dulemba: SCBWI New York

With our good looking table set up, it's no surprise that we received a ton of interest at the New York SCBWI conference! So much so, I really didn't get many photos of the actual day. Although, the organizers came up with a brilliant plan this year and had one of the Illustrator Coordinators (IC), Andrew Lozano, take Polaroids of the event. How fun! The polaroids were laid out towards the end of the conference for everyone to enjoy and label.

He got several photos of MJ and me!

He also got some of the other ICs with friends TeMika, Jerry, and Elizabeth.

And of Sophie Blackall (who I met and briefly fan-gushed over) and Vashti Harrison, the newest Caldecott winner, who I did not get to meet but with I had!

Next to the polaroids was another brilliant idea... illustrator postcards were set out for interested folks to grab.

One of our alums, Julie Coyle had one there.

And so did Ashley Belote, who I can't believe I didn't get a photo with considering we are buds!!!

At any rate, I did get a lovely photo of three of the lovely geniuses who made the whole conference happen, Bonnie Bader, Kim Turrisi, and Tammy Brown.

And I caught the well-earned standing ovation for illustrator James Ransome, who will be our Illustrator-in-Residence at Hollins this summer.

Saturday evening they threw a massive party for all the various SCBWI regions - each had a table to gather around in one of three rooms. I hope the hotel hosts ballroom dancing in this one!

I also had a lovely meeting at a local cafe that looked straight out of a Paris train station - this is a photo from a book they shared about it.

After MJ caught the train home on Sunday, I did a little wandering on my own... I went to the MOMA Design store, one of my faves on the planet. I didn't get photos, but I did get this funny little thing for my bookshelves. It's called a "Hoptimist" and it jiggles when you tap it like it's laughing, which makes me smile!

And while this has nothing to do with the conference at all, I did grab a moment to wander into the Haute Couture clothing store at the front of the hotel. (There was a time in my life when I thought I'd become a fashion designer.) How fun were these!?

But best of all, I got to have dinner with my dear friend Mikki Knudsen (author of The Library Lion). We went to a cute little Thai restaurant called Topaz.

Best calamari EVAH!

Leaving New York is always bittersweet to me. It's a town I always wanted to live in, and probably won't. (Although Ellen says to come stay with them, enjoy the good stuff, and not the bad.) But I sincerely love New York! Even LaGuardia airport makes you nostalgic with a lovely water feature that plays "New York, New York" as you're walking through.

I have one more story to share about New York in my next post if you care to read... it's about Stan and how his adventures continue...

Follow along!
     I'm in New York City - Chapter 1!
     I'm in New York City - Chapter 2!
     SCBWI New York City - Chapter 3!
     SCBWI New York - Chapter 4!
     Stan in NYC - Chapter 5

SCBWI New York - Chapter 4!

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