Our 2025 Conference is June 16 - 20
What We’re All About: A WIFYR Conference Overview
Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers presents an exciting five-day conference every June, consisting of intensive, week-long classes and daily breakout sessions.
The heart of Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers is its morning workshops, where attendees have the opportunity to workshop their manuscripts with an industry professional. In the afternoon workshops, registrants have the opportunity to attend plenary and breakout sessions to learn more about the craft of writing.
Why WIFYR?
In-depth Feedback
In the morning workshops, attendees get a full five days with an industry professional and other talented aspiring authors. As you critique classmates' work and have your own work critiqued, you learn craft and see it applied with a hands-on approach.
Publication-Focused
Our goal at WIFYR is to help you get your work close to publication-ready. Our faculty cares about your successes. For almost 25 years, WIFYR has worked with the best writers, illustrators, agents, and editors. They all have the same goal—help you grow as a writer.
Lifelong Community
With five days to connect, WIFYR is the place to make lifelong friendships with other writers. And we don't leave you hanging after the conference. WIFYR All Year provides activities and WIFYR events, many of them free. Join our Facebook group and sign up for our newsletter.
Great Value
We strive to offer the most value possible. Agent/Editor feedback is included for morning workshop attendees as are the afternoon sessions. We also offer a number of scholarships.
Attend our 2025 conference on June 16-20
Registration opens January 1, 2025
~Stephen Fraser, Senior Literary Agent, Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
“WIFYR turns more writers into authors than any other conference of its kind."
~Christian McKay Heidicker, author of Newbery Honor-winning Scary Stories for Young Foxes
"One of the wonderful things about WIFYR is that it brings writers in from the darkness. WIFYR did that for me."
~Kristyn Crow, author of All Aboard the Moonlight Train and the Zombelina series
“I am published today because I attended Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers. That's where I learned to craft a picture book and it's how I met my agent.”