WriteOnCon kidlit writing conference – 19th-21st February 2021

Once again, WriteOnCon are holding their online kidlit writing conference. There are a mix of blog posts, Q&A sessions, workshops, discussions and feedback sessions all geared towards kidlit writers (anyone can attend, though, as a lot of advice will be universal). There’s still time to register, and there are different tiers of attendance, depending on your requirements. 

The forums are up and running from today, and you can polish your Twitter pitches, queries and the first 500 words of your manuscript with the aid of fellow writers. There’s even a ‘Supers’ district where agents, editors and professional writers might drop by to give feedback.

Hope to 'see' you there!

WriteOnCon kidlit writing conference – 21st-23rd February 2020

This weekend, I’m attending a kidlit writing conference, and the beauty of it is that I don’t even need to leave the comfort of my own home! WriteOnCon is an annual online conference split over an event-packed three days. There are a mix of blog posts, Q&A sessions, workshops, discussions and pitch events all geared towards kidlit writers (anyone can attend, though, as a lot of advice will be universal). There’s still time to register, and there are different tiers of attendance, depending on your requirements. This year, I’ve gone for Extended Admission, which gives me access to the full material for a month after the conference has ended – plenty of time to catch up on events I may have missed during the conference itself (there are only so many hours in the weekend, after all!)

The forums are up and running, and you can polish your Twitter pitches, queries and the first 500 words of your manuscript with the aid of fellow writers. There’s even a ‘Supers’ district where agents, editors and professional writers might drop by to give feedback. I’ve earmarked several events in the schedule I definitely want to attend, and I’ve also thrown my hat into the ring for feedback on my query in one of the live pitching events.

It’s going to be a helpful (but intense!) weekend – hope to ‘see’ you there!

WriteOnCon 2014

WriteOnCon is an online children's writers conference that takes place in August each year. It began in 2010 and had over 11,000 attendees that first year (my mind can only boggle at the number of attendees in subsequent years as word spreads).

This year the conference will take place on August 26th and August 27th so clear the date in your diary. The schedule hasn't been announced yet, but I imagine they'll have lots of sound writerly advice with posts from published authors, agents and editors. They usually have live Q&A events, and last year they featured Twitter pitches with literary agents for the first time (my Twitter pitch was commented on in a session - it felt a bit surreal to see my Tweet onscreen and know hundreds or thousands of other people were seeing it as well).

Half of the fun is interacting with other writers in the forums (which usually open ahead of the conference itself). If you're a brave soul, you can post your query, first 250 words and/or first five pages for critique. You might have a Ninja Agent pop into your thread and make suggestions, or even PM you with a request to see more.

The conference & forums are well-worth a visit, so I'll hope to see you over there. (My username in the forums is 'Netz', if you're looking for me.)