SCBWI Retreat with Alan Durant

If you are thinking about joining SCBWI or have allowed your membership to lapse, go to www.scbwi.org to sign up or activate your membership right away. This retreat is one of the wonderful benefits that membership of SCBWI offers.

Dates for retreat in the Gauteng: 6 - 8 Nov; the Retreat starts at 17:00 on Friday and goes through to 14:00 on Sunday (Option to stay over on Sunday night at extra cost)

Amazing value at R3 000 each.

Retreat Venue: Isilwane Bush Farm, see www.sleeping-out.co.za/md/Isilwane-Bush-Camp/27668 Physical Address: Unit 20, Pride of Africa, Dinokeng, Gauteng, Close to Pretoria and Johannesburg

 

Cost: R3 000 per person. This includes food, accommodation and all fees.

What you must do: Book your spot right away - but no later than 7 October 2015.
Pay a deposit of R1 500 by 15 October and the rest by 30 October (or pay R2 700 by 15 October and save R300)
Book for Gauteng retreat: Jenny at SCBWI.SA.Gauteng@mweb.co.za

 

Critiques/Reviews by ALAN DURANT

IN GAUTENG
Date: 10 November – individual times to be confirmed

Request for a review: to Jenny at SCBWI.SA.Gauteng@mweb.co.za

WHAT THE RETREAT WILL COVER

Note: You can send in the questions you would like answered during the retreat - we will make sure these are included.

The broad thrust will be to give you a sense of what you need to do in order to write a good story and, if you have already written your book, how to improve your manuscript.

The practical application of the presentations in the mornings will be workshopped in the afternoons

 

The presentations / workshops will include:

How to

·         develop your creativity

• find a story
• create a credible setting
• develop and refine a plot
• develop your writing craft
• develop/ shape the characters
• take account of the other elements in a compelling children’s book
• edit and redraft your manuscript to refine your use of language and get your manuscript ready to be submitted

Practical tips

·         the commercial possibilities of your manuscript

• how to approach publishers – submission criteria and etiquette

Evening Group sessions

·         how to brainstorm solutions

·         develop your skills as a creator of children’s books

• stimulate and support your colleagues

Who is Alan Durant?

 

In a nutshell, he is the author of a range of books from picture books such as Burger Boy to top-end teenage thrillers. He also writes prize-winning poetry.

He is married to Jinny, a reception year teacher, and has three children, Amy, Kit and Josie, otherwise known as his ‘guinea pigs’ He has been a National Reading Campaign Reading Champion and is a frequent visitor to schools, libraries and festivals around the UK and abroad where he gives talks and readings and runs writing workshops. He is a member of NAWE and The Society of Authors.

 

Alan’s first book, the young adult novel Hamlet, Bananas and all that Jazz, was published in 1991. Since then, he has written more than 80 stories. He writes for children of all ages – from pre-school to teenage – and in a variety of styles. He has written picture books, first readers, and series such as Creepe Hall, Leggs United and Bad Boyz and thrillers for older readers.

His work was featured in the BBC series English Express, which won a Children's Bafta Award, as did Bookaboo (Series 2) in which his picture book Burger Boy was broadcast. That episode also won a British Animation Award. He appeared too in two programmes in the award-winning Let's Write A Story series.

 

Alan’s Books: www.alandurant.co.uk

 

Awards:

2007: Portsmouth Children's Picture Book Award for Burger Boy, Stockport Children's Book Award for Football Fever
2008: The Royal Mail Award for Scottish Children's Books for Billy Monster's Daymare
2009: Portsmouth Children's Book Award for Billy Monster’s Daymare

BAFTA and British Animation Award.
Kate Greenaway Medal for Always and forever
Nottingham Children’s Book Award (Gameboy)
Shortlisted for Red House Children’s Book Award (Dear Tooth Fairy)
Kingston Borough/Waterstone's Poetry Prize on two occasions.

“Writing for children can be very rewarding but it certainly isn't easy – and getting published is harder still. Having the opportunity to talk with other writers and get the advice of experienced published authors is always helpful – it certainly helped me when I began my career as a children's book author twenty years ago.

http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/english-association/sigs/childrens-literature/authors/durant https://www.newwritingsouth.com/?location_id=237

Retreat with Doug Cushman

SCBWI SA was incredibly privileged to have Doug Cushman facilitate two retreats in October in South Africa. The first one was held in Gauteng at Lama-Lama Game Reserve and Conference Centre in the Dinokeng region between 17 and 19 October.

Doug Cushman has been writing and illustrating stories since he was a teenager. At this point, he has illustrated over 125 children's books, thirty or so of which he wrote as well. And he was in South Africa to help us write and illustrate!

In the many well-received picture books Doug Cushman has written and illustrated, his emphasis on character is evident in both text and artwork. As he once commented: "A good character will almost write a book by himself with a little nudge or two from the author." ...  "It's a very physical process," Cushman has said. "My first dummies are almost collages with scraps of paper taped all over the pages. Words and pictures must work together in unison, one not be more important than the other. In the end, of course, it's always story, story, story."

For more on Doug Cushman's artwork at http://www.doug-cushman.com

The Retreat started on the afternoon of 17 October with a session on Doug's work over the years, where he came from, what influenced his writing and illustrating and how he develops his characters.

That evening we had a session with Joan Rankin on designing your own mask. There are some pictures below of some of the beautiful masks designed by participants and inspired by Joan's ideas.

After a splendid breakfast made by Julia, Thursday's workshops continued to explore characterisation. We all did some practical work and then shared this. Doug made some really helpful comments and we learnt a lot from the exercises. Doug was very generous in sharing his impressions and helping wherever he could.

Next we had to work out how we'd sell our work to publishers via a short sales pitch. This exercise turned out to be harder than we realised. 

We were happy to relax around Ingrid's delicious potjie that night and listen to Donna's story. We love storytime! This was followed by a Crazy Cat performance by Lynn. Where does she get all that energy?

Friday began with an inspiring game drive and another hearty breakfast. We talked about selling our stories and Doug showed us his latest dummy for a story he's taking to publishers. 

The Retreat was wonderful. It was great to get away and be creative for two days. We learnt so much that it will take time to process. We hope to go back to Lama-Lama next year. This time, we'll make it a working Retreat. Hopefully, then, we'll be able to implement some of the ideas that arose from this Retreat. Of course, Doug won't be with us but his suggestions and inspiration will keep us going.

Introduction

Matina and Thandi

Donna Wolf

Jenny Le DogTor

Doug not Sloth

Angela

Ingrid

Matina Butterfly

Thandi

SCBWI SA (Gauteng) Writing and Illustrating Retreat

Create Develop Review 
20-22 May 2011

Sixteen writers and illustrators signed up for the first SCBWI SA Retreat to be held in Gauteng. Our venue was Mokoyo Lodge near Hartebeespoort Dam. The owners allowed us to have this beautiful resort completely to ourselves for the weekend and that was a real treat. We could go out and be inspired by the lovely, tranquil setting without being disturbed or distracted.

The Retreat began on Friday evening in the Lapa with an activity about our names. Rozenn Torquebiau made little books and developed questions about our names. We each answered the questions in writing or through illustrations. The questions were meant to guide but not restrict our creativity and participants were free to interpret as they wished.

After a delicious dinner, a foretaste of more amazing meals to come, we shared our books about ourselves. Through this exercise, we got to know more about each other. Rozenn created an atmosphere which allowed us to share important personal experiences. This helped to build the trust that we needed to support one another's work and efforts throughout the weekend. This is something that we at SCBWI are really trying to do - namely, support one another's creativity in every way we can so that each person is given the opportunity to develop and hone his or her work.

Saturday began with a joint Writing and Illustrating Session, facilitated by Donna Wyckoff-Wheeler and Joan Rankin. The focus was on creativity and Donna started us off on various writing assignments while Joan used slides to illustrate a range of styles. Donna was enthusiastic and always had another idea to offer while Joan encouraged creativity and new approaches.

After lunch we continued working on different styles and techniques. Then we split into two groups: Illustrators and Writers.
The illustrators and writers were each given three words: an adjective, a noun and a verb. The writers wrote on their words while the illustrators illustrated. Much fun was had when we joined up again and compared our interpretations of the words - so many ways to tell a tale!

After yet another delicious dinner, we decided that we'd stick to the Programme and brave the mid-winter night around a fire to share some stories. The sky was crystal clear and we could see stars that we couldn't normally enjoy in the city. The fire was huge and warming. Donna started the story telling with a story from the Northern Hemisphere and Ida Gartrell carried on. She's based in Kwa-Zulu Natal and has studied Zulu tradition and culture and has learnt many stories from the amaZulu. She uses isiZulu phrases and acts out her characters - a special favourite on Saturday evening was the chameleon with his jerky and deliberate movements.

Sunday morning arrived crisp and clear and we continued with our workshops, this time focusing on characterisation, dialogue and point of view. Writers wrote a scene while illustrators illustrated a wordless scene. Then we were given one another's scenes to illustrate or write about - a fascinating challenge. The pieces that emerged were so creative and deserve to be mulled over and taken further.

An important aspect of a Retreat like this involves networking and new contacts and friendships. Matina Genkova-Mpofu shared her new books with us, Lynn Joffe challenged us to think differently about publishing and Themba Mabaso told us about his experiences in promoting his own books. Each person brought value and insight and it was fabulous! Thank you to all I haven't yet mentioned - James, Thandi, Danisile, Claire, Adelle, Paddy, Anna .... everyone!










Our working session ended with a final story from Ida Gartrell which involved every participant in an unexpected way.

It was a wonderful weekend but it needs to go somewhere. What now? Both Donna and Joan felt that they didn't have enough time to look at each person's work and that that work could be taken to another level - so, of course, this means that we need to plan another event - what it will be, time will tell ...

For me, I was thrilled about the Retreat and think that we've started something special. I couldn't have done this without the SCBWI grant, the advice of Marjorie van Heerden and Elaine Ridge in Cape Town and the support of Rozenn, the Committee: Yvette de Beer, Hazel Cuthbertson and Julia du Plessis. And of course, we were all appreciative for the leadership given us by our mentors, Donna and Joan.

Our weekend ended with a picnic and lots of discussion about what to do next ... We planned several events ... Claire Penn said she'd share some of her research about children's language with us. Themba Mabasa said we could visit the State Herald, Lynn Joffe offered a Studio Visit ... and so we're set up for the year.

Another benefit of the Retreat is five new SCBWI members: Welcome Matina Genkova-Mpofu, Ida Gartrell, Anna Wallis, Claire Penn and Themba Mabaso.

Jenny Hatton (Assistant Regional Advisor) SCBWI South Africa

SCBWI Retreat: Gauteng representatives

Jenn, Rozenn, and LeAnne
Jenn walking up the big hill
Paddy and Joan cheer other delegates
Phylis, LeAnne and Sindiwe on a walk to the hill above Goudini
Carol recording an event
Rozenne, Phylis and LeAnne at dinner