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
AUGUST 2026
(26) STORYSNOBS PITCH CONTEST
Webinar: Good Story Company
(27) WRITING THE GRAPHIC NOVEL with Mickey George
Webinar: Writing & Illustrating for Young Readers
(27) CRAFTING AUTHENTIC INVISIBLE REPRESENTATION IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Webinar: SCBWI Pennsylvania East
(27) EARLY BIRD DEADLINE FOR PICTURE BOOK SUMMIT
Online Event: Picture Book Summit
(27) STARTING OUT WITH GRAPHIC NOVELS
Webinar: SCBWI Germany | Austria
(27) CRAFTING INVISIBLE REPRESENTATION IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Webinar: SCBWI Pennsylvania East
(27) PORTFOLIO MASTERY
Webinar: SCBWI Texas Austin
(27) PITCH PERFECT with Jackie Kruzie
Webinar: SCBWI Texas Austin
(27) RHYME WITHOUT THE RULES
Webinar: At-Home Author
(27-30) CELEBRATING ASIAN AND ASIAN AMERICAN STORIES
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(29) PATHS TO PUBLICATION KIDLIT PANEL
Decatur, GA: SCBWI Southern Breeze
SEPTEMBER 2026
(1-30) PITCH IT! COMPETITION
Online Event: Just Write For Kids Australia
(1) FROM CONCEPT TO CAREER: BASICS OF PICTURE BOOKS
FREE Webinar: SCBWI Inland Northwest
(1) INDELIBLE DIALOGUE
Webinar: Inked Voices
(2) FROM IDEA TO SKETCH TO DUMMY
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(2) CHANGING LANES: THE PICTURE BOOK TO GRAPHIC NOVEL TRANSITION
Webinar: SCBWI Kansas-Missouri
(2) TOO MANY IDEAS, TOO LITTLE TIME
Webinar: SCBWI England South
(3) PICTURE BOOKS with Celia Lee
Online Course: Inked Voices
(3) CAPTURING YOUR MAIN CHARACTER’S PERSPECTIVE IN NARRATION
Webinar: SCBWI Pennsylvania East
(3) FROM CONCEPT TO CAREER: CONSIDER YOUR READER
FREE Webinar: SCBWI Los Angeles
(3) FINDING THE FUNNY
Webinar: SCBWI Israel
(7) LYRICAL LANGUAGE LAB – FALL SESSION
Online Course: Renee LaTulippe
(8) CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITING I
Online Course: Gotham Writers
(8) STORY OPENINGS: BEYOND “ONCE UPON A TIME” with Tina Tocco
Webinar: SCBWI New Mexico
(8) FROM CONCEPT TO CAREER: THE PICTURE BOOK DUMMY
FREE Webinar: SCBWI MidSouth
(8-10) #PITCHDIS
Pitch Party: X and BlueSky
(9) LANDING WORK-FOR-HIRE CONTRACTS
Webinar: Whale Rock Workshops
(9) CREATING MEMORABLE CHARACTERS
Webinar: SCBWI University
(9-30) REVISION ROADMAP
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(10) PICTURE BOOKS with Elizabeth Lazowski
Online Course: Inked Voices
(10) REQUEST, REVISION & RELEASE with Author Lizzie Brooks and Editor Stephanie Wheeler
Webinar: KidLit Firefly
(10) FROM CONCEPT TO CAREER: PORTFOLIO BASICS FOR ILLUSTRATORS
FREE Webinar: SCBWI Southwest Texas
(10) LETTING YOUR STORIES FLOW: GENERATING NEW STORY IDEAS
Webinar: SCBWI University
(10-13) KIDLIT CHUCKLE CHALLENGE
Contest: KidLit Chuckle Challenge
(12) WRITING FOR THE CHILDREN’S MAGAZINE MARKET
Online Workshop: Write2Ignite
(15) GET TO KNOW HI-LO: THE BOOK, THE COOK, THE HOOK
Webinar: SCBWI Canada West
(15) FROM CONCEPT TO CAREER: THE QUERY LETTER
FREE Webinar: SCBWI Nebraska
(15) BUILDING TENSION: THE SLOW BURN
Webinar: SCBWI University
(15-17) RHYMING PICTURE BOOKS: FROM FORCED TO VERSE
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(15-22) LATINX PITCH SHOWCASE
Pitch Party: Instagram
(16) FEELING IT: CREATING EMOTIONAL DEPTH IN YOUR NOVEL
Online Course: Whale Rock Workshops
(16) EDITOR ASK ME ANYTHING PANEL
Webinar: Good Story Company
(16) CREATING EMOTIONAL RESONANCE IN PICTURE BOOKS
Webinar: SCBWI England North
(16-19) PICTURE BOOK AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS RETREAT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(17) WRITING IRRESISTIBLE FIRST PAGES
Webinar: Good Story Company
(17) CREATING FANTASTICALLY GREAT NONFICTION BOOKS
Webinar: SCBWI England North
(17) FROM CONCEPT TO CAREER: HOW TO FIND AN AGENT
FREE Webinar: SCBWI Illinois and SCBWI Wisconsin
(17) FROM SPARK TO STORY: SHAPING A PICTURE BOOK IDEA INTO A BOOK
Webinar: SCBWI University
(17) PLAYFUL FLEXIBILITY: THE KEY TO BUILDING A CAREER THAT LASTS
Webinar: SCBWI Oklahoma-Arkansas
(18) PITCH PERFECT: THE PRACTICE OF WRITING ONE LINERS
Webinar: KidLit Firefly
(18-19) AUTHOR AND THE ROUNDTABLES
Asheville, NC: SCBWI Carolinas
(19) ILLUSTRATOR, MG, AND YA DAY – LIVE
Lancaster, PA: SCBWI Pennsylvania East
(19) PERFECT PITCHES
Webinar: SCBWI Arizona
(19) CHILDREN’S WRITERS OF THE HUDSON VALLEY CONFERENCE
Poughkeepsie, NY: Children’s Writers of the Hudson Valley
(19) WHAT A CHARACTER with Scott Magoon
Webinar: SCBWI New York Long Island
(19) LAYERING IN MIDDLE GRADE NOVELS
Webinar: SCBWI Texas Houston
(20) LET’S MAKE A SCENE: WRITING NONFICTION SCENES with Candace Fleming
Webinar: The Writing Barn
(21) FROM UNI PROJECT TO TWO BOOK DEAL
Webinar: SCBWI England North
(22) FROM CONCEPT TO CAREER: INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING
FREE Webinar: SCBWI Illinois
(22) SAY WHAT? FINDING YOUR STORY’S VOICE
Webinar: SCBWI University
(22) POETIC PROSE PRACTICE
Webinar: SCBWI New York West Central
(22) WHOLE BOOK APPROACH FOR PICTURE BOOKS AUTHORS & ILLUSTRATORS
Webinar: SCBWI San Francisco North/East Bay
(23) JUST DO IT: FINISH YOUR DRAFT
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(23) PICTURE BOOKS with Jamie Gelman
Online Course: Inked Voices
(24) FICTION PICTURE BOOKS with Rob Broder
Online Course: Inked Voices
(24) PITCH PERFECT: HOOK AN AGENT/EDITOR
Webinar: KidLit Firefly
(24) FROM CONCEPT TO CAREER: THE PROCESS & PACING OF PROMOTION
FREE Webinar: SCBWI Wisconsin
(24) READY. SET. REVISE. FROM DRAFT TO PUBLICATION
Webinar: SCBWI University
(24) FALL BACK INTO WRITING
Webinar: Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers
(24) WRESTLING WITH WRITERS BLOCK
Webinar: At-Home Writer
(25-27) WOWCON 2026
Online Conference: WriteMentor
(26) WRITING EMOTION IN PICTURE BOOKS with Rob Sanders
Webinar: The Writing Barn
(26) 2026 MINI MFA CONFERENCE
Austin, TX: SCBWI Texas Austin
(26) WRITING BOOKS FROM THE INSIDE OUT: PICTURE BOOKS
Online Course: SCBWI Nebraska
(26) PICTURE BOOK ACQUISITIONS CONFIDENTIAL
Webinar: SCBWI Indiana
(26-27) COMPOSING COMMUNITY, CAREER, AND CRAFT
Nashville, TN: SCBWI MidSouth
(28) TRADITIONAL VS SELF-PUBLISHING: WHICH ROUTE IS BEST FOR YOU?
Webinar: SCBWI Inland Northwest
(28) GET REAL! WRITING REALISTIC FICTION THAT RESONATES
Webinar: SCBWI Southern Breeze
(30) HOW TO ADD HUMOR TO YOUR PICTURE BOOK
Webinar: KidLit Firefly
OCTOBER 2026
(1) CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITING I
Online Course: Gotham Writers
(1-4) MIDDLE GRADE WRITERS RETREAT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(3) PICTURE BOOK SUMMIT
Online Event: Picture Book Summit
(3) FALL HARVEST WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS DAY
Fullerton, CA: SCBWI Southern California
(3-4) RECONNECT AND RECHARGE RETREAT
Warm Springs, GA: SCBWI Southern Breeze
(4) MIDDLE GRADE OPENING PAGES with Miloni Vora
Online Course: Inked Voices
(4) FALL HARVEST: COMMUNITY GARDENS
Online Conference: SCBWI Illinois
(4-18) EXPLORING POINT OF VIEW
Online Workshop: Whale Rock Workshops
(5) MIDDLE GRADE WRITING PROCESS
Webinar: SCBWI England North
(5-7) PURPOSEFUL PAGE TURNS: CREATING MOMENTUM IN PICTURE BOOKS
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(6) WHOLE NOVEL WORKSHOP: MG & YA WRITERS
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(6) MG & YA OPENING PAGES with Kristin Ostby
Online Course: Inked Voices
(6) CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITING I
Online Course: Gotham Writers
(6-27) DIVING INTO PICTURE BOOKS with Editor Matt Phipp
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(7) REVISING YOUR NOVEL IN VERSE
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(7) CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITING II
Online Course: Gotham Writers Workshop
(8-10) ENGAGING STORIES CONFERENCE
Green Lake, WI: SCBWI Wisconsin
(9-11) SKIPPING STONES WRITERS & ILLUSTRATORS RETREAT
Perrysburg, OH: SCBWI Ohio North
(10-11) LETTERS & LINES CONFERENCE
Golden, CO: SCBWI Rocky Mountain
(12) PITCHES AND PICTURE BOOKS with Kat Brzozowski
Online Course: Inked Voices
(12) MIDDLE GRADE MONSTERS AND MYSTERIES
Webinar: SCBWI New York West Central
(13) FROM PAGE TO STAGE: A DIALOGUE WORKSHOP
Webinar: SCBWI New Mexico
(14) CRAFTING THE POETRY NOVEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS
Online Course: Writers.com
(14) CHAPTER BOOKS with Alison Weiss
Online Course: Inked Voices
(14) CRITICAL QUESTIONS: GETTING TO THE HEART OF YOUR STORY
Online Course: Whale Rock Workshops
(14) READY, SET, GO STRUCTURE
Webinar: SCBWI Oklahoma-Arkansas
(15) QUERY CRITIQUE with Agent John Rudolph
Webinar: KidLit Firefly
(16-18) NEBRASKA FALL RETREAT
Red Cloud, NE: SCBWI Nebraska
(17) WRITING A MANUSCRIPT THAT AGENTS & EDITORS CAN’T RESIST
Webinar: The Writing Barn
(17) FALL WRITER’S SUMMIT
Olney, MD: SCBWI Maryland | Delaware | West Virginia
(18-23) WHOLE NOVEL WORKSHOP RETREAT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(20) BUILD YOUR AUTHOR BRAND WITH NEWSLETTERS
Webinar: Whale Rock Workshops
(20) WRITING YOUR CHILDREN’S BOOK with Lesley Parr
Online Course: Bloomsbury Writers & Artists
(20-22) WORLDBUILDING 101 with Emma Dryden
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(21) PICTURE BOOKS with Catherine Laudone
Online Course: Inked Voices
(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
(24) ONE PLUS ONE CONFERENCE
New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature
(24) TAKE TWO! DEVELOPING CINEMATIC EYE FOR ILLUSTRATORS
Webinar: SCBWI Southern Breeze
(26-27) MIDSOUTH REGIONAL CONFERENCE
Nashville, TN: SCBWI MidSouth
(26-29) NOVELS IN VERSE RETREAT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(27) LEAVING SPACE FOR THE ILLUSTRATOR WITHOUT LOSING YOUR VISION
Webinar: The Writing Barn
(27-29) PUBLISHING TRENDS, MARKET SHIFTS, & OPPORTUNITIES
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(27-30) R(EV)ISE AND SHINE RESIDENCY
Marlboro, VT: R(ev)ise and Shine
(29) EDITOR EVENT with Kat Bzozowski
Webinar: KidLit Firefly
(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
(2) PICTURE BOOKS with Erika DiPasquale
Online Course: Inked Voices
(3) PICTURE BOOKS with Sally Kim
Online Course: Inked Voices
(4) #QUESTPIT
Pitch Party: QuestPit
(5) HOW CHILDREN’S PUBLISHING WORKS
Webinar: SCBWI England North
(5-8) POETRY PALOOZA
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(6-8) WESTERN WASHINGTON CREATIVE RETREAT
North Bend, WA: SCBWI Western Washington
(7) BOOT CAMP: NEXT LEVEL MARKETING
Webinar: SCBWI Texas Austin
(7) HOW TO HOOK AN AGENT (CHILDREN’S & YA)
Webinar: Bloomsbury Writers & Artists
(8) TIPS ON ILLUSTRATOR PORTFOLIO CURATION
Webinar: SCBWI Nebraska
(8-14) MASTER SKILLS WORKSHOP
Sabillasville, MD: Whale Rock Workshops
(10) AN EVENING WITH AGENT EMILY KEYES
Webinar: KidLit Firefly
(10-12) PICTURE BOOK APPROACHES: CONCEPT BOOKS, BIOGRAPHIES, & MORE
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(11) VALUE-ADDED NONFICTION: HOW TO GET NOTICED AND GET IT RIGHT
Webinar: SCBWI Wisconsin
(12-15) QUERY LETTER INTENSIVE
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(13-14) YALL FEST BOOK FESTIVAL
Charleston, SC: YALL Fest
(14) BEYOND THE PAGE CONFERENCE
Phoenix, AZ: SCBWI Arizona
(14) VIRTUAL ILLUSTRATOR PORTFOLIO REVIEW AND ROUNDTABLE
Online Event: SCBWI Indiana
(17) BRINGING MINOR CHARACTERS TO LIFE
Webinar: Whale Rock Workshops
(18) CREATING ENGAGING SCHOOL AUTHOR VISITS
Webinar: KidLit Firefly
(19) EVALUATING YOUR WIP AND MOVING FORWARD
Webinar: The Good Story Company
(26) COOK UP A PICTURE BOOK
Online Course: Blue Elephant Storyshaping
(30) WRITING THE MIDDLE GRADE
Webinar: SCBWI England North
DECEMBER 2026
(1) CREATING & RAISING INTERNAL STAKES
Webinar: Whale Rock Workshops
(1-3) PICTURE BOOK REVISION: PLOT, PACING, CHARACTER & MORE!
Online Workshop: Boyds Mills
(2) EDITOR EVENT WITH WENDY MCCLURE
Webinar: KidLit Firefly
(8) HOW TO MAKE A LIVING AS AN AUTHOR
Webinar: SCBWI New Mexico
(8) SCENE STRUCTURE: KEY ELEMENTS IN THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF YOUR STORY
Webinar: Whale Rock Workshops
(27) ROCK YOUR WRITING GOALS
Webinar: Good Story Company
JANUARY 2027
(8) CHILDREN’S NOVEL SECOND DRAFT WORKSHOP
Online Course: Anastasia Suen
(15) 2026 BOOK AWARDS DEADLINE
Contest: Seasons of KidLit
(28-30) CAPE COD CHILDREN’S WRITERS WORKSHOP
Cape Cod, MA: Andrea Brown Literary Agency
FEBRUARY 2027
More Events Coming Soon!
MARCH 2027
More Events Coming Soon!
APRIL 2027
(9-11) INK & AGAVE WRITING RETREAT
Scottsdale, AZ: Ink & Agave
Connect with me on Social Media:
CAROLYN BENNETT FRAISER 