The San Francisco/South region consists of the city and county of San Francisco and all coastal counties south to Monterey, including San Benito and Santa Clara.  When you join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, you are joining an international organization, with regional chapters throughout the United States and other countries.  There are three regions in the Northern CA: San Francisco/South,  North/Central and North/East Bay.  All three regions provide conferences and workshops, and invite all Northern California members to activities in any of the three regions. Almost all information you might want to know about upcoming events, regional activities, communications etc can be found at our website at www.scbwisf.org.   The shared website of the Northern Central and East Bay regions is at www.scbwinorthca.org .

    The Regional Advisor (RA) and Assistant Regional Advisor (ARA) are volunteer positions, which means we must fit our SCBWI obligations into the rest of our busy lives.  Amy Laughlin and Kristin Aker Howell are our Co-Regional Advisors and Naomi Kinsman is our ARA. With the help of many other volunteers, we work very hard to provide our members with a variety of interesting events and activities.

EVENTS
   Below is an outline of events provided by the SF/South region.  There may also be additional events, so be sure to check the events tab above

   The Golden Gate Conference and Retreat at Asilomar– held near Monterey, CA, is the big weekend-long conference sponsored by SCBWI SF/South for all regions. It is typically held the last weekend of February.  Award winning authors and illustrators, editors, and brilliantly talented local authors and illustrators make up the faculty of this popular event.  Attendance is limited and the conference generally sells out in a day or two. Registration typically opens in October.  Notification for open registration is done strictly via the Announcement List (see below) and our website.

   Agent’s Day – is a full day conference giving writers and illustrators the opportunity to meet and mingle with literary agents who are looking for new clients.  The first fifty registrants will also be given the option to submit their manuscript for critique by one of these agents.  This is an excellent opportunity to market your work!  Agent’s Day will be held every other summer at the end of August.  Registration information will be available on our website at www.scbwisf.org.

   Second Saturday Series– is a monthly meeting on the second Saturday of each month, between October and May.  These meetings provide the opportunity to meet other members, form critique groups, read your work aloud, and often provide a particular speaker or focus. The meetings are held at the Redwood City Library.  

   Kittredge Retreats – are held three to four times a year throughout the region. These are working retreats where 10-20 writers and illustrators gather in a peaceful, non-distracting setting to work.  Optional evening critique groups have become a tradition at these beloved events.  

LISTSERVES
   Email list serves are email distribution lists for SCBWI members. When a message is posted to the list, it is sent via email to all members of the list. We currently participate in 3 lists:
   The NorCal SCBWI Announcement list – is a one-way communication device on Yahoo Groups. One or two messages are sent per month from the Regional Advisors of all three Regions telling you about upcoming events.  We strongly urge you to get on this list.  Our events are very popular and receiving the announcement by email will give you a leg-up on getting registered. To join the NorCal Announcement List, please follow the directions below:
     Anyone (SCBWI members and non-members)  may request membership in the NorCal SCBWI Announcement list by going to http://groups.yahoo.com    and creating an ID on Yahoo Groups.  Then request membership by sending an email to:
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it    
To unsubscribe from the Announcement List, send an email to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

   The Norca Chat List – is a two-way list-serve on Yahoo Groups that allows members of all three local regions to communicate with one another.  You may read postings on the web, or subscribe to individual or daily digests. You may also post your own messages for others to read. You must be an SCBWI member to join. If you are in the North Bay, East Bay or CA/Central Regions, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to be added to the Chat list serve.  If you are in the San Francisco South Region please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to be added.

   The Illustrators' list – is another two-way chat list specifically for illustrators. Illustrators may join the main chat list by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

CRITIQUE GROUPS
   Critique groups are notoriously hard to track but many a manuscript has been polished and accepted for publication with the help of trusted critique group members. So how do you find and sustain a critique group? Our scbwisf.org San Francisco South Website is now offering a forum for registered members (of any of the three regions) to find, create, or join a critique group. Once you’ve registered with the scbwisf.org site and been approved, simply log in, then click on the “Forum” tab at the top or on the Main Menu at the right, and browse or create a post in either “Seeking a Crit Group,”  “Crit Groups Seeking Members” or “Form a Crit Group.” Be sure to state your geographical location, genre, and other specifics.  You can also delete any postings you created, at any time. If you have questions about critique groups, or would like help forming a new group, please contact our critique group coordinator, Rebecca Sladek Nowlis, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

WEBSITE
 Our new website offers many new features and funtions that we hope will strengthen our community of children's book creators in Northern CA. Here are some of the features found there:
 FEATURED WRITER AND ILLUSTRATOR-  Each month we will feature one of our published members prominently on the site, particularly those with a new book coming out.  This is the place where we honor our shining stars.
SEARCHABLE SPEAKER DATABASE- Members of the general public, including teachers, librarians and conference organizers, will be able to search a database of local speakers.  The search function will enable them to narrow their search based on their requirements such as daily fee range, types of talks given, and types of books produced by the speaker. We hope that this will make finding a speaker easier, and result in more bookings for local authors and illustrators.  To direct those looking for speakers to the site, we will soon be mailing a postcard to hundreds of schools.  Members wishing to have their book covers featured on the postcard may do so for a nominal cost. To be added to our informational list, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
GOOD NEWS!- In this section, registered members can tell the world about their accomplishments in the children’s book world.  Just sold an article to Cricket?  List it here. Three book deal with Random House? Let us know.  We envision this section as an area to celebrate each step forward we make as writers and illustrators. Content can be entered directly by registered members.
INDUSTRY NEWS- Wondering what is going on with the Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin merger?  Not sure if you favorite editor is still at your favorite house?  Here’s where to look for updates on the ever changing world of Children’s Publishing.
EVENTS CALENDAR- Our new calendar will list events in all the Northern California regions in one place.
MEMBER FORUM- This is a discussion forum for topics of interest to SCBWI members
CRITIQUE GROUP CONNECTION-  This is an area of the FORUM set up specifically to facilitate the formation of and search for critique groups.  Here’s where members looking to join or form a group, or groups looking for a new member, can list their requirements and contact information. No more waiting for a quarterly list of those seeking a group. Members can post a listing, and then remove it once their critique group needs have been filled.
LINK SUBMISSION- Members can submit links to their own website or to sites of interest to the children’s book community, including links to non-SCBWI events


If you have suggestions of other services, events or activities you'd like offered, feel free to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . But be forewarned!  New events require new organizers.  That might be you!

Best,
Amy, Kristin and Naomi