Jewish Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Conference

Have you written or illustrated a Jewish children's book that you'd like to have published? Do you have a story idea? Have you already been published, and would like to network with others in your field? The 14th Annual Jewish Children's Book Writers & Illustrators Conference, sponsored by the Jewish Book Council, brings together agents, editors, illustrators, published authors and more for a full day of discussion about Jewish children's book publishing! 

The 14th Annual Jewish Children's Book Writers & Illustrators Conference will take place on Sunday, November 18, 2012 from 10AM to 5PM. Registration will begin at 9:30AM. This year's conference will be held at the Jewish Book Council's headquarters, 520 8th Avenue, 4th floor, New York, NY 10018. 

UPDATE TO PAYMENT INFORMATION: The "early bird special" price of the conference has been extended indefinitely! We know that so many of you have been without power for more than a week now, and so we have determined to keep the cost of this year's conference to $122 per participant. Please be sure to share this important update with your fellow authors and illustrators! 

Conference Schedule (subject to change): to see the current agenda and list of speakers, please click here. 

Conference Registration: 
To register for the conference online, please click "Register Now" below:
Registration for the conference can also be completed by downloading an application and mailing it in. Registration includes a kosher breakfast and lunch. To register using the downloadable application form, download the form, print it, and complete and return the bottom section of the page to the Jewish Book Council along with the registration fee. 

In addition to a wonderful line-up of speakers covering the full spectrum of Jewish children's book publishing, conference attendees will have opportunities to participate in the following:  

Book sale/Illustrator Portfolio Display: During the lunch break, books of conference participants will be on sale. Come ready to enjoy the books of your peers! For conference participants who have published books, you may bring up to 10 copies of up to 3 titles to sell at the conference. All sales will be in cash or check only, payable to the author. For illustrators, this is your chance to display your best work and network with the wonderful authors attending the event!

Private consultations: Private consultations with specialists will take place during lunchtime so as not to conflict with speaking sessions. Each consultant has six time slots, limited to 15 minutes each. Consultation cost is $35.00 (payment will be collected by JBC staff, however checks should be made out directly to consultant). Consultations must be registered in advance, and appointments are assigned on a first come, first served basis. Please submit first pages or query letters ahead of time (following the "First Pages and Query Letters" instructions below) so the consultants may prepare for your consultation.

This year's consultants are: literary agent Tina Wexler of ICM Partners, Lead Designer Marci Senders of Disney•Hyperion, Kar-Ben Publisher Joni Sussman, and literary agent Anna Olswanger of Liza Dawson Associates.  

Tina Wexler- Tina Wexler is a literary agent at ICM Partners, representing authors in the children’s and adult marketplace, with a focus on middle grade and YA fiction. Current and forthcoming titles include Croak by Gina Damico, How to Survive Middle School by Donna Gephart, The Longest Night: A Passover Story by Laurel Snyder, and Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wheaton College, she holds an M.F.A. in poetry from Brooklyn College and currently serves on the board of the Rutgers University Council on Children's Literature. @tina_wexler 

Marci Senders: Marci Senders is the Lead Designer for Disney•Hyperion Books. She has worked in publishing for 12 years and is currently working on Middle-Grade and Young Adult novels. Some of the notable illustrated novels she has worked on are The Edge Chronicles series, the Clementine series, Jepp, Who Defied the Stars and Gossip from the Girls' Room. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Joni Sussman- Joni Sussman is the Publisher of Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group. Kar-Ben’s concentration is Jewish content picture books for children, both fiction and non-fiction for preschool through approximately 6th grade, including holiday books, life-cycle stories, Bible tales, folktales, board books, and activity books. In particular, Kar-Ben seeks stories that reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity of today’s Jewish family. Joni previously served as Publisher of Minnesota Parent Magazine, and as Editorial and Marketing Director for Meadowbrook Press, a children’s and parenting publisher. She is a past-president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, where she continues to serve as Chair of Holocaust Education. 

Anna Olswanger- If you are discouraged because you can't find an agent or editor for your Jewish children's book, literary agent Anna Olswanger has advice about how you can succeed. Anna has been an agent at Liza Dawson Associates since 2005. She specializes in children's illustrated books and adult nonfiction, Judaica, and some middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction. Anna has sold to Balzer & Bray, Bloomsbury, Boyds Mills Press, Delacorte, F+W Media, Marshall Cavendish, Chronicle, Cinco Puntos, Dutton, Eerdmans, Greenwillow, Houghton Mifflin, McElderry, Pelican, Penguin Classics, Pomegranate, Random House, Sleeping Bear Press, and Wiley.
In addition to being a literary agent, Anna is a book coach and author. Her first children's book Shlemiel Crooks is a Sydney Taylor Honor Book and PJ Library Book. Her middle grade novel Greenhorn has just been published. Anna's website is www.olswanger.com.

First Pages and Query Letters: If you would like the conference presenters to look at your query letter or manuscript first page after the Conference, submit one or the other (query letter or first page), along with your registration, in the following format: one double-spaced page in a standard 12-point font with at least one-inch margins on all sides. If you are submitting a first page, place your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address at the front, top left corner, and your manuscript’s category (fiction, nonfiction) and genre (picture book, early reader, middle grade, young adult) at the front, top right corner. If you are submitting a query letter, your contact information should appear before the body of the letter. Be sure to keep a copy of your submission. Submissions are due to the JBC office by Monday, November 12, 2012, and may be sent by mail or as an email attachment to writers@jewishbooks.org.

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