con posts – Juliana Spink Mills

March 2, 2023

Con Round Up: Boskone 60

This month I went to my first in-person convention since 2020, Boskone in Boston, MA. It was lovely being back at my ‘local’ con, but weirdly stressful, too. To paraphrase a friend, ‘we’re all a little feral now’, and have to re-learn how to do the event thing! By the end of each day, I was quite ready to retreat to my hotel room with a book…

That said, I did have a great time… I was on four programming items. I led a Friday night meet up for young writers and ended up having a delightful chat to the two youngest participants — 10 and 13 years old. And a shout out to the pink stuffed axolotl that kept us company. On Saturday morning, I was in charge of organizing the Rapid Fire Reading for Broad Universe, an organization I belong to which supports women and non-binary people working in speculative fiction. We had eleven readers, and a nice variety of genres and writing styles to enjoy in five-minute bite-sized snippets.

I was also on two panels: I moderated Silver Haired Warriors on Saturday night, with Dana Cameron, Zin E. Rocklyn, and N.T. Swift, which I thoroughly enjoyed and yes, if you’re curious, we did decide that older characters are more than ready to take charge of spec fic, and that experience absolutely wins out against the hastiness of youth. On Sunday, I got to play with the other side of that coin, with Writing Realistic Teenagers. R.W.W. Greene was our trusty moderator, and my fellow panelists were Michael Stearns and Brad Abraham. One of my favorite takeaways was to remember to work from the heart and not the brain when writing teens, and to channel not necessarily your own memories, but the emotions that lay beneath.

There were plenty of good programming items to watch, and as usual the hard part is choosing! I caught a great panel on Friday called Digging the Past, with Darlene Marshall (M), Melanie Meadors, Katherine Arden, and Walter Jon Williams, where my favorite quote came from Katherine: “The best historical fiction wears its research really lightly.” (Along with a reminder that the writer does not owe the reader perfect accuracy.) After my Saturday reading, I stopped by the International Fandom Meetup, which only had a few of us attending but provided a nice break from the larger program items.

Saturday afternoon, I managed to fit in two program items before my own panel. First off, How to Kill…a Character, an energetic debate with Max Gladstone (M), Brenda Clough, Bracken MacLeod, P. Djèlí Clark, and C.S.E. Cooney. Brenda Clough reminded us that nowadays, “no one has plot immunity”, while P. Djèlí Clark brought up the differences between how writers and readers experience a character’s death. Bracken MacLeod warned us that there should be emotional consequences, that a character’s death should feel ugly, even if they are evil and absolutely had it coming. The other Saturday item I caught was the Horror on Saturday group reading, with Nicholas Kaufmann, Bracken MacLeod, Max Martelli, and F. Brett Cox, a fantastic taster of great writing!

On Sunday, I stopped by at Seven Easy Steps to Taking Over the Universe, with Marshall Ryan Maresca (M), Christie Meierz, Mur Lafferty, Dana Cameron, and Steven Popkes, an absolutely hilarious discussion which concluded that: minions need good and fashionable jumpsuits, preferably with five pockets; that better toilet technology is a must, as well as a history degree (immortality is a maybe, but debatable); that every overlord-to-be needs a good slogan AND a good title; and that cats may already be our overlords… The last panel I attended was The Shadow of the City, a discussion of cities as characters in urban fantasy with Walter H. Hunt (M), Sharon Lee, Darrell Schweitzer, and Carole Ann Moleti, and I think my favorite quote comes from Carole Ann Moleti: “Walk the city. (…) Observe the people, because that’s the story.”

All in all, a wonderful and inspirational event. Thank you to the New England Science Fiction Association for once again organizing a successful weekend, and for inviting me to be a part of it!

Afternoon tea break — view from my hotel bedroom

May 14, 2022

Conference Round-Up: NESCBWI 22

The New England SCBWI Spring Conference ended two weeks ago, and I’m finally crawling out of a haze of post-conference exhaustion and Covid to write this post. Yes, Covid. I’m thinking of getting a t-shirt made: ‘I went to a virtual conference and STILL caught Covid!’

Our regional kidlit conference is very dear to my heart. I love the friendly vibes, and the real and present sense of community. I was thrilled when I was asked to help co-direct the event. For 2022, the theme we went with is Find Your Star: Let it Shine. When I chose the theme, I was thinking about how every writer and illustrator treads their own path. Our dreams take different shape, and so do our goals. We work at different speeds, and in different ways. One person’s star may not be another. The night sky is made up of a multitude of constellations, and all of them are wonderful. I wanted the conference weekend to be an opportunity for attendees to find THEIR star, and let it shine.

My temporary desk setup for the conference

But even online conferences need a lot of planning. Before any shining could be done, speakers had to be invited, workshops submissions assessed, and volunteers brought on board as moderators and for other behind-the-scenes jobs. Then there are contracts, and budgets, and numbers to crunch, before registration even opens. And a LOT of head-scratching and problem-solving. The team — myself, my new co-director Jim Hill, and Regional Advisor Kris Asselin, with a huge amount of tech help from Assistant Regional Advisor Christy Yaros — had our work cut out to make everything work on a virtual platform: two Keynotes, one Friday Night Welcome event with multiple speakers, a publishing panel, one guided meditation, twelve Ask-a-Mentor sessions, and thirty-four workshops, including eight intensives! And socials; lots of time for online socials, including the Friday night Open Mics.

As the countdown went from weeks to days, and then hours, our team was both excited and anxious: would the tech run smoothly? Would all of our faculty and moderators manage to log in? WOULD WE HAVE A CONFERENCE AT ALL? Spoiler alert: yes, to all of that. Christy had to do a lot of last-minute tech magic, but we got everyone who was meant to be online there, and (I hope!) most attendees, too.

I don’t have space to go over everything from the weekend (and I’m still catching up with workshop recordings!), so I’ll end this with a few highlights from the main events. To everyone who came, whether faculty, volunteer, or attendee: thank you for being there, thank you for being you. Find your star, BE your star, and let your light shine.

Watching Jane Yolen from Zoom’s backstage

Jane Yolen talked about the layers of time that books take — from writer, agent, and publisher — and pointed out that the only time we have control over as writers is our writing time; a lesson on patience from a Master for those seeking a career in books!
Heidi Stemple and Rajani LaRocca held a great Creative Conversation. Rajani urged us to follow the dopamine — “Find the thing that makes you light up and hold onto it”; while Heidi told us “Have grace with yourself. Do not expect the perfect novel to appear.”
Keynote speaker Tara Lazar returned to Heidi’s words, reminding us again, “Have a lot of grace with yourself.” She also told us to do what makes us smile, and to follow our internal age as a guide for writing kid lit. Cue lots of fun comments in the chat box as to what age we all secretly are! (Personally, I suspect I alternate between twelve and sixty-two…)
Our illustrator Keynote John Parra said, “Find truth in what you do.” He also gave some great practical advice: make sure you have a place to work and that it’s ready to go; procrastination is the worst thing for creatives.
And last (but certainly not least), our publishing panel brought some hard truths but also a lot of hope. Agent Liza Fleissig asked us to #nevergiveup. “There’s space for everyone. (…) Your star will shine when your stars finally align.

“A book, too, can be a star, explosive material, capable of stirring up fresh life endlessly, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” Madeleine L’Engle.

Some of our fabulous New England SCBWI Regional Team

May 9, 2021

NESCBWI 2021 Part II: virtual goes live

It’s Friday afternoon, April 30^th, and the countdown begins. Last minute frantic text messages and emails fly: “I can’t access the Zoom account!”; “Where’s my password?”; “I never got a reply from the presenter!” We remind ourselves: take a deep breath, we’ve got this. The clock ticks closer, the minutes run out like sand in an hourglass. Seven pm EST arrives. We’re on. This is it. Showtime. A Virtual Voyage: Finding Joy in the Journey is live.

After introducing ourselves and the New England SCBWI regional team, the spring conference began on a high note with A Conversation with Two Legends: Jane Yolen and Nikki Grimes, moderated by Heidi E.Y. Stemple. (All of our main presentations and workshops were run as webinars, keeping chat open for attendee participation.) Nikki, Jane, and Heidi were amazing, and I loved all the comments in the chat, and getting to ‘see’ everyone’s reactions.

Among the many wonderful moments, a couple of favorites: Jane Yolen reminding us that “if you don’t write it, it’s not going to get written”, and that writing is about “hard work and joy”. And Nikki Grimes celebrating her love for poetry: “it’s my first language.”

The first night ended with our Open Screen event, hosted by Matt Forrest Esenwine, who usually hosts the open mic at our in-person conferences. Everyone got a chance to share their work, and the readings were delightful.

Saturday opened with a quick welcome from my co-director Casey Robinson and a moment with two of our Equity & Inclusion Committee members, Valerie Bolling and Lisa Stringfellow, who talked about the Committee’s work in New England and about open opportunities for participation. Then it was time to start our workshops which, thanks to our fantastic volunteers and impeccable management by Christy Yaros, ran pretty smoothly from start to finish. There were twenty-one workshops in total, held over four hours, too many to mention individually. Luckily, we decided to record all workshops, so attendees (and busy conference staff!) will be able to watch them later at leisure. I’m so glad we opted to do this, as I personally have many, MANY workshops I want to watch.

Throughout most of Saturday we kept our social Zoom open, and it was lovely to see so many attendees, faculty, and team drop in for a chat. Between 2:00-3:30 pm we held scheduled socials by theme, and these were well attended.

Saturday afternoon brought the Crystal Kite awards! The SCBWI, besides its annual Golden Kite awards, organizes a regional peer-voted version. Due to the timing, which never quite lines up with our spring conference, New England presents its Kite award a year later. Of course, our 2020 conference got cancelled, so we had two awards to honor. It was an intensely emotional moment, watching acceptance speeches from the 2019 winner, Brian Lies, for The Rough Patch, and the 2020 winner, Padma Venkatraman, for The Bridge Home.

Awards presented and accepted, it was time for our first Keynote Speaker, author and illustrator Mike Curato. Mike’s speech was a nice mix of funny and serious and had us alternating between laughter and tears. At one point, when talking about remembering to find joy in your work, Mike said: “I was so busy telling other people’s stories, I wasn’t making time for my own.” He was, of course, referring to the moment he began working on what was to become his best-selling Little Elliot series.

We reopened the social Zoom after the keynote, so attendees could chat a bit to Mike and to each other and then, after a joyful but screen-heavy day, we all left to rest our eyes and brains and get ready for the last day of the conference.

Sunday morning brought a new programming item to the New England conference: the ask-a-mentor sessions. Ten faculty members offered their time for a moderated Q&A session, answering questions on topics ranging from writing and illustrating to the business of book publishing and the agent process. I hope this was useful to everyone; I certainly found the sessions I attended to be insightful and interesting!

Following the ask-a-mentor sessions, our last Keynote Speaker was Padma Venkatraman. Padma is, like Mike Curato, a long-time SCBWI member. She’s also an active local member, and everyone who attends New England events — both virtual and pre-COVID — knows her cheerful smile and uplifting presence. Padma’s passionate keynote talk was the perfect ending to our virtual voyage, as she urged us to pour our hearts and selves into our creative work. “We are creators because we create. Don’t get too focused on publication; focus on creating.”

Thank you to everyone who made #NESCBWI21 possible: our faculty, our volunteers, and our New England Regional Team. Thank you also to all the members and non-members who attended the virtual events and left lovely messages for us in the Zoom chat boxes and online. We do this for you, because we are all part of one big kid lit community. Because we love writing, illustrating, creating. Because you make it worthwhile. See you online, and who knows, maybe even in person in 2022!

May 5, 2021May 9, 2021

NESCBWI 2021 Part I: pre-conference planning

Back in 2019, fresh from the excitement of the New England regional conference for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, I said YES to a very important commitment: to step in as co-director and help plan and run the spring conference for 2020 and 2021.

Little did we know back then that the world was about to be hit by the COVID pandemic, with all its devastating ramifications.

It takes time to plan an in-person conference with as many moving parts as ours — from workshops to critique sessions to sit-down meals for almost 700 attendees. By the time 2020 arrived, we had most of it done. Registration opened amid growing concerns about global health, but we shrugged off the whispers — we’d be fine, right? This wasn’t going to impact New England.

And then, in March, everything began to shut down. We all watched in horror as the death toll worldwide began to rise. This was big; so much bigger than our concerns over a weekend event. By April, it was clear that COVID was everywhere, and that the pandemic wasn’t going to end anytime soon. Even if state mandates hadn’t done the job for us, there was no way we would have put our members at risk. There was nothing we could do except cancel the conference. A few people mentioned moving online, but it was far too late by then to shift a huge event to a virtual platform. We honored the agent/editor critiques that had been booked by holding an online critique day but postponed the rest of the planned activities.

After a hasty phone meeting, my co-director Casey and I agreed to stay on an extra year. To run the 2020 conference in 2021. Because back then, we still thought COVID would be solved by the end of the year, maybe even by summer.

We all know what happened to the rest of 2020. Infection rates dipped, then rose. New strains emerged; studies and data brought terrible insight on the aftereffects of coronavirus. Death numbers worldwide kept climbing. The race for a vaccine was on, and masking up became a permanent and no longer temporary measure. By October, it was clear that there was no way we could plan an in-person event for 2021, due to the amount of time it takes and the uncertainties ahead. We made the call and emailed our membership and our faculty: 2021 was going virtual.

So, how to plan an online conference? How to turn our Virtual Voyage: Finding Joy in the Journey into a spark of light at a dark and difficult time?

First of all, we polled the faculty of our canceled 2020 event to find out who was interested in doing a virtual version of their workshop. We had already decided we would do a streamlined event — there was no way we could attempt the almost 70 workshops we usually do at the in-person conference. There would be no critique sessions; the New England SCBWI already holds 4 virtual agent/editor critique days throughout the year, so there was no reason to add to this. And we would have to cut a lot of the side events that have become tradition, like illustrator challenges and the pitch practice party. We knew what we DID want: to provide a weekend of craft and inspiration, something that would help boost creativity during a time when a lot of writers and illustrators are finding it hard to produce work.

We were delighted to hear back from 21 of our faculty, who came up with alternate versions of their workshops for us. We decided to add ask-a-mentor sessions in place of the agent/editor critiques, and we tossed in an Open Screen to substitute our traditional Open Mic night. We kept the two planned keynote sessions with Padma Venkatraman and Mike Curato, but changed the Friday night opening event to a Conversations with Two Legends, with Jane Yolen and Nikki Grimes, to be moderated by Heidi Stemple. And we came up with the idea of keeping a dedicated Zoom meeting open throughout to double as reception desk for issues and a social space, with themed breakout rooms for drop-in mingling.

By the time mid-April 2021 rolled around, we were set. We had our platforms prepared, thanks to Assistant Regional Advisor and tech goddess Christy Yaros. We had our programming in order, thanks to my co-director Casey Robinson. We had our Zoom hosting and moderating volunteers lined up and waiting (that one was my job!). And we had our Regional Advisor Kristine Asselin to do all the number crunching and behind-the-scenes bureaucratic wizardry. We were ready to make Finding Joy in the Journey a virtual reality.

March 4, 2021

Boskone 58 Round-up

My first Boskone — in fact, my first ever SF/F Con — was in 2015. I’ve been back every year, faithfully checking into the Waterfront Westin in Boston each February for another weekend of panels, readings, and excellent conversation with new and old friends.

The 2020 Boskone took place just before the world locked down due to COVID-19. The 2021 edition wasn’t quite as lucky, but the New England Science Fiction Association, who organize the convention, rallied round and faced the challenge beautifully to produce a well-planned three-day virtual event.

With pared down and yet still extensive programming, there were plenty of interesting things taking place over the weekend, with the added bonus of recorded panels so attendees could catch up later. There was also a dedicated social Zoom open all day to give us a little of that feeling of chatting to people in hallways, in the con suite, and in the lobby lounge area. Was it the same as in-person? Of course not, but it was a good solution for a hard situation, and the virtual con had the advantage of broadening event access for those who might not otherwise be able to attend.

Some of my personal highlights from the weekend:

The Friday night reading by Paul Tremblay and Joe Hill was fabulous, and it was great getting to hear them chat about horror and writing.
The Agents: Revealing the secrets panel with Mur Lafferty, Michael Stearns, Joshua Bilmes, and Sara Megibow had good advice, such as: when vetting potential agents, remember there are bad agents, but there are also good agents who might be bad for you.
Supernatural Sleuthing with Dana Cameron, Leigh Perry, Nancy Holder, Bracken MacLeod, and David McDonald was a blast and had some of my favorite Boskone regulars on it. Advice included: a mystery needs to be solved. A mysterious novel just needs to create atmosphere. It’s all about audience expectations and author promise
The Guest of Honor interview, where Joe Abercrombie told Joe Hill that, “I like characters that are neither heroes not villains, but something in between”.
I loved the panel on The Representation of LGBTQ+ in Popular Culture, with Gillian Daniels, John Chu, Julia Rios, Jennifer Williams, and Sara Megibow — they could have done with double the time! One point made over and over was that ‘good representation’ shouldn’t mean just positive — characters should be allowed to be messy, nuanced, etc. In other words, realistic vs ‘good’.
GoH Joe Abercrombie joined Rebecca Roanhorse, Marie Brennan, Aleron Kong, and Bob Kuhn to talk about The Gritty Underbelly of Fantasy. A lot of the discussion centered on ‘grimdark’ being a reaction to the good/bad simplicity of classic fantasy.
A discussion on Post-Pandemic SFF Conventions, with Brenda Noiseux, Gerald L. Coleman, Steven Silver, Priscilla Olson, and Marcin Klack brought up a lot of interesting points, such as the current situation being the jumping-off point for future hybrid events which include virtual aspects so as to be accessible and inclusive for those who would not normally be able to attend due to financial, physical, and geographical constraints, among others.

Some thoughts:

Virtual con burn-out is just as much a thing as in-person event exhaustion. It’s tiring staring at a screen, and it’s tough to schedule watching time around things going on at home. Recordings helped with this, but screen fatigue definitely puts limitations on watching.
Despite this, I got a lot out of the panels I watched, and with the recorded events there was the bonus of being able to pause to take notes.
The chat feature during panels was for the most part lively and fun, and no unpleasant incidents occurred during the events I watched.
One nice aspect of having webinars routed through Grenadine was that it allowed us to see who was ‘in the room’ before the webinars started. It was nice being able to spot people I knew!
I wish I’d planned times to meet up with friends in the social rooms! I did drop in and look around, but it was the equivalent of randomly walking through the con suite to see if anyone I knew was there…
This was a huge undertaking and seemed overall to run very smoothly. Well done NESFA for another successful Boskone!

_{Left: Supernatural Sleuthing panel; Right: Joe Abercrombie and Joe Hill at GoH interview}

March 30, 2020

Con Round-Up Part II: BOSKONE

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Life has been weird ever since COVID-19 went global. The past few weeks have been simultaneously dragonfly-quick and slow as a New England winter. One day drags by while the next is gone in a blink, and time, for me at least, has become a fickle capricious thing, heavy as stone yet as hard to hold onto as a handful of fine, dry sand.

That being so, I suddenly realized it’s been a month and a half since over a thousand sci fi, fantasy, and horror fans gathered for Boskone 57, and I’m long overdue a con round-up!

Boskone 57 was once again held at the Westin Waterfront in Boston on President’s Day weekend. For once I had no program items I was scheduled for on Friday, so I was able to drive in and settle down, catching up with friends and getting in the mood for my Saturday panels.

photo CY 2 — With con buddies and Boskone regulars Shecky and Clarence Young (the photo is Clarence’s)

On Friday I only watched a couple of program items. One was the interview with Holly Black, Boskone’s YA Guest of Honor. This brought a fun insight into Holly’s work and creative process, as well as a chance for a sneak peek at some of her upcoming projects.

I also caught the Fashion in Fantasy Worlds panel, with Janice Gelb, Melissa Caruso, Zig Zag Claybourne, Nightwing Whitehead, and Sarah Morrison. My main takeaway from the panel was that fashion in novels is about the flavor, not the details; it’s about how the character feels in the clothes they wear, and not necessarily the clothes themselves.

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, and I was more than ready to go by the time programming started at 10am. I always like to sign up for a kaffeeklatsch if possible, and this year I was lucky enough to have the chance to sit down with the wonderful Charlaine Harris, who confessed that “I write because I get bored!”

Next up was Blood-Curdling Science Fiction, with Errick Nunnally moderating, and Julie C. Day, Nicholas Kauffmann, Darrell Schweitzer, and myself as panelists. We were supposed to be discussing the line between horror and sci fi, and since I write (and read) mostly fantasy, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. But the conversation ended up being great, and I had a really good time. Our takeaway? That horror is a matter of feeling, and mashes well with any genre. Oh, and that science is creepy!

photo by Dana Cameron — Blood-Curdling Sci Fi panel (photo credit Dana Cameron)

I had a quick lunch and then went to Holly Black’s reading at 1pm — another thing I always like to do at Boskone is fit in a reading or two, if possible, as I really enjoy hearing stories in the author’s voice.

Afterwards, it was time for a panel on Editing from Agent, to Editor, to Publisher, with Joshua Bilmes, Beth Meacham, John Kessel, and James D. Macdonald, moderated by Melanie Meadors. Some of my notes on this panel include:

Polish your work as much as you can before sending it to beta readers (John and James) BUT don’t over-edit, as earlier drafts can have a raw intensity that can get lost in the polishing process (Beth).
“When a manuscript is accepted by the publisher, that’s when we like to say the real work begins” (Beth).
Remember that your editor is not supposed to be your uncredited co-author! Be prepared to do the work (James).
Revision letters: recognize that your feelings are going to be hurt (Beth). Give yourself time to absorb editorial critiques before reacting to them.

Later in the afternoon, I headed down to the New England Horror Writers Meet Up, hosted by Jack Haringa. I was delighted to find that I wasn’t the only ‘accidental horror’ writer around, and that lots of us tend to tread the line between horror and other genres, occasionally tipping one way or the other. For more information on this group, look up http://nehw.blogspot.com.

I had two more items on my schedule for the day, and I was in both of them! The first was a panel I was moderating, Books That Get Kids Reading, with Michael Stearns (who writes as Carter Roy), Julia Rios, and Trisha Wooldridge. Not a lot of people showed up to watch, unfortunately (the 6pm dinner slot is a tough one!), but we still had a great time exchanging book and graphic novel recommendations for kids and teens. Our panel was unanimous in several things, including our love for diverse books and our admiration for Carlos Hernandez’ Sal and Gabi Break the Universe (as well as for his publisher, Rick Riordan Presents).

To finish up the evening in style, I once again took part in the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading, where members of BU each had a six-minute slot to showcase their work. I love this reading format, which is like a literary taster menu of voice, style, and genre. For my turn, I chose an excerpt from my short story The Sugar Cane Sea, which comes out later this year in the Not All Monsters anthology by Strangehouse Books.

photo dana cameron — With Dana Cameron after the Law & Justice panel (thanks to Dana for the photo)

On Sunday I caught one last panel, Law & Justice in Speculative Fiction, with Leigh Perry, Kenneth Schneyer, Bracken MacLeod, and Diana Rowland. The panelists discussed how concepts of law and justice work — or not! — in fictional worlds, and what were some of the common traps that writers fall into, as well as pointing out a dearth of restorative justice in fictional worlds.

After this, it was time to pack up and return to real life. Boskone was, as always, full of wonderful conversations and inspiring panels and presentations — I was sad to take off my con badge, but it’s always exciting to get home and apply that creative boost to my own writing. And of course, to start the countdown to Boskone 58!

Check out my Con Round-Up Part I: SCBWI NYC

March 13, 2020

Con Round-Up Part I: SCBWI NYC

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On February 6^th, I headed down to New York City for the 21^st SCBWI Winter Conference — one of two national events organized by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. It had been a while since I’d been to the national conference — since 2014 to be precise — and I was looking forward to seeing the changes.

I arrived early, as the New England team (including myself and my regional conference co-director Casey Robinson) had a meeting on Friday morning. Business attended to, I escaped for a couple of hours to meet a friend from Brazil for a visit to the Met. Oh, important detail: my friend is a tour guide, so I had an amazing personalized glimpse at the museum’s permanent collection. If you’ve never been to the Met before, I thoroughly recommend this ‘taster’ version, where you get to sample a little from several different rooms and wings. After a post-museum lunch, it was time to head back to the hotel and relax with friends before getting ready for the Golden Kite Awards at night.

“Yeah… I’m so done with this!”

Cheeky rat

Watching the awards ceremony on Friday evening was definitely one of my personal highlights (and not just because of the strawberries and champagne reception!). Besides opening words from Kwame Alexander, who reminded us that “in the end, we answer for the children, to the children”, and James Patterson, who urged the gatekeepers in the room not to get in the way of kids reading for pleasure, we heard moving acceptance speeches from the award recipients, challenging us all to strive for more in our own work. Find a full list of the Golden Kite awards at: https://www.scbwi.org/announcing-the-golden-kite-and-sid-fleischman-winners/

debbie nyc — NESCBWI team members with the wonderful Debbie Ridpath Ohi (photo credit goes to Debbie)

Saturday began with a great keynote by author Kate Messner, centering on wonder and curiosity, and setting the tone nicely for the conference. This was followed by two workshop intensives that took place throughout the day. My first was on writing genre fiction, with Tor editor Melissa Frain. We talked through the challenges of worldbuilding and the subsequent perils of info-dumping, and then she walked us through an interesting first pages exercise.

2020-02-08 09.37.53 — Kate Messner’s ‘Curiosity License’

I was particularly inspired by my afternoon intensive with agent Chelsea Eberly, who talked us through identifying our author brand. She broke this down into a number of key aspects, among which were to root our work in authenticity (what makes you YOU?) and to identify and focus on our strengths (where do you shine?).

The day’s programming concluded with a heartwarming keynote address by Jerry Pinkney, who talked us through his journey as an artist, starting from his earliest place of inspiration: his father’s basement workshop. Later, the evening centered around the traditional networking dinner, with regional tables set up so attendees could meet and mingle with others from their area, if they so desired. I lingered a while afterwards, chatting to friends (old and new!), but soon called it a night.

kris team nyc — Part of our fantastic NESCBWI regional team! (photo credit Kristine Asselin)

Sunday brought my last intensive session, with Harper Collins editor Tiara Kittrell. Tiara talked us through the key elements of a variety of genres, and shared tips on how to successfully blur the lines between them to create fresh ways to tell stories. I had to leave straight after, and was sorry to miss what I’ve heard was a wonderful final keynote with author Derrick Barnes, but I still carried home a head and notebook full of new ideas and inspiration to fuel my writing work. All in all, it was a fantastic, exhausting, amazing weekend, and I’m glad I decided to return to the New York conference after such a long break!

January 31, 2020

NYC SCBWI and Boskone 57 Schedule

It’s February tomorrow, and February brings ALL THE CONS. Or, well, two at least.

I’ll be in NYC next weekend for the SCBWI Winter Conference, which runs from February 7-9. I’m not part of any official programming, but will be wearing my ‘NESCBWI Regional Conference Co-Director’ hat (not literally. I own no fancy conference hats, alas), so come and find me if you want to talk about all things books, writing, and kid lit, or just to hang out and have a cup of tea in the hotel lobby. Hit me up on Twitter! @jspinkmills

From February 14-16 I’ll be in Boston for my yearly pilgrimage to Boskone. I’ll be on three program items, which leaves me plenty of time to catch up with people and make new friends. Planning to go to Boskone for the first time? Already a regular but we haven’t met yet? Come and find me — let’s chat!

Besides hanging around the lobby bar or attending other people’s panels, here’s where you can find me at Boskone:

Blood-Curdling Science Fiction

15 Feb 2020, Saturday 11:00 – 11:50, Marina 2

Where does the thin (red) line between science fiction and horror lie? Why does science fiction horror fascinate us so much? What is it about horror in SF that is so absolutely terrifying? What examples do we have of science fiction that will make your blood run cold? And is it getting harder to make SF fiction that is truly scary?

Errick Nunnally (Moderator), Juliana Spink Mills, Julie C. Day, Nicholas Kaufmann, Darrell Schweitzer

Books That Get Kids Reading!

15 Feb 2020, Saturday 18:00 – 18:50, Harbor II

Hundreds of new children’s books are published every year. Yet recommended reading lists still include the same old children’s classics, with only a few new titles. Our panelists share some of their favorite new children’s books and authors from recent years that should be added to the lists.

Juliana Spink Mills (Moderator), Michael Stearns (Upstart Crow Literary), Julia Rios, Adi Rule, Trisha J. Wooldridge

Broad Universe Group Reading

15 Feb 2020, Saturday 20:00 – 21:20, Griffin

Join members of Broad Universe — a nonprofit association dedicated to supporting, encouraging, and promoting female authors of science fiction, fantasy, and horror — as they read tidbits of works and works in progress. Readers will include LJ Cohen, Marianna Martin, Roberta Rogow, Juliana Spink Mills, and Trisha J. Wooldridge. Moderated by Elaine Isaak.

October 5, 2019October 5, 2019

Ireland Roundup: Part III (Titancon coach tour and Howth)

Click here for Part I — Worldcon.

Click here for Part II — Titancon.

On Sunday August 25^th, Jo gave me a ride into Belfast to meet up with the group leaving on the traditional Titancon coach tour. I’d had the Giant’s Causeway on my list of ‘places I really wanted to visit someday’ (we all have one, right?), and I booked the coach tour as soon as I found out it was on the itinerary for the day. So there we were, bright and early in the morning, three bus-loads of sci fi and fantasy fans ready to take in the Northern Irish countryside on a fabulous blue-sky day.

Our first stop was, as promised, the Giant’s Causeway itself. What a beautiful spot! It absolutely lived up to its reputation. The rock formations are amazing, and even crawling with tourists (and SF/F fans) it was a wonderful experience.

Northern Ireland

Next up was the picturesque Ballintoy, an absolute gem of a place. We parked precariously on top of the cliffs and walked down a steep and winding road flanked by wild roses and some of the largest rose hips I’ve ever seen, to a tiny jewel-toned harbor surrounded by sandy, rock-protected beaches. For fans of the show, Ballintoy featured in Game of Thrones as the harbor of Pyke, in the Iron Islands.

On our way back to Belfast, we stopped briefly to take photos of the ruins of Dunluce Castle, which served as the filming location for the seat of House Greyjoy. It was a thoroughly nice day out, and I enjoyed every bit of it. Unfortunately, it also marked the end of the Northern Irish portion of my trip. The next morning, it was time to say goodbye to Jo and her lovely family, and meet up with Pol for our trip back down south.

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I parted ways with Pol once we arrived in Dublin, and found my way to the small but comfortable Central Hotel, conveniently located right in the middle of things, just below the Temple Bar district. I was pretty worn out from travel and a busy few days, so I was content to have a short walk, buy myself a take-out dinner, and chill in my hotel room for the evening.

The next day, I set out for Howth, a nearby harbor town on the commuter line from Dublin. I’d heard great things of Howth, and it didn’t disappoint! The town itself is charming, and so is the harbor, where I even managed to catch sight of a couple of harbor seals! But what I’d really gone there for was the famous cliff walk…

Howth Harbor

The ruins of St. Mary’s

There are several different walks you can do in Howth. I chose the easiest, which is a 6km loop along the edge of the cliffs and back over the top to the town. The sun was shining, the day was warm, and the views were truly magnificent. To one side, the open sea. To the other, sweeping vistas of heather and gorse. Nothing to hear except the wind, birdcalls, and buzzing insects. Paradise.

I was pretty exhausted by the time my last day arrived, and to be honest I almost skipped the day trip to Howth. But I’m very, very glad I didn’t. It brought the perfect moment of peace and introspection to end my trip on a high note. I’ll always remember taking a break on a bench, surrounded by gorse bushes with the sea ahead of me, all alone, and just closing my eyes and breathing…

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A huge thanks to all the wonderful people I met on my trip, far too many to name. You were all lovely and made my time in Ireland and Northern Ireland special. I’m so happy I took a chance and did this, and I have a feeling that the memories will keep me going for a long, long time. To those who are thinking of doing something similar: go for it! I missed my family (and dog) like crazy, but it was worth it. So take a chance. You won’t regret it!

September 27, 2019October 5, 2019

Ireland Roundup: Part II (Titancon)

Click here for Part I — Worldcon.

With Worldcon a wrap, at least for me, I was ready to take time off to wander around Dublin and get some sightseeing done. I had a theme for the day, and that theme was ‘words’. Pol and I started out together at the Dublin Writer’s Museum, and then went our separate ways. My path took me past Christ Church and St. Patrick’s cathedrals, with a pause to enjoy the architecture and St. Patrick’s Park, and then onto the gorgeous Marsh’s Library — the oldest public library in the country.

Dublin Writer’s Museum

Christ Church Cathedral

Marsh’s is well worth a visit is you’re in the area; the section open to the public is small, but the ambience is incredible! You can just imagine the scholars of the past sitting at the wooden desks pouring over the leather-bound tomes… (Go follow their lovely bookish feed on Instagram!) Next, I strolled past Dublin Castle and visited my last stop of the day: the Chester Beatty Library, a fabulous building that mixes the old and the modern beautifully. The Chester Beatty houses a collection of manuscripts, rare books, and other fascinating items from Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. I wandered back home via Temple Bar and the Ha’Penny Bridge, to pack my bags ready for Belfast the next morning.

Marsh’s Library

Quote spotted on street

Chester Beatty Library

On Tuesday August 20^th, Pol and I set off for Northern Ireland, with a picturesque train ride up through the Irish countryside. In Belfast, I headed to Jo Zebedee’s house in Carrickfergus — a huge thanks to Jo and her wonderful family for hosting me for a week! Titancon began on Thursday, so on Wednesday we still had time for a little sightseeing, which began with a drive up the coast (and past the filming location for the Wall and Castle Black in Game of Thrones), stopping at the ruins of the ‘Bishop’s Palace’ in the parish where Jonathan Swift was minister. A thoroughly rainy afternoon was spent in company of fellow Chrons members Pol and Paul, visiting Carrickfergus Castle before a well-deserved pub dinner.

The ‘Bishop’s Palace’

Carrickfergus Castle

View from the castle gate

Thursday August 22^nd was the first day of Titancon/Eurocon. I was instantly smitten! This is a much smaller con than the madness that was Dublin, and I thoroughly enjoyed the casual atmosphere, with good conversations waiting around every corner, and a small but interesting selection of panels. After the opening ceremony with Guest of Honor George R.R. Martin himself, it was time for my own panel: I was moderating Found in Translation (Juliana Spink Mills, Francesco Verso, Radoslaw Kot, Jean Bürlesk) and have been assured I did a decent job of it! Jo and I left early, without staying for the famous Titancon Literature Night, but all in all it was a great first day.

Translation panel…

…and panelists

Friday, I skipped the morning programming and headed over to the Titanic Belfast museum, which was particularly interesting for the glimpse of Belfast in the early 1900s, as well as the scope of the shipping industry in the day. I made it back just in time to catch a great panel on Medbots, Tricorders, and More (Kerry Buchanan, Catherine Sharp, David Nordley, Christine Doyle), where Christine drew a parallel between space exploration and the colonial era on Earth, talking not only about a fear of being contaminated with alien diseases, but also that care will be needed not to contaminate other species/peoples with Earth diseases.

Titanic museum across the water

Titanic Belfast museum

Following this, I caught a presentation on underwater archeology by Radoslaw Kot: Capital Ships Lost. My next program item was A Closer Look at Anthologies (Ellen Datlow, Kerry Buchanan, Paul Corcoran, Sarah Murray, Claude Lalumière). I found the differences in approach taken by an editor dealing with larges presses (Ellen) and small presses that depend on the KU pages-read system (Paul) particularly interesting, in terms of specific strategies used.

The last event on Friday was our DISTAFF book launch. DISTAFF is an all-women’s sci fi anthology put together by a group of us from the SFFChronicles.com forum, including Kerry Buchanan, Jo Zebedee, and myself, all present at Titancon. The anthology was officially released on August 15^th (see our website and my blog post for more information), and finally we had a chance to celebrate all our hard work! We had a great turnout for the launch party, which included readings, an interview by author and editor Paul Corcoran, and lovely cupcakes and sci fi themed chocolates. A huge thanks to everyone who came and made our evening such a special one!

Our anthology

Kerry, Paul, Jo, Juliana

Yummy launch treats

Chrons members at the launch

Nice turnout!

Saturday was the last official day of Titancon, apart from the traditional Sunday coach tour (see upcoming blog post) and feast (which I skipped). My first program item of the day was Peader Ó Guilín’s Toast Mutant Interview , followed by a panel on the Modern Use of Irish Mythology (Jo Zebedee, Ruth Frances Long, Ian McDonald), where Ruth told us that, regarding different parts of Ireland and mythology, “We come at things from different angles, but we all end up at the same point.”

Next up was a panel called YA For Everyone (Ruth Frances Long, Karen, Rain Devlin, Peader Ó Guilín), where Peader reminded us that YA isn’t just about plot-driven stories, but also stories that people think young people should read, that will educate them—issue-driven stories (drug use, disability, etc.). The panelists also brought up another matter, that of shelving issues: if YA is treated as a genre, do we need subgenres? The closing ceremony came soon after, with Toast Mutants Peader and Pat Cadigan, and Guest of Honor George R.R. Martin. Afterwards, six of us Chrons folk topped this off with our very own farewell dinner — a lovely and fitting end to the event.

More to come! The Titancon coach tour and my day out in Howth…

Click here for Part III.