Los Angeles Region Working Writers Retreat 2025
Oct 31, 2025 - Nov 02, 2025
Holy Spirit Retreat Center, 4316 Lanai Road, Encino CA 91436
Please note this is a space-limited event. Register early to avoid disappointment.
(Registration closes October 12, at noon).
Date: Friday, October 31-Sunday, November 2, 2025
Check-in: 1:00 PM Friday, October 31st
Ends: Noon, Sunday, November 2nd
The Los Angeles chapter of SCBWI is pleased to present Working Writers Retreat 2025 at the peaceful Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino. This weekend retreat allows attendees to escape their daily routine and immerse themselves, along with a handful of fellow creatives, to focus on their work-in-progress. Please note, some schedule changes have been made to enable the Los Angeles region to maintain 2024 pricing.
Critique Sessions: Peer to peer critique sessions with same group partners. We recommend sharing 5 pages of material (please choose your category on registration), which allows for group feedback. You may present the same revised selection at each session, or an entirely new piece, depending on your need for feedback.
Faculty Presentations: Editor Adam Blackman (Cardinal Rule Press and The Little Press) and agent Analía Cabello (Andrea Brown Literary Agency) will offer insight and inspiration with talks on topics vital to understanding the industry. Participants receive submission opportunities with our attending faculty after the event.
Optional (paid) 1:1 Faculty Meeting ($40): We have a limited number of 15-minute (deeply-discounted) meetings available with one of our faculty. The registration page allows a choice of faculty member on a first come, first served basis.
Some possible suggestions for use of this valuable time with an industry professional:
- Pitch a logline and a short summary.
- Arrive with the first 3 pages of a novel or picture book in manuscript format.
- Bring no more than 400 words of your query letter to discuss.
- Use this time to discuss career or market questions.
- Discuss potential story ideas with regard to marketability.
Optional (paid) Post-event Written Manuscript Review ($60): Attendees may apply all they’ve learned at the retreat, then submit the first 10 pages of their novel or picture book for a written manuscript review with one of our remote faculty. Submissions must be in manuscript or dummy format. Your cover email should include your full name, email and category (picture book, middle grade, or young adult). Attendees’ work will be matched with an appropriate industry professional. Email submissions, no later than Friday, November 7, 11:59 p.m. to the Regional Team at: [email protected]
Remote Faculty to be announced. For any questions, please email the LA Regional Team at [email protected].
Pricing: (Same as 2024)
Staying Onsite: Single occupancy, meals included: $590
Commuter Rate: Meals Included: $450
Please Note:
SCBWI HQ policy no longer permits SCBWI regions to facilitate Double Occupancy rooms.
If you choose to arrange a shared room without our help, a single occupancy room must first be secured by completing registration. Following this, the second occupant intending to share, must email [email protected] immediately, stating their details as recorded on their SCBWI membership (name, contact email and telephone). We will invoice the second occupant for the cost of the shared room ($515). The attendee who has booked the single rate room will be reimbursed the difference ($75 to the card used), only after we receive credit card payment from their double occupancy guest.
Retreat Fees Cover:
- Accommodations
- Meals from Friday dinner to Sunday breakfast
- Snacks and beverages throughout the weekend
- Wine and cheese parties Friday and Saturday nights
- Two faculty lectures
- Peer-to-peer critique sessions
- Query Letter/First Pages panel
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Except for check-in, times are subject to change. A detailed schedule, including critique groupings, will be sent after registration. Optional, paid 1:1 faculty meetings will be held concurrently with writing time or peer critique.
Friday, October 31
- 1:00-2:30: Arrival and check-in
- 2:30-2:45: Welcome Orientation and Announcements
- 2:45-5:30: Peer-to-Peer Critique group sessions. Personal Writing Time
- 5:30: Dinner
- 7:30: Halloween Walk/Faculty Intros/Wine and Cheese get-together /Writing and revision
Saturday, November 1
- 8:00: Breakfast
- 9:00: Faculty Presentations: "Writing the Query Letter" and "From Submission to Shelf: The Journey through Acquisitions"
- 12:00: Lunch
- 1:00: Peer-to-Peer Critique Session
- Writing Time
- 5:30: Dinner followed by Writing Time and Wine and Cheese Party
Sunday, November 2
- 7:00-9:00 Checkout and Breakfast
- 9:00-Noon: Panel Review of Query Letters and First Pages
- Q&A and Wrap Up
Cancellation Policy
Please note the SCBWI ‘no refund’ policy. Consideration, on a case by case basis, may be given (minus a $50.00 processing fee).
Meet Our Faculty
Adam Blackman, Editor
Adam is an acquiring editor for picture books for Cardinal Rule Press and a consulting editor for middle grade with The Little Press. A former bookstore manager and nonprofit director, Adam earned his MFA in Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and has written for both adults and children. He also works with writers on a freelance basis to shape and shine their stories. An active member of Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) and regular presenter at writing conferences, Adam lives in a hutch in Brooklyn, NY with his tween son and seriously adolescent bunny.
Analía Cabello, Assistant Literary Agent
Analía is an Associate Agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She has been with ABLA since 2021, assisting Executive Agent Kelly Sonnack in championing a diverse list of authors and illustrators. She holds bachelor’s degrees in Child Development and Ethnic Studies, which have informed her passion for the intersections of children’s literature, developmental psychology, and identity. Authors and illustrators were her childhood celebrities; now, she is thrilled to have the opportunity to cheer them on and support them in a professional capacity. As Analía builds her list, she is looking to represent picture book writers, author-illustrators, middle grade and young adult fiction authors.
Matt Phipps, Editor (Remote Faculty)
Matt Phipps is an Editor at G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, acquiring picture books, middle grade, and YA, including graphic novels for all ages. Titles he has edited include "At the Cookout" by Nadia Fisher, "The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez" by Jasminne Paulino, "The Crayon Stub" by Marcus Cutler, "Majestica" by Sarah Tolcser, and "Trapped in the Horror Dome" by Matt McMann. Prior to joining Putnam in 2020, he spent several years in Penguin’s School and Library Marketing department. He was an Editor Mentor with The Word: A Storytelling Sanctuary and volunteered with the Representation Matters Mentorship Program, in addition to serving on the board of the Penguin Random House LGBTQ+ Network and the Children’s Book Council Early Career Committee. He has also worked as a bookseller, a Spanish-English translator, and a college writing instructor.
Moe Ferrara, Agent (Remote Faculty)
Becoming a literary agent was fitting for the girl who, as a small child, begged her dad to buy her a book simply because "it has a hard cover." Moe Ferrara's career path zigzagged a bit from a violin performance and music history double major in college to her JD from Pace Law School. Agenting called her name in the spring of 2015 and after spending almost ten years with BookEnds, Moe was thrilled to join Team Triada as a Senior Literary Agent in 2025. A Pennsylvania native, she is the mum of a rambunctious corgi who is a master at stealing treats. When not working, Moe still keeps up with her violin skills and you can often find her in a pit orchestra, playing violin for her favorite musicals. She speaks fluent sarcasm, song lyrics, and movie quotes — and probably has Ted Lasso playing in the background while she works.