KidLitGN is hosting its 6th, annual pitch event on its website: kidlitgn.com. Agented and unagented graphic novel creators can load pitches October 3-7, with editors, agents, and publishers being invited to view pitches beginning October 7 through October 31.

Unagented and agented GN creators have their own sections and can pitch in the following categories: comics-style picture books, early/chapter, middle grade, and young adult. If you’re an illustrator and don’t have a project to pitch, you can post a portfolio sample in the unagented or agented illustrator sections.

Something new this year: after the pitch event is over, KidLitGN will archive the pitches behind password protected pages. Agents, editors & publishers can request a password and view the pitches throughout the year. Anyone who pitches can request to have their pitch removed at any time.

And the change I’m most excited about: writers-only can upload up to 4 pages of their script along with a bio attached as an art file. And, they can use their pitches to seek out collaborators. See here for more details: https://kidlitgn.com/blog/

Some of you may know that I’ve been involved with KidLitGN since its beginning, and this year was likely going to be our volunteer team’s last year of being able to pull it off. The costs were mounting, and each member of the team was finding successes that were pulling us in other directions.

Tim Canny started his own micro-press. Ken Lamug got an animation deal for his Mischief and Mayhem graphic novels. Urania Smith has been swamped with multiple ventures. Annette Hashitate has her debut graphic novel Selfies by Sumie coming out next year. Nicole Harwood has been writing and producing plays. Sarah Steinberg is busy with her illustration work. Michelle Lin is always busy with her graphic novel writing and screenwriting, plus she and daughter Abigale Lin–also a KidLitGN volunteer–have been working on solidifying a new partnership, which I’m excited to tell everyone about.

First Second editor Robyn Chapman has joined the KidLitGN team as an industry advisor, and her insights into how we can best reach editors and agents have already helped us make some of changes we’ve implemented this year. Through Michelle and Abigale’s contacts at the Orange County School of the Arts, we’ve also opened up a partnership with the Martin & Cynthia Howard Design & Media and Creative Writing conservatories. Student interns–meet them on our team page–from the conservatories will get hands-on experience helping to run the pitch event and expanding KidLitGN’s platform.

The students will create content on the website throughout the year, interviewing graphic novelists (if you’re interested in being interviewed, fill out this form), industry pros, and other students. I’m super excited to get the perspective of the students, who are the most recent consumers of the graphic novels most of us are writing for.

I’m especially excited about the article the student interns will be doing after the pitch event concludes that will showcase their favorite pitches from the event. I’m curious to see what stories resonate with them.

The posts on KidLitGN’s website will be increasing as the pitch event nears, including opportunities to win prizes from Scrivener, HUION and more during the month of August. The fastest way to get notified of these opportunities and to get the latest info is to subscribe to KidLitGN’s website: https://kidlitgn.com/2022/08/29/subscribe-to-our-website/

If you’re interested in pitching at this year’s KidLitGN pitch event, find the details on how to do that here: https://kidlitgn.com/general-information/

Find out more about KidLitGN’s new partnerships at: https://kidlitgn.com/for-the-press/