When I read the theme for the 2016 MD/DE/WV conference postcard contest I was skeptical. Team SCBWI. Seriously? After all, so much of writing and illustrating is a solitary endeavor. The phrase “herding cats” came to mind. And so my entry featured a cheerleaders’ pyramid of felines, joined by one intrepid dog. It was the winning design.
Fast forward to last weekend. Some of us from this region and the Mid Atlantic Chapter went out for the dessert discussion following the picture book panel at DC bookstore Politics and Prose. The creative vibe at our table got me thinking. Maybe this team thing is not so farfetched after all. Maybe the great success of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is our organization’s ability to bring us solitary types together. At conferences and workshops. In critique groups. In lively give and take over polenta lasagna and oversized bowls of apple pie. Because while sitting alone at the computer or drawing board is a large part of our chosen professions, so is supporting and being supported by others out on the same playing field. Go team.