This KidLit Events listing focuses on webinars, courses, and conferences that are accessible for a majority of people. Most are online, but I have included larger in-person events. I update this list continually, so please let me know if I am missing or incorrect information.
THE KIDLIT WEEKLY: You can now receive weekly KidLit events in your Inbox
every Thursday morning for the following week.
You can find now and sign up for The KidLit Weekly on Substack!
JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT CATEGORIES
Webinar: a single session class online
* Cities noted refer to location of in-person events.
Workshop: one-to-two session intensive
Online Course: multiple-session class online
Online Program: longer-term or ongoing programs
Conference: multiple courses within a single event
Hybrid Event: in-person event with an online option
Contest: submission opportunity where winner(s) are selected
Pitch Event: opportunity to pitch projects to editors/agents
Challenge: timed event set to accomplish a certain project(s)
Blog Event: special blog series that run for a short period of time
APRIL 2026
(7) CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITING I
Online Course: Gotham Writers
(7) RHYME WITHOUT THE RULES
Webinar: Rosie J. Pova
(7-28) THE BUSINESS OF PUBLISHING
Online Course: SCBWI
(10) SPRING THAW PITCH EVENT
Online Event: SCBWI Illinois
(11) GOLDEN GATE FEST
San Bruno, CA: SCBWI San Francisco South
(11) THE MECHANICS OF WRITING with Michelle Witt
Webinar: The Writing Barn
(11) THE EMOTION DRIVEN NOVEL
Webinar: SCBWI Canada East
(11) PB ‘n’ J Day – A PICTURE BOOK INTENSIVE
Online Workshop: SCBWI New Mexico
(11) CREATING SENSORY, EMOTIONAL, AND COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
Webinar: SCBWI Nevada
(11) SUCCESS TIPS with Sara Pennypacker, Sally Pla, and Pam Munoz Ryan
Webinar: SCBWI San Diego
(13) PICTURE BOOKS with Carina Licon
Online Course: Inked Voices
(13) 10 GAME-CHANGING THINGS AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS SHOULD KNOW
Webinar: SCBWI Eastern Pennsylvania
(14) STORIES AS SPRINGBOARDS: USING PICTURE BOOKS FOR CROSS-CIRCULAR LEARNING
Webinar: SCBWI Wisconsin
(14) YA/CROSSOVER WORKSHOP with Estelle Laure
Online Course: Inked Voices
(14) THE PAGE TURNER’S TOOLBOX: REVISING FOR TENSION AND FLOW
Online Course: Whale Rock Workshops
(14) CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITING I
Online Course: Gotham Writers
(14-16) WRITING A PICTURE BOOK 101: GET TO THE HEART OF YOUR STORY
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(15) NOVELS IN VERSE: CREATING AN IMAGE SYSTEM
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(15) CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITING II
Online Course: Gotham Writers
(15) MIDDLE GRADE OPENING PAGES with Monica Rodriguez
Online Course: Inked Voices
(15) PICTURE BOOKS with Michelle Lee
Online Course: Inked Voices
(15) BRANDING FOR KIDLIT AUTHORS
Webinar: At-Home Author
(15) FEEDING YOUR INNER GENIUS: TIPS FOR TAKING YOUR WORK TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Webinar: SCBWI Michigan
(16) EMBRACE YOUR INNER INTUITIVE WRITER TO FUEL YOUR WRITING
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(16) PICTURE BOOKS with Elizabeth Lazowski
Online Course: Inked Voices
(16) WRITING IRRESISTIBLE FIRST PAGES
Webinar: Good Story Company
(16) CHILDREN’S BOOKS IN TRANSLATION
Webinar: SCBWI Southwest Texas
(17-18) SCBWI OKLAHOMA-ARKANSAS SPRING CONFERENCE
Tulsa, OK: SCBWI Oklahoma-Arkansas
Online Event: SCBWI Oklahoma-Arkansas
(17-19) RECHARGE YOUR WRITING RETREAT
Conception, MO: SCBWI Kansas-Missouri
(18) LAUGHING ON THE LIGHT SIDE: WRITING CLEAN, CLEVER HUMOR FOR KIDS & TEENS
Online Workshop: Write2Ignite
(19) ALCHEMIZING REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE FOR THE PAGE with Sydnee Monday
Webinar: The Writing Barn
(20) PANEL BY PANEL: HOW TO WRITE COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS with Marcie Colleen
Online Course: Julie Hedlund
(20-22) POETIC FLOW STUDIO: GENERATIVE WRITING SESSION FOR POETS
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(20-26) STUCK BUMBLEBEE POETRY CHALLENGE
Contest: Cynthia Mackey and Joyce Uglow
(21) THE ART OF DIALOGUE with Erin Entrada Kelly
Webinar: SCBWI Rocky Mountains
(21) PICTURE BOOK SOUND DESIGN: RHYTHM AND RHYME with Carter Higgins
Webinar: SCBWI Mid-Atlantic
(21-22) REVISE AND STRENGTHEN YOU PICTURE BOOK MANUSCRIPT WITH INTENTION with Heidi Y.E. Stemple
Webinar: SCBWI New York West/Central Upstate
(22) PICTURE BOOKS with Christie Megill
Online Course: Inked Voices
(22) REVISE YOUR PICTURE BOOK MANUSCRIPTS
Online Course: Whale Rock Workshops
(23) RULES, REBELLION, & PICTURE BOOK MAGIC with Julie Romeis Sanders
Webinar: SCBWI Texas Houston
(23) NO PLOT, JUST VIBES with Cindy Baldwin
Webinar: SCBWI Oregon
(23) WRITING AN EARLY/EASY READER? LET’S TALK CRAFT
Webinar: SCBWI Maryland-Delaware-West Virginia
(24-26) POCONO & THE THREE BEARS: IN SEARCH OF JUST RIGHT
Milanville, PA: SCBWI Pennsylvania East
(25) YALL WEST BOOK FESTIVAL
Santa Monica, CA: YallFest
(25) FROM DULL TO DAZZLING: SYMOBLISM with Jessica Vitalis
Webinar: The Writing Barn
(27) EIGHT WAYS TO WAKE UP YOUR POETRY
Webinar: Inked Voices
(27) ADVANCED PICTURE BOOKS with Sarah Stephens
Online Course: Inked Voices
(27) MIDDLE GRADE OPENING PAGES with Anjali Bisaria
Online Course: Inked Voices
(28) SUCCESS WITHOUT THE STRESS: GET A HANDLE ON YOUR AUTHOR BIZ
Webinar: SCBWI New Mexico
(29) #QUESTPIT
Pitch Party: QuestPit
(30) WHOLE NOVEL WORKSHOP: MG & YA WRITERS
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(30) REVISE YOUR PICTURE BOOK MANUSCRIPTS
Online Course: Whale Rock Workshops
MAY 2026
(2) THE HEART OF THE STORY with Melissa Manlove
Webinar: SCBWI Wisconsin
(2) TOGETHER IN STORY KIDLIT CONFERENCE
Seattle, WA: SCBWI Western Washington
(2) VIRTUALLY SPRING INTO STORY
Online Workshop: SCBWI Indiana
(4) PICTURE BOOKS with Lisa Rosinsky
Online Course: Inked Voices
(5) PICTURE BOOKS with Wendy McClure
Online Course: Inked Voices
(6) PICTURE BOOK PLOTTING FROM A-Z
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(6) CRAFTING THE POETRY NOVEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS
Online Course: Writers.com
(7-8) TWO STEP CRITIQUE with Kait Feldmann
Online Event: SCBWI Pennsylvania East
(7-10) CELEBRATING ASIAN AND ASIAN AMERICAN STORIES
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(9) BEYOND THE EVIL STEPMOTHER: CRAFTING VILIANS WITH GOALS, VULNERABILITIES, & HUMANITY
Webinar: SCBWI Southern Breeze
(11) PICTURE BOOKS with Elizabeth Lazowski
Online Course: Inked Voices
(11-18) KINDLING WORDS WEST
Whidbey Island, WA: Kindling Words
(12) CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITING I
Online Course: Gotham Writers
(12-14) CHARACTER DESIGN BASICS FOR ILLUSTRATORS
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(14) BRINGING THE VISION TO LIFE: BOARD BOOK CREATION
Webinar: SCBWI Delaware-Maryland-West Virginia
(17-22) CRAFT AND CAREER: A SPRING WRITER’S INTENSIVE
Online Workshop: Whale Rock Workshops
(19) PICTURE BOOKS with Emma Sakamoto
Online Course: Inked Voices
(19) YOUNG ADULT OPENING PAGES with Lee O’Brien
Online Course: Inked Voices
(19-21) WRITING NONFICTION: HOOKING YOUR READER & FINDING SUCCESS
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(20) STORYSNOBS PITCH CONTEST
Webinar: Good Story Company
(21) MG/YA OPENING PAGES with Kortney Nash
Online Course: Inked Voices
(21) PICTURE BOOKS with Kaitlyn Sanchez
Online Course: Inked Voices
(21) MASTERING THE DUAL ROLE OF BEING AN AUTHOR-ILLUSTRATOR
Webinar: SCBWI Pennsylvania East
(25) CHARACTERS THAT DRIVE THE PLOT with Vicky Weber
Webinar: SCBWI Long Island
(27) FICTION PICTURE BOOKS with Gianna Lakenauth
Online Course: Inked Voices
(31) CELEBRATING LATINX STORIES IN KIDLIT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(31) CANSCAIP WRITING FOR CHILDREN CONTEST DEADLINE
Contest: Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers
JUNE 2026
(1) 2026 SEASONS OF KIDLIT BOOK AWARD OPENS FOR SUBMISSIONS
Contest: Seasons of KidLit
(2-4) EDUCATIONAL WRITING: NAVIGATING NEW PATHS FOR YOUR WRITING
Online workshop: Boyds Mills
(3-6) ALL ABOUT PICTURE BOOKS
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(3-9) MGHub Pitch Party
Discord Event: MGHubPitch
(3) CRASH COURSE IN CHILDREN’S BOOK PUBLISHING
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(8-10) PICTURE BOOK MIDDLES: BRIDGING BEGINNING AND END
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(9) TOUGH TOPICS with Liz Wiemer
Webinar: SCBWI Wisconsin
(11-14) SPOTLIGHT ON THE MIDDLE OF YOUR NOVEL
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(12-14) EXPERIENCE REVISION RETREAT
Hiawatha, IO: Nonfiction Ninjas
(15-18) CELEBRATING NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS STORIES IN KIDLIT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(15-19) WIFYR CONFERENCE
Draper, UT: Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers
(16) WRITING TOUGH TOPICS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Webinar: SCBWI Wisconsin
(23) GET FEATURED FAST: 3 EASY PUBLICITY TACTICS FOR KIDLIT AUTHORS
Webinar: At Home Author
(25) WRITING FOR THE EDUCATIONAL MARKET
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(30) ACFW KIDLIT CONTEST DEADLINE
Contest: ACFW KidLit Chapter
JULY 2026
(8-12) SUMMER CAMP FOR WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS (Session One)
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(9-12) GREEN GULCH WRITING RETREAT
San Francisco, CA: Katherine Rothschild
(11-12) CYA WRITERS & ILLUSTRATORS CONFERENCE
Brisbane, Australia: CYA Conference
(12-16) SUMMER CAMP FOR WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS (Session Two)
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(22) JUMPSTART YOUR YA/MG FICTION
Online Course: Grubstreet Center for Creative Writing
(23) WRITING CHARACTER INTERIORITY
Webinar: Good Story Company
(23) MAKE WRITING FUN AGAIN with Adam Wallace
Webinar: At Home Author
(24) #QUESTPIT
Pitch Party: QuestPit
AUGUST 2026
(5) WRITE YOUR PICTURE BOOK
Online course: Writers.com
(9) CRITIQUE GROUP RENAISSANCE with Melissa Manlove
Webinar: SCBWI Wisconsin
(9-12) WRITING SHORTER: WHY (AND HOW) LESS CAN BE MORE
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(15) HOW TO WRITE FOR YOUNG READERS
Webinar: Grubstreet Center for Creative Writing
(15-20) THE WHOLE NOVEL WORKSHOP RETREAT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(20) WRITING AN IRRESISTIBLE QUERY
Webinar: Good Story Company
(25) THE HISTORY OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
Online Course: Whale Rock Workshops
(26) STORYSNOBS PITCH CONTEST
Webinar: Good Story Company
(27-30) CELEBRATION ASIAN AND ASIAN AMERICAN STORIES
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
SEPTEMBER 2026
(2) FROM IDEA TO SKETCH TO DUMMY
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(16) FEELING IT: CREATING EMOTIONAL DEPTH IN YOUR NOVEL
Online Course: Whale Rock Workshops
(16-19) PICTURE BOOK AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS RETREAT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(17) WRITING IRRESISTIBLE FIRST PAGES
Webinar: Good Story Company
(18-19) AUTHOR AND THE ROUNDTABLES
Asheville, NC: SCBWI Carolinas
OCTOBER 2026
(1-4) MIDDLE GRADE WRITERS RETREAT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(6) WHOLE NOVEL WORKSHOP: MG & YA WRITERS
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(8-10) ENGAGING STORIES CONFERENCE
Green Lake, WI: SCBWI Wisconsin
(18-23) WHOLE NOVEL WORKSHOP RETREAT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(22) WRITING IRRESISTIBLE PICTURE BOOKS
Webinar: Good Story Company
(23-26) EARLY READERS AND CHAPTER BOOKS RETREAT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(24) PACKAGING YOUR IMAGINATION CONFERENCE
Toronto, Canada: Canadian Society for Children’s Authors, Illustrators, and Performers
(26-29) NOVELS IN VERSE RETREAT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(30) BIG SUR CHILDREN’S WRITERS WORKSHOP
Cape Cod, MA: Big Sur Children’S Writers Workshop
NOVEMBER 2026
(1-6) CABOOSE FARM RETREAT
Sabillasville, MD: Whale Rock Workshops
(4) #QUESTPIT
Pitch Party: QuestPit
(5-8) POETRY PALOOZA
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(8-14) MASTER SKILLS WORKSHOP
Sabillasville, MD: Whale Rock Workshops
(10-12) PICTURE BOOK APPROACHES: CONCEPT BOOKS, BIOGRAPHIES, & MORE
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(13-14) YALL FEST BOOK FESTIVAL
Charleston, SC: YALL Fest
(19) EVALUATING YOUR WIP AND MOVING FORWARD
Webinar: The Good Story Company
DECEMBER 2026
(27) ROCK YOUR WRITING GOALS
Webinar: Good Story Company
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CAROLYN BENNETT FRAISER 