{"id":208533,"date":"2024-11-11T17:40:08","date_gmt":"2024-11-11T22:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/?p=208533"},"modified":"2024-11-11T17:44:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T22:44:21","slug":"montclair-state-university-hosts-2nd-annual-scbwi-nj-conference-with-professor-christina-rodriguez-unalt-leading-workshop-and-sharing-insights-on-new-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/2024\/11\/11\/montclair-state-university-hosts-2nd-annual-scbwi-nj-conference-with-professor-christina-rodriguez-unalt-leading-workshop-and-sharing-insights-on-new-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Montclair State University Hosts 2nd Annual SCBWI NJ Conference with Professor Christina Rodriguez-Unalt Leading Workshop and Sharing Insights on New Book"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past June, Montclair State University proudly hosted the 2nd Annual NJ Chapter Conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)<\/a>. This event, dedicated to supporting professionals in children\u2019s publishing, featured panels, workshops, and portfolio showcases that attracted a dynamic blend of students, illustrators, authors, and agents. Professor Christina Rodriguez-Unalt<\/a>, an experienced illustrator and faculty member in the Department of Art & Design<\/a>, played a central role, sharing her insights and experiences with aspiring illustrators.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez-Unalt joined the conference as both a panelist and workshop leader. She facilitated a workshop titled “Illustration Bootcamp: Tips and Tricks to Advancing Your Children’s Book Portfolio.” Attended by students from the Department of Art & Design\u2019s Illustration program<\/a>, the session offered practical guidance on portfolio building and professional presentation. Many students volunteered at the event, and several had the opportunity to participate in a student portfolio showcase, judged by Sasha Illingworth, art director for Little, Brown & Company.<\/p>\n

A highlight of the showcase was the recognition of Montclair State\u2019s graduate Zach Rios (they\/them), who won the Student Portfolio Award and received a free year\u2019s SCBWI membership. Rios has since signed with a literary agent they met at the event and are shopping around a graphic novel that Zach will illustrate. Adjunct Professor Anne Appert<\/a> (they\/them), the NJ Illustrator Coordinator for SCBWI, organized the student volunteers, contributing significantly to the event\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

During her panel at the SCBWI event, Rodriguez-Unalt also discussed her journey to publish her most recent bilingual picture book, Pedro and the Monster Eaters \/ Pedro y los devoradores de monstruos<\/em>, providing attendees with firsthand insights into working with a publisher.<\/p>\n

Her picture book published this past May has already made an impact. Following the release, Rodriguez-Unalt embarked on a book tour, visiting schools across Monmouth and Ocean Counties and signing copies at local venues, including Montclair\u2019s Watchung Booksellers and Barnes & Noble in Brick Township. The School Library Journal<\/em> praised Pedro and the Monster Eaters<\/em>, noting, “Unalt strikes a great balance, making parts of the story truly terrifying and showing how the otherworldly alebrijes sprang from the boy’s imagination…An engaging and bright treatment of a Mexican sculptor that will inspire burgeoning artists, purchase this bilingual book for elementary collections.”<\/p>\n

Rodriguez-Unalt also recently represented Montclair State University and her work at the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival, where she moderated the \u201cDraw Off\u201d live Zoom event, “Famous Faces.” During the interactive session, she shared about her book while engaging in creative prompts, offering students and libraries the opportunity to participate in a real-time author event, streamed live for those who might not typically have access to such experiences.<\/p>\n

With support from Rodriguez-Unalt, Appert, and the SCBWI community, Montclair State University continues to provide invaluable opportunities for young illustrators, fostering a creative environment and helping nurture the next generation of illustrators and storytellers.<\/p>\n

More info on the book<\/a><\/span> Review of the book<\/a><\/span> More information about Professor Christina Rodriguez-Unalt<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past June, Montclair State University proudly hosted the 2nd Annual NJ Chapter Conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). This event, dedicated to supporting professionals in children\u2019s publishing, featured panels, workshops, and portfolio showcases that attracted a dynamic blend of students, illustrators, authors, and agents. Professor Christina Rodriguez-Unalt, an experienced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":208534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-19_announcements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208533"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":208537,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208533\/revisions\/208537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/art-and-design\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}