Regional virtual events

Registration closes December 22, 2024: Did you miss a free/live fall Illinois Network event? Go to SCBWI-IL 2024 Fall Recordings BY REQUEST – SCBWI and register for it for a small convenience fee. Enjoy unlimited viewings of the following fall Networks until December 22nd for $10: Launch Your Middle Grade Novel presented by Near West & Chicago's Southland Networks; Publishing Sports Graphic Novels presented by Chicago Southside Network; Self-Doubt Troll presented by Bolingbrook-Naperville Network; and Rhyme Workshop with Patricia Thot presented by Springfield Scribes.

December 10, 2024: Do you have ideas for a graphic novel story? Do you wonder how to pitch your dream project to an agent or a publisher? In this online workshop, author-illustrator Maple Lam will teach you how to put together a great pitch for your next graphic novel.

December 14, 2024 (registration closes December 13): Lessons Learned on the Road to Publication with Debut Authors and Illustrators features Zohreh Ghahremani, Author, The Memory Garden, illustrated by Susie Ghahremani, Godwin Books; K. Marcus, Author, Frankenstein's Matzah, illustrated by Sam Loman, published by Intergalactic Afikoman and distributed by Lerner Books; Nessa Bellido Schwarz, Author, George the Flybot and the Lost Camera on Mount Everest, and George The Flybot and the Golden Owl of France, published by Sunbird Kid Books imprint of PIP Kids; Pam Vaughan, Author, Missy Wants a Mammoth, illustrated by Ariel Landy, Pixel+Ink/Holiday House; and Stan Yan, Author/Illustrator, The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang, Atheneum.

January 11, 2025 (registration closes January 10): As an in-house children’s book editor for over ten years, an author of several children’s books, and Co-Founder of Red Fox Literary, LLC with Karen Grencik in 2011, Agent Abigail Samoun will present her unique perspective in navigating the ins and outs of a writing career and offer an insider’s professional advice and tips in writing your book and getting it noticed by agents and publishers. As an agent, Abigail represents authors and illustrators working in a range of genres, from board books to young adult novels. In addition to agenting, Abigail is the author of several children’s books, including Sterling Publishing’s Little Traveler board book series illustrated by Red Fox’s own Sarah Watts and What’s In Your Purse? (Chronicle).

January 13, 2025 (registration closes January 12): Join literary agent and former editor Elise Howard as she discusses the process of working with your agent on readying your work for submission. Topics to be covered will include: · What’s an editorial agent? · Submitting to an editorial agent · Finding the right editorial agent for you · Revising for submission · Ready for submission? · What exactly is “room for the editor”? · The agent’s role after the book is sold. After laying the groundwork for the subject, we will make the session as interactive as possible, in order to answer participants’ most pressing questions about the agent/author relationship and to help make your search for an agent, editorial or otherwise, as productive as possible. SUBMISSION SHINE 2025: ONLINE CRITIQUE INTENSIVE PARTICIPANTS ARE AUTOMATICALLY REGISTERED FOR THIS EVENT

March 3, 2025: Explore excerpts from published middle-grade and young adult novels in verse to examine elements and choices that create powerful impact. Consider ways to make your own poetry come together to make a satisfying and striking overarching story. A limited number of MG/YA Novel in Verse OR PB manuscript/dummy critiques available.

March 8, 2025 (registration closes March 7): With a wealth of high-octane experience in Hollywood & Nickelodeon - combined with a genuine support for writers and their best interests - Eddie Gamarra will share insider tips on how and where to pitch ideas that could get your book a fighting chance. Former college professor and now media right consultant, Eddie Gamarra was most recently VP, Literary Affairs where he scouted, acquired, and developed books & other IP for Paramount's Nickelodeon & Awesomeness brands. His client roster included NYT best-selling authors & illustrators as well as Oscar, Emmy, Annie, Caldecott, Newbery, and Geisel winners/nominees. He has a BA from Vassar, a Masters from NYU, and a PhD from Emory.

March 13, 2025: Whether you are writing an epic fantasy with dynamic world building, a suspenseful thriller, a creepy horror, a dramatic family saga, a charming romance, or an otherworldly adventure, it is important to build characters who are complex and distinct. Each character has a backstory and personality that provides them with dimension, and that character's background should influence how they communicate and connect with others. In this workshop, we'll talk about the different ways we can enhance a character's voice through dialogue and other forms of communication. A limited number of MG & YA critiques are available at an additional cost.

April 5, 2025 (registration closes April 4): Just like first impressions, first pages can matter a lot. They help set up reader expectations, as well as reader anticipation. But how do you polish your first page to where it needs to be to get a reader hooked? During this meeting, we'll be looking at examples of strong first pages and discussing what makes them work, as well as chatting about what might NOT work on a first page. Presented by Foyinsi Adegbonmire, an Editor at Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. She acquires Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction, and is open to contemporary, mystery, romance, and fantasy, while enjoying lighthearted stories with conversational narrative voices. She was named a PW Star Watch Honoree and her acquisitions include New York Times-bestseller Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Indie Bestseller Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao. When not reading or thinking about her very large TBR pile, she can be found watching Black sitcoms from the 90s/early 2000s, obsessing over crafting, or being sucked into Twitter and TikTok (@Foyinsi_Pub).