Frequently Asked Questions

The Attendance Fee gives you access to three Compass Quest industry professional panels (you'll attend one live on Friday, April 10th at 7 PM CDT, and receive recordings of all three), plus the opportunity to submit three pitches plus three corresponding first pages or illustrations to one of our Adventure Guides by April 18th. You'll also have the opportunity to submit a query above the slush pile to all of our faculty, both online and in-person!

If you prefer to attend In-Person instead of Online, head over to our 2026 SCBWI-IL Spring Thaw - IN PERSON Event.

Of course you can! But you will need to pay both registration fees separately.

By April 18th, you'll submit your Pitch Package. A Pitch Package includes one page with three pitches or loglines of current works-in-progress (WIPs), and then the first 250 words of those three WIPs or an illustration or group of illustrations. While we'd love for the first 250 words of everyone's WIPs to fit on a single page, we understand that it doesn't always work out. But please do not exceed 250 words.

Illustration notes do not count towards the 250 words, but we do ask that you keep them to a minimum and only include illustration notes that are absolutely necessary.

From anywhere on the SCBWI website, go to 'Member Home' in the top right corner, then select 'My Events' from across the top of the page. Scroll down to find your selections!

You have the opportunity to submit above-the-slush-pile queries to all of our Spring Thaw faculty! Of course, make sure the faculty accepts your genre first. We will send emails out with all the details and deadlines, after the event.

Simply go to our Bonfire campaign and take your pick! A small portion of every sale goes directly back to network programming. The shirts feature our winning Masthead design on the front, by Dave Linne, and our winning Story Sprout on the back, by

You may, but be sure there are seats available with the Compass Quest or the Adventure Guide you'd like to switch to. First, visit the SBWI website and go to 'Member Home' in the top right corner. Select 'My Events' from across the top of the page. Scroll down to the selection you'd like to change and click the three dots all the way to the right and select Unregister. Now, return to the Event homepage, click the green, Register for Event, scroll down to the selection and choose a new one, then click the bottom right, Book a Seat button. If you have any issues, please send an email to [email protected]