Faculty

2025 November Conference  

Alan Katz, our keynote, has written 50+ highly acclaimed books for kids, including Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs, Got Your Nose!, Really Stupid Stories for Really Smart Kids, Oops!, Zooloween, the Lieographies series, and The Funniest Joke Book Ever for Kids.

Alan is also a six-time Emmy-nominated writer for TV series including The Rosie O’Donnell Show, The Tony Danza Show and Double Dare, animated shows including Taz-Mania, Pinkalicious and Goof Troop, and network specials including the Grammy Awards and the Tony Awards.

He and his journalist wife (and co-author of an upcoming book!) Rose Horowitz live in Milford, CT.

Suzy Capozzi, is an executive editor at Union Square Kids, an imprint at the Hachette Book Group. She primarily acquires and edits picture books, chapter books, and middle grade fiction. Suzy is particularly interested in high concept humor in the picture book space or unexpected biographies; funny character driven chapter book series; and realistic middle grade works (with or without a hint of magic) that are both windows and mirrors into the tween experience. She also selectively acquires young adult fiction, seeking atypical contemporary rom coms and speculative fiction. At Union Square Kids, she is the category lead for picture books, chapter books, education, and middle grade fiction. She divides her time between the Hudson Valley and beaches within driving distance.

Workshop Title & Description

 

"Setting As Character"

In this workshop we’ll examine the key elements that inform setting; develop your story’s setting by defining its own voice, motivation, and backstory; and discuss ways to find its role in your work, i.e., when does it deserve the spotlight and when should it simply be a supporting backdrop — all through interactive prompts and writing exercises.

Erika DiPasquale has worked at HarperCollins since 2017, first as a member of the adult foreign rights team and now as an Editor at Harper Children’s. She works on predominantly picture books and I Can Reads along with the select middle grade and YA. She’s excited about stories that tackle difficult topics in digestible ways as well as anything described as humorous, silly, quirky, clever, or unconventional. Erika manages the I can Read program as well as works on the Pete the Cat, Frog and Toad, and Girl Scout programs among others. She moonlights as a yoga teacher, forest bathing guide, and reiki practitioner.

https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/erika-dipasquale/

Workshop Title & Description 

"Creating Extraordinary Anthropomorphized Characters"

In this interactive workshop, you will explore what makes an anthropomorphized animal or object a strong children’s book character through guided discussions, nature connection activities, and play.


Catherine Laudone is a senior editor at Beach Lane Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. She primarily acquires and edits picture books and middle grade titles (both fiction and nonfiction) with a special interest in underrepresented voices and stories featuring neurodivergent and disabled main characters. She’s also open to select young adult novels and MG/YA graphic novels with a strong hook and narrative voice. Catherine has her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a published children’s book author. Her co-authored pictured book debut She Kept Dancing: The True Story of a Professional Dancer with a Limb Difference is an NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book Award winner, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, and a WLA Towner Award nominee.

Catherine currently serves as an editor advisor for The Writing Barn’s The Verge program and an advance PB workshop leader for Inked Voices. When not editing or writing she enjoys baking, traveling, and playing with her cat Biscotti. Learn more at catherinelaudone.com

Workshop Title & Description

"5 Tools for Crafting Strong Character Arcs"

Every story needs a strong protagonist. But how do you make your main character’s journey or arc satisfying for the reader? In this workshop, we’re going to explore the following 5 tools for crafting strong character arcs:

Unique character motivation
Overcoming obstacles
Emotional highs and lows
Positive and negative relationships with secondary characters
Evidence of change in the resolution

We’ll look at some mentor texts to see how these tools can be successfully applied in picture books and middle grade and young adult novels. Then it’ll be your turn to put these tips into practice during interactive writing exercises.

Tracy Marchini (she/her) is a children’s author and Senior Literary Agent at BookEnds, Jr. Tracy will  be doing critiques throughout the day.

She joined BookEnds in June 2016 as their first picture book and illustration agent, and is thrilled to represent a diverse and inclusive list of debut and award-winning creators of fiction, non-fiction, and illustration for children. She came to BookEnds with more than ten years of experience in children's literature, including at an agency, as a freelance editor and children's book reviewer.

As a children's author, her picture book debut Chicken Wants A Nap (Creative Editions) was called "A surprising gem" in a starred Kirkus review and was nominated for the 2019 Bridge to Reading Picture Book Awards. Her sophomore picture book, Princesses Can Fix It! (Page Street Kids), was praised by Kirkus as “A fix for tired gender roles.”

She holds an MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons College and a BA in English, with a concentration in Rhetoric from Binghamton University, and as an author has won grants from the Highlights Foundation, the Puffin Foundation and La Muse Writer’s Retreat in Southern France. tracymarchini.com

Erika DiPasquale

Catherine Laudone

ALAN KATZ