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| © Sylvia Liu |
The following is a list of conferences and workshop retreats offered for writers across the country. Conferences are listed first, chronologically, and retreats follow.
CONFERENCE TIPS
Tips for Attending the Summer Conference
Tips for Conference SCBWI Conference Newbies, Second Timers, plus a challenge for Many Timers
Avoiding the Biggest Post Conference Pitfall
Do's and Don'ts of Attending a Conference
9 Ways to Ruin a Writing Conference
Ask the Agent: Do You Need to Go to Writing Conferences?
On SCBWI, Advice for Authors and Illustrators - Giuseppe Castellano
MENTORSHIPS
A List of SCBWI Mentor Programs - there's no better way to advance your career and improve your craft than finding a mentor. SCBWI helps with its many regional mentor programs.
Ask a Picture Book Author and Free Mentorship (with Rebecca Colby)
Nevada SCBWI Mentorship Program - a six month mentorship program with a published author, illustrator, or editor, with in person writing conferences. Highly recommended!
Ask a Picture Book Author and Free Mentorship (with Rebecca Colby)
Nevada SCBWI Mentorship Program - a six month mentorship program with a published author, illustrator, or editor, with in person writing conferences. Highly recommended!
CONFERENCES
SCBWI Events Calendar- Workshops, conferences, retreats and regional events. We do not list the individual regional SCBWI conferences on this page.
Highlights Foundation Workshops 2015- A list of all of the workshops being offered by Highlights for the year. Some really great workshops being offered by the best in the biz.
Craft Writers' Workshops/Retreats: a nice list of writing retreats and conferences compiled by author Vonna Carter, not limited to kid lit
College Kid Lit Conferences -listing of children's literature conferences around the country
What are the Great Children's Literature Writing Retreats?
Craft Writers' Workshops/Retreats: a nice list of writing retreats and conferences compiled by author Vonna Carter, not limited to kid lit
College Kid Lit Conferences -listing of children's literature conferences around the country
What are the Great Children's Literature Writing Retreats?
ONLINE WORKSHOPS
Online First Pages Workshop: Middle Grade and Chapter Books Share your first fifteen pages and get critique from literary agent and writing instructor Sally Apokedak. You'll submit to a private online workshop group, exchange feedback with peers and get written feedback from Sally. There will be a debrief webinar to close for discussion and questions.
JULY 2017
July 25 Application due for Writers in Residence. Apply for a 2-to 6-week free writer's residence near Seattle, Washington. Residencies occur between February and October. Work in a handcrafted cottage, take walks in the woods or beach, and share home cooked gourmet meals. (Whidbey Island, WA)
SEPTEMBER 2017
Sept. 8-10 Squam Lake Retreat Hosted by the NESCBWI, join a small group of writers and mentors to work on your manuscript.
Sept. 19 8:30 p.m. Picture Books in Focus: Structuring your Picture Books and Nonfiction (with Emily Feinberg) (an Inked Voices/Kidlit411 webinar) Join Roaring Brook Press editor Emily Feinberg as she talks about focus and structure for picture books (both fiction and nonfiction)!
Sept. 22-24 Pacific Coast Children's Writers Workshop (15th annual): Receive 1-2 critiques on your partial or full MG or YA
novel by editors Stacey Barney (G.P. Putnam's) and Katherine Harrison (Knopf), and/or agent Brianne Johnson (Writers House), plus savvy teen readers. Craft-intensive; intimate. Scholarships available for teen writers in the separate, partly-integrated Teenspeak Novel Workshop. (Coastal Santa Cruz, CA)
Sept. 22-24 Big Sur on Cape Cod Come join the Andrea Brown Literary Agency for their second Big Sur on Cape Cod conference. Work closely in small groups with ABLA agents and hand-picked editors and authors. (Cape Cod, MA)
OCTOBER 2017
Oct. 7 Picture Book Summit Participate in a full day of picture book learning, with luminaries like Tomie DePaola, Carole Boston Weatherford, and Adam Rex; live craft workshops; and agent and editor interviews. Brought to you by the amazing people at 12x12 (Julie Foster Hedlund), CBI (Laura Backes Bard and Jon Bard), Institute of Children's Literature (Katie Davis), and Just Write for Kids (Emma Walton Hamilton)
Oct 12-15, 2017 Better Books Marin An intensive craft-based workshop for MG & YA authors, with one-on-one mentor workshops with a stellar lineup: editor Emma Dryden, editor Harold Underdone, senior agent Stephen Frasier (Jennifer diChiara) and editor Tiffany Liao (Henry Holt Books). (Menlo Park, CA)
Oct 21, 2017 Rutgers One-on-One A conference where you are paired one-on-one with an industry mentor (agent, editor, art director, or published author or illustrator). All genres and levels of writing for children (PB to YA) are welcome. Applications are open and due by June 27.
Oct 12-15, 2017 Better Books Marin An intensive craft-based workshop for MG & YA authors, with one-on-one mentor workshops with a stellar lineup: editor Emma Dryden, editor Harold Underdone, senior agent Stephen Frasier (Jennifer diChiara) and editor Tiffany Liao (Henry Holt Books). (Menlo Park, CA)
Oct 21, 2017 Rutgers One-on-One A conference where you are paired one-on-one with an industry mentor (agent, editor, art director, or published author or illustrator). All genres and levels of writing for children (PB to YA) are welcome. Applications are open and due by June 27.
