Publication is our goal at
Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers
June 14–18, 2027
Draper, UT
Registration opens January 1
Upcoming Events!
Our monthly workshops, meetups, and writing challenges keep our community growing even after the conference
Picture Book Pros
Join Apryl Stott and Julie Olson for an evening of learning with both authors and illustrators. This is a great chance to learn from some of the best in the business. Purchase your ticket before Nov 1 and save $5!
Dinner & Readings
Come enjoy some community, some good food, as we read and talk with one another.
Conference Registration
Registration opens January 1. Every option includes afternoon sessions (2:00–6:00pm). Register for the full conference to also choose a morning workshop (8:30–12:30pm), or register for afternoons only.
Registration opens January 1
“Without the WIFYR conference, I would have never had the confidence to submit my book to an agent. As well, I had the chance to meet him in person because he often attends this conference. Nothing but great things to say about WIFYR!”
Kyra Leigh, Author of It Will End Like This and Reaper
More reviews and success stories
Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers (WIFYR)
Wants YOU to Publish
We know you want more than a weekend filled with classes where teachers talk AT you. Our week-long conference is filled with hands-on workshops where the faculty work WITH you on your manuscript. As a participant, you get feedback from an agent or editor on your writing, opportunities to network with writers, and five days of breakout sessions filled with craft-specific topics designed for kidlit authors.
Once WIFYR week is complete, you're not stranded. There's year-round support designed to help you achieve your writing and publishing goals.
Carol Lynch Williams
WIFYR Director
Carol Lynch Williams is the author of more than 30 books for young readers including Waiting, Messenger, and The Chosen One. She's worked with Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers since its inception.
She teaches creative writing, is an editor at Bushel & Peck, and she's a writing mentor. She has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College.
She won the prestigious PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship for her novel GLIMPSE and was nominated for the PEN Award. Her books have been featured on numerous lists of recommended YA fiction and have many starred and pointed reviews.
Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers (WIFYR) is a conference all about community. Not only are your successes important to those who attend and run this conference, but here you have a place where you're supported in your writing and illustrating from idea to publication. When you succeed, we celebrate!
Over the last 27 years, WIFYR has seen hundreds of attendees succeed in all kinds of ways -- book series and movie deals, garnering huge awards, and obtaining agents and editors. We've built a community where publication is our goal.