Get Published! Writing Fiction for Young Readers

What does it take to get a middle-grade/teen novel* published? What are children’s book publishers looking for? Let our panel of experts show you what you need to do to get your manuscript published!

Panelists include industry professionals Vicki Grant, author; Michelle Kadarusman, author; and Patricia Ocampo, Senior Editor, Kids Can Press.

*This webinar is strictly for fiction in the form of novels. We will be holding a webinar in the fall on non-fiction, as well as a picture book webinar in spring 2025.

“I attended this seminar and it was a great chance to be surrounded by professionals in the industry and get real answers and insights. The Book Centre is an excellent connector, and the opportunity to get exposure with publishers, editors, and other writers is inspiring.” —Lucy Leiderman, author of the Seven Wanderers Trilogy

WHEN:

Saturday, May 11, 2024

12:00 PM to 1:30 PM EDT

WHERE:

ZOOM

COST:

$75.00

Each participant will receive a digital copy of the CCBC’s best-selling guide, Get Published! The Writing for Children Kit.

PANELIST BIOS

Vicki Grant has been called “a superb storyteller” (The Canadian Children’s Book Centre) and “one of the funniest writers working today” (The Vancouver Sun). She began her career as an advertising copywriter, moved on to writing scripts for Theodore Tugboat, Big Comfy Couch and her own Gemini-winning series Scoop & Doozie before graduating to YA fiction. Her novels have won the Red Maple Award, the Arthur Ellis Award and CBC’s Young Canada Reads, as well as been shortlisted for the Edgar, CLA Children’s Book of the Year and numerous Forest of Reading awards. Her novel, 36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You, has been translated into 17 languages and optioned for film. Publishers’ Weekly called A Green Velvet Secret, her latest middle-grade novel, a ‘winning novel,” with “quirky, full-fleshed characters and a tender third-person narration.” Vicki lives in Halifax, NS.

Michelle Kadarusman is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning children's author. She grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and has also lived in Indonesia and Canada. Her novels have earned many awards, nominations and honours, including the Governor General's Literary Awards, Freeman Book Awards, Green Earth Books Awards, USBBY Outstanding International Books and Kirkus Best Middle-Grade Books of the Year. She lives in Toronto, Canada, and Byron Bay, Australia.

Patricia Ocampo is Senior Editor at Kids Can Press and previously worked at HarperCollins, Annick Press, Simon & Schuster, and Transatlantic Agency. Patricia is past president of the Canadian section of the International Board on Books for Young People. She teaches children’s book editing at The Chang School.