Picture Books, with Adria Goetz
October 18th, 2022 - November 18th, 2022
with Adria Goetz
In this intimate workshop, you'll receive a written critique of a picture book manuscript from literary agent Adria Goetz from P.S. Literary Agency, plus get the opportunity to speak to Adria individually in the live group call that follows critiques. You'll also exchange critiques with your workshop peers.
How it works
You'll submit your pages at the group start, then spend the next weeks critiquing peer stories. The agent will submit their notes near the critique deadline. After critiques are complete, we host a live group debrief over Zoom, in which each writer gets individual time with the agent to dig into feedback, brainstorm next steps, and discuss any writing questions.
Our goal with these events is to help writers become stronger storytellers. That said, this workshop also comes with a submission opportunity.
About the group workshop format
Participants should be sure they have at least 1 hour to give for critiquing each person's manuscript (plus reading time). Because this is a group of 9, this means you should have at least 8 hours available for your peers' stories.
This makes for an intense workload for the few weeks of peer critique. However, we've also found that this format accelerates learning because you are able to read a professional's feedback on each story you have read and critiqued, and you will listen to each one-on-one in the debrief. Many writers have told us that listening and learning from the professional's notes to others has been just as beneficial to their learning as the feedback on their own work.
Notes
Who this workshop is for: Writers are expected to be at an intermediate level of picture book writing craft or above. Writers may have achieved this through self-study of books and exercises, or organized instruction such as classes, workshops, or webinars. Writers should be familiar with elements of craft such as characterization, plot, internal arc, and pacing, in order to offer craft-rooted feedback to their peers.
Focus: Children's - Picture Books - Fiction - Children's - Picture…
Group size: 9 writers
Submissions: Submit one picture book. Fiction submissions should be under 900 words; nonfiction should be under 1500 words.
Fee
Members: $101; Non-members: $121
We are offering a scholarship for one writer from a traditionally marginalized background to participate at no charge. Applications for this scholarship have closed.
About Adria Goetz
Adria Goetz is a literary agent at PSLA representing picture books, middle grade, adult fiction, and graphic novels. She specializes in picture books by author/illustrators. She graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor’s degree in English with a Creative Writing emphasis, as well as the Columbia Publishing Course. She worked at Martin Literary & Media Management before joining the PSLA team. In 2019, she was selected as a Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree. Adria has eclectic taste but particularly enjoys projects that are tinged with magic, have so much heart you can practically hear their heartbeat, and have a compelling, commercial hook. She was recently proud to represent THE OCEAN CALLS by Tina Cho, which received four starred reviews and was optioned for an animated special with 9Story Media, and THE WHATIFS by Emily Kilgore which made the shortlist for Barnes & Noble’s 2020 Best Picture Book Award. She was also proud to represent TASTE YOUR WORDS by Bonnie Clark, THE UGLY DOODLES by Valeria Wicker, NO ORDINARY THING by G.Z. Schmidt, HALAL HOT DOGS by Susannah Aziz, and BATTER ROYALE by Leisl Adams. Adria lives in an old Victorian farmhouse in Washington state with her husband and their two darling cats. She tweets at @adriamgoetz.
Critique Style:
Adria's critiquing style is friendly but honest. She gives a mixture of big picture thoughts, specific line edit notes that gets into the weeds of a story, and also makes sure to highlight where the project is already shining. Her goal is to give feedback that will help make a project more salable and to equip and empower writers so they feel more confident as they head into the querying trenches.
Schedule:
Tues, Oct 18th- Submissions due
Tues, Nov 8th - Critiques due
Tues, Nov 15th, 3-5:15 pm ET - Debrief call on Zoom
Friday, Nov 18th - Group closes