The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) was formed in 1971 by a group of Los Angeles-based writers for children. Now a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, the SCBWI is the only professional organization specifically for individuals who write and illustrate for children and young adults. Our mission is to support the creation and availability of quality children’s books in every region of the world.
Through our awards, events, and publications, we give established writers and illustrators the tools and resources to manage their careers, as well as educate those just starting out. SCBWI is also proud to serve as a consolidated voice for our members within the publishing industry.
For an overview of what the SCBWI is and member benefits, a how-to guide to the member website, and a most frequently asked questions video check out the SCBWI Youtube channel.
SCBWI Western Washington (SCBWI WWA) is a regional chapter of SCBWI International. Our region tends to have most members clustered in the greater Seattle Metro area, although we span from the British Columbia border up north all the way south to where Washington meets Oregon. We spread from the Cascade Mountains all the way west to the Olympic peninsula. (SCBWI’s Inland Northwest region serves most cities and towns east of the Cascades in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. And Washington’s Clark County members often participant in SCBWI Oregon activities.)
The SCBWI WWA Regional Team has identified the following six long-term goals for our chapter, to help us better achieve the SCBWI’s mission as stated above:
>Improve and expand programming outside of the Seattle Metro area to increase participation in the region as a whole
>Provide programming that meets every writer or illustrator where they are in the process, whether beginner, intermediate, or PAL
>Attract and retain a more diverse membership (diversity of age, location, socio-economic class, and race)
>Maintain the financial solvency of the chapter
>Provide better succession planning for leadership roles, both on the Advisory Committee and the Regional Team
>Reduce the size of the Regional Advisor role to make it more sustainable and improve hand-off between outgoing and incoming RAs