New membership category for SCBWI members

During the semi-annual August Board meeting held after the 2008 Los Angeles SCBWI conference, President Steve Mooser and Executive Secretary Lin Oliver and the board discussed ways to increase and improve service for our professional, published members. The decision was made to create a new tier of membership to be called PAL, signifying published and listed.

To qualify, these members will have books or magazine pieces published by a list of publishers that include publishers from SCBWI's annual marketing list of traditional publishing houses, and other SCBWI lists including small publishers, magazine publishers, international publishers, and religious publishers.

As members renew, or as new members join, their membership cards will be replaced by cards which signify their level of membership. The PAL members will be given extra privileges, including the right to display or sell their books at certain SCBWI regional or international events to be indicated, join speaking bureau or lists, and so on.

If members feel they have been placed in the wrong tier, they may apply to the Appeals Committee, made up of Board Members, who will study their publishing credits; the committee's decision is final.

Self-published books, print on demand and vanity press books do not qualify. However, self published, POD and vanity press members will still be full SCBWI members. Unpublished or pre-published writers and illustrators will still be associate members and still will be offered many services to help them also advance in their careers.

One other change: members published in other fields such as adult books, will now become full instead of associate members.