Meet Our Fantastic Presenters/Collaborators
​and Find Out How They'll Help You in the Palooza!

The 2022 KidLit Palooza is a highly interactive Children's Book Career Making Conference/Online Career Camp and Scholarship Fundraiser that helps our community access beginning to advanced level knowledge about the craft and business of making, selling, and promoting quality children's books along with premium opportunities for submitting to editors, publishers, agents, and art directors.

We have intentionally programmed the Palooza to give maximum value and strategic training to help creatives write or illustrate the kinds of books that agents and publishers want and are looking for in a fun and accessible way! All of these people below except for the editors, agents, publishers, and art directors are former students who are passing-it-on in really generous and beautiful ways. Please join them and help support them both at the Palooza and beyond!

All of these presenters are former students who are exquisite and super smart. I hope you'll support them by buying their books.
We'll be doing a US giveaway during each panel of the Palooza for one of their books.
Saturday, Sep 17th, 4:00 - 5:30 PM PDT  IT'S A SMALL WORLD: PUBLISHING AROUND THE GLOBE!
  • Mira Reisberg - Jewish Children's Books and Creating a Cross Cultural Collaborative Picture Book with Melisssa-Jane Fogarty​
    ​The Director of the Children’s Book Academy, Dr. Mira Reisberg, brings a wealth of knowledge and teaching expertise from 34 years of prior experience in the industry as an editor, art director, book designer, literary agent, children’s literature professor, and an award winning illustrator and writer.  Her PhD in Education and Cultural Studies (with a focus on Children’s Literature) informs the Academy’s teaching practices. Mira will be presenting on how to explore your own cultures to add depth to your stories, how to make a magical graphic novel, and 7 essentials that kidlit creatives need to know before submitting their work as well as doing pitch and bio makeovers!
  • Melissa-Jane Fogarty is a kidlit author/illustrator and freelance editor and writer. She’s of Mununjali descent, living on Darkinjung land, NSW, Australia. She has a Masters in Publishing from the University of Sydney, a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Newcastle and is a graduate of the Children’s Book Academy as well as The Australian Writers’ Centre. With those powers combined, Melissa is focusing on creating picture book manuscripts and working away at a middle grade novel that she hopes to share with the world soon. 
    ​This is a rare opportunity to see a whole bunch of extraordinary indigenous children's books from different tribes and learn about the interconnections of indigenous spirituality, history and storytelling.
  • A. J. Sass - Crossing Gender Norms in KidLit and Collaboratively Creating Middle Grade Novels Tips and Pointers. Starred author Andrew Sass (he/they) is an upcoming MG Superstar whose work lies at the intersection of identity, neurodiversity, and allyship. Andrew's  debut novel, Ana on the Edge, is a 2020 Booklist Editors’ Choice, an ALA 2021 Rainbow Book List Top 10 for Young Readers, and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection. He is also the author of Ellen Outside the Lines (Little, Brown, 2022), which has received starred reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal and is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, the co-author of Camp QUILTBAG (Algonquin, 2023), and a contributor to the This Is Our Rainbow (Knopf, 2021) and Allies (DK/PRH, 2021) anthologies. When he’s not writing, A. J. figure skates and travels as much as possible. Andrew is a CBA scholarship winner and graduate who is also incredibly wonderful and generous. ​
  • Andrew identifies as neuro-diverse and non-binary and has also put together a wonderful handout on collaboratively co-creating kid's books. If you are interested in writing middle-grade novels, you'll learn a lot from his presentation. 
  • ​Marsha Diane Arnold - Social Emotional Learning from Family Cultural Values and how to include it in your work.. Brilliant, lyrical,  award-winning author Marsha Diane Arnold has written and published 23 award-winning books. After a 7-year slump of not selling or publishing any of her stories, she began publishing like crazy. She’ll be sharing what she did to break that slump while also sharing about traits or philosophies she learned from her family’s Christian Mennonite values that in many ways infuse her SEL informed books. Social Emotional Learning is a sought-after educational value system related in some ways to character education that editors and agents are looking for these days, not that Marsha thinks, hey I’ll write a SEL book but it’s good to know about so you can look for and highlight these things in your own work and cover letters. Marsha is both a co-teacher and has also taken classes at the Academy.
Mira will also be giving away a US-available book from this panel to a US-based attendee and who knows what else!
Saturday Sept 17, 12.30-1.00 PM PDT  LIVE Workshopping, Networking PARTY TIME (or take a break)
Have fun responding to the worksheet prompts and exercises and bring them to the party for input.
​We'll do as many as time allows.
Saturday, Sept 17th, 1:30-3:00PM PDT  BUILDING AN ILLUSTRATION CAREER
PBs and Graphic Novels, Digital Joy and Organizational Advice, Art Makeovers, + The Practical Parts of Getting Illustration Work
Whether you're an illustrator, a writer, or both, this panel will provide practical, inspirational and fascinating information about how illustration works for children's books, how to build an illustration career if you're already an artist, and how to get started if your not.​ ​​
  • Larissa Marantz - Illustrating Picture Books and Beyond + Why I love Clip Studio Paint + Magic Attendee Art Makeovers!
    Exquisite illustrator Larissa Marantz began her career as an animation artist on the Nickelodeon television show, "The Rugrats" and "Rocket Power". She has illustrated a dozen books for Simon & Schuster and Random House and is now working on illustrating her first Graphic Novel. Her paintings have been exhibited in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Orange County and New York. Larissa has her own online school where she teaches digital illustration courses. She and Mira often tag team teach in each other's courses because its so much fun and they love helping others. Larissa will be speaking about illustrating both picture books and graphic novels as well as sharing some great tips about using Clip Studio Paint, which is a much less expensive and more robust version of Photoshop. Mira will be giving a free course in Clip Studio Paint as part of this panel. In addition Larissa will be doing magical draw-overs for lucky attendees to share tips and techniques!
  • Chantelle and Burgen Thorne - Trade versus educational illustration + Fabulous digital illustration tips.
    Chantelle and Burgen are internationally published married illustrators with over 25 years experience in publishing. Together they have published hundreds of children's books mostly in the Educational for schools area. They began studying with the Children's Book Academy to work in the more creative area of Trade publishing, which they are now successfully doing and winning awards. Their clients include:  Stripes, Clear Fork, Jacana, Pearson International, Hodder and Stoughton, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Heinemann, Macmillan, PanMacmillan, BenchMark, Mitr, and Imagine That. Chantelle and Burgen will be sharing about the differences in Educational versus Trade Illustration, how and why to get each kind of work, and also sharing fabulous digital illustration tips. (All their books above were created digitally.) They are super talented and generous and also tons of fun!
  • Katie Mazeika ​- How to find different kinds of illustration work
    This is one of the practical pieces of the pie for those interested in an illustration career as Katie provides tips and insights into finding all sorts of children's related illustration work. Katie has a degree from The Columbus College of Art and Design and  also studied at the Academy. Her many clients include Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster, Charlesbridge, Wiley Publishing, Ladybug Magazine, Benchmark Educational, and Nomad Press among others. Katie is providing a very practical piece of the publishing pie by showing illustrators where and how to sell their work.
  • Vincent X. Kirsch- Finding Writing and Illustration Inspiration  
    Vince is an extraordinarily creative author, illustrator, toy-maker, playwright, and screenwriter. His long list of awards include SCBWI’s Best Illustrated Picture Book and Golden Kite Award, A Children's Literature Council of Southern California Best Picture Book, multiple Junior Library Guild Selections, and many, many more. Vince is also incredibly inspiring and funny and will delight and inspire you with his presentation about finding inspiration in/and/for your writing and illustrating.

​Mira will also be giving away a US-available book from this panel to a US-based attendee and who knows what else!
Saturday, Sep 17th, 4:00 - 5:30 PM PDT  IT'S A SMALL WORLD: PUBLISHING AROUND THE GLOBE!
Are you curious about how publishing works around the world? Or perhaps you're a traveler who's curious about books from these countries or have some ancestry from these places where you might also want to publish. Then this panel is for you. These awesome award-winning authors,  illustrators and an exquisite Indian Publisher share what publishing is like in their countries and how they also publish in the U.S.
Sandhya Parappukkaran left her job as a food technologist so she could put her feet up and read. Then she rediscovered her passion for children's books. Her stories are inspired by her multicultural experience and include scrumptious food from her Kerala Indian heritage. Sandhya resides in Brisbane, Australia, with her family. ​Sandhya will be speaking about diversity in Australian kidlit and it should be fascinating!
  • Yvonne Mes - What’s new and happening in Aussie KidLit?
Yvonne Mes is a children’s author and illustrator based in Australia. She writes and illustrates picture books for children with curious minds. A frequent speaker at schools and writers’ festivals, she uses her many years of experience as an early childhood professional to present engaging, entertaining and educational sessions. She has a Bachelor of Children’s Services, qualifications in Professional Children’s Writing, Visual Arts and Crafts and Training and Assessment. Aussie children's book publishing is both similar and dissimilar to US publishing. Find out how in this cool presentation. You'll also receive a list of Aussie publishers open to submission, some of which don't necessarily need to be from Australian creatives.
​“I’m an author and illustrator of children’s books. I love using my imagination to create new worlds out of words and colors. I have published 15 children’s books so far, and I love meeting with my young readers on author visits (in-person or virtually). I’m also the regional advisor of the Israeli chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). I live in Israel, in a city called Hadera, with my husband and two children, and when I’m not writing or illustrating, I enjoy reading books, going on nature hikes, and watching funny movies.” Miri shares about the Israeli publishing scene, what gets published there and how it differs from the US.
​​As an artist and arts-for-change advocate, Debasmita is an internationally published picture book illustrator and graphic novelist. In 2018, she was nominated for the "Kirkus Reviews Prize for Best Picture Book" . Her debut graphic novel NADYA by Scholastic India is critically acclaimed across many countries. She enjoys drawing both fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults. Working closely with various publishers in India, Singapore, Europe, UK and the USA, she has illustrated over 20 stories, poetries, as well as concept art for magazines. She also specializes in creating cause-based illustrations, be it about promoting girl child rights, ending female genital cutting or sharing inspiring stories of change-makers. Debasmita is sharing about all kinds of book publishing in Singapore and the UK for those interested in possibly publishing in those countries.
  • Richa Jha - Writing, Publishing, and Being a Publisher in India: A Colorful World of Imagination​​
Richa is the founder and publisher of PICKLE YOLK BOOKS, an independent publishing house for children's picture books in English. She is  also an award-winning author and editor including prestigious Indian and international awards and nominations. I am a vocal advocate of picture books being suitable for readers of all ages and actively promotes the relevance and importance of this format among parents and educator. An avid reader and indefatigable backpacker, she is also a popular speaker at literature festivals and conferences in India. The US can be behind India and the UK in the types of progressive content they publish, so this is fascinating to see and learn from. As a publisher, Richa is also acting as a Golden Ticket judge for Palooza Premium members for anyone writing or illustrating Indian related manuscripts and/or art.

​Mira will also be giving away a US-available book from this panel to a US-based attendee and giving a presentation on how European books tend to be much more advanced both visually and conceptually than many of those published in the US and a list of US Publishers that are open to unsolicited submissions.
Sunday, Sep 18th, 11:00 - 12:30 AM PDT  KEYNOTE YOU CAN DO IT ALL!
Agents these days love clients who can work in a variety of genres, especially the better paid Middle Grade, Young Adult and Graphic Novels. Some creatives worry that writing for older age kids is going to be too much work but an exceptionally well written board book or picture book can take just as long or even longer. Learn from our amazing panelists how they write for different ages and often for more than one age, while Dr. Mira elucidates how to write and illustrate a Graphic Novel.
  •  Ruth Spiro - From Board Books to Picture Books. ​
​Ruth Spiro is the author of the bestselling Baby Loves Science books, the groundbreaking original series introducing big ideas to the littlest listeners. Now Ruth writes all sorts of extraordinary board books. These innovative books encourage a natural sense of wonder in a research-based, age appropriate and engaging way. Ruth’s debut picture book, Lester Fizz, Bubble-Gum Artist, won awards from Writer’s Digest and Willamette Writers and was a Bank Street College of Education Best Book and her latest STEM infused plot-driven picture books are equally fascinating. Ruth's articles and essays have appeared in FamilyFun, CHILD and The Writer, as well as in many anthologies. ​Ruth's presentation will be super helpful for anyone interested in writing picture books or board books. Mira will be giving away a free Board Book course as part of this enlightening panel.
Samantha San Miguel is the Author of Spineless, an exciting middle-grade adventure that explores the Gilded Age—with scientific discoveries, secret plots, and surprisingly enormous fauna. Samantha grew up on the treasure coast of Florida and spends her time exploring and observing nature for inspiration and adventure.  She'll be sharing all sorts of middle-grade and speculative fiction writing tips.  ​
​Bryan Patrick Avery is an award-winning poet and author of books for children. He is the 2021 recipient of the SCBWI Work in Progress Award for his chapter book mystery THE ROBOT IN THE LIBRARY. His middle grade non-fiction book, BLACK MEN IN SCIENCE, will be released in February by Rockridge Press. Bryan serves on the board of directors of the Northern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and is a 2021 Amplify Black Stories Fellow, a joint program presented by the Brown Bookshelf and the Highlights Foundation.
​As an artist and arts-for-change advocate, Debasmita is an internationally published picture book illustrator and graphic novelist. In 2018, she was nominated for the "Kirkus Reviews Prize for Best Picture Book" . Her debut graphic novel NADYA by Scholastic India is critically acclaimed across many countries. She enjoys drawing both fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults. Working closely with various publishers in India, Singapore, Europe, UK and the USA, she has illustrated over 20 stories, poetries, as well as concept art for magazines. She also specializes in creating cause-based illustrations, be it about promoting girl child rights, ending female genital cutting or sharing inspiring stories of change-makers.

And now by popular demand... our brand new Graphic Novel Panel!!!
  • Mira Reisberg - Time-Saving Tips and Techniques for Writing and/or Illustrating Graphic Novels​
    ​The Director of the Children’s Book Academy, Dr. Mira Reisberg, brings a wealth of knowledge and teaching expertise from 34 years of prior experience in the industry as an editor, art director, book designer, literary agent, children’s literature professor, and an award winning illustrator and writer. Her PhD in Education and Cultural Studies (with a focus on Children’s Literature) informs the Academy’s teaching practices. Mira will be sharing getting started worksheets and providing a presentation on Time-Saving Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Writing and/or Illustrating Graphic Novels, doing a book giveaway for someone in the USA and a free graphic novel masterclass for someone else anywhere in the world!
Andrea Miller  has designed and/or art-directed many successful children's books for ABRAMS Books for Young Readers, Sterling Publishing and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She now designs and art directs for Abrams Books for Young Readers in their Graphic Novel imprint. Andrea has worked on lots of books including: "Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast" by Josh Funk, "Mira Forecasts the Future" by Kell Andrews, "Accident!" by Andrea Tsurumi and "Winter Dance" by Marion Diane Baur. Andrea will be speaking about how you don't have to make a graphic novel all alone and the different kinds of collaboration that can occur.
Aron Nels Steinke is a cartoonist and elementary school teacher. He began making comics in 2006 with the help of a grant from the Xeric Foundation and never stopped. In 2015 he and his wife Ariel Cohn won the Best Publication for Early Readers Eisner Award for their book The Zoo Box (First Second Books). Mr. Wolf’s Class (Scholastic/Graphix) is his newest book series following the adventures of a class of anthropomorphs and their teacher who just so happens to be a wolf. The first book was a New York Times Editor’s Choice selection, received a starred review from Kirkus, and has won numerous awards including the Oregon Spirit Honor Award, the OTTER Award, and Kid’s Comics Choice Award, and the Beehive Award. Other books in the series have also won awards. Aron co-taught our first Mastering Graphic Novels course earlier this year and students were blown away by how generous and smart he is. Aron will be demystifying the graphic novel making process and showing how much fun it can be in his presentation on Getting Started and Going Places with Graphic Novels.
Sunday, Sep 18th, 1:30-3:00 PM PDT FINDING YOUR CREATIVE SWEET SPOT!
While the presenters in this panel are primarily focused on picture books, the information that you'll learn here will apply to any age level to help you find your own sweet inspirational and craft spot.​
  • Elizabeth Brown - Creativity, History, Life: The Art of Writing Nonfiction
​Elizabeth Brown is a children’s book author, writer, film producer, and college teacher. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing and Screenwriting from Goddard College as well as a Post-MFA Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles. Elizabeth teaches writing and the humanities, and is the author of Dancing Through Fields of Color: The Story of Helen Frankenthaler (Abrams) and Like A Diamond in the Sky: Jane Taylor’s Beloved Poem of Wonder and the Stars (Bloomsbury). Another book, The World Entire: The Untold True Story of Extraordinary Rescue from World War II (Chronicle), releases Fall 2023.
  • ​Karen Yin - How to subtly weave social justice themes into your work
​ACES Robinson Prize winner Karen Yin coined the term “conscious language” to refer to mindful and compassionate language and helped catapult conscious writing, editing, and design practices into the mainstream. She’s the author of Conscious Language (Little, Brown Spark; date TBA) and founder of several acclaimed digital tools that promote diversity. Karen’s debut picture book, Whole Whale, a story about making space, was published in 2021 by Barefoot Books, with award-winning illustrator Nelleke Verhoeff on board.
​Ana Siqueira is a Spanish-language elementary teacher, and an award-winning Brazilian children’s author also published in the Foreign Language educational market – EL PATO QUIERE UVAS. Her picture books include BELLA’S RECIPE FOR DISASTER/SUCCESS (Beaming Books, 2021) and IF YOUR BABYSITTER IS A BRUJA/CUANDO TU NIÑERA ES UNA BRUJA (SimonKids,2022), ABUELA’S SUPER CAPA/ LA SUPER CAPA DE ABUELA (HarperCollins, 2023), ROOM IN MAMI’S CORAZÓN (Harpercollins, 2024) and a few more books to be announced. Ana's presentation will help anyone interested in learning how to infuse humor into their work and show why culture is king in so many kids books today, no matter what your cultures. 
  • Nancy Churnin - The beauty and joy in writing award-winning biographies​
Churnin is a New York native with bachelor's degree from Harvard University and an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University. She has published 10 children’s novels. She is the author of THE WILLIAM HOY STORY, HOW A DEAF BASEBALL PLAYER CHANGED THE GAME (Albert Whitman), on the 2016 New York Public Library Best Books for Kids and Bank Street College Best Children’s Books list, the 2017 Texas Library Association's 2X2 and Topaz lists, 2017-2018 Kennebec Valley Book Award Books, the 2018 Illinois School Library Media Association's Monarch Award Master List, Connecticut's 2018 Charter Oak Children's Book Awards list, the 2018-2019 Louisiana Young Readers' Choice awards, the 2017-2018 Armadillo Readers’ Choice Awards list and is a 2020 Northern Lights Book Award winner in the sports category. Dear Mr. Dickens, published in 2021, received a National Jewish Book Award and a Sydney Taylor Book Award. A Queen to the Rescue, the Story of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah was published in 2021 and also received a Sydney Taylor Book Award. 

Biographies are still hot, hot, how. Learn how to write one that wins awards in this fabulous presentation with resources.
  • Jennifer Swanson - How to make STEM Nonfiction funScience Rocks! And so do Jennifer Swanson’s books. She is the award-winning author of over 40 nonfiction books for children. Using her background in science and history that she received from the U.S. Naval Academy, and her M.S. in Education, Jennifer excels at taking complex facts and making them accessible, compelling, and humorous for young readers, Jennifer's passion for science resonates in in all her books but especially, BRAIN GAMES (NGKids) and SUPER GEAR: Nanotechnology and Sports Team Up (Charlesbridge) which was named an NSTA Best STEM book of 2017. Jennifer’s book, Geoengineering Earth’s Climate: Re-setting the Thermostat (Lerner Books) received a Green Earth Book Honor Award. Her Astronaut-Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact received a Florida Book Award, a Eureka California Reading Association Gold Award and an NSTA BEST STEM book award.  Her Save the Crash-test Dummies book received a Eureka Silver Award and an NSTA BEST STEM Award. Jennifer has been a featured speaker at the Tucson Book Festival, National NSTA conferences, the Highlights Foundation, the World Science Festival (twice), the Atlanta Science Festival (twice) and the Library of Congress’ National Book Festival in 2019. Publishers are still searching for STEM in a big way and Jen's techniques of weaving STEM stories with fabulous word play and humor has been a total winner for her and the kids who read her stories. Learn how she does it in this wonderful presentation.
​
Mira will also be giving away a US-available book from this panel to a US-based attendee and who knows what else!
Sunday, Sep 18th, 4:00-5:30 PM PDT WHAT DO EDITORS AND AGENTS?
​Editors and Agents are both gatekeepers and door openers. And even though they hold a lot of power in publishing, they're just people with likes and dislikes and a background education or knowledge of how the industry works and what the market wants for kids.
Clarissa Wong - Executive Editor at Scholastic Books - What you need to publish at Scholastic!
Clarissa Wong is an Executive Editor at Scholastic where she edits picture books and select graphic novels. She had the pleasure to collaborate with incredible talents on amazing books like Joanna Ho and Dung (Dzung) Ho’s  Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, Yamile (sha-MEE-lay) Saied Méndez and Jaime Kim’s Where Are You From? and Lily LaMotte and Ann Xu’s Measuring Up just to name a few.  Prior to Scholastic, she was an editor at HarperCollins, Abrams, and Disney Publishing.
Kaitlyn Sanchez - Context Literary - How to get & keep your agent happy
"Hi, my name is Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez. I am a mom, wife, literary agent at Context Literary Agency, middle school math teacher, and picture book author. I’m also the co-creator and co-host of the Spring Fling Kidlit Contest, creator and co-host of the Kidlit Fall Writing Frenzy Contest, and one of the hosts along with my critique group 6 Ladies and a MANuscript, of Kidlit Zombie Week."
​Kate DePalma - Senior Editor at Barefoot Books - What I Write, Love and Acquire
“I’m a writer, an editor and a teacher. The University of Texas Press gave me my start in publishing as a Fellow in Copyediting, and then I made the move into children’s publishing at Peachtree Publishers in Atlanta, GA. These days I make books as Senior Editor at Barefoot Books, where I’ve gotten to help create dozens of different picture books since I started in 2010. I edit books and art direct them — and sometimes I even get to write them!” Kate will be looking for fresh talent from Premium member writers and illustrator submissions at the Palooza!
Joni Sussman - Publisher at Kar-Ben Publishers. Jews and non-Jews writing Jewish children's books. The holidays and beyond! 
Joni Sussman is the Publisher at Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group. Kar-Ben’s concentration is Jewish content picture books for children, both fiction and non-fiction for preschool through approximately 4th grade, including holiday books, life-cycle stories, Bible tales, folktales, and board books. In particular, Kar-Ben seeks stories that reflect the wide cultural diversity of today’s American Jewish community. Joni will be looking for Jewish content stories and art from Premium member submissions at the Palooza!
Helen H. Wu - What I Write, Love & Publish
Helen Wu is a children’s book author and illustrator of over 20 picture books, as well as a translator, graphic designer, and publisher. Her relatively young press is already winning awards and publishing fantastic books. ​She is the author of Tofu Takes Time, illustrated by Julie Jarema (Beaming Books, 2022) and Long Goes To Dragon School, illustrated by Mae Besom (Yeehoo Press, 2023). ​Helen will be looking for fresh talent from Premium member stories and art submissions at the Palooza!

Mira will also be giving away a US-available book from this panel to a US-based attendee and who knows what else!
FREE INSTANT ACCESS BONUS RULES TO BREAK MASTERCLASS FOR ALL ATTENDEES!

There's a reason why we give you a whole year of access. We like to promise a lot and then over-deliver!

​BUT WAIT! THERE'S EVEN MORE! The Palooza PLUS Extravaganza AKA The Big Practical Publishing Piece AKA Palooza Premium ​- is only $100.00 extra! for THREE DAYS (plus a whole year of access) ​including:

A brand new live and recorded Masterclass on:
  • ​How to Successfully Sell a Picture Book: with extraordinary Penguin/Random House Editor-in-Chief Frances Gilbert, Prospect Literary Agent Charlotte Wenger, and Dr. Mira Reisberg AKA the Picture Book whisperer whose students have now contracted over 860 children’s books with sales in the millions and won just about every major US kidlit award.
  • Submission opportunities to a multitude of editors, agents, and art directors
  • A Live and Recorded Interactive Dr Mira’s Magical Pitch and Bios session
  • A Free Instant Access Masterclass on Writing Pitches, Bio, and Queries that Sell
  • ​A Free Instant Access Masterclass: Rules To Break To Make Your Picture Book
  • A Free Instant Access Masterclass on Writing with Emotion for both Writers & Illustrators
  • ​A Free Instant Access Masterclass on Three Top Techniques for Writers & Illustrators: Rhythm, Pacing &
    ​Page Turns
THE BIG PRACTICAL PIECE IN PUBLISHING AKA PALOOZA PREMIUM includes 5 fabulous extras including: How to Successfully Sell a Picture Book + things you absolutely need to know to succeed in publishing (applies to other kinds of books as well)
Monday September 20th, 4:00-5:30PM PDT

FOUR FANTASTIC FREE INSTANT ACCESS BONUS MASTERCLASSES 
​(images are books edited or art directed by the co-teachers)
  • Mira Reisberg - Critical things to know BEFORE sending out your manuscript
 The Director of the Children’s Book Academy, Dr. Mira Reisberg, brings a wealth of knowledge and teaching expertise from 27 years of prior experience in the industry as an independent editor, art director, book designer, literary agent, children’s literature professor, and an award winning illustrator and writer.  Her PhD in Education and Cultural Studies (with a focus on Children’s Literature) informs the Academy’s teaching practices.
  • Editor-in-Chief Frances Gilbert - The Path to Acquisitions and What Happens Next
FRANCES GILBERT is a children’s book editor and the author of the picture books Go, Girls, Go!, Too Much Slime!, and I Will Always Be Your Bunny; the Step Into Reading leveled readers I Love Pink!, I Love My Tutu!, I Love My Grandma!, I Love Cake! and I Love My Teacher!; and an abridgement of The Secret Garden for Little Golden Books.
  • Literary Agent Charlotte Wenger - The Path to Acquisitions and What Happens Next
Charlotte Wenger is a literary agent in the Boston area with Prospect Agency. She represents authors and illustrators of children's books - ranging from board books through YA, but especially picture books - as well as select authors of adult nonfiction memoirs/biographies.
Many students say that Mira's pitch and bio makeovers have helped them land contracts.
Come join us and see if she can make magic with yours.​
This Rules To Break To Make Your Picture Book Masterclass teaches you the rules that you need to know so you can break them. Watch this self-paced instant access masterclass co-taugh  anytime you like for a whole year. Follow along with the activities, and utilize the resources included. Then start, revise, or finish that picture book! This used to be a three part offering but one of the presenters asked to pull her section, which was quite a blow. When I get a chance, I'll find a fabulous 3rd person.
There's an art and form to Writing Cover Letters, and Pitches that Editors and Agents Want to Read hopefully leading to a "yes to publishing". In fact short pitches and bios are literally tiny masterpieces of writing. This instant access masterclass will teach you exactly how to do it. And it's all yours to access whenever you like for a whole year if you sign up for our special extra Monday event. When you click the link, it will give you two options. Just click the second one. You won't regret it! Wahoo! 

Writing with Emotion is fundamental to keeping your reader hooked in with suspense, fear, happiness, joy, concern, and a ton of other emotions that make reading exciting, memorable and worthwhile.

Three Top Techniques teaches you how to work with Rhythm, Pacing, and Page Turns for both writers and illustrators! It's pretty awesome!

Finally, Steal This: Using Cultural References looks at ways that writers and illustrators can steal from (er learn from, be inspired by, adapt) visual culture, pop culture, history, mythology, folk-tales and more. It's pretty amazing!
The Picture Book Palooza attracts great presenters and offers a welcoming atmosphere and huge amount of information for the price. Tips, submission opportunities and the chance to donate to scholarships for others. A wonderful combination!
​~ Mary Helen Berg
Currently only $147 for 26+ speakers, 6 panels, worksheets, handouts and more!
Please click here to support our diversity+ and low income scholarships
​We've given 20-30 scholarships per year totaling over $100,000 that we can no longer afford to give - hence the Palooza. We've been running the Palooza since 2016 but only as a fundraiser for the past 3 years.

Or if you'd simply like to make a donation of any amount,
​just click here & fill out the amount

Testimonials:
What is great about Picture Book Palooza is that it’s at a low cost and you learn so much in a short amount of time through professionals in the writing world. You take away a lot of information and you get a lot of work sheets so you can keep them for later to review. You will meet new authors as well as established ones. And you learn new information that will help make you a better writer. It’s great for beginners and experts alike because it’s a way to build on your craft. I enjoyed it immensely last year and I would recommend it to any one who is interested in writing picture books or any books in general. It was like a mini workshop but cheaper than most. ~Natalie Cohn

Picture Book Palooza was one of the most inspiring instructions I have ever received. It is not expensive and gives so much. I would pay twice what it costs and still feel it was a bargain. Mira is a wonderful, warm person. ~Madeleine McLaughlin

What an incredible resource Mira Reisberg and her host of publishing professions are! Generosity, inspiration, knowledge, experience, community....the Palooza offers it all, and more. ~Betsy Andrews Etchart

It's a Kidlit Career Making Conference/Online Camp/Scholarship Fundraiser with:
• 30 industry experts
• 12 hours of instruction with a whole year of access
• 3+ agents
• 5 editors
• 3 publishers
• 30 writers and illustrators with:
information, interaction, tips, ​techniques, prizes, pitches, parties, handouts, re-usable worksheets and so much more for only: $147 (or $99 if you're having any financial hardship or a poor exchange rate with this code: AussieOrLowIncome)

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