Changing Lanes: Moving from PB to MG Writing and Vice Versa
Aug 12, 2025
Online event
Are you a picture book author looking to move into middle grade, but feel daunted by the prospect of writing a novel - literally? Or are you a middle grade author who wants to move into picture books, but are struggling to adapt to sparse language and 500 word counts? Please join the Kansas/Missouri SCBWI and Minnesota regions as they welcome authors Alison Goldberg and Cynthia M. Surrisi as they share their journeys "changing lanes" from writing picture books to middle grade (Alison) and middle grade to picture books (Cynthia). They'll each talk about writing different categories in kid lit, how they broke the bonds of building a single genre brand, and how writing across genres helps their final books. There will be a Q&A at the end. The Zoom will be recorded and available for 30 days after the event. Registration closes August 11th
Alison Goldberg is the author of award-winning picture books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her books include Eighteen Flowers for Grandma, a Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature Best Book of the Year, and Bottle Tops: The Art of El Anatsui, a winner of the Children's Africana Book Award and a Booklist Editors' Choice. The Remembering Candle will be released in August 2025 and is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her middle grade debut, The Lost Sea Garden, is forthcoming from Red Comet Press in 2026. Alison’s work explores family stories, creative journeys, culture, and activism. She lives in the Boston area with her family. You can visit her online at www.alisongoldberg.com.
C. M. Surrisi is the author of the Agatha nominated middle grade mystery series The Quinnie Boyd Mysteries: The Maypop Kidnapping, Vampires On the Run, and A Side of Sabotage; as well as several adult mystery short stories. Not only does she write for middle grade and adult readers, she’s the author of The Best Mother, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard picture book selection, and The Bones of Birka: Unraveling the Mystery of a Female Viking Warrior, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard YA non-fiction selection. Surrisi practiced law for many years before pursing an MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has taught writing in UNC’s Great Smokies Writing Program as well as many SCBWI and library conferences. She is a member of the Author’s Guild, Mystery Writers of America, The National League of American Pen Women, and past president of the Minnesota Chapter of Sisters in Crime.