Illustrator Day 2023

July 12, 2023

Portfolio troubles? Worry no more, caracolita*. I’m here to help!

I'm teaching at Illustrator Day this year!

The SCBWI SF/SOUTH team has organized a great double event and I really hope to see you there (in person and online):

Aug 12, 2023 – Virtual pre-event.

"Preparation and Tips for Making a Great Portfolio" with local illustrators Isabella Kung & Diana Toledano.

Sep 10, 2023 – In person at Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA.

With presentations by illustrators, agents and art directors.

How can I help your portfolio?

Well, this is a photo from one of the times when I won the Best Portfolio Award at Illustrator Day. After I won the award a couple of conferences in a row they made a rule that says you can only win once. I know, I'm bragging, but let me help YOU win the next award!

Also, I'm super excited to teach with my good friend and fellow author/illustrator Isabella Kung, who I actually met during Illustrator Day more than a decade ago. Back then we were both starting out, trying to figure out where our careers were going to take us. Now we have many books under our belts, we are in a critique group together, and we are teaching at the same conference. How magical is that?

This is one of the main reasons I recommend my students to join SCBWI… So they can dive into the children's book community! It's SO incredibly important to have a network of people who understand what you are going through and can support you. It's much easier and way more fun than making this journey alone.

See you soon!

*Caracolita means little shell in Spanish. Aren't terms of endearment in different languages fascinating?

Building Blocks

June 18, 2021

¡Hola, caracola! How are you?

I’m looking out at the blooming hydrangeas and I feel hopeful and energized. I got my COVID vaccines a while back, so recently I was able to visit my homeland. I saw my family and friends for the first time in two years! Bringing my baby to Spain for the first time was very special.

Also, I’ve been working really hard on my next picture book. And to top it off, next week I’m speaking at a children’s book conference!

Goodbye 2019! Hello 2020!

January 1, 2020

Thank you for accompanying me through 2019!

The end of the decade feels both meaningful and ordinary… A year ends, a new one begins. It’s nothing new, we’ve done it before. But isn’t it still exciting?

As much as I usually love looking back, analyzing and reviewing, I’m feeling the impulse to leap forward.

I can’t wait to share with you the books I’m working on (sadly I have to keep them a secret for now). I’m also going to be teaching and speaking at a couple of conferences:

2020 SCBWI Golden Gate Conference, at Asilomar (CA), March 13th – 15th. (One of my favorite conferences for writers and illustrators! I’ve attended several times, so I’m thrilled to be one of the speakers this time around.)
Class: Writing & Illustrating Children's Books, at City College of San Francisco (CA), February 11th – March 17th. (Sign up if you’d like to make children’s books! I don’t plan on teaching this class again for a little while.)
SCBWI Oregon Spring Conference, at Portland (OR), May 15th – 17th. (More info coming soon.)

What else?

I have no idea. The future is full of possibilities.

Whatever comes, I will welcome. At least, that is my intention...

I invite you to stay open with me. Let’s receive together. Let’s make connections, and laugh deep belly laughs, and dance, and draw, and read good books, and cry when we need to. Let’s welcome sadness like we welcome joy, because like the years, they are here just in passing. We say hello, and we say goodbye.

Hello 2020! Let’s make some magic!

P.S: Artwork from the picture book ONE SNOWY DAY, written by Diana Murray & illustrated by Diana Toledano.

Find The Heart In Your Story - SCBWI Poster

February 27, 2017

A year and a half ago (give or take), I was at the SCBWI Illustrator's Day winning the Best Portfolio Award (yay!) and a ticket to a children's book conference. A year ago (give or take), I was at that conference, learning to embrace my emotions and changing…

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Hace un año y medio (más o menos), estaba en el evento "El Día del Ilustrador" organizado por SCBWI, ganando el Premio al Mejor Portfolio y la entrada a una conferencia de libros infantiles. Hace un año (más o menos), estaba en esa conferencia, cambiando…

Why Do You Create? (And the Value of Conferences)

April 14, 2016

Remember when I got the Golden Gate Best Portfolio Award? Last month I received my prize: a free ticket to the SCBWI 2016 Golden Gate Conference. To be honest, if it wasn't for the prize, I probably wouldn't have gone...

I love conferences; however, if you go to enough of them, you'll start hearing the same things again and again. Also, they are amazing for beginners, but the more you learn and the more you work on children's books, the less interesting the conferences are: you already know how to prepare a portfolio, you already know how to write a book pitch, etc.

But the Golden Gate Conference was unlike any I've been to before... it wasn't focused on giving you information on HOW to create (although there was a bit of that), instead, it was focused on making you wonder WHY do you create?

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¿Recuerdas cuando gané el Premio al Mejor Portfolio? El mes pasado recibí mi premio: un ticket gratis para asistir a la conferencia Golden Gate, organizada por SCBWI. Siendo sincera, si no fuese por el premio, probablemente no hubiese ido...

Me encanta asistir a conferencias. Lo malo es que cuando ya has ido a unas cuantas, todo empieza a sonarte a lo mismo. Además, son perfectas cuando estás empezando, pero cuanto más aprendes y más trabajas en libros infantiles, menos interesantes resultan: ya sabes cómo preparar tu portfolio, cómo presentar tu proyecto a las editoriales, etc.

Pero la Golden Gate Conference fue diferente a todas las que he ido con anterioridad... En lugar de darte información acerca de CÓMO crear (aunque también hubo un poco de eso), te hacía plantearte ¿POR QUÉ creas?

New York Guide for Illustrators

January 28, 2016

The SCBWI Winter Conference is approaching fast, and many lucky writers and illustrators will be going to New York soon. Sadly, I'm not one of them. I haven't visited NYC since I lived there years ago.

Oh, it was fun! Living in Manhattan, walking to Central Park every morning, working at the Met, visiting art shows, and taking classes at SVA... There are tons of things to keep a young illustrator-to-be busy!

So without further ado, here is my particular NYC Guide for illustrators...

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La Conferencia de Invierno de SCBWI se está acercando, y muchos ilustradores y escritores ya están preparando sus viajes a Nueva York. ¡Que envidia! Yo no voy a ir... De hecho, no he vuelto a NY desde que viví allí hace años.

¡Qué tiempos aquellos! Era divertido vivir en Manhattan, pasear hasta Central Park todas las mañanas, trabajar en the Met, visitar exposiciones de arte, tomar clases en SVA... A una joven que soñaba con ser ilustradora (yo misma), no le faltaban cosas que hacer.

No me enrollo más, aquí está mi particular Guía de NYC para ilustradores...

Illustrator's Day & Award

September 18, 2015

Every fall, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) organizes Illustrator's Day at Fort Mason in San Francisco. It's a small one day conference, but I happen to think that small events can be more interesting than the big ones.

Here are three reasons to go to SF Illustrator's Day....

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Cada otoño, la Sociedad de Escritores e Ilustradores de Libros Infantiles (SCBWI) organiza el Día del Ilustrador en San Francisco. Es una conferencia pequeñita, pero personalmente opino que muchas veces los eventos pequeños son más interesantes que los grandes.

Aquí tienes tres razones para ir al Día del Ilustrador (o a otras conferencias del estilo)...

OCCBWW - Writer's Workshop

July 17, 2015

Last week was great! I was in a paradise called Oceanside attending the Oregon Coast Children's Books Writers Workshop. (On a side note: paradise happens to be a little colder than I had imagined...)

There are a lot of great workshops and classes out there (future post to come about that!), and I find it very hard to choose between them, so I'm writing this review hoping to help you make an informed decision.

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¡La semana pasada fue una maravilla! Estuve en un paraíso llamado Oceanside en la costa de Oregon, asistiendo a un taller de escritores de literatura infantil y juvenil llamado Oregon Coast Children's Books Writers Workshop.