Pennsylvania: East Regional events
Serious about improving your craft? SCBWI's regional events provide opportunities for professional growth and help you connect with a supportive, creative community.
Two-Step Critique for Novelists with literary agent Lisa Gouldy
Jun 02, 2025 - Sep 09, 2025
1 event
Online event
Available seats 0
Calling all Novelists: Ever wish you could have the same publishing professional look at your manuscript a second time? After you made their suggested revisions? Well now you can! Two-Step Critique participants will meet with literary agent Lisa Gouldy to discuss their synopsis and the first 10 pages of a manuscript once in June, then have about 8 weeks to revise and resubmit for a second round of feedback in September.
Webinar: Building the Nonfiction Book Proposal with literary agent Maria Vicente
Aug 26, 2025
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
Webinar Description: Learn the components of a successful nonfiction book proposal in this presentation by literary agent Maria Vicente. Maria will share everything agents and editors expect to read in your book proposal, then break it down section by section so you can easily apply the blueprint to your own project. You will gain a deeper understanding of the MG and YA nonfiction market and the knowledge to turn your nonfiction book idea into a book deal. PB, MG, YA, & Graphic Novel critiques for both fiction and nonfiction projects are also available at an additional cost.
Webinar: Curating an Illustration Career with Kelly Pelsue
Sep 10, 2025
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
Webinar Description: ILLUSTRATOR DAY—LIVE! IN LANCASTER 2025 PARTICIPANTS ARE AUTOMATICALLY REGISTERED FOR THIS EVENT!! Join Kelly Pelsue of Morgan Gaynin, a boutique agency specializing in publishing, as she shares her professional expertise as an agent and as a mentor for Theispot Mentorship Program, a program that guides artists in how to build their business as an illustrator. She’ll cover ways to think about your portfolio and online presence from a marketing perspective and share other business insights and need-to-knows in the publishing space.
Webinar: Page by Page: Figuring out Picture Book Pacing with editor Bunmi Ishola
Sep 15, 2025
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
Webinar Description: PB AUTHOR DAY—LIVE! IN LANCASTER 2025 PARTICIPANTS ARE AUTOMATICALLY REGISTERED FOR THIS EVENT!! We all know that every story needs a beginning, middle, and end (even if it's not narrative-driven!). But how many pages to dedicate to each part of the story? And how do make sure readers don't get bored and feel satisfied by the time they reach the end? This workshop will use mentor texts to show how to best pace your picture book so your readers stay engaged with your story, page after page. A limited number of PB, CB & MG CRITIQUES available at an additional cost.
Illustrator Day & PB Author Day—LIVE! in Lancaster 2025
Sep 27, 2025
3 event
Available seats 39
Lancaster Public Library: Lancaster City Branch
Join us live in Lancaster for a full day of learning for illustrators and picture book writers! This in-person event will feature a track for illustrators and a track for picture book writers with presentations and critique opportunities from industry professionals.
Workshop: Plot Meets Character with editor Kate Prosswimmer
Oct 09, 2025
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: Discover the key to plotting and revising a cohesive, satisfying novel through the intersection of plot structure and character development. In this interactive workshop, you’ll be introduced to a variety of storytelling structure tools from the basic three act structure to the more complex Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. Each storytelling guide will be applied to Star Wars: A New Hope to see how guides overlap and intersect with each other, and attendees will have the chance to experiment with applying these tools to their own work during the workshop portion of the presentation. A limited number of PB, MG & YA CRITIQUES available at an additional cost.
Webinar: Editor Says—Chapter Book & Early Graphic Novels with editor Emily Daluga
Nov 03, 2025
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
THE SPACE BETWEEN PICTURE BOOKS AND MIDDLE GRADE: For young readers, the jump from reading picture books alongside caregivers to reading middle-grade books on their own can be a huge leap. This is a vital time in childhood development, but since the pandemic, we’ve seen kids struggling more and more with making this transition and reading for fun independently. Thankfully, there are many different kinds of books that can help bridge this gap—including beginning readers, chapter books, longer-form picture books, and even early reader graphic novels. In this presentation, we’ll talk about the transition readers make from picture books to middle grade stories, the different kinds of books for this age group, and how writers can craft stories for that stick with kids and help to turn them into life-long readers
Webinar: Agent Says—Chapter Book & Early Graphic Novels with literary agent Rachel Orr
Nov 13, 2025
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
NEW FRONTIERS: EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SPACE BETWEEN PICTURE BOOKS AND MIDDLE GRADE NOVELS: Picture books and middle-grade novels will always be beloved mainstays in the world of children’s literature. Yet it’s exciting to see the new categories that have arisen in order to bridge the gap between these two genres. From early readers and chapter books—to a wide range of illustrated and paneled graphic novels—there’s more of a selection now than ever for any level and interest, especially for those kids who might not be so inclined to crack a spine. Rachel Orr of Prospect Agency will trace the journeys of several projects from her author and illustrator clients that have landed in this space—some intentionally, but many serendipitously. She’ll also provide some tips for forging one’s own way into this new frontier.
Eastern PA Critiques with author Eric Bell
Feb 10, 2026
1 event
Available seats 15
Join us for the FREE webinar Arting When Able—What to Do When You Can't Be Creative on Monday, January 5th with author Eric Bell. Then, add-on a PB, MG, YA, or a Query Letter critique. Spots are limited and are available at an additional cost.
