SCBWI Florida Critique Fest
Nov 08, 2025
Online event
SCBWI Florida’s Critique Fest is an opportunity to get your work critiqued by a publishing industry pro! Whether you write, illustrate, or do both, we will have plenty of amazing agents, art directors, and editors to choose from who can provide helpful feedback to make your work the best it can be.
SCBWI Florida Critique Fest
- Registration opens August 15, 2025 @ 9:00 AM EST.
- Registration closes September 15, 2025 @ 11:59 PM EST OR when all critique slots are filled. Slots are filled on a first-come-first-served basis.
Who can participate:
The event is open to SCBWI Premium Members and Free Preview Members.
Price:
- Premium members: $95
- Free Preview Members: $125
- Your SCBWI membership must be up to date in order to participate. Please verify your membership before beginning the registration process.
What's included:
One written critique + a 15-minute Zoom session with your chosen faculty member on November 8, 2025.
BONUS: Many of the faculty members will also be offering post-event submission opportunities!
Tip: See what time slots are still available by clicking on the Register For Event Button.
Submission categories: Please read the faculty bios and carefully. Categories include: picture book (PB), chapter book (CB), middle grade (MG), young adult (YA), nonfiction (NF), graphic novel (GN), book dummy (BD), portfolio review (PR)
Agents
Linda Camacho (PB, MG, YA, GN, BD) [Session A]
Linda Camacho is a senior agent at Gallt & Zacker Literary.
Sheila Fernley (PB, CB, MG, YA, NF, BD, PR) [Session A]
Sheila Fernley is an Associate Literary Agent at Storm Literary Agency.
Alyssa Eisner Henkin (PB, CB, MG, YA, BD, PR) [Session B]
Alyssa Eisner Henkin is an agent at Birch Path Literary.
Saritza Hernández (MG, YA, NF, GN) [Session B]
Saritza Hernández is an agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
Sally Kim (PB, MG, GN) [Session B]
Sally M. Kim is an associate agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
Christie MeGill (PB, CB, MG, BD, PR, GN, YA) [Session B]
Christie Megill is a literary agent with the CAT Agency.
Editors
Kandace Coston (PB, MG, YA, GN, BD, NF) [Session A]
Kandace Coston is a picture book editor at Lee & Low Books.
Cheryl Klein (PB, CB, NF, MG, YA, GN, BD) [Session A]
Cheryl Klein is an Editor with Workman Kids, an imprint of Workman Publishing / Hachette Book Group
Kathleen Merz (PB, BD, CB, MG, GN, NF) [Session A]
Kathleen Merz is the Editorial Director for Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.
Ariel Richardson (PB, BD, MG, NF) [Session B]
Ariel Richardson is a Senior Editor in Children's at Chronicle Books in San Francisco.
Art Directors
How To Register For Critique Fest Video
Registration Directions:
Review the faculty bios, their desired categories and their wish lists to narrow down your choices. The information provided is general guidance. It is the responsibility of each attendee to diligently research their desired faculty member before making their selection.
There are two sessions to choose from:
- Session A: 10:00 am - 1:00 pm EST
- Session B: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST
See which faculty members have slots available for each session and make your selection.
- Most faculty members will have 8-9 time slots available per session. Faculty has been almost evenly divided among the morning Session A OR afternoon Session B. Each session will have a mix of agents, editors, and art directors.
- You are registering for a faculty member and session. We will assign you a specific time to attend within your chosen session time frame.
- You can register for one critique in either Session A or Session B or you can register for a maximum of two critiques (one in Session A and one in Session B)
- SCBWI Florida is not able to hold critique slots or assign slots based on preference or special requests. Slots are filled on a first come, first serve basis.
- Once all of a faculty member’s slots have been taken, you must choose another faculty member.
Should your assigned faculty member cancel or back out prior to the event for any reason, we will notify you and match you with another similar faculty member to the best of our ability.
Important Information:
After registering and paying, you will receive an email confirmation from SCBWI.
- Return to your SCBWI account and click on My Resources.
- Find SCBWI Florida Critique Fest.
- You will find a PDF with submission instructions which includes a link to a Google form to upload your submission(s). (You can also view the same PDF below under Getting Your Work Ready for Critique Fest 2025)
About a month prior to the event, you will receive your specific assigned Zoom time and Zoom instructions via email.
Faculty members will provide written feedback on submissions. The written feedback will be emailed to participants about a week prior to the event so participants can review their notes and be prepared to discuss them with their chosen faculty member during the 15-minute Zoom session.
GETTING YOUR WORK READY FOR CRITIQUE FEST 2025
You’ll need to submit your manuscript within 1 week of registering for a critique. Click the button below to download a PDF with instructions on how to format your manuscript. That way, you can have it ready to upload as soon as registration opens.
Submissions
Submission categories: picture book/board book (PB), chapter book (CB), middle grade (MG), young adult (YA), nonfiction (NF), graphic novel (GN), book dummy (BD), portfolio review (PR)
For each critique, you can submit one of the following:
Manuscript: Up to 10 pages including synopsis. Text only - NO ART
- Word doc (.doc or .docx only. No PDF)
- Times New Roman or Arial only, 12 point
- Double spaced
- 1-inch margins on both sides, top, and bottom
- Format the header: Last name/Title of work should be on the left, insert page number to the right. Choose “Different first page” so that the header is blank on the first page.
- If your picture book manuscript is less than 10 pages, that’s OK.
Portfolio: For illustrators
- Provide your online portfolio link OR Provide a PDF of up to 10 illustrations + cover page = 11 pages max
- PDF size: 10 MB max
Graphic novel package: For author-illustrators
- Provide a PDF of up to 10 pages of content (character sketches, illustrations and/or text) + cover page = 11 pages max
- Any text must follow the same formatting as manuscripts
- PDF size: 10 MB max
Full picture book dummy: For author-illustrators
- Provide a PDF of the entire book dummy
- Be sure you include a cover or title page with the book title and your name
- Book dummies must contain the equivalent of 10 pages of manuscript typed text max, as stated above. (This means the dummy should be based on a picture book that would have 32-48 pages max.)
- PDF size: 10 MB max
Naming your file(s):
Manuscripts:
- Save your file as a .doc or .docx only
- Name your file: Your full name_Faculty Name_Category.docx (Ex: Eric Carle_Joyce Sweeney_PB.docx)
Portfolios, Picture Book Dummies, Graphic Novel Packages:
- Save your file as a .pdf.
- Name your file: Your full name_Faculty Name_Category.pdf (Ex: Eric Carle_Joyce Sweeney_BD.pdf)
If you signed up for two critiques:
- Each submission must follow the formatting and naming instructions.
- If you are submitting the same work for both sessions A & B critiques, you must upload the same file twice but with each corresponding faculty member’s name listed in each file. (Ex: Eric Carle_Joyce Sweeney_PB.docx; Eric Carle_Ryan Van Cleave_PB.docx)
Please note: Your work MUST be submitted within ONE WEEK (7 days) of when you register and pay. All sales are final - no refunds will be given to participants who do not submit their work.
There will NOT be an opportunity to edit, revise, or resubmit once work is submitted, so be sure to format your work as per our guidelines.
How To Videos Links:
Click on these links to go to the Critique Fest How To Video Page
- Click here to view a video of how to format your manuscript (text only submission).
- Click here to view a video of how to format and resize a PDF submission (illustrators /author-illustrators only)
- Click here to view a video of how to upload your submission through the Google form.
Any questions, please email [email protected]. Include the subject line CRITIQUE FEST SUBMISSION QUESTION.
SUBMIT YOUR WORK (after registration)
If You Still Have Questions
If you still have Critique Fest questions after reading our guidelines and viewing our videos, please e-mail us at [email protected] with the subject line CRITIQUE FEST QUESTION.