Hi Everyone, I have my lovely return guest TeMika Grooms, Illustrator. She is the illustrator of "Put Your Shoes On and Get Ready!" by Raphael G. Warnock. TeMika shares the recent NYC SCBWI Conference Event and her process for creating her illustrations.

To learn more about TeMika visit her website:

http://www.temikatheartist.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeMikaTheArtist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/temikatheartist/

Thank you for listening!

Hi Everyone, today, my special guest is Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen. She is an associate professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research addresses transracially adopted Koreans in children’s literature, Frank Carpenter and Frances Carpenter and their writings for children, and diversity in children’s literature and library education. 

To learn more about her work:

https://sarahpark.com/

Here is a link to the APALA Rubric to Evaluate Asian American and Pacific Islander Youth Literature:

https://www.apalaweb.org/talkstorytogether/resources/apala-youth-literature-evaluation-rubric/

Thank you for listening!

Hi Everyone, my special guest today is Laura Lacámara, award-winning children's book author and illustrator. Here is more about Laura. 

Cuban-born Laura Lacámara is the award-winning author and illustrator of Dalia’s Wondrous Hair / El cabello maravilloso de Dalia (Piñata Books), a bilingual picture book about a clever girl who transforms her unruly hair into a vibrant garden.

Laura also wrote Floating on Mama’s Song / Flotando en la canción de mamá, a bilingual picture book inspired by her mother, who was an opera singer in Havana. Illustrated by Yuyi Morales and published by HarperCollins, Floating on Mama’s Song was a Junior Library Guild Selection for Fall 2010 and was a Tejas Star Book Award Finalist for 2011-2012.

Laura illustrated the 2012 Tejas Star Book Award winner, The Runaway Piggy / El cochinito fugitivo (Piñata Books), as well as Alicia’s Fruity Drinks / Las aguas frescas de Alicia (Piñata Books).

Laura recently illustrated Mamá the Alien / Mamá la extraterrestre (Lee and Low Books, 2016), which received a starred review from Kirkus.

To see Laura's work, visit:

https://www.lauralacamara.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura_lacamara/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lacamaralaura

Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone!  I had the pleasure of speaking with Marsalis Eason, a Contemporary Film Photographer currently residing in Savannah, Georgia. He was kind enough to share his artistic journey and how he balances a full-time job and pushes the boundaries of storytelling through his photography.

See his work at:

https://www.delaselis.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/delaselis

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delaselis/

Thank you for listening!

 Hi Everyone, my special guest is Shirley Ng-Benitez, award-winning children's book author and illustrator. She was kind to share her experience of going out on sub with her manuscript and then to get the call that it had been acquired! Yeah!! Here is more about Shirley and her wonderful cause Awetober!

Shirley Ng-Benitez

I love art and I’m so grateful to be able to connect through it with others. I’m always experimenting with traditional media: watercolor, gouache, pencil, dip pen & ink, and recently painted & cut-paper collage. I’ve worked as a Professional Lettering Artist for American Greetings, was an art director, print manager, and designer for various design firms in Arizona and California, and then started GabbyandCo.com, my design firm, creating logos, marketing materials, and product design for the health, technology, retail, food, toy, and publishing industries.

In ’09, I followed my dream to illustrate books for children, and have since had the honor of illustrating over 30. Compassion and connection are big goals in my work as I strive to create books that readers of all ages will find heart and hope—even when life throws a curveball. I live in the Bay Area, California with my family and two black cats, Miso & Luna, and am thrilled to be writing and illustrating for children. My debut author/illustrated picture book DOWN, THROUGH, UP by Quill Tree Books/Harper Collins, will be released in Spring ’24.

Visit Shirley's website:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shirleysillos/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shirleysillos

On Post, she is also shirleysillos

Thank you for listening!

Hi Everyone, today's guest is Lisa Low Stauffer, children's book author and co-regional advisor for the SCBWI Southern Breeze. This interview with Lisa was full of information on becoming a published children's book author. She read her lovely story Two by Two, and she talked about her path to publication. It was fantastic!

Here is more about Lisa:

Although I secretly longed to write fiction since childhood, first I wrote my way through journalism, marketing, consulting, travel writing, and poetry.

My work has appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Miami Herald, Literary Mama, Stories for Children, and numerous business websites, brochures, newsletters, press releases and magazine articles.

Today, I write picture books for children. I live in Roswell, Georgia, which is near Atlanta, and I’m a volunteer (Co-Regional Advisor) with the Southern Breeze region of SCBWI.

Travel is one of my family’s chief hobbies, so don’t be surprised if my blog post sometimes becomes a travel blogging platform! Most recently we’re starting to have adventures with a little camper trailer.

I’m active on social media (especially Twitter), so if you want to follow my adventures–both writing and travel — you’ll find links at the top right of this page.

To learn more about Lisa's work visit:

https://lisalowestauffer.com/

Lisa's Twitter:

https://twitter.com/LisaLStauffer

Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone, my special guest today is Charise Harper, award-winning author and illustrator of picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, and comics. Here is more about Charise.

Award-winning author and illustrator Charise Mericle Harper delivers a fantastically funny picture book about doing the impossible: drawing a horse. A children's metafiction book about creativity and imaginative play centered around an art lesson, Harper cleverly shows readers how drawings are a collection of recognizable shapes put together to create something new.

Here is a link to her site: 

http://www.chariseharper.com/

Charise's Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/chariseharper/

Thank you for listening!

Hi Everyone, my guest today is Taryn Cozzy, Creative Director for the Superhero Project. She is also an animator and illustrator currently in NC. I was fortunate to have worked with Taryn on a poster for the Superhero Project. It was an honor, and I recommend any artists that like to give back please check out their site for more details.

Here is more about Taryn:

Born and raised in Vermont, Taryn now lives in Burbank as an animator and freelance illustrator. She's illustrated 7 children's books and loves hiking, eating new foods, watching movies, and singing.

Taryn's Website:

https://www.taryncozzy.com/

Taryn's Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/_ptaryndactyl_/

The Superhero Project:

https://www.superheroprojectkids.org/

Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone, my guest today is Amanda Bennett, a Fibers Artist based out of Savannah, GA. Here is more about Amanda.

Amanda Bennett is an interdisciplinary artist based in Savannah, Georgia.  Her work investigates how biomaterials can act as a conduit for storytelling that reconnects us to nature and provides a more ecologically-responsible approach to material-making.

See her work at:

https://www.amandahopebennett.com/

or https://www.instagram.com/amanda_h_bennett/

Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone, my special guest is Jill Burns of Nestbox. Jill is a surface designer and illustrator who created work for HomeGoods, Trader Joe's, and Pistachio. We met through Elizabeth Silver's Surface Design Business Course. Jill has experience starting two successful creative businesses!

To see her work visit:

https://www.nestboxstudio.com/ 

or on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/nestboxstudio/

Thank you for listening!