Sweet Child O' Mine

+ SCWBI and Do You Have A Moment To Talk About Minicomics?

Mike Dawson

Jun 16, 2025

SCBWI New Jersey Conference

This past weekend I attended the New Jersey Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference at Montclair State University.

My official purpose at the conference was presenting a variation on my Cartooning Lessons workshop for some of the other attendees. I felt a little bit intimidated running my event for industry professionals rather than kids, which is what I’m used to, but I shouldn’t have worried because we had a total blast, and the exercises were so much fun to do with a group of highly talented writers and artists.

From my perspective, the conference seemed somewhat more geared towards children’s picture books and novels, I didn’t sense a huge graphic novel contingent, so hopefully my workshop was interesting to the folks who participated as something a little bit different for the day.

Apart from conducting my own event, I was also able to take in a number of events and presentations myself. I particularly found helpful a talk about writing strong query letters. I myself am often sending out cold letters of introduction to teachers and librarians in the hopes of making new connections for future school assemblies and comics-making workshops, and getting better at writing something that can capture a busy person’s attention while remaining professional is for sure, a skill I am continually working to improve.

A difficult truth about working in a creative field is that all the stuff that happens outside of the, y’know, actual writing or drawing or making, is in many ways just as important as developing your craft, because the better you are able to build something sustainable, the better you will be able to keep doing the thing you want to do. How to actually succeed in that regard, well that’s a mystery to us all!

Speaking of careers, I was very happy to hear, during the morning panel with a great group agents, publishers, and editors, one industry professional expressing the desire to see more middle-grade geared towards young boys. Why, I myself have a brand new graphic novel coming out next Spring, with a twelve year old male protagonist. Maybe my book will be in the right place at the right time for once.

Upcoming Workshops

New Jerseyans with young writers or artists at home this Summer looking for something fun for them to do, I have a bunch of Cartooning Lessons workshops planned over the next few months. Check the library websites for more details and to register.