coach camp publishers

coach camp details

september 6th - sunday 9am-4pm

coach camp day - in-person and limited on-line tickets

Come and spend time with your creative tribe on the beautiful Surf Coast for the in-person program.

Event ticket 2 holders receive a day of coaching and manuscript/illustration assessments from publishers plus a hands-on workshop.

One day developing your craft in workshops (writing and/or illustrations) with a publisher or senior editor.
Work in a small group capped at 5 attendees.
Specific written assessment/s on your work-in-progress.
Group discussion on each work-in-progress to help your understanding of what publishers look for in submissions.
Direction on next steps to improve your manuscript.
Time to edit your work-in-progress.
A second round of coaching feedback.
A Masterclass with 2018 Pitch It! competition winner and award-winning author Stef Gemmill
Invitiaton to submit a manuscript/illlustration to your Coach
Publisher Q&A panel in-perons (on-line campers provide questions and receive Q&A summary)
Network with creatives and publishers over lunch and leave your business card on the fun Connect wall to stay in touch (in-person).
All day catering, beach walks and ocean views (in-person).

Here are the publisher coaches /genres;

Tash Besliev (Simon&Schuster/Affirm) - PB/CB

Eve Tonelli (Walker Books) - PB/author-illus/MG/YA

Alyson O’Brien (Little Book Press) - PB/author-illus (in-person & on-line)

Kate Whitfield (Affirm Press) - MG/YA

Chren Byng (Hardie Grant Children’s) - PB/author-illus/CB

Dani Vee (Larrikin House) - PB/author-illus/CB/MG/YA/GN (in-person & on-line)

What to submit

Submission of 2 x BB/PB manuscript text only max. 500 words or 1 non-fiction PB of up to 800 words incl back matter synopsis ie. glossary words not definitions, fun facts headers only

OR author-illustrators 1 x BB/PB manuscript text max. 500 words plus artwork of 1 A4 rough sketch plus 1 colour finished art

OR first 2,000 CB/MG/YA words plus max. 600 word synopsis

All work sumbmitted in ONE Word.doc or PDF document due 2 Aug. If booking after 2 Aug please submit WIP immediately.

Email to info @sketchandscribefest.com

Abbrev: BB/PB (board/picture book), CB (chapter books incl. junior fiction & short novels up to 30k words for readers up to age of 12 years with non-adolescent themes), MG (middle grade 10+ yr), YA (young adult 16+ yr), GN (graphic novel), Author-illustrator(author that illustrates)

download in-person coach camp timetable

download on-line coach camp timetable

download program

Please note:

While all publishers, speakers and workshop coaches have confirmed their appearance, no responsibility can be accepted for changes which are beyond the festival’s control.

meet your coaches

Featured

chren byng

Hardie Grant Children’s (Publisher & Coach)

With over 20 years in children’s publishing, Chren is a publisher at Hardie Grant Children's in Sydney. Chren brings her experience as an editor, author and publisher when working with emerging talent. Hardie Grant Children’s built their success on stories of kindness, diversity, resilience and courage to reflect the world we live in, and the world we want to build.

Join Chren sharing publishing insights on various panels or in an intimate Coach Camp workshop for a lucky few.

kate whitfield

Allen& Unwin (Publisher & Coach)

With 15+ years experience in publishing, Kate Whitfield is a Senior Editor of children’s/YA books at A&U. Kate is highly skilled in structural and copy editing, working with acclaimed authors such as Emily Rodda, Wendy Orr and CS Pacat. She works with middle-grade and YA authors across all genres .

Allen & Unwin is a leading independent publisher with a strong focus on Australian creators and stories exploring Australia’s history, culture and identity.

Join Kate sharing publishing insights on various panels or in an intimate Coach Camp workshop for a lucky few.

eve tonelli

Walker Books (Publisher & Coach)

Eve Tonelli brings over 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, having held senior editorial and publishing roles at HarperCollins Australia and Scholastic Australia. Now she is the publisher of Walker Books Australia taking it into its next chapter of growth and innovation.

Join Eve sharing publishing insights on various panels or in an intimate Coach Camp workshop for a lucky few.

tash besliev

Affirm Press/Simon & Schuster (Publisher & Coach)

With over 20 years in children’s publishing, Tash Besliev has had a varied career across marketing, sales, branding and editorial, spending the last decade in senior management and publishing roles. Tash delights in collaborating with authors and illustrators to create books that resonate in the market and meet readers where they are at.

Affirm Press is a Melbourne-based publisher (now a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster) dedicated to publishing great Australian stories, big ideas, and the most engaging local and international authors.

Join Tash sharing publishing insights on various panels or in an intimate Coach Camp workshop for a lucky few.

alyson o’brien

Little Book Press (Publisher & Coach)

Alyson O’Brien has worked in children’s publishing for over 15 years, in editorial and commissioning roles including leading the Hardie Grant imprints Little Hare and Bright Lights. She is passionate about publishing memorable stories that ignite a lifelong love of reading in children. Alyson is currently the Publishing Director at Little Book Press, the not-for-profit publishing arm of Literacy Rights Australia.

Little Book Press publish high-quality, thoughtfully designed books including best-selling/award winning titles Two Turtles. The Thing About Christmas and this year’s Simultaneous Storytime book Luna Roo.

Join Alyson sharing publishing insights on various panels or in an intimate Coach Camp workshop for a lucky few.

dani vee

Larrikin House (Publisher & Coach)

Dani Vee is a publisher working in acquisitions reviewing the submission pile. Dani is also a published author, English teacher and host of the popular literary podcast, Words and Nerds.

Larrikin House publish quirky, original, funny kid-focused books that push boundaries. The publisher believes in the importance of engaging readers at an early age through fun books such as My Epic Dad, My New Croc and Robo Teacher. Dani’s coaching style supports authors to recognise what is marketable as well as providing feedback to get their manuscripts ready for submission.

Join Dani sharing publishing insights on panels, in a Pitch Pro Session or in an intimate Coach Camp workshop on-line or in-person for a lucky few.

Pitch Pro Sessions

PB/JF/MG/YA/GN/Illus