The Weekly 411 (1/3/25)

Jan. 3, 2025 vol. 1

The Weekly 411 gathers all the links added to Kidlit411 each week. To receive this post by email, sign up for our email updates. Are you on Facebook? Join our Kidlit411 group for conversations and camaraderie. We can also be found on Bluesky. This week's illustration is by Thu Vu.

Illustrator Spotlight

We are pleased to feature illustrator Sarah Raymond and her website banner design for January. Check out her awesome art.

Picture Book Giveaway

We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Storm Trucks written and illustrated by Charlotte Glaze (Meira Media) out in January! Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below.

About the Book: Axel loves loud trucks. Digging. Pushing. Lifting. Building. RUMBLE RUMBLE BEEP trucks. Axel does not love loud and scary RUMBLE RUMBLE BOOM storms. Journey with Axel and his sweet puppy through a big thunderstorm. Axel loves loud trucks—big, strong trucks that go RUMBLE RUMBLE BEEP! But when a storm booms and rumbles outside, Axel feels scared. But wait! Axel's imagination kicks in! He sees trucks in the sky, making noise as they build... something! With his puppy by his side, Axel faces his fear and helps his friend through the storm, finding a surprise at the end of their journey.

About the Author: Charlotte Glaze lives in Jenks, Oklahoma with her family. She has been writing stories for children for years and has finally decided to share her stories with the world! She studied art in college and runs her own web design business. She also worked as a preschool teacher, sharing her love of books with children. Charlotte enjoys traveling the world, singing loudly, reading, and drinking lots of tea. She also runs a YouTube channel filled with preschool activities, publishing videos, and book reviews, all Building Up Families with Books.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For Writers

5 Tips for Creating Character Voice Readers Will Love

6 Tips for Writing Deeply Emotional Fiction

Picture Books

Showing vs. Telling in (Picture Book) Pitches

Writing Courses

Jan 13 - Feb 11. Picture Books with Literary Agent Kait Feldmann. You'll receive a written critique from Kait Feldmann of kt Literary and exchange critiques with your workshop peers. After the written critiques, we conclude with a group call where each writer speaks to Kait individually to discuss questions and revision ideas. You'll also be invited to participate in group discussion in your group's online workspace. There is a submission opportunity for author-illustrators after the workshop concludes (but the workshop is open to text-only picture book writers as well). Ideal for writers in the query trenches.

Jan 22 - Feb 19: Picture Books with Literary Agent Sera Rivers. You'll receive a written critique from Sera Rivers of Speilburg Literary Agency and exchange critiques with your workshop peers. After the written critiques, we conclude with a group call where each writer speaks to Sera individually to discuss questions and revision ideas. You'll also be invited to participate in group discussion in your group's online workspace. There is a submission opportunity for all participants after the workshop concludes. Ideal for writers in the query trenches.

Jan 15 - Feb 17. YA Opening Pages Workshop, with Alex Slater In this intimate workshop, you'll receive a written critique of your opening pages from agent, Alex Slater at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, plus get the opportunity to speak to Alex individually in the live group call that follows critiques. You'll also exchange critiques within your group of up to 7 writers. This opening pages event also comes with a submission opportunity.

Jan 28 - April 17. YA Multi-Submission Workshop with Estelle Laure. A three-month workshop for writers seeking story-level feedback on their Young Adult projects to take their work to the next level. In this workshop, you'll work with agent and senior developmental editor, Estelle Laure, at Folio Literary, and a small group of writers (up to 4 others) on 15,000 words of your novels in process, over two rounds. The workshop includes written feedback from Estelle and your peers, live calls to debrief each round, and a group discussion board where Estelle will answer questions.

Feb 3 - Feb 13. Planning & Plotting a Series for Young Readers. Writing and selling a series for young readers requires a different process than that for a stand-alone book project. Join us for a 2-part intensive class led by children's author Marcie Colleen, on how to Plan & Plot your own Chapter Book, Early Reader or Comic series, plus how to build a partial submission package and pitch your series with confidence. This intensive builds on Marcie's November 2024 class 'Developing a Premise for Serialized Fiction for Young Readers.' Your signup includes access to that webinar and we encourage you to watch it in advance. There is also an option to take this class with a critique from Marcie.

Writing Challenges

Storystorm (registration is open now: sign up by Jan. 7)
What: Join picture book writers and come up with 30 new picture book ideas in the month of January. Get daily inspirational and educational posts and have the chance to win prizes.