Cynthia Leitich Smith Writing Mentor Award
Cynthia Leitich Smith is an inspiration not only as an award-winning and best-selling author, but as a champion of children’s book writers. Cynthia is an extremely generous member of the Austin kidlit community, offering up her time and knowledge to help fellow writers whenever she can. The award bearing Cynthia’s name follows her example and gives guidance to up-and-coming writers.
Winners will be announced at the conference! This award is open to ALL registrants. This year we will be offering 3 mentorships: picture books, middle grade, and young adult. Submit your writing sample by Sept 5th, 2026 to the link in your MY EVENTS.
For illustrators, view the ILLUSTRATOR MENTORSHIP.