BOOTCAMP: Next-Level Marketing - Choose Your Adventure
Nov 07, 2026
Online event
Join the Austin SCBWI chapter for six hours of online learning focused on marketing, visibility, and growing your creative career! Learn from published authors and industry experts as they share practical strategies for using Pinterest and Facebook Groups, creating an effective website, building confidence in public speaking, and networking with purpose.
🤩 6 Amazing Faculty Speakers!
đź“š 6 Hours of Education!
🎥 Live on Zoom or Recorded!
Join the Austin SCBWI chapter for six hours of online learning focused on marketing! Learn from marketing coaches, public speaking experts, and authors as they cover Pinterest growth and Facebook groups, public speaking, marketing and networking, creating an effective author website, and building your brand.
Schedule
Meet our Faculty!
Debbie Gonzales
Debbie Gonzales is a children’s author, educator, and founder of Pin Lit Marketing, where she blends her deep literary background with proven Pinterest strategy to help book creators boost visibility and discoverability. Author of the award-winning GIRLS WITH GUTS and creator of Guides by Deb—a hub of 400+ standards-aligned educator guides—Debbie has spent her career connecting meaningful stories with the readers who need them most. A former SCBWI Regional Advisor and MFA graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts, she understands the kidlit world from every angle: writer, mentor, educator, and advocate. Through Pin Lit Marketing, she empowers authors, illustrators, and publishers to build evergreen presence and long-term success on the Pinterest platform. Learn more at debbiegonzales.com and guidesbydeb.com.
Heather Schwartz
Heather E. Schwartz is a children’s author, performer, and professional development facilitator specializing in confidence-building and presentation skills for creatives. She creates, produces, and performs original live music and comedy, and draws on her lived experience with stage fright to inform her work helping others show up more fully. Her books include Jenna Ortega: A Little Golden Book Biography (Penguin Random House, 2026) and The Muppet Movie: An Official Picture Book (Hachette Book Group, 2026), along with collaborations with major brands such as Disney, Sesame Street, Scholastic, Mack Trucks, and the Mayo Clinic. She has presented workshops for organizations including SCBWI and Hollins University’s Graduate Program in Children’s Literature.
Alexandra Diaz
Alexandra Diaz is a Pura Belpré honoree and the author of several books for children and teens, including THE ONLY ROAD; THE CROSSROADS; SANTIAGO'S ROAD HOME; and FAREWELL CUBA, MI ISLA. Her forthcoming MG book, CAMP BIG TOP, is about empowerment in circus arts, of which she is an aerial instructor and professional stilt walker. She has an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University and one of her previous jobs was adding/editing content for a web design company.
Jenna Grinstead
Jenna Grinstead is a whimsical Midwesterner with a penchant for magic and a deep desire for a world where the weird and different are embraced and celebrated. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she studied journalism. She found a way to turn her imagination and creativity into a career in marketing, while writing new adult and young adult fiction. She often conducts workshops and speaks on writing, neurodivergent characters, writing across generations, world-building, social media and marketing. Jenna writes romance, romantasy, young adult and contemporary novels. She has conducted workshops for regional and national romance, mystery and kidlit groups and been featured on marketing and writing podcasts and in national news media such as Yahoo News.
Ebony Mudd
Shanna Upchurch
Shanna Upchurch lives outside Dallas with a bunch of chickens and children. Her debut picture book, The Honeybee Highway, will be published by Disney Planet Possible in April 2026. Her middle grade duology from Simon & Schuster Atheneum, currently titled A Garden Lost, will hit shelves in 2027 and 2028. Shanna is an MBA-turned-writer who loves building systems to help writers stay organized, confident, and sane throughout the querying process.
Details:
WHEN
Saturday, November 7, 2026 staring at 8am CT. Registration closes 48 hours before the event.
This is an online event, so a Zoom link will be available to all who register. REGISTER HERE>>
WHERE + LINK
This is a Virtual Event. After registering, you will find your registration confirmation under My Events on your Member Home https://www.scbwi.org/home. The Zoom link for the event will be found under the green Meeting Info button.
COST
$120 for Premium Members / $140 for Preview Users
RECORDING
The workshop will be recorded, and the recording will be available for one month following the event. Attendees will receive a link and a password by email the week following the event. By signing up for this event, you agree to receive emails from Austin SCBWI.
REGISTRATION CONFIRMATIONS
Upon completion of payment, you will receive a payment confirmation by email. You will find a registration confirmation on the website that will include event-specific details. Go to your Member Home and click on My Events under the black bar at the top of the page. All events you have registered will be displayed on this page. If there are additional meeting details (i.e. Zoom links for virtual events or materials required for the event), this information will be found under the green Meeting Info button.
What is the SCBWI's Anti-harassment policy?
SCBWI's Anti-harassment policy can be found at http://www.scbwi.org/anti-harassment-statement If you register or attend any SCBWI events, you agree to abide by this policy.
What is your refund policy?
For events that cost less than $100, we offer full refunds (minus a $5 processing fee) up until 7 days before the event. There are no refunds for pitches, AMAs, and critiques (if applicable). To request a refund, please email: [email protected]