Children's Writers & Illustrators Festival 2023: MASTERCLASS+

Are you writing and/or illustrating for children? Join us for our Children’s Writers & Illustrators Festival 2023: an online, craft-based festival for Children’s writers & illustrators at all stages of their careers. We're proud to present this full-weekend line-up of authors, illustrators, agents and industry professionals, who will talk tips, offer advice, share experiences and pass on knowledge. We'll discuss the current children's publishing marketplace, host invaluable sessions on the creative process with leading authors and illustrators, and provide essential advice on pitching your work when it comes to seeking literary agent representation. All attendees will automatically be entered into our festival raffle, while everyone will have the opportunity to send in a pitch of their work-in-progress ahead our agent panel. Your Masterclass+ Ticket: What's Included The Masterclass+ ticket entitles you to attend one of our live masterclass sessions, our live agent panel, six pre-recorded videos, and you will automatically receive a single entry into our festival raffle. Ticketing Information Weekend Pass £80: Full access to all festival content: 3 live masterclasses, 6 pre-recorded videos, and live agent panel. Two raffle entries. Masterclass+ £65: 1 live masterclass, 6 pre-recorded videos, and live agent panel. One raffle entry. Single Pass £45: 1 live masterclass and live agent panel. One raffle entry If I Book a Masterclass+ Ticket, How Do I Select My Masterclass? We'll drop you a line in the week leading up to the festival and ask you to select which live masterclass you'd like to attend, then send you the joining instructions accordingly. Take a look through the festival line-up below and click on the links against the individual masterclasses for a full breakdown of what Joseph, Louie and Annaliese will cover in each of their sessions.  Full Festival Line-Up: For more details of our live masterclass sessions, please click on the links below. Speaker bios and further information about our raffle and live agent panel can also be found by scrolling down this page. Saturday 25 March 2023 10:00-10:15: Welcome! 10:15-10:45: Video 1: Researching Your Story with Candy Gourlay Want to create a story outside of your own experiences? Need to research but don’t know how to start? Unsure if what you’re creating is your story to tell? Listen to the fabulously talented Candy Gourlay in conversation with Camilla Chester about how she created her stunning children’s book, Bone Talk, which details the American invasion of the Philippines. Gain tips and advice on how to research in order to write with sensitivity, empathy and compassion. 10:45-11:00: Break 11:00-12:30: LIVE MASTERCLASS: Using Poetry Within Your Craft with Children's Laureate Joseph Coelho (click here for more details) Frightened of poetry? Think it’s boring or not for you? This live online workshop with the current Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho, will blow your mind! Find out how to incorporate poetry into your craft and watch how it brings your writing and/or illustrations to life. Joseph will talk you through some simple poetry exercises and give you lots of take-away tips in this exclusive live masterclass and Q&A 12:30-13:30: Lunch break 13:30-14:00: Video 2: Illustrating Across Genres: Craft Tips with Lucie Arnox Want tips on how to expand your illustration techniques? Thinking about ways to develop and strengthen your career as an Children’s Illustrator? Listen to the talented and resourceful Lucie Arnox as she tells you how she came to be the illustrator for the hugely successful Enola Holmes series and shares tips and advice about her craft. 14:00-14:15: Break 14:15-15:45: LIVE MASTERCLASS: Drawing and Writing Together as a Technique For All with Louie Stowell (click here for more details) Do you say: 'But I can’t draw?' Or are you more: 'But I can’t write?' Perhaps it’s both! Don’t worry, because best selling author and illustrator, Louie Stowell, is here to help! Join the creator of the phenomenally successful Loki series for this exclusive live masterclass and Q&A 15:45-16:00: Break 16:00-16:30: Video 3: Finding the Heart of Your Story with Katya Balen Publishers and agents say they are always on the lookout for stories with ‘heart’ but what does that really mean and how can you ensure your story fits the bill? Join Carnegie winning author, Katya Balen in conversation with Camilla Chester as she discusses her stunning book, October October and offers tips and advice for you to find the heart of your own story. 16.30-16:45: Close for the day video Sunday 26 March 2023 10:00-10:15: Welcome back! 10:15-10:45: Video 4: The Children's Publishing Landscape with Alysoun Owen Why is it so hard to make a career from writing and/or illustrating for children? What is the insider knowledge? How do you stand out from the crowd? Watch this honest and open discussion with Alysoun Owen, Editor of the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook and the Children's Writers' & Artists' Yearbook, who has twenty-five years experience of working in the publishing industry. 10:45-11:00: Break 11:00-12:30: LIVE MASTERCLASS: Goal Setting & Organising Your Creative Time with Annaliese Avery (click here for more details) Are you the Master of Procrastination? Does time for your craft come at the bottom of your list? If you’re feeling despondent or lack lustre and self-belief then this masterclass with Annaliese Avery, the hugely successful author of The Celestial Mechanism Cycle, is for you. Annaliese will give you practical ways to balance your life/work ratio and fire you up with self-belief, energy and determination in this exclusive live masterclass and Q&A. 12:30-13:30: Lunch break 13:30-14:00: Video 5: Tips and Thoughts for Writing Children's Non-Fiction with Kate Pankhurst Creating non-fiction books is becoming more popular with many authors and illustrators switching between the genres, but how do you make sure you’re doing it right? Can you pick any topic and carry out your own research, or do you have to be an expert in the field already? Listen to the hugely successful non-fiction author Kate Pankhurst as she explains how she went about creating her Fantastically Great Women titles, and how that differed to her new book We Are All Astronauts, due out August 2023. 14:00-14:15: Break 14:15-14:45: Video 6: Plot or Character Driven Stories - What Works Best? with Tọlá Okogwu Everyone can agree that the best books are those with both strong characters and engaging plots, but what about when it comes to driving the story? Is it really a conscious decision we make as story creators? Who better to answer than the amazing Tọlá Okogwu, whose novel Onyeke and the Academy of the Sun has gone global! (With Will Smith working alongside David Oyelowo to produce a Netflix film of the book, Tọlá has definitely got it right!) Find out how she approached the plot vs character issue in this video made exclusively for our festival. 14:45-15:00: Break 15:00-16:30: LIVE PANEL DISCUSSION: Join literary agents Davinia Andrew-Lynch and Penny Holroyde to learn how to pitch your work Two specialist children’s agents, Davinia Andrew-Lynch (Andylyn Literary Agency) and Penny Holroyde (Holroyde Carter Literary Agency) will be critiquing your pitches live, as well as offering general guidance and advice on the submission process for both authors and/or illustrators. The session ends with a live Q&A. 16:30-16:45: Break 16:45-17:00: Raffle draw and closing remarks   Pitch Your Book to Literary Agents: Live Panel Discussion Your weekend pass includes a free place at our agent panel discussion, which starts at 15.00 on Sunday 26th March, 2023. Ahead of this session, you will be invited to submit your own novel pitch. A select number of pitches will then be chosen by our agents, and critiqued during the session itself! Look out for an email from W&A in days leading up to the festival, which will contain all the information you need about how to submit your pitch. Festival Raffle Every festival attendee is automatically entered into our festival raffle, while weekend pass holders receive two raffle entries. The raffle will be drawn at the end of the festival, with the following prizes up for grabs: 3rd prize: Children's Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2023 and Bloomsbury Children's book bundle 2nd prize: complimentary place at any W&A evening masterclass (RRP £30) + Children's Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2023 and Bloomsbury Children's book bundle 1st prize: gratis Opening Chapters editing service (RRP £240/£380)