Book sales at school events
Many children’s authors and illustrators sell books at school events and this guidance sets out the various options for handling sales.
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Professional Development – The nuts and bolts of writing series fiction
Join Author Vaseem Khan as he leads this session covering the essentials of writing series fiction, i.e. fiction that features returning characters and settings. We will explore examples of brilliant series across different genres such as crime, fantasy and romance, and examine the key ingredients that make such fiction successful. The session will detail how to create narrative arcs that ‘grow’ your characters, how to develop overarching themes, and the elements of world-building that make readers consistently come back for more. We will also discuss what agents and editors are currently looking for in new series pitches. To access the recording, please input the following password: S3riesFiction1310
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Feel Good Friday – Draw along with Ellen Surrey
Join Los Angeles-based illustrator and joint ALCS Educational Writers’ Award winner, Ellen Surrey for a colourful, Halloween-themed sketch session to kick off the spooky season. Inspired by her love of painting and printmaking, Ellen will walk you through a technique she often uses in her sketchbook to create multiple colours with a limited palette. This…
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Industry Insider – How to make a living as a children’s author and illustrator
Making enough money from book sales alone is hard. So how do most children’s authors and illustrators make a living? Our expert panel Tọlá Okogwu, Jo Nadin, Rikin Parekh and Steve Cole will talk about income streams including making the most of both traditional publishing and self-publishing, school visits, funding opportunities, teaching and more. This…
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Professional Development – Substack for beginners
Substack can provide a powerful tool for authors to grow their audience and connect with readers. It combines blogging, social media and newsletters, with the option to earn from paid-for subscriptions. In this session you’ll learn how to set up your Substack the right way, consider your launch, explore monetization options and grow sustainably and…
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Feel Good Friday – Building resilience: Navigating rejections and knockbacks
You’ve written your book. You’ve researched agents. You’ve taken the leap and sent your query and then you wait. What happens next? For many, it’s a polite reply “thank you, but this isn’t right for us.” Sometimes you might not hear back at all. Both scenarios can sting, and for some writers, that rejection is…
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How I write – in conversation with Selina Brown
Grab a cuppa and get to know author and founder of Black British Book Festival, Selina Brown. Selina is in conversation with author and activist, Karen Arthur, to discuss her work and career and to offer a glimpse into her creative routines.
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Industry Insider – How to make a successful audio drama 2026
If you love the escape of listening to audio drama, the freedom of writing audio drama, or you just want to find out more about the medium, join industry experts as we unpick what makes a truly great audio play hosted by SoA Scriptwriters (SWG) Committee Member Robin Mukherjee. Panellists include fellow SWG committee members James Clarke and Sean Grundy; this year’s Imison Award winner, Sylvia Anne Parker; and Imison Award shortlistee Sherise Blackman. This event was in conjunction with our Scriptwriters Group (SWG).
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School visits toolkit
Developed by the SoA’s Children’s Writers and Illustrators Group (CWIG) to support and empower authors and schools to deliver impactful in-person school visits.
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Why translators are better
Developed by the SoA’s Translators Association to promote the craft of human translation.
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Feel Good Friday – Transforming doubt into creativity
As writers, do we constantly juggle inspiration with self-doubt? Can this lead us to question every word we write, even when we have a track record of being successfully published? How does this impact our output and ability to cope with the inevitable rejections all writers face? Is self-doubt a necessary part of the creative…
