
Ariel Richardson loves to work at the intersection of art and impact. As the picture book lead at Chronicle Books, she has been lucky enough to work with such amazing authors and illustrators as Andy J. Pizza, Grant Snider, Elizabeth Partridge, Dan Nott, Rebecca Stead, Carole Boston Weatherford, Molly Idle, Dinara Mirtalipova, and Marc Martin, among others. Books she’s edited have received accolades, from Invisible Things debuting on the New York Times bestseller list to Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams’s Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration winning the Robert F. Sibert Medal and Bologna Ragazzi Award. She has worked at three independent bookstores on two coasts, and has a masters degree in Children’s Literature from Simmons University.
8:15:00 AM - 9:00:00 AM - KEYNOTE
Title
Presented by Ariel Richardson, Senior Editor - Children's | CHRONICLE BOOKS
1:05:00 PM - 2:05:00 PM - BREAKOUT WORKSHOPS
One on editing--what is it, and a case study around storyboarding [PB]
Presented by Ariel Richardson, Senior Editor - Children's | CHRONICLE BOOKS
2:15:00 PM - 3:15:00 PM - BREAKOUT WORKSHOPS
The Pep, the Prod, and the Pause: Managing the Emotional Roller Coaster of the Creative Process [PB | NOVELS]
- Publishing is a loooong journey. Let’s talk about how to pack your bag so you make it to your destination. Building mechanisms like the pep, the prod, and the pause in to our daily life can ensure inspiration, creativity, and the finished product manifests.
Presented by Ariel Richardson, Senior Editor - Children's | CHRONICLE BOOKS
Ariel will provide 10 written with Zoom meeting critiques for board books, picture books, and/or illustration portfolios. If you purchase one of Ariel's critiques, you will need to prepare the following:
Board Books or Picture Books - send one complete picture book manuscript, no more than 800 words as a PDF file.
Portfolios - send a link to your online portfolio of a PDF with no more than 15 illustration.
Your critique materials will need to be received no later than Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
Ariel will accept submissions from attendees for 6 months following the conference beginning Monday, November 14, 2026, to Sunday, May 16, 2027.
She is open to submissions the following categories and genres.
Category – illustration portfolios, board books, picture books
Genre – fiction, nonfiction, informational
Attendees may submit their manuscripts, portfolios, and dummies via a special Query Manager link. The link will be sent to registrants.