Save the date for KCU Pitchfest 2027!!
KCU Pitchfest is our annual competition where you have the chance to get your unpublished kids/YA graphic novel pitch in front of a jury of top editors and agents.
Here are the most important deets:
Key dates (2027)
- Feb 1: Registration + submissions open
- Feb 22: Submissions close
- Apr 24: Gallery reveal + live industry panel
What to expect
The format for KCU Pitchfest 2027 will be very similar to past years: a juried review and public showcase of standout projects—plus the return of the wildly popular One-on-One pitch reviews with editors and agents!
Eligibility rules (unpublished, in English, teams OK, no AI art, no script-only projects) and fees will be announced soon and will be similar to 2026.
All submitters are invited to the live reveal and panel; we’ll also offer tickets for non-submitters.
Jury Announcement
We will announce the jury in October 2026! This is always a much-anticipated reveal, so stay tuned for that!
Mark Your Calendar and Share!
If you’re thinking about submitting your work, make sure to put the key dates in your calendar. And if you have any creator friends who might be interested, please share this post with them.
Want some help getting your pitch into shape?
That’s exactly the kind of work we’ll be doing in KCU Graphic Novel Bootcamp this fall.
Over 13 weeks, you’ll work on the core building blocks of a strong kids/YA graphic novel pitch, such as:
- story and visual narrative
- character development
- sample pages
- logline/synopsis
And throughout this process, you’ll be getting regular feedback from instructors Ira Marcks and Cheyenne Smith, as well as your fellow creators.
By the end of Bootcamp, you’ll have created a polished short comic, which puts you in a solid position to develop a compelling Pitchfest submission.
If Pitchfest 2027 is one of your goals, consider this your chance to start getting ready now. Enrollment for Graphic Novel Bootcamp closes September 15.
