2025 Illinois Fall Recordings by REQUEST

Set the tone for Fantasy Fall with an exploration of the current state of fantasy in youth literature, including themes, trends, and current titles with Jen Clemons, Curator of the Butler Children’s Literature Center at Dominican University and Sarah Hammond, author and SCBWI Near West Suburban Network Rep.

Michelle Jabes Corpora shares her writer’s journey to creating her current, Ancient Egyptian-inspired trilogy: The Throne of Khetara. Her series is an Indie Bestseller, a Barnes & Noble Best YA Book of 2025, the Bookseller’s #1 Title “Not to Miss In May”, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, and a New York Times Bestseller!

Struggling to find readers? In this no-fluff session, Vicky Weber will show you how to pinpoint your ideal audience and reach them effectively—no matter your budget or schedule. Walk away with practical, sustainable strategies to grow your readership without wasting time, money, or energy on tactics that don’t work.

Agent Mary Cummings offers guidance for cultivating a standout query that will take root with agents. She’ll provide the tools to sow the seeds of professionalism and nourish your submission with market awareness and audience insight, with time left to dig into your questions during a Q&A!

Agent Mary Cummings offers a groundbreaking session on next steps when your project is ready to harvest. Learn how to prepare for “the call”, ask the right questions, and spot the signs of a fruitful agent relationship. You’ll leave ready to cultivate the next stage on your publishing journey.

Attend our Ask-Me-Anything Industry panel, where our faculty will pluck unscripted, off-the-cuff answers straight from the vine as they dig into your juiciest questions. Whether you’re just planting seeds or ready to harvest your big break, our industry professionals are here to help you nurture your path. So bring your questions and let’s see what blooms–you might just find out what you really should be watering!

Even in our social-media-dominated age, it's important for authors to have a centralized platform that anyone can access without needing to use a specific social media site. This workshop goes over the steps it takes to create a website and important content to include on it. We'll cover hosting platforms, design choices, media kits, and more.

Have you ever started a project unsure of exactly what type of book you want to write? What format should it be in? What age group are you writing for? What genre does it fit in? Sometimes getting started is the hardest part of writing. We'll discuss ways to brainstorm a new idea and figure out where it fits in the current market (without writing to the market). We'll also talk about ways to experiment with formatting, age ranges, styles and genres. Let's work together to unlock the potential of that new story idea!

Are you curious about what it takes to plant your own story and help it bloom into a beautiful book? In this workshop author and illustrator Laura Smetana will discuss the steps involved in charting your own path in independent publishing, including working with editors, book designers, illustrators, marketing professionals, and others to make a high quality book that readers, teachers, and librarians will love and that you will be proud of sharing with the world.

In this zoom presentation, we'll share practical tips for carefully and thoughtfully designing and illustrating diverse characters in picture books. Come with your craft questions! There will be a Q&A at the end!