061 - Picture Book Summit Roundtable: Fresh Takes
Release Date: 05/21/2024
086 - Game Changing Ideas
Picture Book Summit Podcast
Every year, we host what we like to call a “mini” Summit. It’s a short webinar to give writers a taste of what we offer at our full-day event. In this episode, we share a past Mini Summit all about creating Game Changing ideas. Our goal is to spark your imagination and creativity by showing just a few ways other picture book creators have turned ideas on their heads. Get ready to be inspired by the Picture Book Summit Founders and be sure to find out about our latest event by going to picturebooksummit.com. Books mentioned in this episode: by Philip Stead and Matthew Cordell by...
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085 - Rountable: Backmatter Matters
Picture Book Summit Podcast
More and more picture books include backmatter these days—including fiction picture books. In today's Roundtable discussion, Julie Hedlund and the team share many different ways to include backmatter with your manuscript, including dos and don'ts of creating additional content. Books mentioned in this episode: The First Notes by Julie Andrews, Emma Walton Hamilton, and Chiara Fedele Tricky Chopsticks by Sylvia Chen and Fanny Liem Reindeer Remainders by Katey Howes and Marie Hermansson Over, Bear! Under, Where? by Julie Hedlund and Michael Slack Grand Canyon by Jason Chin ...
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084 - Vashti Harrison Caldecott Celebration
Picture Book Summit Podcast
The amazing and talented Caldecott Medal Winner Vashti Harrison is one of our Superstar Speakers for 2025. Vashti won the Caldecott Medal in 2024 for her beautiful picture book BIG. Shortly after that win, the PBSummit Team discussed the brilliance of this book in our Caldecott video series. We bring that discussion to our podcast today to help you get to know Vashti Harrison and her wonderful book. Be sure to grab your ticket to our online Picture Book Summit 2025 on October 4, 2025, at . Get Early Bird pricing through August 28, 2025. So go get your ticket now. Enjoy this insightful...
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083 - Homage, Parody, and Plagarism, Oh My!
Picture Book Summit Podcast
“Oh my” is right! If you don’t know the difference between homage, parody, and plagiarism, and your story references another work in some way, your book might be dead in the water before it even gets out of your inbox. In this PBSummit Roundtable, Emma, Julie, Katie, and Kelli define homage, parody, and plagiarism and what you, as a picture book writer, need to know about these important topics, including how we’ve navigated these obstacles in our own work. Mentioned in this episode: by Julie Andrews, Emma Walton Hamilton, and Chiara Federle by Kim Norman and Carolyn Digby...
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082 - Picture Book Summit 2025 Speaker Reveal
Picture Book Summit Podcast
It's that time of year! Early Bird tickets for Picture Book Summit 2025 are now available and in this episode, we share all about our 2025 Superstar Speakers! It's quite a lineup for this year's conference: Big, Bold, and Brave: Supercharge Your Picture Books! This year's online conference takes place on October 4, 2025. Everything happens in our Zoom webinar room, so you can attend from anywhere in the world with a decent Internet connection. We are thrilled to welcome true picture book superheroes NYT Bestselling author Susan Verde, Caldecott Winner Jason Chin, and Caldecott Winner Vashti...
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081 - Nikki Grimes: The Music of Language
Picture Book Summit Podcast
In this episode, we’re thrilled to bring you an excerpt from Nikki Grimes’ presentation The Music of Language. Nikki’s accolades include the Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to young adult literature, the Children’s Literature Legacy Award, the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children, a Sibert and a Printz Honor as well as the Coretta Scott King Book Award among others. Nikki is here today to share how lyrical picture books can help children learn to love language and how you can...
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080 - Interview with Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton
Picture Book Summit Podcast
We are especially excited about today’s episode because we get to bring you a snippet of a past Summit presentation with the one and only Julie Andrews along with her daughter and our friend Emma Walton Hamilton! This duo has written over 30 books for children, including 9 New York Times Bestsellers. Their picture books include The Very Fairy Princess, Dumpy the Dump Truck, The First Notes: The Story of Do-Re-Mi, The Enchanted Symphony, and Waiting in the Wings. So, what started this fruitful partnership? Where do they get their ideas? What strengths do they each bring to...
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079 - Great Refrains in Picture Books
Picture Book Summit Podcast
You might know about refrains in music, but they're also in picture books! The Picture Book Summit Founders get together to discuss what refrains are, define the different types of refrain, and share how to use them strategically in your own picture book writing! Spoiler alert! There are some excellent mentor texts in this episode. *Books mentioned in this episode: by Angela Pham Krans and Thi Bui by Carrie Finison and Erin Kraan by Katie Davis by Julie Andrews, Emma Walton Hamilton, and Christine Davenier by Donna Barba Higuera and Cynthia Alonso by Angela Joy and Janelle Washington ...
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078 - Interview with Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple
Picture Book Summit Podcast
In this episode, Julie Hedlund interviews Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple. With over 400 children's books to her name, Jane shares how she chooses the words and what influences her choices. The pair touch on the impact of banned books and how their writing partnership has evolved over the years. So, what's one key to being prolific? Always be learning and growing as a writer. Books mentioned in this episode: written by Heidi E.Y. Stemple and illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight Check out our previous episode with Jane Yolen here:
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077 - How to Analyze a Picture Book: Part 2
Picture Book Summit Podcast
It's time for How to Analyze a Picture Book - Part 2. In this episode, we talk about how to analyze a picture book's illustrations and other things to look for when analyzing a mentor text. First up, illustrations: What's the job of the illustrations? What do they add to the story? How does color make a difference? If you're an author-only creator, how can you leave room for the illustrator and still get your story across? Is it okay to use art notes? Then we jump into a variety odds and ends to consider and pay attention to as you continue to analyze and study picture books, including "is...
info_outlineAgents and publishers are always saying they're looking for stories that are "fresh and unique", but what does that mean? In this episode, the PBSummit Roundtable takes a look at some stories which perfectly exemplify what fresh takes on classic picture book topics can look like, and the common thread between them.
Books talked about in today's episode:
- How This Book Got Read written by Margaret Chiu Greanias and illustrated by Melissa Iwai
- The World's Best Class Plant written by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick and illustrated by Lynnor Bontigao
- Time is a Flower written and illustrated by Julie Morstad
Having a fresh take is a great way to get the attention of an agent or editor! How else can you avoid being rejected? Grab our free download with questions to ask yourself to avoid the 3 Biggest Reasons Manuscripts Get Rejected. Click here.
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