Kelly Hibbert is the author of Sebastian and the Special Stack of Stories, published by HarperCollins in 2018. Her first picture book, Fancy Pants, was published by the Little Big Book Club in 2016 and distributed to 42000 preschool children across the state and also gained a place on the long-list for the Speech Pathology Book of the Year awards. She is the coordinator for SCBWI SA and lives with her husband and two boys in Aberfoyle Park. Kelly divides her time between teaching and writing, sometimes combining the two. In every spare moment, she enjoys exploring the foothills with her family, often speaking in rhyme even if someone asks her to stop.
WHAT CYA CONFERENCE DID FOR ME
In 2015 I came across the competition offered by CYA. The mere idea of pitching to a publisher left me petrified so this was an opportunity to get feedback on my writing without sacrificing my fingernails. The Best Seat in the House placed third. Chuffed, instead of banking the prize cheque, I framed it along with the certificate. Post competition, I worked together with an independent publishing consultant who helped edit the manuscript to ensure it was in tip-top shape. After a title change and some minor tweaks with the editor at HarperCollins, Sebastian and the Special Stack of Stories was published in 2018. Everyone raves about the CYA conference and with good reason. If you're yet to attend, just make sure you're fully prepared to purchase more than one ticket - because you'll definitely want to go again and again.
