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
OCTOBER 2026
(7) REVISING YOUR NOVEL IN VERSE
Online Course: Boyds Mills
(7) CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITING II
Online Course: Gotham Writers Workshop
(7) WHAT MAKES A PICTURE BOOK COMMERCIAL?
Webinar: At Home Author
(7) FIRST PAGES WITH AGENT CHRISTINE GOSS
Webinar: SCBWI New York Long Island
(8) FINDING THE PERFECT MATCH: THE AGENT/CLIENT RELATIONSHIP
Webinar: SCBWI Kansas-Missouri
(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
(11) REGISTRATION OPENS FOR RISE & SHINE PITCH EVENT
Online Event: KidLit FireFly
(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
(13) HARNESS THE TOOLS OF FICTION TO WRITE INFORMATIONAL TEXTS THAT SHINE
Webinar: SCBWI Oregon
(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
(14) INTRO TO KIDLIT: MIDDLE GRADE & YOUNG ADULT FICTION
Online Course: Hugo House
(15) QUERY CRITIQUE with Agent John Rudolph
Webinar: KidLit Firefly
(15) ENGAGING THE HOMESCHOOL COMMUNITY
Webinar: SCBWI Brazos Valley
(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
(17) HOW TO BUILD A ROLLER COASTER: CREATING AN EMOTIONAL ARC THAT MOVES YOUR STORY
Webinar: SCBWI San Diego
(17) THE THEOREM OF STORYTELLING
Webinar: SCBWI Arizona
(18-23) WHOLE NOVEL WORKSHOP RETREAT
Milanville, PA: Boyds Mills
(19) QUERY LETTER FEEDBACK with Agent Rachel Mann
Webinar: SCBWI England North
(19) WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH SERIES POTENTIAL
Webinar: SCBWI Pennsylvania East
(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
(21) CHILDREN’S WRITING BOOT CAMP
Webinar: Blissfully Bookish Studio
(21) STOP NETWORKING. START BELONGING.
Webinar: SCBWI England South
(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 A CINEMATIC EYE FOR ILLUSTRATORS
Webinar: SCBWI Southern Breeze
(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) REVISION WORKSHOP with Kat Brzozowski
Webinar: KidLit Firefly
(29) ASK THE EDITOR: SERIES POTENTIAL with Carina Licon
Webinar: SCBWI Pennsylvania East
(29-31) HALLOWEENSIE WRITING CONTEST
Contest: Susanna Leonard Hill (Direct Link TBD)
(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
(6-8) HANDSPRINGS HYBRID CONFERENCE
Albuquerque, NM (Virtual Option): SCBWI New Mexico
(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
(11) CRAFT VS. BUSINESS: THE GRUDGE MATCH with Melissa Manlove
Webinar: SCBWI Maryland-Delaware-West Virginia
(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 (Virtual Option): SCBWI Arizona
(14) ILLUSTRATION STYLE LAB with Christie Megill
Webinar: SCBWI Montana
(14) VIRTUAL ILLUSTRATOR PORTFOLIO REVIEW AND ROUNDTABLE
Online Event: SCBWI Indiana
(14) MEET THE EDITORS FROM SCHOLASTIC, SOURCEBOOKS AND VIKING
Webinar: SCBWI San Diego
(17) BRINGING MINOR CHARACTERS TO LIFE
Webinar: Whale Rock Workshops
(17) WHAT SHAPE IS YOUR STORY?
Webinar: At Home Author
(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
(19) LESSONS LEARNED ON THE PATH TO PUBLISHING
Webinar: SCBWI San Diego
(27) ROCK YOUR WRITING GOALS
Webinar: Good Story Company
JANUARY 2027
(8) CHILDREN’S NOVEL SECOND DRAFT WORKSHOP
Online Course: Anastasia Suen
(9-10) RISE AND SHINE PITCH EVENT
Online Event: KidLit Firefly
(15) 2026 BOOK AWARDS DEADLINE
Contest: Seasons of KidLit
(16) FABULOUS FIRST PAGES with Agent Rachel Orr
Webinar: SCBWI San Diego
(28-30) CAPE COD CHILDREN’S WRITERS WORKSHOP
Cape Cod, MA: Andrea Brown Literary Agency
FEBRUARY 2027
(6) STORIES FOR EVERYONE: ALLYSHIP FOR AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS
Webinar: SCBWI San Diego
MARCH 2027
More Events Coming Soon!
APRIL 2027
(4) LAUGH OUT LOUD: WRITING HUMOR FOR KIDS
Webinar: SCBWI San Diego
(9-11) INK & AGAVE WRITING RETREAT
Scottsdale, AZ: Ink & Agave
MAY 2027
(14-15) NAVIGATING YOUR NARRITIVE SPRING CONFERENCE
Grand Rapids, MI: SCBWI Michigan
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