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• A Commitment to Story: Monthly Virtual Write-Ins

  • When
    21 Jul 2025
  •  
    5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    Online on Zoom
  • Registered
    4 registrants

  Register

  A Commitment to Story: Monthly Virtual Write-Ins

  We're throwing it back to the 20-teens and bringing back an old CBW-LA favorite: the weekday write-in. But this time... virtual!

  Back in the day, we used to host two hour quiet writing sessions at a coffee shop in Manhattan Beach—time for our members to get together and sit together to work on any current writing project. Mostly quiet time, there was also an opportunity to check in briefly about the projects and voice questions or stumbling blocks. Members outlined, wrote early drafts, edited, and even worked on pitches and marketing proposals for their work.

  As time went on and schedules shifted, we got away from the format, but now we're reintroducing it. Just a little bit different. 

  Shorter (one hour). 

  Later (evenings). 

  And Virtual (our members live all across the country now, coast-to-coast, so let's make it easy to connect).

  The format will be similar: brief connection and dedicated quiet writing time. 

  We'll take 10 minutes at the start to check in with a sentence about each person's intention for the writing time and a breathing exercise to drop into creative flow, then we'll set a timer to write for 40-45 minutes. At the end, we'll wrap up with a brief coming together (5-10 minutes) and release. We'd love to see your face at the beginning and end during check-in, but please feel free to turn off the camera during writing time and breathing exercises.

  This is a  supportive community offering to help you carve out time, each month, devoted to the craft and joy of writing stories. Free for CBW-LA Members, $10 for non-members. 

  
  

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• JOURNAL FOR JUSTICE: EMPOWER YOURSELF, YOUR READERS, YOUR CHARACTERS AND YOUR STORY

  • When
    25 Jul 2025
  •  
    5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
  • Location
    Online via Zoom
  • Registered
    1 registrant

  Register

  
  

  JOURNAL FOR JUSTICE:
  EMPOWER YOURSELF, YOUR READERS,
  YOUR CHARACTERS AND YOUR STORY

  with Alana Marie Garrigues

  Join us for a 90 minute hands-on workshop to get the creative juices flowing and engage in world building - in this world, or the one that exists only in the imagination!

  Alana will share her Journal for Justice process, a few discoveries along the way, some prompts, and a real world example of her very early activism (which has inspired a children's book she's been toying with for yeeears).

  Then we'll get to making together. Making time can be as quiet or chatty as participants like. At the end, there will be time to share and to ask questions.

  Journal for Justice as yourself, or Journal for Justice as your character to get to know them and their world a little bit better.

  Please bring a journal or some paper to write on, and a writing utensil. If you are artistically inclined in a visual manner of speaking or if you enjoy a good collage or found word session, please also bring whatever lights you up - paints, pens, markers, colored pencils, glue, magazines, etc.

  You may find quotes by social justice icons helpful in preparing yourself, but I recommend that you come into the workshop with an open mind to see what develops.

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  ABOUT THE SPEAKER

  
  

  ALANA MARIE GARRIGUES

  Alana Garrigues is an intuitive visual artist, a writer, a lover of land and trees, mama of nearly-grown identical twins, and a strong believer in multidisciplinary magic.

  Home today is in Holden, Massachusetts where she tends to trees, native plants and seasonal food on a half-acre. While the woods around her are leveled and clearcut for cookie cutter development, she grieves and gardens in defiance and hope.

  Art, writing, and nature have all healed, shifted, and transformed her in myriad ways, and she loves to share the beauty of creative process with others.

  Alana created the Journal for Justice concept and launched it with a creative partner via Instagram in Summer 2020, after realizing how important art journaling had been for her artistic practice, her activism, and her sanity. Initially called the #40DayJournalForJustice - meant to build a habit - it has since been simplified as the Journal for Justice.

  Whether a single page or a daily habit, it is a practice that shifts the creator. That is more important than any number.

  Alana has presented the Journal for Justice concept in Strawberry Moon Art Journal magazine, where she co-edited the Art and Activism issue, and conducted a guest workshop at the New Hampshire Council on the Arts biannual conference.

  She is also a former journalist and editor who co-created and co-facilitated the Story Sprouts series for CBW-LA alongside Nutschell.

  Currently, she is opening up a FREE Patreon membership for artists and writers who want to come together in solidarity and Journal for Justice together.

  
  

  Follow Alana:

   http://www.alanagarrigues.com 

   https://www.instagram.com/alanaofloveandlight/

  
  

  Purchase her books here: 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• Online Critique Session: All Genres Welcome

  • When
    03 Aug 2025
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Online (Zoom)
  • Spaces left
    10
  • Registered
    1 registrant

  Register

  ONLINE CRITIQUE SESSION
  FOR CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITERS

  Calling All Children's Book Writers: Picture Book, Early Reader, Chapter Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, New Adult… All genres welcome

  Whether you’ve written a just handful of pages or you’re putting the finishing touches on your opus magnus, getting another set of eyes on your manuscript is a wise course of action.  At our critique sessions, you'll get constructive feedback for your manuscripts, meet potential critique partners and make new friends.

  
  

  THE VALUE OF A CRITIQUE SESSION

  As writers, we are very close to our work and oftentimes we miss certain details on story development or story elements like characters, setting, etc.

  Critique sessions allow other people with “fresh eyes” to have a look at your writing sample and read them as your future readers would, providing you with valuable feedback to improve your writing skills and get your manuscript submission-ready.

  In all our Critique Sessions, we give you feedback in the most TACTful way possible.

  TACT = Finesse, thoughtfulness or having a keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense; skill in dealing with difficult or delicate situations.

  TACT is also the technique we use for our critiques:

  T = Terrific

  We share what we loved in your piece, what worked in your story and what we liked about your plot, setting, character, pacing, etc.

  A = Author Questions

  In the last few minutes of your critique time, we encourage you, as the author, to ask questions either about your story or to  clarify the comments you received.

  C = Constructive Comments We deliver, in the politest way possible, comments that are specific and helpful to help you improve your story. 

  T = Talent Talent can get you far, but hard work can get your farther. We always end by encouraging you, the author, to keep on writing. We remind you that we are here to help you achieve your writing goals.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• A Commitment to Story: Monthly Virtual Write-Ins

  • When
    13 Aug 2025
  •  
    5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    Online on Zoom
  • Registered
    3 registrants

  Register

  A Commitment to Story: Monthly Virtual Write-Ins

  Welcome to the Weekday Write-in!

  In these community writing sessions, members get together for some quiet writing time. This session is virtual and attendees have an opportunity to check in briefly about their projects and voice questions or stumbling blocks. Attendees can outline, write early drafts, edit, and even work on pitches and marketing proposals for their work. 

  In this session, we'll  take a few minutes at the start to check in with a sentence about each person's intention for the writing time and either a breathing exercise/meditation/chair yoga/writing prompt to drop into creative flow, then we'll set a timer to write for 40-45 minutes. At the end, we'll wrap up with a brief coming together (5-10 minutes) and release. We'd love to see your face at the beginning and end during check-in, but please feel free to turn off the camera during writing time and breathing exercises.

  This is a  supportive community offering to help you carve out time, each month, devoted to the craft and joy of writing stories. Free for CBW-LA Members, $10 for non-members. 

  
  

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• Online Critique Session: All Genres Welcome

  • When
    07 Sep 2025
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Online (Zoom)
  • Spaces left
    10
  • Registered
    1 registrant

  Register

  ONLINE CRITIQUE SESSION
  FOR CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITERS

  Calling All Children's Book Writers: Picture Book, Early Reader, Chapter Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, New Adult… All genres welcome

  Whether you’ve written a just handful of pages or you’re putting the finishing touches on your opus magnus, getting another set of eyes on your manuscript is a wise course of action.  At our critique sessions, you'll get constructive feedback for your manuscripts, meet potential critique partners and make new friends.

  
  

  THE VALUE OF A CRITIQUE SESSION

  As writers, we are very close to our work and oftentimes we miss certain details on story development or story elements like characters, setting, etc.

  Critique sessions allow other people with “fresh eyes” to have a look at your writing sample and read them as your future readers would, providing you with valuable feedback to improve your writing skills and get your manuscript submission-ready.

  In all our Critique Sessions, we give you feedback in the most TACTful way possible.

  TACT = Finesse, thoughtfulness or having a keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense; skill in dealing with difficult or delicate situations.

  TACT is also the technique we use for our critiques:

  T = Terrific

  We share what we loved in your piece, what worked in your story and what we liked about your plot, setting, character, pacing, etc.

  A = Author Questions

  In the last few minutes of your critique time, we encourage you, as the author, to ask questions either about your story or to  clarify the comments you received.

  C = Constructive Comments We deliver, in the politest way possible, comments that are specific and helpful to help you improve your story. 

  T = Talent Talent can get you far, but hard work can get your farther. We always end by encouraging you, the author, to keep on writing. We remind you that we are here to help you achieve your writing goals.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Show details
• Online Critique Session: All Genres Welcome

  • When
    05 Oct 2025
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Online (Zoom)
  • Spaces left
    10
  • Registered
    1 registrant

  Register

  ONLINE CRITIQUE SESSION
  FOR CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITERS

  Calling All Children's Book Writers: Picture Book, Early Reader, Chapter Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, New Adult… All genres welcome

  Whether you’ve written a just handful of pages or you’re putting the finishing touches on your opus magnus, getting another set of eyes on your manuscript is a wise course of action.  At our critique sessions, you'll get constructive feedback for your manuscripts, meet potential critique partners and make new friends.

  
  

  THE VALUE OF A CRITIQUE SESSION

  As writers, we are very close to our work and oftentimes we miss certain details on story development or story elements like characters, setting, etc.

  Critique sessions allow other people with “fresh eyes” to have a look at your writing sample and read them as your future readers would, providing you with valuable feedback to improve your writing skills and get your manuscript submission-ready.

  In all our Critique Sessions, we give you feedback in the most TACTful way possible.

  TACT = Finesse, thoughtfulness or having a keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense; skill in dealing with difficult or delicate situations.

  TACT is also the technique we use for our critiques:

  T = Terrific

  We share what we loved in your piece, what worked in your story and what we liked about your plot, setting, character, pacing, etc.

  A = Author Questions

  In the last few minutes of your critique time, we encourage you, as the author, to ask questions either about your story or to  clarify the comments you received.

  C = Constructive Comments We deliver, in the politest way possible, comments that are specific and helpful to help you improve your story. 

  T = Talent Talent can get you far, but hard work can get your farther. We always end by encouraging you, the author, to keep on writing. We remind you that we are here to help you achieve your writing goals.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• WORLD-BUILDING WITH HEART IN FANTASY & MAGICAL REALISM

  • When
    15 Nov 2025
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Online via Zoom
  • Registered
    4 registrants

  Register

  
  

  WORLD-BUILDING WITH HEART
  IN FANTASY & MAGICAL REALISM 

  with Jennifer Givhan

  Award-winning author and poet Jennifer Givhan invites children’s book writers on a journey into the heart of worldbuilding and myth-making. In this generative, craft-focused session, Givhan—whose upcoming middle-grade novel Pi Luna and the Turquoise Palace reclaims Mexica (Aztec) storytelling and centers Indigenous girlhood—will guide participants in creating immersive worlds and unforgettable characters rooted in cultural authenticity and emotional truth.

  Together, we’ll explore:

  • Techniques for building atmospheric yet accessible magical worlds
  • Creating spunky, deeply human characters young readers will love
  •  Drawing from personal, ancestral, and mythological sources to enrich fantastical narratives
  • Weaving oral storytelling, history, and tradition into modern children’s literature

  Whether you're writing fantasy, magical realism, or contemporary with a touch of the otherworldly, this workshop offers tools and inspiration to craft stories that honor the past while dreaming fiercely toward the future.

  
  

  ABOUT THE SPEAKER

  
  

  
  

  JENNIFER GIVHAN is a Mexican-American and Indigenous poet and novelist from the Southwestern desert and the recipient of poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and PEN/Rosenthal Emerging Voices.

  She holds a Master’s degree from California State University Fullerton and a Master’s in Fine Arts from Warren Wilson College. She is the author of eleven books of poetry and fiction, including Girl With Death Mask (chosen by Ross Gay as the winner of the Blue Light Book Prize/Indiana Review Press), and the novel Trinity Sight, which was a finalist for the Arizona-New Mexico Book Awards and won The Southwest Book Award. Her latest novel River Woman, River Demon was chosen for Amazon’s Book Club and as a National Together We Read Library Pick and was featured on CBS Mornings. It also won an International Latino Book Award in the Rudolfo Anaya Latino-Focused Fiction category.
  
  Her poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction have appeared in American Poetry Review, The New Republic, The Nation, POETRY, TriQuarterly, The Boston Review, The Rumpus, Salon, Ploughshares, and many others. She’s received the Southwest Book Award, New Ohio Review’s Poetry Prize chosen by Tyehimba Jess, Phoebe Journal’s Greg Grummer Poetry Prize, the Pinch Journal Poetry Prize chosen by Ada Limón, and Cutthroat’s Joy Harjo Poetry Prize.
  
  Givhan has taught at the University of Washington Bothell’s MFA program as well as Western New Mexico University and has guest lectured at universities across the country. She is currently the Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at The University of New Mexico.
  
  Her newest novel SALT BONES is coming this July from Mulholland/Little, Brown.

  JENNIFER'S NEW BOOK

  
  

  
  

  Purchase Jennifer's books here:

  
  

  Jubilee

  
  

  River Woman River Demon

  
  

  Trinity Sight

  
  

  Show details
• Online Critique Session: All Genres Welcome

  • When
    16 Nov 2025
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Online (Zoom)
  • Spaces left
    10
  • Registered
    1 registrant

  Register

  ONLINE CRITIQUE SESSION
  FOR CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITERS

  Calling All Children's Book Writers: Picture Book, Early Reader, Chapter Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, New Adult… All genres welcome

  Whether you’ve written a just handful of pages or you’re putting the finishing touches on your opus magnus, getting another set of eyes on your manuscript is a wise course of action.  At our critique sessions, you'll get constructive feedback for your manuscripts, meet potential critique partners and make new friends.

  
  

  THE VALUE OF A CRITIQUE SESSION

  As writers, we are very close to our work and oftentimes we miss certain details on story development or story elements like characters, setting, etc.

  Critique sessions allow other people with “fresh eyes” to have a look at your writing sample and read them as your future readers would, providing you with valuable feedback to improve your writing skills and get your manuscript submission-ready.

  In all our Critique Sessions, we give you feedback in the most TACTful way possible.

  TACT = Finesse, thoughtfulness or having a keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense; skill in dealing with difficult or delicate situations.

  TACT is also the technique we use for our critiques:

  T = Terrific

  We share what we loved in your piece, what worked in your story and what we liked about your plot, setting, character, pacing, etc.

  A = Author Questions

  In the last few minutes of your critique time, we encourage you, as the author, to ask questions either about your story or to  clarify the comments you received.

  C = Constructive Comments We deliver, in the politest way possible, comments that are specific and helpful to help you improve your story. 

  T = Talent Talent can get you far, but hard work can get your farther. We always end by encouraging you, the author, to keep on writing. We remind you that we are here to help you achieve your writing goals.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Show details
• HOW TO BE A SCRAPPY LITTLE WRITER & PURSUE ALL PUBLICATION PATHS

  • When
    06 Dec 2025
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Online via Zoom
  • Registered
    5 registrants

  Register

  
  

  HOW TO BE A SCRAPPY LITTLE WRITER
  & PURSUE ALL PUBLICATION PATHS 
  with Rebecca Langston-George

  Learn how to broaden your approach beyond writing for the traditional market, to also include self or hybrid publishing, and writing for the educational market through work-for-hire. You'll learn the perks and pitfalls of each path and how to juggle all three so that you really can have it all as well as build writing credits, snag an agent, and be your own boss. In the hands-on portion, you'll have time to work on a submission packet to approach work-for-hire publishers.

  
  

  ABOUT THE SPEAKER

  
  

  REBECCA LANGSTON-GEORGE 

  Rebecca Langston-George is the author of 19 books for children including the bestselling For the Right to Learn: Malala Yousafzai's Story. While Rebecca is largely known for writing nonfiction for all ages, her fiction picture book debut Rover Rolled Over is coming out in March and her middle grade historical fiction One Fine Voice debuts soon. A retired teacher, Rebecca serves as the Regional Advisor for SCBWI Central-Coastal California and is on the board of the California Reading Association. She's an active school presenter and creates teacher guides for other authors.  She writes (and mostly rewrites) at one mile per hour on her treadmill desk.

  You can find Rebecca on the various social media platforms below:
  Website: www.rebeccalangston-george.com
  X: @RebeGeorge
  Insta: rebeccalangstongeorge
  Bluesky: @rebegeorge.bsky.social
  Etsy: etsy.com/shop/RebeccaLG
  Facebook: Rebecca Langston-George
  Pinterest: RebeccaLG

  
  

  Purchase Rebecca's Books:

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Show details
• Online Critique Session: All Genres Welcome

  • When
    07 Dec 2025
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Online (Zoom)
  • Spaces left
    10
  • Registered
    1 registrant

  Register

  ONLINE CRITIQUE SESSION
  FOR CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITERS

  Calling All Children's Book Writers: Picture Book, Early Reader, Chapter Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, New Adult… All genres welcome

  Whether you’ve written a just handful of pages or you’re putting the finishing touches on your opus magnus, getting another set of eyes on your manuscript is a wise course of action.  At our critique sessions, you'll get constructive feedback for your manuscripts, meet potential critique partners and make new friends.

  
  

  THE VALUE OF A CRITIQUE SESSION

  As writers, we are very close to our work and oftentimes we miss certain details on story development or story elements like characters, setting, etc.

  Critique sessions allow other people with “fresh eyes” to have a look at your writing sample and read them as your future readers would, providing you with valuable feedback to improve your writing skills and get your manuscript submission-ready.

  In all our Critique Sessions, we give you feedback in the most TACTful way possible.

  TACT = Finesse, thoughtfulness or having a keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense; skill in dealing with difficult or delicate situations.

  TACT is also the technique we use for our critiques:

  T = Terrific

  We share what we loved in your piece, what worked in your story and what we liked about your plot, setting, character, pacing, etc.

  A = Author Questions

  In the last few minutes of your critique time, we encourage you, as the author, to ask questions either about your story or to  clarify the comments you received.

  C = Constructive Comments We deliver, in the politest way possible, comments that are specific and helpful to help you improve your story. 

  T = Talent Talent can get you far, but hard work can get your farther. We always end by encouraging you, the author, to keep on writing. We remind you that we are here to help you achieve your writing goals.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Show details