<table cellspacing='0' cellpadding='0' border='0' ><tr><td valign='top' style='font: inherit;'><P>This conference includes a session on playwrighting:</P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 1.0in"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">CONTACT: Jean Daigneau, Regional Advisor, NOH SCBWI <BR>PH:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN lang=EN style="mso-ansi-language: EN">330-678-2900</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN style="COLOR: black"> </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>EM: </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN style="mso-ansi-language: EN">OhioSCBWIconference@yahoo.com</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <BR></SPAN>WEB: <A href="http://nohscbwi.org/">NOHSCBWI.org</A></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 1.0in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>LOCALE: <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">Cleveland</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN style="COLOR: black"> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Airport</st1:PlaceType></SPAN></st1:place><SPAN style="COLOR: black"> Sheraton, <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on">5300 Riverside Dr.</st1:Street>, <st1:City w:st="on">Cleve.</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">OH</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">44135</st1:PostalCode></st1:address> <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <BR></SPAN>PH: 216-267-1500</SPAN><BR><BR>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</FONT></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>CHILDREN’S BOOKS “STARS” FEATURED IN <st1:City w:st="on">CLEVELAND</st1:City> CONFERENCE FOR PRO & NEW WRITERS, ILLUSTRATORS, & PHOTOGRAPHERS—FRI & SAT, SEPTEMBER 5 – 6, 2008 <BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"><BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">CLEVELAND</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">OHIO</st1:State></st1:place>, June 25, 2008…“I bet I could write, illustrate, or shoot photos for a kids’ book.” Has this thought ever crossed your mind? Or are you a published author, illustrator, or photographer that needs a boost? <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If so, register now for a local event that publishing industry insiders call one of the best of its type—the Northern Ohio Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (NOH SCBWI) 6<SUP>th</SUP> annual conference. The theme? “The Sky’s the Limit—Take Your Writing and Illustrating to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">New</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Heights</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.” <BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"><BR
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">NOH SCBWI DONATES OVER 1,000 BOOKS TO CLEVELAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN 5 YEARS<BR>As in the past 5 conferences, at the event, a Cleveland school will receive a hefty donation of children’s books from local authors and illustrators. Regarding the books Fuller K-8 School received last year, principal Rita Smith-Rogers, said, “</SPAN>They really expanded our library. Reading them gave children many [new] experiences.” <BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"><BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>HEADLINERS: NEW YORK CITY AGENT, HARPERCOLLINS, SLEEPING BEAR PRESS <BR>Conference participants will meet literary agent and visual artist representative Regina Brooks of Serendipity Literary Agency (NYC); editor Kristin Daly of HarperCollins Publishers (NYC); and editor Amy Lennex of award-winning picture book publisher, Sleeping Bear Press (MI).</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><BR><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>NETWORKING & WORKSHOPS WITH AWARD-WINNING OHIO AUTHORS & ILLUSTRATORS<BR>Conference workshop facilitator Tim Bowers has illustrated over 20 books and launched the Shoebox Greetings® card line. Writer and illustrator Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton has sold over 40,000 copies of her first of 31 books—<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Why Cowboys Sleep with Their Boots On</I>. Dandi <SPAN style="COLOR: black">Daley</SPAN> Mackall (<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">A Girl Named Dan</I>) has written over 400 books for infants to teens. Among Dawn Fitzgerald’s many honors is an American Library Association Booklist Top Ten Youth Biographies award for <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Vinnie and Abraham</I>. M. LaVora Perry’s <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Taneesha Never Disparaging</I>—a preteen novel set in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">East Cleveland</st1:City></st1:place>—is praised by reviewers including one from <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Reading Today</I>, an International Reading Association magazine. Also facilitating are historical novelist and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Institute</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Children</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>’s Literature instructor Lynda Durrant (<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">My Last Skirt</I>); biographer Brandon Marie Miller (<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">George Washington for Kids)</I>; and playwright Maureen Brady Johnson (<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Middle Mania!</I>). </FONT></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>WORKSHOP TOPICS <BR>Workshops titles include “Finding Your Voice,” “What your Tear Sheet Says About You,” “Plot in Picture Books,” “Query Letters, Book Proposals, Contracts,” and “Promote It! Keep Your Book in Print.” <BR><BR>CONFERNCE PERKS <BR>“I can send work to publishers that don’t accept unsolicited materials.” -Deborah Jackson, Illustrator, Aurora</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><BR><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>“I get support and writing tips, meet editors, and learn about the publishing biz.”-Ann Lee, Writer, Cleveland</FONT></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>For added fees, participants can obtain professional manuscript or portfolio critiques and receive a continuing education unit (CEU). Illustrators and photographers can showcase work or attend half-day at a reduced-price.<BR><BR>REGISTRATION<BR>Registration opens July 5 for SCBWI members and July 21 for non-members. Total cost ranges from $45- $150. To pay an SCBWI member discounted fee, buy an SCBWI annual membership online at <A href="http://scbwi.org/"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">SCBWI.org</I> </A>(PH: 1-323-782-1010). Then register for the <st1:place w:st="on">Northern Ohio</st1:place> conference at <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><A href="http://nohscbwi.org/">NOHSCBWI.org</A></I>. </FONT></P>
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<DIV>M. LaVora Perry</DIV>
<DIV><EM>Taneesha Never Disparaging </EM>(Wisdom Publications, September 2008)<BR><EM>Teen Sisters Health--A Body, Mind, & Spirit Wellness Guide for Girls of Color<BR></EM>Website: <A href="http://www.mlavoraperry.com">www.mlavoraperry.com</A></DIV></td></tr></table>