Breakout Sessions

Note: The timing of Breakout Sessions on the schedule might change up until registration opens.

Play With Poetry: It's More Than Creating Poems

Nancy Bo Flood

You’ve got rhythm – so should your manuscript.

Whatever are you goals as writer or illustrator, playing with poetry can help distill and deepen your creative work. Playing with words, sounds, tempo, and rhythm will increase your skills in creating delight, surprising your reader, and touching their heart. This session offers fun “exercises” that can be applied to any type of writing – fiction or nonfiction, picture books or YA novels, to deepen the emotional impact of your words, heighten tension or express themes through metaphor. These “poetic exercises” are fun and offer ways to use poetry to engage and encourage students in classrooms or writing workshops.   

Neurodiversity on the Page: Not Just a Quirky Sidekick

Kate Lumsden

The neurodiversity umbrella covers a large swath of people who think differently, from autism, to dyslexia, to ADHD. Too often, they are depicted one-dimensionally in writing, as the robotic, socially inept genius; the artistic kid who struggles in school; or the birdbrained messy best friend. This talk will explore best practices in breaking stereotypes and portraying the nuances of neurodiverse minds. We'll discuss examples in MG and YA that got it right, as well as some that have been called problematic. Participants will leave with strategies for respectful and authentic inclusion, whether the author identifies as neurodiverse or not.

I Am, You Will, They Did: Voice and Tense in the Writer’s Toolkit

Megan E. Freeman

What are the advantages of first person, second person, or third person voice in storytelling? When does it make sense to use present tense? Past tense? Future tense? Come to this workshop to explore these nuanced tools that can break your manuscript or take it to the next level. 

First Looks

Laurent Linn

Editors, art directors, and agents are all busy people who review many images in a minimum of time. What do they see when they look at your portfolio or postcard? Join us as art director Laurent Linn shares his first impression of attendee work. Attendees who hope to participate in First Looks will be invited to submit three illustrations. The Illustrator Coordinator will combine your three images into a single slide. All slides will be randomized, then viewed anonymously, in order, as time allows. Laurent will take a brief moment to look at the slide, then provide his immediate thoughts. A timer is used so we may view as many slides as possible. You are welcome to attend this session without submitting images, but if you do submit, you must attend.

I Wanted to Love Your Work, But. . . : Eight Reasons You Might Have Received a Rejection

Sylvie Frank

Ouch! Rejection hurts. But the good news is you can do something about it! This example-filled presentation will analyze real-life examples of flawed projects that I went on to acquire and publish. We’ll discuss what I’m looking for as I read submissions, the acquisition process, and the myriad forms the revision and editorial process unfolds.

Toolbox for Neurodivergent Picture Book Creators

Kaz Windness

Bring your one and only magical you to a workshop especially for creatives who want to write or illustrate books on neurodivergent subjects. Get oriented in this topic, the market, and receive guidance, encouragement, understanding, and advice from the award-winning, autistic and ADHD picture book author and illustrator of the BITSY BAT series, Kaz Windness. Kaz will offer writing, illustrating, and publishing advice, answer your questions, and share techniques for dealing with (and telling stories about) common ND struggles like burnout and communication challenges. A packet of helpful resources and worksheets will be provided. Feel free to bring your WIPs. We may have time to share and enhance your ND book pitches.

Happily Edited Afters: Crafting Romance Readers Will Love

Sara Schonfeld

How do you say I love you in 60,000 words? With the growing popularity of romantic genres like romantasy, rom-com, and crush stories in YA and even middle grade, readers are showing their undying love for love stories. But what makes a story romantic? Learn how to use beat sheets, character arcs, and more to structurally build a romance or romantic subplot that readers will love.

From First Sketch to Best Friend: Mastering Characters Inside and Out

Heather Brockman Lee

Appealing, unique and consistent character designs are a must in the world of visual storytelling. In this hands-on breakout session, illustrators will explore practical tools for strong, repeatable character design while developing distinctive silhouettes, expressive features, and personality-driven details. 

We’ll apply the “glass skeleton” principle to understand underlying structure, discuss maquette making to visualize form in 3D, and use a playful paper doll exercise to test outfits, movement, and charm. 

Attendees will leave with concrete techniques to maintain proportion and expression, plus a workflow for cohesive, publication-ready characters.

Portfolio, Platform, and Partnership: Illustrators Working with Agents

Lori Steel

How do illustrators and agents find one another? Once represented, how do they work together? In this talk, we’ll look at the many ways illustrators connect with agents, how agents support an illustrator’s career in publishing, and the ways these may be the same - or different - than working with authors. We’ll consider portfolio development, promotion, and the myriad ways in which agents and illustrators work together in the industry.

So Many Readers!

Sara Megibow

Traditional publishing, self-publishing, short stories, Wattpad, apps...it's 2026 and there are so many ways to get your stories to readers. And there are so many readers out there! Let's do a deep dive into the pros and cons of various publishing avenues through the lens of distribution, subsidiary rights, publicity, potential profit and beyond. Time for Q&A!

Read it Again! What Makes for Re-Readability?

Wendi Silvano

Books with staying power (those that don’t go out of print) have several things in common, but one of the most important is re-readability. In this workshop we will explore elements that will make your book one that readers want to come back to over and over. Our discussion will include examples from all levels of kidlit. This workshop is geared from beginners to published writers.

Earning the Ending

Kim Tomsic

In this session, we'll discuss THEME, STAKES, and EMOTION and how you'll knit those craft skills together to earn your story's ending and leave readers talking about your book long after the last page is closed. For novelists and picture book authors.

Your Next Story Spark? It's in the Science Standards

Emily Starr

Have you ever wanted to know more about the Next Generation Science Standards? Are you searching for new story sparks or wondering what books teachers are seeking but can’t find?

Let’s explore the science standards together in this session for all writers!

You will:

• learn to navigate the online documents (including uncovering “hidden” evidence!)
• identify standards language with pitch potential
• browse mentor texts
• discuss standards with few books aligned - gaping holes that teachers need filled
• mine student misconceptions for story ideas

You’ll walk away with an understanding of the standards, a list of ideas, and comps to study.

Finding Your Style

Lee White

If you feel lost when people say “just find your style,” this workshop is for you. In this workshop, we take an analytical approach to developing a visual voice by breaking style into specific, trainable components such as shape language, value patterns, color relationships, and line quality. You will learn how to study the work you admire, identify what actually makes it tick, and test those elements in your own illustrations. Instead of waiting for style to “happen,” you will leave with practical tools and exercises that move you forward with intention and confidence.

How to Hook an Agent: Fishing for the Perfect Match

Paige Terlip

The querying process can be stressful with an ocean of possibilities. How to Hook an Agent shares tips and tools to help writers stay afloat during the querying storm. From crafting a dynamic query to exploring what it's like to read submissions and how I manage my query box, discover how to catch the best agent for you—and if you should throw them back!

Bad Decision, Good Character

Nate Pieplow and Kate Lumsden

We want readers to relate to and root for our main characters. But we also want those characters to make bad decisions so they can learn and grow. How can we keep characters from becoming unlikeable when they’re being jerks? We’ll look at how other authors have done it from picture books to YA. Along the way, as a bonus, we’ll also discover what makes a richly textured villain. 

The Interpolated Novel

Lori Steel

How might authors use ephemera and varied narrative forms to create texture and dissonance in narrative writing? We'll look at different types of narrative forms (prose, verse, announcements, texts, articles, letters, diary entries, etc), and how they may be used to create a textured novel structure—and do the heavy lifting of character development—within a standard narrative. 

No Wizards, Just Science: Pulling Back the Curtain on Elementary Science

Emily Starr

How long has it been since you saw (or took part in!) an elementary science lesson? K-5 science has changed drastically over the last decade. In this session for writers at all levels, we’ll peek behind the curtain in elementary classrooms. You will:

• learn why and how to connect your book to events that spark curiosity
• discover how to add layers to your manuscript that help teachers emphasize specific aspects of science
• learn how to engage your reader in noticing and wondering
• browse mentor texts

You’ll walk away with ideas for how you can spotlight science, spark curiosity, and help children see themselves as scientists.

From Inspiration to Illustration: How to be Happy With Your Illustration Every Time

Heather Brockman Lee

You Have a Great Idea—So why is it so hard to bring it fully to life on the page?

In this session, award-winning illustrator and Professor of Illustration Heather Brockman Lee will guide attendees through five essential steps for creating successful illustrations with confidence.

Through an exploration of the creative process—from thumbnail sketches to final art—participants will gain insight into how ideas evolve into compelling visual narratives. The session will focus on decision-making and maintaining creative momentum throughout the process.

Participants will leave feeling empowered to create illustrations they are truly proud of, every time.

Rethinking Rejection: Revising our Relationship to "No"

Megan E. Freeman

Does fear of rejections feel like an obstacle in your quest to becoming traditionally published? Do you find yourself procrastinating submissions or suffering painfully when a rejection comes in? In this workshop, we will redefine the premise through which we think about rejection and come away with a new perspective on how to see rejection as a gift in the process of finding the right home for our work. 

From Pigeon to Olivia: Creating a Picture Book Character With Staying Power

Sylvie Frank

Eloise, Franklin, Mother Bruce, Ada Twist: what makes these characters jump off the shelves? And why to readers return to them again and again? In this example-filled and hands-on session, we’ll examine standout picture book character traits and have the chance to brainstorm new ones. Will you create the next Madeline?!

Leaving Room for the Art

Wendi SIlvano

Every picture book writer has heard it… “You have to leave room for the illustrator to tell half the story.” That is no easy task, and many writers struggle with it. So just how do you do it? Using examples from published picture books, award-winning author Wendi Silvano will discuss 12 ways successful authors leave room for the art and why it’s so effective when they do.

Beyond Sensory Details: How to Generate Atmosphere

Nate Pieplow

“Atmosphere” is one of those intangible qualities that can make a work of fiction irresistible to agents, editors, and readers. Countless websites and videos say the secret to generating atmosphere lies in sensory detail, setting, and word choice. But when I look at truly atmospheric writing, I see more going on: atmosphere requires knowing where to point your camera. In this session we’ll discuss ways to choose the details that infuse a scene with mood, while avoiding cheesiness and cliche. We will draw primarily on examples from MG and YA fiction. Bring a paragraph or scene you'd like to revise.

Make Your Novel Unputdownable: How to Write Pacy and Compelling Stories

Sara Schonfeld

What makes a reader—agent, editor, bookseller, or book buyer—keep reading? How do you avoid a story that feels meandering and instead craft scenes so they follow like dominoes falling? What makes a story beat feel “inevitable but unexpected?” Follow along with structural suggestions to help connect scenes, leverage tension with cliffhangers, and create a novel that agents, editors, booksellers, and book buyers will say, "I devoured in one sitting. I just couldn’t put it down!"

Visual Storytelling Through Design

Lee White

Great picture books are not just drawn well. They are designed with intention. In this workshop, we will explore how color choices, value structure, and composition affect mood, storytelling, and page turns. The main thing we are trying to establish is EMPHASIS. You will learn how to make smarter decisions early so your final spreads feel clear, dynamic, and emotionally strong. This is about building images that support the story instead of competing with it.

Picture Book Building Blocks

Paige Terlip

Explore the essential parts of creating successful picture books, and better understand how to build strong stories for the youngest readers.

A CRASH! BOOM! BANG! Course For Utilizing Comics Elements

Kaz Windness

The popularity of graphic novels has spilled into every category of children’s books—from baby and picture books, to early readers, chapter books, and beyond. Even illustrators who never imagined being graphic novelists (eh-hem) are finding themselves in the GN market or directed to use comics elements in other categories. Come learn the essentials and get ideas on how to add comics elements to your illustrator toolbox.

Six Surefire Ways to get Readers to Root for Your Characters

Kim Tomsic

Story is like a magician’s act—if you pay careful attention to an author’s sleight of hand, you will discover hidden doorways that can lead to a reader’s heart—passageways that make readers laugh, cry, cheer, and turn the page. And the very first charmed act must be the development of a protagonist that readers care about—one in which readers will invest their emotional energy and passionately care about the stakes, journey, and ultimate outcome. In this session, we will discuss the SIX ways you can make readers root for your hero.

Revision, the Heart of Writing

Nancy Bo Flood

Revision is taking spilt milk and creating ice cream, i.e., going from telling the story to showing the story, inviting the reader in. Revision is also seeing with new eyes the story’s theme, what this story is about – not it’s plot – but your reason for telling this story, fiction or nonfiction. These questions will suggest changes that will increase the story’s emotional impact. We will discuss specific skills, such as weeding out unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, chiseling out repetitive narratives, replacing weak verbs with fresh ones. Finally, we’ll work together to revise several sample pages and sharing.  

Caption This!

Sara Megibow

OY! Condensing a 200 page book into a one paragraph pitch is hard! Workshop your pitches with literary agent Sara Megibow. This is a gentle space—don't worry! Attendees can participate or just sit and listen—all are welcome.