Kidlit Events and Resources

This is a list of events and resources for Kidlit people. Some of these resources have events that aren't for everyone. I'm hoping to populate this with resources and events for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Disabled, ect. Along with general events for everyone! These resources are ones that were gathered from various sorces.

April 

Deadline April 10th: Larissa Marantz Merit and Need Based Scholarship for Mastering Graphic Novels! This is a scholarship for writers and/or illustrators. https://www.childrensbookacademy.com/larissa-marantz-merit--need-scholarship.html

April 24th: Free Graphic Novel Masterclass from the Children's Book Academy: https://www.childrensbookacademy.com/free-graphic-novel-masterclass.html

Deadline April 30th: WNDB Publishing Internship Grant https://diversebooks.org/programs/internship-grants/

Internship with Andrea Brown Literary. No deadline stated but industry partner with WNDB. https://www.andreabrownlit.com/opportunities (Internship Starts in June 2022)

 

May

 

May 1st - 14th DV PIt Mentorships To enter you must identify with a marginalized community, per DVinc’s mission statement [BIPOC, queer, trans/nonbinary, disabled (including neurodivergence and neuroatypicality), religious and cultural minorities]; never have had an agent https://diversevoicesinc.org/dvdebut

May 9th 2022 - Mastering Graphic Novels Live is happening in May 2022 for the Children's Book Academy. There are scholarships for all of the big courses. Mira Reisberg rarely gets enough BIPOC applying. Sign up for the newsletter to be informed of scholarships and other events the CBA has to offer: https://www.childrensbookacademy.com/2022graphicnovels.html

 

June

June 9th - Indiana Graphic Novel Conference https://indiana.scbwi.org/events/graphic-novel-101/

 

October

October 13-14th https://latinxkidlitbookfestival.com Save the date! Mark your calendars! Set your alerts! This year’s Latinx KidLit Book Festival will be held during Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month. Visit our website to stay updated. (Link to last year's event on site!)

 

Unannouced/Ongoing

Charlesbridge is looking for Editors and BIPOC Creators (authors and Illustrators): Charlesbridge editors are offering free, 30-minute sessions to participants who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC) to discuss their manuscripts. During these sessions, the editor will offer specific constructive feedback on manuscripts, cover letters, and the submissions process, as well as guidance about the publishing industry if requested. These sessions are designed to help you refine your manuscript and prepare for submission to publishing houses or agents. https://www.charlesbridge.com/pages/connections

Cake Creative is looking for writers. WFH - They help writers develop their writing and you write their stories: https://cakecreativekitchen.com/contact-us

The Queer Kidlit Chat Mentorship for LGBTQIA+ people will be happening again this year! There will be an announcement on #QueerKidlit chat (and on my blog when this happens.

The Children's Book Academy will be having scholarships for their Graphic Novel course. The date for these opening has not been set. https://www.childrensbookacademy.com/

Year Round

Classes

OC Art Studios - Open Studio sessions where Larissa will critique illustration work (I highly recommend these). https://larissamarantz.com/store/p43/OC_Art_Studios_Open_Studio_Session.html Larissa offers scholarships to her classes for Black and AAPI students.

 

Chats

Queer Kidlit Chat - On Twitter #Queerkidlit chat is Wednesday nights at 5:30pm PT/8:30pm ET. LGBTQIA+ people and allies welcome!

Kidlit Art Chat - On Twitter #KidlitArt chat is Thusday nights at 6:00pm PT/ 9:00pm ET. A fantastic chat for kidlit illustrators!

 

Other Resource Websites: 

The Brown Bookshelf - A website dedicated to create awareness for Black stories:  https://thebrownbookshelf.com/

Editors of Color - A website to hire BIPOC editors. Search for an editor in a huge number of categories or post a job. BIPOC can join the database. https://editorsofcolor.com/

Diverse Picture Books - A list of picture books created by diverse authors/illustrators https://bookshop.org/shop/diversepicturebooks

Kidlit 411 - a website dedicated to kidlit. Events, classes and tons of resources: http://www.kidlit411.com/

A list of calls for submissions sorted by month: https://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com/p/calls-for-submissions.html

A master list of Mentorship Programs collected by Sami Ellis: https://twitter.com/themoosef/status/1494015788910620673?s=21 (You do not need a Twitter account to read this!)