Meet Our Faculty

A playful workshop where mistakes are celebrated. With whatever supplies you bring (the most you can and the more varied the better) we’ll explore smudges, scribbles, and textures across big watercolor paper. Perfect for people intimidated by art supplies. Bring headphones so you can get lost in your favorite songs while you create. The goal isn’t to create a polished illustration. It’s to build a layered mess of texture through play, and color exploration. This kind of surface can become the foundation for a future illustration, a scanned digital texture, or a writing prompt rooted in emotion and mood Bio: Raissa Figueroa is a Puerto Rican/Colombian-American children’s book illustrator whose vibrant, layered artwork brings stories to life with warmth and wonder. After studying graphic design in her college years, she rediscovered her passion for drawing and began experimenting with watercolor and mixed media. Her work often celebrates family, imagination and resilience with a visual style that blends playful detail and emotional depth.

Join New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Joey Spiotto (Grumpy Unicorn, Max, a Little Axolotl, Little Troublemaker Makes a Mess) for an interactive workshop on making graphic novels fun and engaging for young readers. Joey will walk through his creative process while guiding participants as they create an original character, write a short synopsis, and begin drawing comic panels. All skill levels are welcome—and participate at your comfort level. Bio: Joey Spiotto is a New York Times Bestselling Author & Illustrator. A graduate of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, Joey has written and illustrated many books including the hit graphic novel series’ “Max, a Little Axolotl” and “Grumpy Unicorn”, the wildly popular film & TV tie-in's “Alien Next Door”, "Klingon Next Door" & more!

Christy Ewers is the Owner of The CAT Agency, and represents illustrators and author-illustrators in children’s publishing. She has been rooted in the industry since her mother, Chris, started the agency in 1994. Christy works closely with the entire “family” of artists, spearheading the promotion and deals for CAT Agency illustrators, as well as working alongside the authors in the group to help craft their stories and hone their writing for young readers. Christy is also a children’s book author. Her debut picture book is being published in the Fall of 2026 by Flamingo Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. She will critique picture book manuscripts or dummies, graphic novel manuscripts or dummies, and portfolios.

Melissa Manlove is an Executive Editor at Sourcebooks, working across Jabberwocky (fiction picture books and early readers), Explore (nonfiction for children), and Young Readers (chapter books, graphics, and middle grade fiction). She's been a bookseller for as long as she's been an editor, and that’s given her a strong sense of how books can break the rules, challenge expectations, and still stand out in the bookstore and succeed in reaching readers. She will critique picture book manuscripts, graphic novel manuscripts, and picture book dummies.