This year's adventure, which took place last July, was perhaps my favorite, mainly because Cheri was able to join me... and for the first time ever I stayed at the hotel instead of driving back and forth between my home and the convention center.
I couple other things were different. #1 We flew into Los Angeles to attend the event. That's because #2 They moved the conference date to July instead of its usual August slot. And #3 it was held at a new hotel, the Marriot next to Staples Center.
There's lots of restaurants in this area, but for some reason, every time we met for a meal, Cheri and I kept going back to the Yard House.
None of my photos do the conference justice, but trust me, there were amazing speakers, moving presentations, and inspiring workshops.
I got to reconnect with some of my writer friends, including the coolest couple in the World of Children's Literature... the Trisha and Stephen Shashkan!
Throughout the weekend, the SCBWI head-honcho Lin Olivier held a joke contest. The rules were simple: come up with the Worst Title for a Children's Book. There were lots of hilarious entries, and I'm proud to say that three of my jokes were picked. They gave me gift certificates to the book store, and among other items, I picked up a copy of Miranda Paul's wonderfully quirky Blobfish Throws a Party.
Miranda, who is a fellow client of the Red Fox Literary Agency, was kind enough to sign it for me. She also gave a presentation on the topic of school / event visits. Incredibly informative!
On Saturday Night they hosted the Silver Linings Ball. All the cool people wore sparkly stuff to the party, but I was a wall flower in drab attire. But I had fun watching everybody.
We returned to Washington on Sunday night, but not without obtaining a heckuvalotta children's books.
Can you tell I had a good time?
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