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.
Who can participate:
The event is open to SCBWI Premium Members and Free Preview Members.
Price:
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!
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)
Linda Camacho is a senior agent at Gallt & Zacker Literary.
Sheila Fernley is an Associate Literary Agent at Storm Literary Agency.
Alyssa Eisner Henkin is an agent at Birch Path Literary.
Saritza Hernández is an agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
Sally M. Kim is an associate agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
Christie Megill is a literary agent with the CAT Agency.
Kandace Coston is a picture book editor at Lee & Low Books.
Cheryl Klein is an Editor with Workman Kids, an imprint of Workman Publishing / Hachette Book Group
Kathleen Merz is the Editorial Director for Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.
Ariel Richardson is a Senior Editor in Children's at Chronicle Books in San Francisco.
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:
See which faculty members have slots available for each session and make your selection.
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.
After registering and paying, you will receive an email confirmation from SCBWI.
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.
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.
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
Portfolio: For illustrators
Graphic novel package: For author-illustrators
Full picture book dummy: For author-illustrators
Manuscripts:
Portfolios, Picture Book Dummies, Graphic Novel Packages:
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.
Any questions, please email [email protected]. Include the subject line CRITIQUE FEST SUBMISSION QUESTION.
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.