Frequently asked questions

There are a few different paths you can take - becoming a member of our organization would be a fantastic start! If you choose to join or are already a member, we have a publication called "The Essential Guide to Publishing for Children," and this would be your best resource. This guide is packed with crucial insights into the children’s publishing industry. It includes a detailed Market Survey featuring key publishers and editors, a Directory of Agents, articles on how to submit your work, publicizing your book, a curated list of freelance editors, an in-depth section on self-publishing, and much more. You can find this in Member Home > My Resources. If you are interested in traditional publishing, we recommend finding a literary agent, as few publishers accept unsolicited manuscripts. In addition to the Agents Directory of the Essential Guide, other ways are via Google searches, on social media, the Manuscript Wish List (MSWL), and you can connect with many of them via our conferences and regional events. Please note that SCBWI is a member-based nonprofit organization and does not publish or edit books, or represent your work.

We can definitely help in your search for an illustrator. We don't give direct recommendations but you're welcome to use our resources to find your own. If you are self-publishing your book, we'd recommend checking out our Illustrator Gallery. There, you'll find the contact info and website of every member illustrator, along with a sampling of their work. If you would prefer to be traditionally published, please note that the Art Director of whichever publishing house takes on your book will find the right illustrator to bring your story to life. For more info regarding traditional publication, please feel free to check out "The Essential Guide to Publishing for Children."

Once you become a member, you can promote your book in the Member Bookstore or your artwork in the Illustrator Gallery at Member Home > Share Your Work. If you would like to make your art eligible to be featured on the new site, please go to "Manage your permissions" in your profile and opt in to "SCBWI can showcase my artwork." The Featured Illustrator is a monthly opportunity for illustrator members to submit their work to be featured on the homepage of our website and on social media. Go to https://www.scbwi.org/featured-illustrator where you’ll find more information about how to enter and the submission portal. SCBWI has opportunities throughout the year with its Awards and Grants that offer financial support for works in progress, scholarships to conferences, your work displayed at our career-making Portfolio Showcase, and many other opportunities. If you’re looking for this sort of financial help and have the eyes of publishing industry decision makers on your work, the member Awards and Grants are of great value to all SCBWI members. Take advantage of this career assistance wherever you are in your journey. To see all Awards and Grants, go to https://www.scbwi.org/awards-and-grants.

We're not authorized to give legal advice but we can suggest a few resources: 1. Under your member home, find SCBWI’s Essential Guide and look at the contracts section; 2. Contact your state’s Lawyers for the Arts organization or the Alliance of Independent Authors; 3. Contact the Authors Guild or Society of Illustrators if you're based in the US; 4. If you're not US-based, you can try the Society of Authors. We're unable to help with specific issues but, hopefully, one or more of these will be helpful for you.

Using the “help button” will put you in contact with the overarching SCBWI organization and not the volunteer team for your specific SCBWI Region. If you have questions about a local event, please contact the regional team directly at their e-mail address, which can be found on their individual SCBWI page (under About > Global Regions).

We have a contract with our speakers to only keep the recordings for one month after live webinars. Unfortunately, if a month has passed and you're unable to find it, the video has been taken down. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

Visit your "member home," then click the "my events" icon at the top of the page. Events will stay listed under "my events" until the event end date.

First, please check to see if your membership is up-to-date. Expired memberships don’t receive emails from SCBWI. Second, please double check that your email address is accurate (without any misspellings or typos). If those are both in order, please reach out to us to see if you’ve accidentally unsubscribed or been removed from the mailing list another way.

SCBWI will refund new memberships or renewals within seven (7) calendar days from the date of purchase. Refund requests will not be issued after this timeframe. Please click the green "Help" button at the bottom right of this page to request a refund, and allow 7-10 days for processing.