Picture Book Creator Conference

➡ Register for the VIRTUAL event:

Picture Book Creator's Conference

Are you ready to take your picture book from idea to publication? The Picture Book Creator Conference hosted by At Home Author is your exclusive opportunity to learn from the pros, connect with fellow authors, and discover actionable strategies for writing, publishing, and marketing a successful children's book.

📅 Date: Friday, January 30th, 2026

⏰ Time: 9am-4pm CST

📍 Location: Zoom

💰 Cost: $175

Optional Add-ons:

+$35 per pitch

+$75 per critique

What's in Store:

6 Expert-Led Sessions

Dive into six jam-packed sessions designed specifically for aspiring picture book authors like you! We’ve broken the day into two parts, with three sessions in the morning and three in the afternoon, covering everything from story development to the ins and outs of publishing and marketing.

Each session will include:

30-minute presentation from industry experts

15 minutes for live Q&A where you can get your most pressing questions answered

15-minute breaks between sessions for quick recharges

We also have literary agents in attendance that registered participants can book a live, 10-minute pitch session with. More details below!

Schedule

🕘 Morning Sessions (9:00 AM - 12:00 PM CST)

⭐️ 9-9:45am CST

Skip the Pitch! Get Published with the Educational Market with Annette Whipple

...

If you enjoy writing about new topics, both fiction and nonfiction, consider writing for the educational market. Participants will learn about this market and how to approach publishers with a work-for-hire package. Get publishing experience with books and other resources for children (K-12) without the slush pile.

⭐️ 10-10:45am CST

Holiday Magic: The Power of Seasonal Picture Books with Ivan Taurisano

Christmas, Halloween, Día de Los Muertos, and Lunar New Year are not only beloved celebrations—they’re vibrant moments filled with magic, wonder, and stories waiting to be told. But beyond their cultural richness, these holidays offer strategic opportunities to connect with readers through seasonal picture books.

In this session, discover what makes a seasonal picture book special, successful, and timeless—and how to craft stories that resonate during the moments when families are most eager to read together.

⭐️ 11-11:45am CST

TBD with Killian Abuan

...

TBD

🕐 Afternoon Sessions (1:00 PM - 4:00 PM CST)

⭐️ 1-1:45pm CST

Page-Ready Prose: Language & Dialogue in Picture Books with Jennifer Adams

...

TBD

⭐️ 2-2:45pm CST

Picture Book Pagination: From Print to Page Turn with Kait Feldmann

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In this session geared towards authors and illustrators, we’ll take an in-depth look at how picture books are printed, folded, and bound—and show how this process informs the way stories are structured. You’ll learn how endpapers and page count affect the space you have to tell a story, and how to paginate to account for frontmatter, backmatter, page turns and overall pacing. Whether revising a manuscript or working on sketches, this session will give you the practical tools you need to make informed creative decisions and bring your book to life page by page.

⭐️ 3-3:45pm CST

TBD with TBD

...

TBD

Event Speakers

Kait Feldmann

Kait Lee Feldmann is a children’s book agent at kt literary and has been romping around children’s book publishing for the past decade, previously as an editor at HarperCollins and Scholastic. Her list as editor included award-winning books that received a Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, and Sibert Honor; the Ezra Jack Keats Award; and appearances on Best of lists for The New York Times, NPR, Kirkus, and more.

Kait is hapa (mixed race Chinese/white) and is passionate about championing books by, about, and for BIPOC. In 2020 she received the CBC Diversity Outstanding Achievement Award. Kait resides in a hoarder’s paradise in Los Angeles, surrounded by books.

Ivan Taurisano

Ivan Taurisano is a bilingual (Italian/English) Associate Editor at Macmillan’s First Second Books, where he focuses on graphic novels for young readers. He holds degrees in English and Creative Writing, along with an MA in Children’s Literature and an MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons University.

Ivan began his publishing career at Sourcebooks before joining Abrams as an Associate Editor, where he focused on children’s titles—including novelty books, board books, and picture books.

Throughout his career, he has worked with brands like How to Catch, Little Heroes Big Hearts, Sesame Street, Disney, Tokidoki, and Pokémon. He is passionate about stories with strong commercial hooks, compelling characters, and series potential.

Jennifer Adams

Jennifer Adams is the author of more than 50 books, including the bestselling BabyLit board book series, which introduces young readers to classic literature and has sold over 2.5 million copies in 10 languages. Her work—spanning picture books, board books, and literary nonfiction—has been published by Gibbs Smith, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Abrams, Chronicle Books, and more.

Jennifer is Senior Acquisitions Editor at Gibbs Smith, teaches The Business of Editing and Publishing at Brigham Young University, and works weekends at The King’s English Bookshop. She holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Washington and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Killian Abuan

Killian Abuan is a strategic content and social media marketer with nearly a decade of experience helping brands tell their stories and grow engaged communities. As Head of Content and Social Strategy at a New York City agency, Killian partners with brands to build social-first ecosystems that drive measurable results.

Blending creativity with performance analytics, Killian turns audience insights into authentic storytelling. Passionate about collaboration, Killian helps creators and businesses use social media as a powerful tool to build community and amplify their voice.

Annette Whipple

Annette Whipple celebrates curiosity and inspires others to live in wonder. She is the author of more than 25 fact-filled children’s books including The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide (Chicago Review Press), Quirky Critter Devotions (Tyndale), and many animal books in The Truth About series (Reycraft Books).

She’s been named the 2025 Outstanding Pennsylvania Author/Illustrator by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association. However, the people who know Annette best think of her as a wife and mom, former teacher, nature lover, chocolate chip cookie baker (and sometimes burner), people-loving introvert who lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Coming Soon

Coming Soon!

Don’t miss this chance to jumpstart your picture book career. Whether you're just getting started or ready to publish, the Picture Book Creator Conference will give you the tools, resources, and inspiration you need to succeed!

Pitch Opportunties + Critiques!

We're fortunate to have literary agents and editors in attendance that you can pitch your manuscript to LIVE. This paid add-on is only available to registered participants, offering an exclusive opportunity to receive feedback on your project from an industry professional. While a pitch session doesn’t guarantee representation, it can help open doors for you and your picture book. Those same agents and editors are also offering written critiques for attendees as well!

Pitches - $35 each

Critiques - $75 each

Please note that paying for a pitch session is not the same as paying an agent for representation, which is never allowed in the industry. These optional add-ons are industry standard for writing conferences, but it's important to note that this doesn’t guarantee representation—it's an opportunity to get direct feedback and potentially open doors for you and your book.

Daniele Hunter -McIntosh & Otis

Daniele Hunter (she/her) is a queer, disabled junior agent in the children's department at McIntosh & Otis. She started at McIntosh & Otis in 2016 as an intern and has been there ever since! She has a BA in English with concentrations in Literary Criticism, Poetry, and Creative Writing from Drew University.

Prior to agenting, she held various odd jobs in the publishing industry, from proofreading to teaching and working on literary journals. She's also a member of the American Association of Literary Agents and is on their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, and co-directs their fellowship program through Literary Agents of Change. In her spare time, she reads way too quickly, sings opera, and puts her ambidexterity to good use as a knitter. She lives in New Jersey with her spouse and their cat.

In picture books, Daniele wants:

SEL preferred!
Honesty on heavy topics like grief; hopeful but not saccharine

Disability, in both fiction and nonfiction

Diverse cultures, holidays, traditions, identities

Authors, author-illustrators, or author/illustrator teams!
Human protagonists.

Andie Smith -Creative Media Agency

Andie Smith has loved books for as long as she can remember—the kid who always read above grade level and never went anywhere without a book in hand. She’s worked as a writer and editor for local newspapers and magazines in Central Florida, interned with Booker Albert Literary in 2022, and was promoted to junior agent the following year. In 2025, after earning her Master’s in Public Administration, she joined Creative Media Agency.

An advocate for the autoimmune community, Andie is passionate about championing authors who write with heart, depth, and authentic connections to their characters—especially those who portray life with visible and invisible disabilities. She is actively growing her list and excited to welcome new voices to her team.

In picture books, Andie wants:

Coming soon

Amy Giuffrida - Belcastro Literary Agency

After Amy earned her BA at the University of Kutztown and a M.Ed. from Lock Haven University, she incorporated her love of reading and books with being a middle school teacher. Amy’s biggest joy was to put the perfect book in the hands of a teen and change their minds about reading. Amy turned this love into a career by reading romance slush for a publishing company, then interned for various literary agencies, until she became an associate literary agent in 2020.

In her spare time, you can find Amy either listening to, reading, or talking about books. She also loves binge-watching teen and reality TV shows—all while snuggling with one or more of her three rescue dogs.

In picture books, Amy wants:

Humor and whimsy
Diverse characters written by BIPOC and marginalized creators

Morgan Wilson - Belcastro Literary Agency

Morgan’s love for writing and books and was fostered from an early age by a grandmother that wrote them bedtime stories and taught them how to write poetry. As they grew this love evolved into devouring books faster than their bookshelves could keep up and writing their own stories in magical kingdoms galaxies away.

With over a decade of work in classrooms across the Midwest, Morgan wants to uplift the stories that their students needed so that everyone can see themselves on the page using magic, finding love and defeating the bad guy. They are dedicated to being an agent for change in the publishing industry and working with marginalized voices so that every child and adult can experience the joy of a book that speaks to them.

In picture books, Morgan wants:

Underrepresented cultures, folklore, mythologies etc, and societal commentary.

Themes of self acceptance and self love

Conservation

Rhyme or prose

Authors, author/illustrators, and author/illustrator teams

Christine Goss - Fine Print Literary

After graduating from Lake Forest College with a BA in communications, Christine worked in sales before realizing her true passion was in books. As an author herself, she values strong craft and brings that insight to every manuscript she champions. Christine began her publishing journey at The Purcell Agency, where she was promoted to Associate Literary Agent in 2023 before joining FinePrint Literary in 2024.

When she’s not working with writers, Christine is usually chasing after her two energetic boys—who are often chasing the family’s spirited pup.

In picture books, Christine wants:

Anything silly, but not potty humor
I'm a sucker for alliteration and lyrical prose
Fiction and non-fiction

Mara Cobb - Lighthouse Literary

After earning my master's degree in English, achieving over fifty publications, and serving as the editor-in-chief for a small literary journal, I jumped into publishing, representing authors in a variety of genres. Now, as a literary manager at Lighthouse Literary, I am most excited about coming alongside fresh and seasoned writers to help them reach their full potential.

I love stories that make me laugh out loud, stories that tug at my heart, and stories that offer hope in an authentic way.

In picture books, Mara wants:

Heartwarming and hopeful
Zany, laugh-out-loud silly, with wordplay or puns
Family (including unconventional families--foster care, living with grandparents, etc.)
Real-world concepts (money management, grief, autonomy) in engaging, child-friendly ways.

Or...

Katherine is seeking Christian picture books, devotionals, and really sweet, cuddly board books.

Emily wants character-driven, humorous PBs with themes of environmentalism, family, or self-discovery. She loves funny holiday stories with a twist (like CUPIG, BUFFALO FLUFFALO, MY PAPI HAS A MOTORCYCLE) and prefers human characters.

Michele is drawn to heartwarming, family-centered stories where the child is the hero, books that highlight diverse cultures, and upper elementary nonfiction.

Zoie is looking for fiction and nonfiction PBs with original messages, underrepresented perspectives, or insight into lesser-known topics. She favors strong voices, commercial hooks, and nonfiction tied to U.S. curriculum. Not seeking biographies, holiday books, bathroom humor, or fairies/unicorns.

Sarah loves heartwarming stories, family themes, and PBs focused on the arts or social-emotional learning. Prefers author-illustrators at this time.

Pitch sessions only available to registered participants!