Part of a series introducing the Mentors for the 2019-2020 SCBWI-WWA Mentorship Program. This post introduces two picture book Mentors, Rebecca Van Slyke and Brianna Caplan Sayres. To learn about the mentorship program, visit here: https://wwa.scbwi.org/2019-mentorship-program/. Applications have been submitted and mentees for the 2019-2020 season will be announced in the early Fall.
Mentor: Rebecca Van Slyke
Rebecca Van Slyke has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She writes picture books, easy readers, nonfiction, and poetry. Her picture books Mom School and Dad School, Lexie The Word Wrangler, and Where Do Pants Go? are on bookshelves near you. Lana Lynn Howls At The Moon, These Are Monster’s Trucks!, and GOODNIGHT, ALLIGATOR are due to be published. Besides teaching writing to adults, Rebecca is also a second-grade teacher in Lynden, where she lives with her husband and two very spoiled dachshunds.
Q: Why do you like to mentor aspiring writers?
So many people have generously mentored me. It’s my way of giving back.
Q: What does being a successful published professional look like to you?
I think being a “successful published professional” is a myth. We are all on a journey. There is no final destination. We just all take the next steps. The journey IS the destination.
Q: What can a mentee expect from your mentorship?
As a teacher, my goal is to meet my students where they are and take them to the next level. I think a mentorship will work the same way.
Q: What are you reading?
I just finished reading Julie Berry’s Lovely War. Also David Elliot’s Voices: The Final Hours Of Joan Of Arc. And Kevan Atteberry’s Ghost Cat.
Three very different, but equally brilliant books.
Q: What are you working on these days?
Well, I just finished writing 22 report cards! But I have two manuscript sequels that await editorial revisions, plus polishing three other picture book manuscripts. To stretch myself, I’m also working on a poetry project.
Mentor: Brianna Caplan Sayres
Brianna Caplan Sayres is the author of the bestselling picture book, Where Do Diggers Sleep At Night? , which has now become a series of vehicle bedtime books. Brianna is also the author of Night Night, Curiosity (coming soon), Tiara Saurus Rex and Asteroid Goldberg’s Passover In Outer Space (coming soon). Brianna has been published in magazines, including Highlights for Children, Highlights High Five and Cobblestone, Brianna is thrilled to be living her childhood dream of being a children’s book author, and she is looking forward to helping another author by being a mentor!
Why do you like to mentor aspiring writers?
I am eager and excited to share what I have learned about writing and publishing picture books with an aspiring kidlit author.
Q: What does being a successful published professional look like to you?
I think it looks different for each person. You can publish books or publish in magazines (both can be awesome!). You can publish fiction or nonfiction– board books or young adult. There are so many wonderful variations of what a successful published professional can look like. But I think the three most important things are to keep writing, revising and submitting. Those are the absolute keys to becoming a successful published professional.
Q: What can a mentee expect from your mentorship?
A mentee can expect me to read their manuscript with great care. They can expect me to focus on the positives within their manuscript and to share the areas that I think need improvement. They can also expect lots of advice and lots of encouragement.
Q: What are you reading?
My currently reading and “to-be-read” pile includes: All Three Stooges by Erica S. Perl, Sweep: The Story Of A Girl And Her by Jonathan Auxier, Thomas Paine And The Dangerous Word by Sarah Jane Marsh and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham and Through The Window: Views Of Marc Chagall’s Life And Art by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Mary Grandpre.
Q: What are you working on these days?
I am currently revising a very punny chicken picture book as well as trying to decide which of several story ideas to get started with next. I am also very busy starting Intergalactic Afikoman, a new indie publisher of fun and funny Jewish children’s books.