Let’s Go! An Anthology Beginning

~ Johnell DeWitt ~ 5 Comments

In a recent article for SLJ, Henry Herz asked “Why Anthologies?” Great question that I can now answer, having embarked on an adventure with 33 other graphic novel creators to produce a middle grade, crowdfunded graphic novel.

Why did I sign up to be part of this? Well, I’m part of Kids Comics Studio, a membership program of Kids Comics Unite (KCU). When Janna Morishima, a literary agent and owner of KCU, proposed the idea, my first thought was “how are we going to pull this off?” Followed by, “I’ve got to see how this works.”

So, I signed up and it has been a wild ride. Or should I say wild “journey.” That, after all, is the unifying theme for our anthology.

Aside from my curiosity about how it would all work, I was excited to learn how to crowdfund, and even more excited to work with an illustrator. I’m an author-only, and alas, lack the skills to draw the images I see in my own head, so I was very excited to work with an artist. Watching an artist translate my words into their own visual version has been so fun and amazing, which I’ll be writing more about soon.

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Free Halloween Treats and GN Tricks and Tips

~ Johnell DeWitt ~ 4 Comments

I’ve been working on a graphic novel anthology with other members of Janna Morishima’s Kids Comics United Studio group. It’s been an amazing experience so far to collaborate with two amazing illustrators on two 8-page story entries.

I can’t wait to tell you all more about these collaborations as we continue to work on them, but for now, I can tell you about a cool Halloween-themed launch with Halloween printables for any trick-or-treaters that may need allergy-free treats.

We even have a treat for authors and illustrators–a link to subscribe to our newsletter, where we’ll share tips and tricks on creating anthologies, short-form comics, crowdfunding, and lots of other great information to help you all benefit from what we are learning.

For now, check out our landing page for all these goodies. You can also follow our journey on X, BlueSky, and Instagram: @kscanthology.

Happy Halloween! Stay tuned for lots more about what I’m doing for this anthology. It’s going to be a fun journey.

Three Amazing Opportunities for Graphic Novel Creators

~ Johnell DeWitt ~ Leave a comment

KidLitGN’s pitch event opened last night for loading pitches and this morning for agents, editors, and publishers to view and select pitches. GN creators still have until Oct. 3 at 8 pm EDT to load pitches. And agents, editors, and publishers can view pitches until Oct. 31 at 8 pm EDT.

See kidlitgn.com for details.

Also on KidLitGN’s blog, is a comprehensive Q&A from literary agent Janna Morishima, where she mentions the opportunity to join Kids Comics Studio–the membership part of Kids Comics Unite. The latter is free and open for joining year round. Kids Comics Studio, however, opens for new members at select times of the year (it’s open for a few more weeks) and has a monthly or yearly charge. Kids Comics Studio offers weekly workshops, critique and accountability sessions, networking with other graphic novel creators and a whole host of opportunities you won’t find anywhere else (see here for more details). I’ve been a member of Kids Comics Studio and have benefited from the community’s knowledge in countless ways, one of which leads into the third opportunity…

Some Kids Comics Studio members are putting together an anthology that we will be crowdfunding in April 2025. We’ve been hard at work coming up with a theme, planning our design, marketing, and of course, creating our comics. I’m collaborating with two amazing illustrators on two projects, which I’m hoping to share with you in the months ahead. And, we are rolling out our newsletter, where GN creators and other interested parties can join our journey through this process and learn what we have learned as we’ve collaborated to create this graphic novel. You can sign up for the newsletter at this link: https://bit.ly/kcu-studio-anthology

So there you have it, three opportunities to dive into the graphic novel creator’s world, KidLitGN’s pitch event, Kids Comics Studio, and the Kids Comics Studio Anthology newsletter.

You can access Janna’s amazing article here: https://kidlitgn.com/2024/10/02/what-are-agents-looking-for-a-qa-with-graphic-novel-agent-janna-morishima/

KidLitGN’s Pitch Event Opens this October!

~ Johnell DeWitt ~ Leave a comment

October is just around the calendar corner and KidLitGN is hosting its annual graphic novel pitch event!

The event is for agented and unagented graphic novel projects for kids through YA. The categories include graphic novel-style picture books, early graphic novels, middle grade, and YA. There’s also a spot for graphic novel illustrators who don’t have a project to pitch but would like to pitch a sample from their portfolio.

To find out more, see the info graphic below or visit: kidlitgn.com. And spread the word.

Where’s Waldo?

~ Johnell DeWitt ~ 4 Comments

I’ve disappeared these past two years, Waldo-like, into the landscape of boxes, paperwork, and the preparations of moving, changing jobs, and launching a child into the world. My time on this site has suffered. But I’ve been restless with all the changes and challenges of the past two years to get back into posting here and writing more in general. What writing time I have had has been spent revising stories that I haven’t yet polished to my satisfaction.

One is a historical fiction, middle grade novel that I started a lifetime ago. I’ve spent years researching it, and more years weaving my heart into it. It’s a tale with elements from my childhood and adulthood mixed with historical events, some of which I lived (yikes, it’s hard to think of one’s life as history already), so it takes an emotional toll to relive and honestly write about events that directly impacted me, but I’m ready to tackle it again.

Peel Castle, Isle of Man

I’ve had a middle grade, graphic novel script on the back burner as well, that’s itching to get out of me. It’s a Scorpio Races/Spirited Away mosh of a fantasy that’s taken me down a genealogical rabbit hole and inspired me to visit places where my ancestors lived and told stories of their own. It’s funny how stories that won’t let you go can evolve. This story started off as a picture book idea that I rewrote a thousand ways, until I realized it needed more than 32 pages to thrive. I tried writing it as a middle grade novel, but it’s always begged to be told in pictures, which spurred my interest in writing graphic novels. Once I got into writing graphic novels, which I already loved reading, I couldn’t stop. 

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You’re Never Too Old or Too Late to Follow Your Dreams with Author PJ McIlvaine

~ Johnell DeWitt ~ 3 Comments

PJ McIlvaine has been published in The New York Times and Newsday. PJ is also a regular contributor for the Children’s Book Insider newsletter, and a co-host of #PBPitch, a Twitter pitch party for picture book creators.

PJ has written across ages and genres, including a screenplay for Showtime which became the movie My Horrible Year. Her picture book, Dragon Roar, releases on Oct. 19, 2021 through MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing, Inc, which specializes in books for readers with dyslexia.

You’ve had quite a career in writing, including writing a movie for Showtime (which earned a daytime Emmy nomination, very cool). What has that been like and why did you switch to kidlit? 

Well, it’s like being on a roller coaster without a harness or safety belt. Sometimes you have to hang on and hope when the rides over, you haven’t broken every bone in your body. I consider myself a Jill of all genres when it comes to writing: I started out writing short stories, then poems, song lyrics, then eventually novels and screenplays but nothing in the kid-lit arena. Then my mother died (I was her caretaker for years), and I was now a grandma. I read picture books to the babies, and I realized hmmm, this was something I could write. So then I immersed myself fully in picture books, and soon graduated to middle grade and young adult. I have a good feel for kid lit—I cut my teeth on Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden growing up. So given where I was in my life, it was a natural evolution.   

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It’s Been a While and Other Good Things

~ Johnell DeWitt ~ 2 Comments
Art by Ken Lamug

I’ve been neglecting this site, but for good reasons. I’ve been busy as part of a team effort on the newest KidLit GN Pitch event, which is Oct. 6! Coming next week.

I’ve also been busy writing my own graphic novels and other work, some of which I’ll be pitching then as well, but I do have a new post coming soon.

For now, check out the details at https://kidlitgn.com if you are a graphic novel creator and are looking to pitch to agents or editors (agented and un-agented creators are welcome on the website pitch).

And check out the posts on the KidLit GN Blog for great advice on pitching and for a chance to win some awesome prizes, including classes, critiques, Kids Comics Studio membership and more.

Have a great week!

Voice p.2: World-building

~ Johnell DeWitt ~ 4 Comments
Photo by Craig Adderley on Pexels.com

I previously discussed “Voice” as it applies to different age groups. Voice is the sum of your word choice, word order, beat, rhythm, and structure (see here for my favorite definition of voice).

Voice also creates your characters’ personalities, the mood, the setting, and your world. For this post, I’ll focus on the last one–world building. You can put the reader smack in the world of your story by using the right words for the right time, setting, and mood that your world resides in. 

For example, synonyms can create a different tone, even though, technically, they mean the same thing. Pa, Dad, Da, Pops, Papa, Father, all names for the male parent, but they each create a different world in the mind of the reader. 

Let’s apply this to various texts:

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Graphic Novel Pitch Event

~ Johnell DeWitt ~ 2 Comments

Yes, it’s been a while. Yes, I’ve been busy. We’re winding down the move-in part after another overseas move. A much more difficult transition in the days of Covid. However, I’ve also been hopping with other good things too, like helping to organize the event pictured above. We’ve got less than a week away and I’m beyond excited to participate.

So, if you’ve got a graphic novel ready to submit, plan on joining this event. And check out the event info on the website at: https://kidlitgn.blogspot.com

If you’re interested in creating graphic novels for middle grade and younger, join the group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/KidLitGN

And to be notified of other pitch events, join the Twitter page at: https://twitter.com/KidLitGN

Happy writing!