, A Year Down Yonder, won the 2001 Newbery gold medal.

JAMES PROIMOS is probably most famous for having THE HUNGER GAMES dedicated to him. But he has written and/or illustrated over twenty critically acclaimed books of his own. He also has sold screenplays, created television shows and been a literary agent. Recently he started Welcome Literary LLC, a book development company that creates short, smart books.

BOBBIE PYRON thinks of herself as a librarian who happens to write. She’s worked for over twenty-five years as a librarian, connecting readers with books. Her first book, The Ring (Westside Books), was published in 2009. Her second book, the award-winning A Dog’s Way Home (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins) was published in 2011. Her new book, The Dogs of Winter (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic) is due out in October. Bobbie lives in Park City, Utah with her husband, three dogs, and two cats. You can visit her on line at <www.bobbiepyron.com>.

SALLY M. WALKER is the author of more than 50 books for children. Her newest books are Blizzard of Glass, a 2012 ALA Notable Book, and Freedom Song. She was awarded the 2006 Robert F. Sibert Medal for Secrets of a Civil War Submarine and her book Written in Bone was a finalist for the 2010 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award. Visit her online at <www.sallymwalker.com>.

DEBORAH WILES is the author of picture books and novels for young readers including Each Little Bird That Sings, a National Book Award Finalist, and Countdown, book one of “The Sixties Trilogy: Three Novels of the 1960s for Young Readers.” <www.deborahwiles.com>

Our Illustrator:

JAIME ZOLLARS paints pictures of imaginary people and places far away. She has illustrated children’s books, magazines, newspapers, and ad campaigns.  Her clients include United Airlines, The American Red Cross, Scholastic, Clarion Books, Random House, and the L.A. Weekly.  Jaime’s art has been recognized by The Society of Illustrators, Taschen’s Illustration Now, American Illustration, Communication Arts, 3×3, Spectrum, Curvy Australia, Design Taxi, XFuns Taipei, DPI Taiwan, BBC’s Culture Shock, Small Magazine, the SI-LA, and the SCBWI. She lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland and also enjoys teaching talented future illustrators at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

And our Editors and Agents:

STACEY BARNEY is an editor at Penguin/Putnam Books for Young Readers. She primarily acquires middle grade and young adult fiction and her list includes such acclaimed and bestselling books as The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had and The Lions of Little Rock, both by Kristin Levine; Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman; NYT bestselling Ask Elizabeth by Elizabeth Berkley; Sparrow Road by Sheila O’Connor; Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne; and the forthcoming Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein; The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin and Black City by Elizabeth Richards.

MARY KATE CASTELLANI is an editor at Walker Books for Young Readers, where she acquires projects for all age levels. Some of her books include Zombelina, a picture book about a zombie ballerina, the dystopian middle-grade adventure Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner, Transcendence by C.J. Omololu, a reincarnation love story, and Breaking Beautiful, a compelling murder mysteryby Jennifer Shaw Wolf. She is currently seeking to acquire funny picture books, commercial middle-grade adventure, contemporary teen romance, and thought-provoking issue novels. Learn more at http://www.bloomsburykids.com  and  www.bloomsburyteens.com.

CHRISTINE PETERSON is a managing editor with Capstone, a leading publisher of children’s nonfiction, fiction, and digital media products, with offices in Minnesota, Chicago, and the United Kingdom. Christine joined Capstone as an editor in 2002 and has been a managing editor for five years. She oversees nonfiction imprints that produce curriculum-based, high-interest nonfiction for struggling and reluctant readers in grades one through six. She lives in Mankato, Minnesota, with her husband and two children.

MOLLY JAFFA has been at the Folio agency since 2008 and is an Associate Member of the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR). She focuses exclusively on MG and YA fiction. She is Folio’s Director of International Rights and attends all major international book fairs for the agency. Her clients include Lana Krumwiede (Freakling, Candlewick, October 2012, and an untitled sequel in 2013) and Pamela Jane (Little Goblins Ten, Balzer & Bray, 2011). Learn more at <www.foliolit.com>.

QUINLAN LEE brings to Adams Literary experience as a published author of books for young readers and more than 15 years of business expertise.  She’s been with Adams Literary for four years, representing clients in genres from picture books to YA. She enjoys meeting others who share her love of children’s literature and is an active member of SCBWI and a founding board member of the Charlotte Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA).

Click here for a complete 2012JulyConferenceSchedule and don’t forget to register and check out all the details at www.mddewvscbwi.org!

See you at the conference…