How to Pitch Your Graphic Novel! Workshop

Overview

This half-day workshop is focused on helping you understand all the ins and outs of pitching a kids-ya graphic novel, and what you need to focus on when pitching your work.

Speakers include literary agent Janna Morishima and creators Ken Lamug, Annette Hashitate, David Rickert, and Urania Smith.

Here’s what you’ll get from this workshop:

• • A clear understanding of what agents and publishers want to see in your pitch, and what you need to prepare
   
  • Extensive graphic novel pitch examples and case studies
   
  • Live critiques so you can see in real-time how industry pros evaluate submissions

What You’ll Learn:

Figuring out how to pitch your graphic novel can be a daunting task. 

There’s so much conflicting information out there, not to mention all the different ways that agents and publishers ask you to format and submit your pitch. Do you ever feel confused about…

• • How to pitch your work in a way that’s both succinct and compelling?
   
  • How pitching a graphic novel is different from pitching other formats like picture books and novels?
   
  • Whether you need a complete manuscript or not, how much sample art to include, and how detailed your synopsis should be?
   
  • How to find the best comp titles?
   
  • How to prove that you have the ability to complete a book and build an audience when you’re just starting out?
   
  • How to pitch a graphic novel when you’re an author-only?

If any of these questions have plagued you, this workshop will help! 

We’ll walk you through everything you need to know to compile an effective pitch. There will also be live critiques of pitches submitted by participants, and plenty of time for Q&A.

Special Bonuses!

You’ll also receive these bonus materials that you can use to help refine your pitch after the event:

• • A downloadable checklist to ensure that you’ve “checked all the boxes” for an effective pitch
   
  • A guide with tips on how to write and refine your logline, and pointers for special cases such as author-only submissions; team submissions; international submissions, etc.
   
  • A dedicated forum where you can share your pitch to get feedback from the community

Schedule:

1 pm EST “How to Pitch Your Graphic Novel” presentation by Janna Morishima 

1:50 pm EST -Break-

2:00 pm EST “Successful Pitch Case Studies” with Ken Lamug, Annette Hashitate, and David Rickert

2:50 pm EST -Break-

3:00 pm EST Live critique of pitches with Janna Morishima, Ken Lamug, Annette Hashitate, and Urania Smith

Live Critiques:

A selection of pitches will be live critiqued at this workshop. If you want your pitch to be considered for live critique by Janna, Ken, Annette, and Urania, place it in [this Google Drive]. The pitch can be a full proposal, or a partial pitch (such as a short synopsis or sample pages.) 

Please submit your pitch materials as a single pdf. The file should be less than 20 MB and include in the filename: your name; the title of the project; and what the materials are (ie, “full proposal”; “synopsis”; “sample art”).

The deadline to submit your pitch is September 6, 2023.

IMPORTANT NOTE!: Due to limited time, only a selection of pitches will be reviewed. We cannot guarantee that your pitch will be selected for the live critique session.

Bios:

Janna Morishima is a literary agent specializing in graphic novels and visual storytelling. She started her career at Scholastic, where she co-founded the Graphix imprint. Later, she was the director of the Kids Group for Diamond Book Distributors, and launched a literacy initiative for the NYC Department of Education. She is the founder of Kids Comics Unite, an online community for kids and YA graphic novel creators. Find out more at http://jannaco.co and https://www.kidscomicsunite.com/.

Ken Lamug is an award-winning professional dabbler who is, among other things, an author, illustrator, photographer and filmmaker. He was born in the Philippines and moved to the US with his entire family during his teenage years. Currently, he enjoys his life as an author/illustrator of picture books and graphic novels for middle-graders to middle-agers. His most recent books include the Mischief and Mayhem series with Katherine Tegen Books, and The Whole Hole Story with Versify. Find out more at https://www.rabbleboy.com.

Annette Hashitate was born in Japan and moved to California as a child. She was trained in traditional oil painting from the age of ten.  She received her Bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts from the University of California, San Diego.  Annette now creates illustrated books that appeal to a diverse audience. Her upcoming graphic novel SELFIES BY SUMIE will be published by Viking in 2025. Find out more at https://ayhashitate.com.

Urania Smith is a children’s book writer and freelance editor. She is a key team member for KidLitGN, and a co-founder of KidLit Nation. She also volunteers for The Society of Children’s Book Illustrators-Illinois’ Equity and Inclusion Team. She’s also an avid decorator, DIYer, and cook. Her key lime pie should be sold in stores. Find out more at https://uraniasmith.com.

David Rickert grew up in Columbus, Ohio surrounded by stacks of MAD Magazines, Calvin and Hobbes collections, and Walt Disney comics. After earning a teaching degree and working a number of years in the classroom, the itch to create comics resurfaced. He headed back to the drawing board (literally) to create educational comics, selling them on the Teachers Pay Teachers marketplace. His debut, a middle grade nonfiction book called Pizza, Pickles, and Apple Pie, is coming out from Kane Press on October 31, 2023. Find out more at https://davidrickert.com.