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Changing Lanes: Moving from Picture Book to Middle Grade Writing, and Vice Versa

Aug 12, 2025

Online event

PLEASE REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT AT THE SCBWI-MINNESOTA PAGE: https://www.scbwi.org/events/transitioning-from-picture-book-to-middle-grade-writing-and-vice-versa Are you a picture book author looking to move into middle grade, but feel daunted by the prospect of writing a novel - literally? Or are you a middle grade author who wants to move into picture books, but are struggling to adapt to sparse language and 500 word counts? Please join the Kansas/Missouri SCBWI and Minnesota regions as they welcome authors Alison Goldberg and Cynthia M. Surrisi as they share their journeys "changing lanes" from writing picture books to middle grade (Alison) and middle grade to picture books (Cynthia). They'll each talk about writing different categories in kid lit, how they broke the bonds of building a single genre brand, and how writing across genres helps their final books. There will be a Q&A at the end.