As a native Missourian and Iowa transplant I think I’m qualified to say that he trope of ‘midwest nice’ is true. Yes, we smile at strangers on the street, strike up conversations while waiting in line at the grocery store, and freely offer a helping hand to mere acquaintances. But nowhere is it truer than at Marvelous Midwest, our regional SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) conference that comes around every two years to pull together artists and writers from six of the flyover states.
Since I joined SCBWI in 2018 as a fledgling illustrator I have come to believe that if you write and/or illustrate for children, you are inherently a nice person. Simple. As That.
“But best of all, I always leave with a full heart.”
In an industry with a lot of talent and many gatekeepers, small potatoes pay and high hopes to earn royalties, none of us (I daresay) are monetarily motivated (at least not alone). Layer on our midwestern sensibilities and you have a group of individuals with the common goal of teaching the next generation to be good humans. Just as we try to be.
As silly as the rhyming prose may be or as bright the rainbow spectrum of illustration, we know our words and our pictures teach lessons. We work for kids to not just be literate. But to be seen. To be loved.
And in turn, we share that kindness to one another.
Every conference I have attended (of which I’ve now lost count) I’ve left with a notebook full of doodles and notes, stacks of business cards and illustrated postcards. But best of all, I always leave with a full heart.
