Maryland/Delaware/West Virginia 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.
PAL Storytime - Registration link below
Feb 10, 2026 - Dec 08, 2026
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
Come and listen to PAL authors and illustrators read their published book, and discuss their creative process. After reading, members are asked to share an online review of the story and/or request the book at their local library. This is a great time to come and ask questions from PAL members and give something in return. Register for this event via the google from link below.
Perfecting your Pitch
Sep 05, 2026 - Oct 05, 2026
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
You've got one minute. Maybe less. Can you make an agent or editor want to read your manuscript? A great pitch isn't a synopsis—it's an invitation. In this engaging webinar, veteran editor, author, and educator Emma Walton Hamilton will show you how to distill your story into a clear, compelling pitch that highlights its hook, heart, and market appeal without giving away the entire plot. You'll learn what publishing professionals are really looking for in queries, the most common mistakes writers make, and simple techniques for transforming a rambling description into a pitch that opens doors. Perfect for anyone preparing for conferences, writing query letters, or submitting manuscripts, this session will help you present your work with clarity, confidence, and impact.
Zoom Social Series
Sep 07, 2026 - Dec 07, 2026
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
A FREE online social for SCBWI Members hosted by MD/DE/WV Regional Advisor Mirka Hokkanen. Geared mostly for illustrators, but authors welcome to jump in too. Hop on zoom to build community with fellow kidlit creators. Ask questions, share wins, ask for feedback on a piece you are working on. These sessions will not be recorded.
First Looks with LBYR Editor Ruqayyah Daud
Sep 19, 2026 - Oct 19, 2026
2 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
What do industry professionals look for when they read the first pages for manuscripts? Ruqayyah Daud, senior editor at Little Brown Books For Young Readers and an author herself, will offer live feedback on anonymous first manuscript page submissions. Whether you choose to submit the first page of your manuscript or just watch, you'll gain insights on how to improve your writing. Ruqayyah is also offering a limited number of post-webinar written critiques, and all participants will have the opportunity to submit to her for a limited time after the event. This webinar will be recorded and recording will be made available for event registrants for 30 days after the event.
Tuesday Morning Co-Creating Session
Oct 06, 2026 - Dec 22, 2026
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
Early bird gets the worm! Come join our region Illustrator Coordinator Brittanny Handiboe on Tuesday mornings between 5.30am-7am for a co-creating session. Bring your art or writing supplies and be ready to get some work done.
Fall Writer's Summit
Oct 17, 2026
5 event
Available seats 31
Oakdale Church
Join us for our fall writer's summit, geared for middle grade and young adult authors. The in-person event, happening in Olney, MD, will bring two star authors and an editor and agent from New York to town. The event is open for all skill levels. Come and network with peers and our faculty and leave inspired and energized for your craft.
Illustrators Critique Group
Oct 24, 2026
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
Join us Saturday, October 24th, 12 to 1 pm EST for an open critique Zoom hosted by MD/DE/WV Illustration Coordinator (IC) Brittanny Handiboe. This session's theme: a closer look at character design! Bring works in progress at any stage, rough sketches, turnarounds, expression studies; we want to see your process, not just a polished result. We'll dig into silhouette, appeal, and construction, and talk through what's reading clearly and what might need another pass before you commit to final line.
Craft vs Business: the Grudge Match with Editor Melissa Manlove
Nov 07, 2026
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
So many writers find themselves feeling that art and business are profoundly at odds. In this talk, learn how editors balance the two by understanding where, in fact, they do not fight each other but instead lift each other—and how they can powerfully lift your career, as well!
Writing Rhyming Picture Books plus a 'primer' on poetic devices.
Dec 10, 2026
1 event
Online event
Unlimited seats
You have a great story idea, and you want to write a rhyming picture book. But you’ve never written anything in rhyme. Can you? YES, you can! Join author and poet Eileen Meyer as she introduces you to rhyme and rhythm (or poetic meter) plus a wide range of poetic devices. Learn more about effectively using poetic devices to add audible effects, intensify emotion, heighten relationships between words, and help capture mood through sound in your writing. A program for prose and poetry writers alike, Eileen will provide examples from over a dozen children’s picture books as she breaks down the mystery of poetic meters and highlights the use of poetic devices. Handout (book list and term definition sheet) included for attendees. Q & A at the end of the program.
In person AMA with Author Dr. Nadia Hashimi MD
Dec 13, 2026
1 event
Unlimited seats
1780 E Jefferson St, Rockville, MD 20852.
SCBWI MDDEWV presents: In person AMA with Adult Author Dr. Nadia Hashimi MD. Calling all adult writers! Come and celebrate the release of City of Widows a new adult novel by a celebrated international best seller author, who lives in MD, Dr Nadia Hashmi MD - and ask her ALL AND ANY questions regarding her publishing journey and her prolific career. Nadia Hashimi is a pediatrician turned novelist who draws on her Afghan culture to craft internationally bestselling books for adults as well as young readers. Her novels span generations and continents, taking on themes like forced migration, conflict, poverty, misogyny, colonialism, and addiction. She enjoys conversations with readers of all ages in libraries, book festivals, classrooms, and often joins book club meetings virtually. Video calls with book clubs are a favorite hobby. With translations in seventeen languages, she’s connected with readers around the world.